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Backlit Keyboard Mod/Upgrade Question

post #1 of 18
10/6/09 at 2:52am
Thread Starter 
Hey all! I have a question about adding some additional LED strips to an already backlit keyboard on my Alienware M17 laptop.

Because of some crazy events involving heavy falling objects and burning nachos, I have had to order a replacement keyboard from Alienware (it should be arriving sometime this week, yay).

My question is : Would it be possible to take the 2 LED strips out of the old keyboard and add them to the new one to give the backlighting a bit of extra "oomf"?

Currently, the backlighting is so dim it's nearly useless, but I think it has some potential to be really nice. Does anyone know how I would go about doing this? Would I have to divert power from elsewhere in the laptop to power the extra LED's?

Thanks very much! Any ideas are greatly appreciated!
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post #2 of 18
10/6/09 at 9:26am
falling objects and burning nachos???
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post #3 of 18
10/6/09 at 12:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve@NBF View Post
falling objects and burning nachos???
Side effects of extra power?
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post #4 of 18
10/6/09 at 1:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve@NBF View Post
falling objects and burning nachos???
haha yeah, gravity can be a real pain sometimes.

Blargh.
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post #5 of 18
10/6/09 at 1:16pm
I would imagine this would be possible, but extremely difficult. Why is the LED so dim to begin with?
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post #6 of 18
10/6/09 at 4:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve@NBF View Post
I would imagine this would be possible, but extremely difficult. Why is the LED so dim to begin with?
I've never really had the chance to see the LED strips myself, but the general consensus from M17 owners is that there simply isn't enough lighting to begin with.

In regular daytime conditions, the lighting is basically nonexistent, it's visible at night, but is very patchy and unevenly lit.

I'll try and find a picture to give you guys a better idea.

EDIT : Here's a pic of the keyboard, I must have lucked out because my keyboard is not nearly as bright as this guys...
The majority of my keys are about as bright as his spacebar in the same lighting conditions.

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post #7 of 18
10/6/09 at 4:46pm
Is it because of the picture being taken or is it just a very UN-evenly lit keyboard I ever saw?

cheers ...
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post #8 of 18
10/6/09 at 6:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
Is it because of the picture being taken or is it just a very UN-evenly lit keyboard I ever saw?

cheers ...
Unfortunatly the uneveness (is that even a word...?) is very much real. Hopefully that will be solved with an additional pair of LED strips.

Just for laughs, check out this picture of the keyboard that Alienware had on its site. Notice how it is very evenly lit and far brighter than the real deal shown above.

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post #9 of 18
10/6/09 at 8:06pm
That is a good cheat
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post #10 of 18
10/8/09 at 11:56am
It looks like the keyboard is photoshopped blue in the areas that should be lit haha! Is it strips under the keyboard that have it light up or are the strips built into the keyboard to make it one, that way call AW and have them send you a new one.
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post #11 of 18
10/8/09 at 12:16pm
After reviewing this notebook, I don't remember seeing the inconsistent brightness in those pics.
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post #12 of 18
10/8/09 at 7:04pm
Can you take some pics Steve?

cheers ...
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post #13 of 18
10/8/09 at 9:46pm
Everything I took was here.
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post #14 of 18
10/9/09 at 1:36am
Cool review Steve. The pics are not good enough to compare to what OP is saying

cheers ...
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post #15 of 18
10/9/09 at 9:09am
I realize that. but that's all i got.
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post #16 of 18
10/9/09 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 
Sup all! I just finished installing the new keyboard w/o the additional LED's just for the heck of it (it took like 10mins), and unfortunately, the lighting on the new keyboard is even worse than the old one!

I guess this just gives me all the more reason to try the extra LED thing. Blah.
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post #17 of 18
10/9/09 at 7:31pm
Pics Nate, pics (please). Be interesting if the extra LED project works out for you.

cheers ...
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post #18 of 18
11/11/09 at 1:52am
maybe you should ask Dell for a new Keyboard

I also have no issues with mine

Your's maybe a defective one
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