{"video_id":"4y-qF7Ga_W0","title":"Your Wireless Keyboard is NOT Wireless...but mine is.","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2023-05-05T14:53:29Z","duration_s":734,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":7.259,"text":"this is a wireless keyboard right that's what it says on the website and on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.62,"end_s":13.08,"text":"box so then why does it have a wire hanging off of it oh for the battery you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.2,"end_s":18.3,"text":"say oh well that explains it no that explains nothing it not only fails to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":15.78,"end_s":22.26,"text":"eliminate a wire from my desk it costs more and it needs to be unplugged","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.76,"end_s":25.859,"text":"occasionally in order to keep the battery healthy calling this an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.82,"end_s":30.24,"text":"improvement over a wired keyboard is an outright lie the most baffling part is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.26,"end_s":34.559,"text":"that we live in a world that has Wireless power smartphones have had","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":32.7,"end_s":38.579,"text":"wireless charging for so long that even devices made in North Korea support it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.96,"end_s":43.8,"text":"so what is preventing keyboard manufacturers from going true Wireless","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.04,"end_s":48.3,"text":"well as it turns out nothing for the price of this tiny waffle maker we can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":46.2,"end_s":53.7,"text":"quickly and easily turn nearly any wireless keyboard into well and actually","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.12,"end_s":57.719,"text":"wireless keyboard why hasn't this become a standard what are the pitfalls and how","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.039,"end_s":62.039,"text":"can we avoid them and what are our different options to turn this keyboard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.34,"end_s":67.439,"text":"from a lie into a good honest peripheral the answer to all three is after this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.92,"end_s":71.76,"text":"message from our sponsor iFixit repair your own broken devices with iFixit to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":69.659,"end_s":75.659,"text":"celebrate their 20th anniversary iFixit is giving out a free T-shirt with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":73.68,"end_s":81.119,"text":"purchases of a hundred dollars or more stay tuned or click the link below to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":77.939,"end_s":82.58,"text":"score some more free swag at iFixit most","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":81.119,"end_s":87.18,"text":"Wireless Power Solutions use electromagnetic induction which sounds","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.08,"end_s":91.86,"text":"fancy but the principle is fairly simple a moving magnet near a coil of wire will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.18,"end_s":96.06,"text":"generate an electrical current in the aforementioned wire and conversely when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.14,"end_s":102.659,"text":"an electric current passes through a coil it generates a magnetic field so by","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.84,"end_s":106.799,"text":"pulsing electricity through one coil you can create a pulsing or changing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":104.759,"end_s":111.299,"text":"magnetic field so that when a second coil is placed near it it will generate","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.9,"end_s":116.579,"text":"an electrical current without a wire the double conversion means that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":114.36,"end_s":120.6,"text":"wireless charging is not particularly efficient which limits your total power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.56,"end_s":124.32,"text":"and compared to what you might see in the comic books magnetic force is only","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.52,"end_s":128.7,"text":"effective over relatively short distances but the good news is that the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.02,"end_s":133.26,"text":"keyboard Community hasn't taken the NVIDIA approach to product design","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":130.739,"end_s":137.459,"text":"yet and with only a few exceptions people keep their keyboards planted","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":134.879,"end_s":141.66,"text":"fairly firmly on their desks desks that can be equipped with wireless power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":139.02,"end_s":148.319,"text":"modules of course we need a way to receive said Wireless power enter this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.379,"end_s":153.48,"text":"it cost us less than 15 bucks on Amazon and if we had the patience devices like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":150.959,"end_s":159.3,"text":"it actually this seems to be the exact same one can be had for as little as two","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.879,"end_s":161.459,"text":"US Dollars on AliExpress it's a 5 watt","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.3,"end_s":167.099,"text":"receiver that is plenty for our keyboard and inside it will find an oblong coil a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.819,"end_s":171.12,"text":"graphite pad to reflect the magnetic field back for a strong connection and a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.739,"end_s":175.68,"text":"small circuit board this one is primarily marketed for old smartphones","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":173.16,"end_s":181.26,"text":"or