Not building a wireless keyboard? Skip ahead to the Microcontroller.
This is an optional step; you only need to do this if you are using a wireless controller.
Fire hazard. It is absolutely vital that you check the battery polarity, even when using a battery that uses a JST jack. The black wire needs to match with the - pad, while the red wire needs to match with the + pad.
Fire Hazard. It is absolutely vital that you do not, in any circumstance, let the exposed wires of the battery touch one another, or otherwise cause a short between the + and - pads. You can use electrical or kapton tape to isolate an exposed wire or pad while soldering.
Fire Hazard. It is absolutely vital that you do not, in any circumstance, wire multiple batteries to the same keyboard, whether they are connected in parallel or in serial. This can lead to imbalanced charging of batteries, even when using protected batteries, which can result in dangerous situations.
Don't be afraid of the length of this page. We added extra pictures and different configurations to make sure you install the battery correctly because of the warnings above.
If you’re socketing your controller, it's possible to install the controller first, remove it from its sockets, install the battery and insert the controller into its sockets again. To ensure there is enough space for the battery before soldering the socket pins, we do recommend following the steps below first.
Unfortunately, due to strict restrictions on shipping batteries internationally, splitkb.com currently does not sell batteries. You will have to acquire batteries somewhere else. We can recommend the following stores, or their resellers:
Some batteries you can purchase from these sources will have a matching JST-PH plug on the end of their cable. You can insert these batteries directly into our boards, after double-checking the polarity.
You should follow these steps:
- If you've installed a JST jack to your keyboard, and your battery came with a JST-PH plug, you can follow Installing a battery using a JST plug.
- If you've installed a JST jack to your keyboard, but your battery did not come with a JST-PH plug, or if your battery did come with a plug but it's oriented incorrectly for the jack, you can follow Adding a JST plug to your battery.
- If you couldn't install a JST jack to your keyboard, follow Soldering a battery directly to the board.
If you're unsure about what to do, read all the steps below so you have an idea of what the process entails. You'll probably see which steps match your situation then.
Installing a battery using a JST plug
Before installing the battery completely, double check the polarity. The black cable should go to the minus (-) and the red cable should go the plus (+).
Small batteries, such as those with a capacity of 80mAh or 110mAh, can usually be placed between the PCB and the controller. Route the cabling, place the battery between the headers, and finally install your wireless microcontroller in the next step.
You want to avoid creases or hard bends in the cables. Bending or folding the cable can cause the cable to break internally, which will cause your battery to not work as intended.
Congratulations! You installed a battery and are one step closer to enjoying your keyboards wirelessly. Continue with the next steps.
Unplugging a battery
If for whatever reason you need to remove the battery. It is always recommended to not pull on the wires directly. The plug can be quite small to remove with your fingers so we recommend using tweezers.
If your battery is installed between the PCB and the socketed microcontroller, you should try and remove the microcontroller from its sockets first.
Soldering a battery directly to the board
When soldering your battery directly to the board it is important to always make sure that the red and black wire never touch each other. This is can happen quicker when soldering directly to the board instead of the other methods.
You will need the battery and your PCB. Make sure to tape the red wire if it's not already before starting as this will limit the chances of creating a short. Our boards have the pads quite close together, even for the boards where a JST jack doesn't fit, so make extra sure that you don't make any shorts.
You can strip a larger length of the black wire to be able to insert it more easily in the the board.
Insert the black cable into the board in the minus hole, this should also say "black" on most boards and fold the wire on the back side so it stays in place.
Solder both the front and back. Try to not heat up the wire for too long as this can damage the battery and also melt part of the wire insulation. If happen to melt some of the insulation, consider applying a little bit of electrical tape around the wire to restore the insulation.
Cut off any extra parts sticking out with flush cutters. After that also strip the red wire and carefully insert it into the PCB as well. Again, you don't want want to make contact between the two wires.
Solder both the front and the back again. The finished product should look similar to this.
To minimize the chances of creating a short when continuing building the keyboard and even for day to day use, it is recommended to use some electrical tape to cover up the exposed pads. This way a loose wire or something similar can't create a short when it comes in contact with your PCB.
Alternatively, you can also use a dab of hot glue.
When using a small enough battery, you can place it between the headers and the wireless microcontroller as shown below. Make sure the route the wires neatly to avoid creases in the cable.
You want to avoid creases or hard bends in the cables. Bending or folding the cable can cause the cable to break internally, which will cause your battery to not work as intended.
Finally, install your wireless microcontroller in the next step.
Congratulations! You installed a battery and are one step closer to enjoying your keyboards wirelessly. Continue with the next steps.
Adding a JST plug to your battery
You will of course need the battery, a JST-PH body and two connectors. The body and connector will be purchasable from the splitkb.com website soon. The battery here has already stripped cables and a piece of tape on the positive (red) cable. Keep this piece of tape on there or add some tape yourself if it’s not on there by default. Also strip the black cable if it’s not stripped by default.
You can use a specialised JST crimping tool. This makes the job very easy, but the tool can be quite expensive. Alternatively, you can also use small pliers. How to use either of these tools is explained below.
First, let's ready the cables for the connector. These steps apply to both tools.
Remove the connectors from the strip by bending it forward and backwards until it breaks off.
Using an appropriate JST crimping tool
Insert the connector in to the JST crimping tool, use the 1.3mm wide slot. Make sure it’s all the way in by pushing the longer legs against the tool. Don’t squeeze the crimper too hard yet!
Insert the cable into the connector. Make sure you don’t push in the cable too far. The exposed metal should be parallel with the crimping tool. When it’s in position, squeeze the crimping tool hard.
It should look similar to this.
Now stick the longer leg part in to the 1.6mm crimping spot and squeeze it tight as well. You should end up with something looking like this.
Using a JST jack with pliers
Using pliers is quite a bit trickier. You should hold the connector in the pliers like the picture below so when you when you place the cable in the connector you can squeeze it. Don’t squeeze too tight yet. We just want to hold it like this to be able to bend the metal parts over the cable.
Insert the cable and bend over the legs over the cable. This can be quite tricky. When the cable doesn't pull out anymore, you can also bend over the longer legs. (The red positive cable is pictured here but always start with the black wire!)
Inserting the connectors into the JST jack
Before inserting the JST connector into its body, double check to make sure you put the correct polarity in the correct spot. The easiest way to do this, is to look for the little plus and minus sign on the PCB.
The black cable should be put in to the left side when looking from the front, with the tab part sticking up.
When inserting, make sure the connector is in the correct orientation compared to the jack. Look at the image and compare with your own work.
Make sure to push the connector al the way in to the JST jack. You may or may not hear a little clicking noise. You can confirm it’s all the way in when the metal lip is above the little plastic wedge.
If you used pliers, it might not fit directly and you may need to squeeze the sides of the connector and try again.
After inserting the black wire, do the same steps for the red wire.
Congratulations! You added a JST jack to your battery. You can now go back to the top of the page and follow the steps of installing the battery.