FIGURE 14-2 UVCView details in Software

Creator EAN / UCC - 13 in Software FIGURE 14-2 UVCView details

Lab Exercise 1403: Paging Dr Keyboard! 221

Step 8 Replace one of the devices with a USB hub, and see how it appears in UVCView Check the speed of the hub If the hub speed does not show as High, try inserting a Hi-Speed USB device (such as a thumb drive) and see what happens!

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Lab Exercise 1403: Paging Dr Keyboard!

Keyboards are plentiful and common, and a new basic keyboard is inexpensive Even with cheap keyboards, users tend to get attached to these devices over time and in the case of an expensive keyboard with lots of extra buttons and features, the user may have both a financial and an emotional attachment! For these reasons, it s important that you learn to play Dr Keyboard, fixing these devices when they break

The materials you need for this lab are Windows XP system As many throwaway keyboards as possible (functional keyboards that you won t mind throwing away at the end of this lab; connection type is unimportant as long as they re usable by a Windows system) Medium-sized at-head screwdriver Compressed air Lint-free cloth

Try to avoid using older (pre-2004) laptop keyboards, as many older laptop keyboards used a delicate scissors style key connector (looks like a tiny X underneath each key) that will shatter if pried off

In this exercise, you ll dismantle one or more keyboards, cleaning up the keyboard components in the process before reassembling the device(s) and testing for functionality Step 1 Try prying off two or three keys using the flathead screwdriver (see Figure 14-3) Include more difficult keys, such as SPACEBAR, ENTER/RETURN, and a key from the center of the keyboard such as the letter G Inspect the bottom of the key and the key post that it sits on how much dirt is there Reinsert the keys, making sure they are snapped all the way down Step 2 Test the keyboard by installing it into a Windows system If any of the keys you removed aren t working, double-check that they re properly snapped in Shut down the system and remove the keyboard Repeat this process until all keys are working

What should you do if you break a key Well, nobody sells replacement parts for keyboards they re just too darn cheap to bother! You might be lucky enough to have a non-working keyboard that s the exact same model, which you can cannibalize; otherwise, just consign the affected keyboard to the scrap heap after you ve used it for this lab

Step 3 Insert the nozzle of the compressed air under a key and start blasting away If the keyboard is really old or looks dirty, you may want to do this outside! Did you see any dust or crumbs come out

Step 4 Completely dismantle the keyboard Most keyboards have a number of screws underneath that you must first remove to begin this process Inspect the screws are they different sizes Keep track of which screw goes into which hole Step 5 The inside of the keyboard will have a number of plastic contact templates (see Figure 14-4) Remove these, keeping track of their relation to each other so you can reassemble them Wipe down each template with the cloth dampened with water If you run into serious dirt, add a bit of mild detergent and repeat until the keyboard is clean

All keyboards have small circuit boards inside as well Don t get them wet!

Step 6 After allowing everything to dry, reassemble the keyboard and test it on a Windows system If the keyboard is not working properly, dismantle it and try again