those with broken QI charging systems but in practice it works to charge any 5","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":178.68,"end_s":186.12,"text":"volt type c device up to one amp other similar coils can do 2 amps or 10 watts","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":183.959,"end_s":190.8,"text":"and cost just a few dollars more and the upcoming G2 standard claims 15 watts","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":188.94,"end_s":197.7,"text":"will be the new maximum I'm ready for toaster keyboard uh sort of while this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.519,"end_s":200.159,"text":"all in one sealed up solution is simple","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.7,"end_s":204.12,"text":"it does present some challenges what if your keyboard's charging port is in a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.659,"end_s":208.44,"text":"place that makes it impractical to slide this underneath it what if your cable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":205.92,"end_s":213.0,"text":"plugs in right above or beside the feet and you like typing at an angle or what","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.319,"end_s":217.019,"text":"if you just hate having a thin black white look what if you just hate having","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":215.28,"end_s":221.459,"text":"a thin black wire running down the side of your otherwise Sleek perfect","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.12,"end_s":225.659,"text":"mechanical input device thankfully there's no need to settle when you can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.62,"end_s":231.78,"text":"meddle with a few simple solder joints you can attach there it is one of these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.599,"end_s":234.0,"text":"directly to the USB port while hiding","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.78,"end_s":238.5,"text":"the entire solution neatly inside the case for your keyboard it's the same","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.92,"end_s":243.239,"text":"Electronics as that external one but without the type C connector the thin","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.659,"end_s":249.739,"text":"plastic casing and oh did I mention that they are even cheaper getting a keyboard","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.04,"end_s":249.739,"text":"open usually involves removing some or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":250.68,"end_s":256.019,"text":"should be leaving these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":253.98,"end_s":260.239,"text":"once all the screws are out opening the board should be as simple as popping the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":257.94,"end_s":260.239,"text":"clips","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":261.9,"end_s":268.8,"text":"cool old spoiler movie Magic once you've got","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":266.639,"end_s":272.759,"text":"the board open it should reveal a small circuit board that the USB port attaches","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.08,"end_s":276.18,"text":"to and if you're really lucky at this stage you'll find test pads that are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":274.5,"end_s":281.639,"text":"clearly labeled usually something like VCC v-bus or V plus and that would be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.96,"end_s":285.72,"text":"for the positive connection sometimes though you'll be left guessing if you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":283.5,"end_s":290.28,"text":"have to guess a multimeter and a type c to USB 2.0 type a cable that you don't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.24,"end_s":295.38,"text":"use anymore will make quick work of things simply violently decapitate the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":292.919,"end_s":299.46,"text":"type A end of the cable plug it in prod the positive pin and then use your other","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":297.6,"end_s":304.44,"text":"probe to poke at the test pads until you get that sweet sweet beep of continuity","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.1,"end_s":308.34,"text":"now at this stage deciding where to place the charging coil is going to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":306.06,"end_s":311.82,"text":"very dependent on your keyboard and on your personal preferences but one thing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":310.199,"end_s":315.36,"text":"that you will need to keep in mind when weighing placement options is that you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":313.74,"end_s":319.38,"text":"want the distance between your transmitter coil wherever that will be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.22,"end_s":324.3,"text":"and your receiver coil which will be inside your keyboard to be as short as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.02,"end_s":328.02,"text":"possible if you're planning to charge your keyboard wirelessly while you use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.28,"end_s":331.979,"text":"it which I would strongly recommend because it's awesome it means you never","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.94,"end_s":336.0,"text":"have to think about it again the safest place to put this would be down near the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":334.08,"end_s":340.38,"text":"space bar even with the feet of the keyboard up the wrist area is going to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":338.46,"end_s":344.4,"text":"be designed to be as close to the desk as possible once you've got your coils","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":342.84,"end_s":348.6,"text":"new home picked out and your solder points mapped you just use some Captain","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.38,"end_s":353.039,"text":"tape to stick it down and solder it all together you may have to change the wire","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":350.639,"end_s":356.699,"text":"out by the way out of the box it's not very long but fun Tech tip if you don't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":355.259,"end_s":360.0,"text":"have any spools of wire kicking around because you don't do this very often you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":358.38,"end_s":364.86,"text":"can always Harvest some wire from that USB cable that you just ruined or from a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.699,"end_s":369.24,"text":"Cat5e cable that's lying around with broken Clips or something like that then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":366.96,"end_s":374.28,"text":"it should be as simple as putting it all back together and you should have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.68,"end_s":375.6,"text":"yourself a truly wireless keyboard Let's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":374.28,"end_s":379.86,"text":"test drive it right now I just need a way to get power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":377.88,"end_s":384.0,"text":"to it ah yes this thing very cool uh how does it oh my God I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.919,"end_s":386.12,"text":"have to screw it into the bottom of the table","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":387.36,"end_s":390.5,"text":"yep that's correct","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":390.539,"end_s":396.78,"text":"okay well","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.6,"end_s":400.46,"text":"rock on brother oh hey hey whoa what's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":396.78,"end_s":400.46,"text":"that it's a doing or something","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.1,"end_s":418.919,"text":"I was about to say that I think maybe this wood or whatever just doesn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":416.699,"end_s":423.86,"text":"something anyway the point is my phone charges so that's not the problem let's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.9,"end_s":423.86,"text":"take the keyboard back again","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.52,"end_s":433.759,"text":"oh it's working now I just can't move this hand or this keyboard at all you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":429.72,"end_s":433.759,"text":"know what is the keyboard just charged","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":435.199,"end_s":441.96,"text":"that would explain why it pulses for a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":438.6,"end_s":444.979,"text":"second and then it's like nope because","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":441.96,"end_s":444.979,"text":"it's charged","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":445.259,"end_s":451.86,"text":"but the next stage is to see if it will work through our Northern Lights desk","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":449.52,"end_s":455.36,"text":"pad I'll see you ready","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":452.819,"end_s":455.36,"text":"come on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.22,"end_s":462.68,"text":"do the trick don't be cool","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":462.84,"end_s":468.479,"text":"we're so grounded we've got it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":465.96,"end_s":472.46,"text":"it's working okay we can confirm by restarting it and should pulse","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":473.18,"end_s":479.16,"text":"I swear to God this is the right spot it doesn't matter The Savvy among you have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":477.419,"end_s":484.38,"text":"probably noticed by now that our solution requires the keyboard to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":480.84,"end_s":486.539,"text":"placed pretty precisely for power and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.38,"end_s":490.56,"text":"some keyboards use a metal chassis so QI charging wouldn't be an option for those","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.039,"end_s":494.94,"text":"at all that's what they want you to think there is a keyboard with wireless","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":492.78,"end_s":498.96,"text":"charging built in you can put it pretty much wherever you want on the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.38,"end_s":504.12,"text":"accompanying desk mat and it's made of metal the angry Mouse cyberboard is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":501.18,"end_s":510.0,"text":"built like a 1960s refrigerator but wait if we look at the bottom what's this A","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":507.36,"end_s":516.24,"text":"Plexiglas window with the charging coil in it crazy right but so is the price I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":513.779,"end_s":521.58,"text":"mean it's a really cool solution the pad uses 15 coils to improve placement","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":519.18,"end_s":526.98,"text":"flexibility but by the times you've got the matching set keyboard and Pad you'll","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":523.8,"end_s":528.839,"text":"have spent nearly 1100 US Dollars and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":526.98,"end_s":534.12,"text":"that's if you can even get your hands on them so that's not a real solution and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":532.2,"end_s":538.92,"text":"even if they used a lower cost implementation like ours the power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":536.399,"end_s":544.92,"text":"delivery side of things is going to turn off a lot of people the range of our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.56,"end_s":547.14,"text":"qlabs uts-1 which is designed to go","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":544.92,"end_s":552.24,"text":"under the desk rather than only through a tiny thin pad is up to one inch","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":550.68,"end_s":558.18,"text":"allowing it to comfortably penetrate most desktops but as you guys already","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":555.48,"end_s":561.42,"text":"saw it can still be a little bit finicky for placement","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":559.8,"end_s":564.42,"text":"um I mean with the phone it's a little bit better I'm able to line it up pretty","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":563.519,"end_s":569.1,"text":"well and it's still expensive it costs 150 US","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":568.08,"end_s":574.62,"text":"dollars this demo was supposed to show how it's easier to line up with the phone hello","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":572.04,"end_s":578.459,"text":"buddy but in spite of these costs and design challenges we still don't think","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":576.839,"end_s":583.98,"text":"there's any excuse I mean we already showed that it costs about two dollars","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":581.459,"end_s":588.18,"text":"to add the power receiving side to a keyboard like the MX mechanical mini so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":586.8,"end_s":595.98,"text":"that shouldn't increase the price by something like this by more than a couple percent and while this might be a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":593.7,"end_s":600.899,"text":"little janky even by our standards we built a proof of concept charging pad","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":598.08,"end_s":606.899,"text":"that shouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks at retail we just taped oh there","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":604.38,"end_s":610.22,"text":"it is nine charging coils onto a piece of cardboard and then if you watch we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":609.3,"end_s":615.72,"text":"just uh put it under one of our stylish","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":612.839,"end_s":620.04,"text":"Northern Lights desk pads hey and the point is this proof of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":618.6,"end_s":625.86,"text":"concept works I'm great but it works bottom line then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":623.04,"end_s":630.18,"text":"angry meow makes high quality products but we shouldn't have to rely on a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":627.839,"end_s":633.72,"text":"premium Niche brand to develop a feature that has been standard in other tech for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":631.98,"end_s":637.38,"text":"upwards of a decade what is it Logitech what are you afraid of Razer I mean heck","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":636.0,"end_s":641.519,"text":"even Apple should have been on top of this by now legitimately at least this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":639.66,"end_s":645.48,"text":"is a real question like if you guys know why no one has done this please let us","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":643.68,"end_s":649.2,"text":"know in the comments below if you go ahead and use the DIY option to add","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":647.64,"end_s":652.62,"text":"wireless charging to your keyboard hey let us know how it went in the LTT form","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":651.3,"end_s":656.22,"text":"thread that's Linked In the description perhaps we could use that thread as a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":654.6,"end_s":661.26,"text":"bit of a repository for others who are seeking out a truly Wireless life one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":659.88,"end_s":666.72,"text":"idea that I've actually been toying with for a while is embedding the wireless","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":663.779,"end_s":671.16,"text":"charger in the tabletop surface so that I don't have to deal with one of these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":668.04,"end_s":673.2,"text":"high power through the desk ones and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":671.16,"end_s":677.339,"text":"then taking my Logitech power play mat and then embedding that like routing out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":675.839,"end_s":681.54,"text":"the shape of it and embedding that in the surface and then just laying a desk","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":679.019,"end_s":686.16,"text":"mat over the entire thing how stealthy would that be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":682.62,"end_s":688.14,"text":"stealthy like the same way to response","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":686.16,"end_s":691.44,"text":"I fix it big thanks to them for sponsoring this video tired of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":689.579,"end_s":696.18,"text":"overpaying to repair your broken devices well don't worry you can fix it yourself","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":693.779,"end_s":700.2,"text":"iFixit has professionally written guides to help you repair your own broken","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":697.74,"end_s":704.339,"text":"devices at a fraction of the cost of a professional repair each guide includes","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":702.18,"end_s":708.42,"text":"detailed pictures of every step of the process and they even sell the parts and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":706.86,"end_s":712.86,"text":"tools that you'll need on their website to celebrate their 20th anniversary","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":710.459,"end_s":717.06,"text":"iFixit is currently giving away a free T-shirt with every purchase of a hundred","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":714.779,"end_s":721.86,"text":"dollars or more use code fix it shirt upon checkout and claim your free gift","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":1},{"start_s":719.7,"end_s":726.06,"text":"if you guys like this video maybe check out the time that we used y charge to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":723.959,"end_s":730.62,"text":"power a toy train it really did seem like Wireless power throughout the room","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":728.1,"end_s":735.14,"text":"was just over the horizon but as far as we can tell they haven't really gone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":732.42,"end_s":735.14,"text":"anywhere since then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"this is a wireless keyboard right that's what it says on the website and on the box so then why does it have a wire hanging off of it oh for the battery you say oh well that explains it no that explains nothing it not only fails to eliminate a wire from my desk it costs more and it needs to be unplugged occasionally in order to keep the battery healthy calling this an improvement over a wired keyboard is an outright lie the most baffling part is that we live in a world that has Wireless power smartphones have had wireless charging for so long that even devices made in North Korea support it so what is preventing keyboard manufacturers from going true Wireless well as it turns out nothing for the price of this tiny waffle maker we can quickly and easily turn nearly any wireless keyboard into well and actually wireless keyboard why hasn't this become a standard what are the pitfalls and how can we avoid them and what are our different options to turn this keyboard from a lie into a good honest peripheral the answer to all three is after this message from our sponsor iFixit repair your own broken devices with iFixit to celebrate their 20th anniversary iFixit is giving out a free T-shirt with purchases of a hundred dollars or more stay tuned or click the link below to score some more free swag at iFixit most Wireless Power Solutions use electromagnetic induction which sounds fancy but the principle is fairly simple a moving magnet near a coil of wire will generate an electrical current in the aforementioned wire and conversely when an electric current passes through a coil it generates a magnetic field so by pulsing electricity through one coil you can create a pulsing or changing magnetic field so that when a second coil is placed near it it will generate an electrical current without a wire the double conversion means that wireless charging is not particularly efficient which limits your total power and compared to what you might see in the comic books magnetic force is only effective over relatively short distances but the good news is that the keyboard Community hasn't taken the NVIDIA approach to product design yet and with only a few exceptions people keep their keyboards planted fairly firmly on their desks desks that can be equipped with wireless power modules of course we need a way to receive said Wireless power enter this it cost us less than 15 bucks on Amazon and if we had the patience devices like it actually this seems to be the exact same one can be had for as little as two US Dollars on AliExpress it's a 5 watt receiver that is plenty for our keyboard and inside it will find an oblong coil a graphite pad to reflect the magnetic field back for a strong connection and a small circuit board this one is primarily marketed for old smartphones or those with broken QI charging systems but in practice it works to charge any 5 volt type c device up to one amp other similar coils can do 2 amps or 10 watts and cost just a few dollars more and the upcoming G2 standard claims 15 watts will be the new maximum I'm ready for toaster keyboard uh sort of while this all in one sealed up solution is simple it does present some challenges what if your keyboard's charging port is in a place that makes it impractical to slide this underneath it what if your cable plugs in right above or beside the feet and you like typing at an angle or what if you just hate having a thin black white look what if you just hate having a thin black wire running down the side of your otherwise Sleek perfect mechanical input device thankfully there's no need to settle when you can meddle with a few simple solder joints you can attach there it is one of these directly to the USB port while hiding the entire solution neatly inside the case for your keyboard it's the same Electronics as that external one but without the type C connector the thin plastic casing and oh did I mention that they are even cheaper getting a keyboard open usually involves removing some or should be leaving these once all the screws are out opening the board should be as simple as popping the clips cool old spoiler movie Magic once you've got the board open it should reveal a small circuit board that the USB port attaches to and if you're really lucky at this stage you'll find test pads that are clearly labeled usually something like VCC v-bus or V plus and that would be for the positive connection sometimes though you'll be left guessing if you have to guess a multimeter and a type c to USB 2.0 type a cable that you don't use anymore will make quick work of things simply violently decapitate the type A end of the cable plug it in prod the positive pin and then use your other probe to poke at the test pads until you get that sweet sweet beep of continuity now at this stage deciding where to place the charging coil is going to be very dependent on your keyboard and on your personal preferences but one thing that you will need to keep in mind when weighing placement options is that you want the distance between your transmitter coil wherever that will be and your receiver coil which will be inside your keyboard to be as short as possible if you're planning to charge your keyboard wirelessly while you use it which I would strongly recommend because it's awesome it means you never have to think about it again the safest place to put this would be down near the space bar even with the feet of the keyboard up the wrist area is going to be designed to be as close to the desk as possible once you've got your coils new home picked out and your solder points mapped you just use some Captain tape to stick it down and solder it all together you may have to change the wire out by the way out of the box it's not very long but fun Tech tip if you don't have any spools of wire kicking around because you don't do this very often you can always Harvest some wire from that USB cable that you just ruined or from a Cat5e cable that's lying around with broken Clips or something like that then it should be as simple as putting it all back together and you should have yourself a truly wireless keyboard Let's test drive it right now I just need a way to get power to it ah yes this thing very cool uh how does it oh my God I have to screw it into the bottom of the table yep that's correct okay well rock on brother oh hey hey whoa what's that it's a doing or something I was about to say that I think maybe this wood or whatever just doesn't something anyway the point is my phone charges so that's not the problem let's take the keyboard back again oh it's working now I just can't move this hand or this keyboard at all you know what is the keyboard just charged that would explain why it pulses for a second and then it's like nope because it's charged but the next stage is to see if it will work through our Northern Lights desk pad I'll see you ready come on do the trick don't be cool we're so grounded we've got it it's working okay we can confirm by restarting it and should pulse I swear to God this is the right spot it doesn't matter The Savvy among you have probably noticed by now that our solution requires the keyboard to be placed pretty precisely for power and some keyboards use a metal chassis so QI charging wouldn't be an option for those at all that's what they want you to think there is a keyboard with wireless charging built in you can put it pretty much wherever you want on the accompanying desk mat and it's made of metal the angry Mouse cyberboard is built like a 1960s refrigerator but wait if we look at the bottom what's this A Plexiglas window with the charging coil in it crazy right but so is the price I mean it's a really cool solution the pad uses 15 coils to improve placement flexibility but by the times you've got the matching set keyboard and Pad you'll have spent nearly 1100 US Dollars and that's if you can even get your hands on them so that's not a real solution and even if they used a lower cost implementation like ours the power delivery side of things is going to turn off a lot of people the range of our qlabs uts-1 which is designed to go under the desk rather than only through a tiny thin pad is up to one inch allowing it to comfortably penetrate most desktops but as you guys already saw it can still be a little bit finicky for placement um I mean with the phone it's a little bit better I'm able to line it up pretty well and it's still expensive it costs 150 US dollars this demo was supposed to show how it's easier to line up with the phone hello buddy but in spite of these costs and design challenges we still don't think there's any excuse I mean we already showed that it costs about two dollars to add the power receiving side to a keyboard like the MX mechanical mini so that shouldn't increase the price by something like this by more than a couple percent and while this might be a little janky even by our standards we built a proof of concept charging pad that shouldn't cost more than a hundred bucks at retail we just taped oh there it is nine charging coils onto a piece of cardboard and then if you watch we just uh put it under one of our stylish Northern Lights desk pads hey and the point is this proof of concept works I'm great but it works bottom line then angry meow makes high quality products but we shouldn't have to rely on a premium Niche brand to develop a feature that has been standard in other tech for upwards of a decade what is it Logitech what are you afraid of Razer I mean heck even Apple should have been on top of this by now legitimately at least this is a real question like if you guys know why no one has done this please let us know in the comments below if you go ahead and use the DIY option to add wireless charging to your keyboard hey let us know how it went in the LTT form thread that's Linked In the description perhaps we could use that thread as a bit of a repository for others who are seeking out a truly Wireless life one idea that I've actually been toying with for a while is embedding the wireless charger in the tabletop surface so that I don't have to deal with one of these high power through the desk ones and then taking my Logitech power play mat and then embedding that like routing out the shape of it and embedding that in the surface and then just laying a desk mat over the entire thing how stealthy would that be stealthy like the same way to response I fix it big thanks to them for sponsoring this video tired of overpaying to repair your broken devices well don't worry you can fix it yourself iFixit has professionally written guides to help you repair your own broken devices at a fraction of the cost of a professional repair each guide includes detailed pictures of every step of the process and they even sell the parts and tools that you'll need on their website to celebrate their 20th anniversary iFixit is currently giving away a free T-shirt with every purchase of a hundred dollars or more use code fix it shirt upon checkout and claim your free gift if you guys like this video maybe check out the time that we used y charge to power a toy train it really did seem like Wireless power throughout the room was just over the horizon but as far as we can tell they haven't really gone anywhere since then"}