Every Wireless Keyboard is a Liar… but the Fix Costs $2

[TannerMcCoolman]

Wireless keyboards are SUPPOSED to be wireless. So why do we need to keep a wire around to plug them in? We don’t, and for just $2 we will show you how to add Qi-compatible charging to nearly any wireless keyboard.

 

 

 

 

[Gokul_P]

The video seems to be unlisted? 

Edit : it is fixed 

[ToboRobot]

I have health concerns about wireless charging.  Is this going to microwave my crotch? 

Integrating the charger in a desk would be awesome.  LTTStore Desk as a flat pack would be awesome (bring your own tabletop?)?

[Needfuldoer]

1 minute ago, ToboRobot said:

I have health concerns about wireless charging.  Is this going to microwave my crotch? 

No it will not.

[flibberdipper]

21 minutes ago, Gokul_P said:

The video seems to be unlisted? 

 

Edit : it is fixed 

That happens with pretty much every LTT video. They'll post the thread about it here and then a short while later it'll go public. Something something scheduled uploads.

[Interstellar]

Wi-charge is a startup doing wireless charging using IR signals, maybe they can make keyboards and mouses, from some reason they are doing only retail screens for supermarkets...
Logitech, Razer, contact them please!
https://www.wi-charge.com/

[colonel-panic]

Linus! make a desk pad with the induction coils built in! Ok, so you might have another cable on your desk, but then again... you could charge your phone and other wireless devices on the pad. 

 

It would be awesome if you could mod a wireless mouse to work this way too!

[sub68]

6 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

I have health concerns about wireless charging.  Is this going to microwave my crotch? 

No, 5 watts via wireless charging won't do much.

if its HAM worse is just RF burns and it not too bad.

mostly ionizing radation won't do damege heck with this it will probably be a burn thats all, I would worry about xrays RF more than anything else

[sub68]

3 minutes ago, colonel-panic said:

Linus! make a desk pad with the induction coils built in! Ok, so you might have another cable on your desk, but then again... you could charge your phone and other wireless devices on the pad. 

 

It would be awesome if you could mod a wireless mouse to work this way too!

he did that ahwile ago in a different vid

[Gokul_P]

9 minutes ago, flibberdipper said:

That happens with pretty much every LTT video. They'll post the thread about it here and then a short while later it'll go public. Something something scheduled uploads.

Iam seeing it for the first time and it is like 5 minutes 

[ToboRobot]

4 minutes ago, sub68 said:

No, 5 watts via wireless charging won't do much.

if its HAM worse is just RF burns and it not too bad.

mostly ionizing radation won't do damege heck with this it will probably be a burn thats all, I would worry about xrays RF more than anything else

I understand 5 watts isn't much, but it would be about 3 inches or less away, and I sit at my desk for 8-12hours a day. 

Will this effect peoples reproductive organs after years of use?

[Crowbar138]

Apparently, since my new wireless keyboard still has a Micro USB (grrrrr), I can buy one of the Qi adapters from AliExpress for $0.14 with free shipping. Something about this price level seems terrifying...

[sub68]

1 minute ago, ToboRobot said:

I understand 5 watts isn't much, but it would be about 3 inches or less away, and I sit at my desk for 8-12hours a day. 

RF burns are only direct contact

2 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

Will this effect peoples reproductive organs after years of use?

no, I thought this was debuncked like 10 years ago.

[colonel-panic]

oh, and another idea, use magnets to help align the charging area... make sure to use opposite poles, or use a small metal plate or disk, make sure they are both in the middle of the coils

[Gokul_P]

It is worse than pluggin in a wire isnt it. You cant even move the keyboard a littile and the battery life issue still remains. Logitech Power share mouse pad kinda thing prob work but plugging that cable 5cm from the keyboard going to change something?

[darknessblade]

Sadly this hack won't work for my X-bows crystal

https://x-bows.com/products/pre-sale-x-bows-cristal-programmable-ergonomic-wireless-mechanical-keyboard

 

 

 

[Nystemy]

To be fair. Wireless charging is likely already illegal in the EU as far as phone charging is concerned. Mainly due to its lackluster efficiency. Though, the EU itself seems to have not realized this yet. _{(more on this later.)}

 

But in general. Wireless charging is fairly inefficient, often not all that much better than 50%. And to be honest, a wireless keyboard is strange... Why would one want that? The cable isn't particularly annoying in the vast majority of situations. And the times a wireless keyboard is "superior", then one can often live with the downside of the occasional dead battery. _{(Use one at work, some Logitech one that lasts well enough. Only changed battery once in 5 years of daily operation, and the first battery already had some use on it before I received the keyboard from a college. 3 AAA batteries last a long time.... If a keyboard doesn't last more than a few months on a single charge, then it is frankly ineptly designed...)}

 

Though, in regards to wireless charging being illegal in the EU.

That is due this directive: 2019:1782 laying down ecodesign requirements for external power supplies pursuant to Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 278/2009

 

This directive more or less requires a minimum efficiency of 67% if bellow 50 watts. Between the mains outlet and the "primary load". _{(higher wattage loads have even stricter efficiency requirements.)}

 

However, the "saving" grace for phone manufacturers is the directive's mistake of never specifying what a primary load actually is. _{(The directive have an exception for battery chargers without power supply functionality. Something a QI charger (or other wireless chargers) in a phone doesn't live up to, since it also powers the phone, it would be "legal" if it disabled the phone during charging since it would then not power the phone, but that is obviously annoying.)}

 

And yes, technically speaking, even the cable between the mains adapter and device would effect this overall efficiency, a wireless charger can be argued to be another link in this chain. But as stated, the directive never states what the primary load is.

 

But in the end.

Until the EU specifies what they mean in their directive, wireless charging is in a gray area where their inefficiencies are potentially allowed to exist. Even if the directive is specifically about making these types of inefficient devices illegal.

[smoike]

I bought an A51 phone to replace my S8 AFTER i became reliant on using Qi charging in the home and I basically did the exact same thing Linus did with the keyboard, but squeezed it into the back of my A51. I could have used one of these charging pads that slip inside the case like Linus initially showed, but that would cut off access to my Type-c port, and I still use that even though I use Qi. Instead I just soldered the charge pad directly to the usb-c ports internally.

 

https://imgur.com/17xTHvK

https://imgur.com/zgE72r5

 

 

[ToboRobot]

42 minutes ago, sub68 said:

RF burns are only direct contact

no, I thought this was debuncked like 10 years ago.

So surely you can point to long term studies that prove it?

[Iblade]

i remember a live stream where someone asked linus "would you ever colaborate with a tech company to make a product with you name on it?" and linus said something like "well as long as i add something to the product other than just a name i would say no BUT i have no idea what that would be" well linus this vidio shows exactly the type of thing you could add to a product simple changes that could change the industry if someone only thought it was worth a shot

 

And why not just weave the chargeing pads into the cloth that makes up the mouse mat?

[rednet]

I really like this idea and wanted to join the convo! I think this is super cool and has a lot of applications but instead of a pad, brick, or what have you... Creating instructions for a thin piece of wood (something preferably kind of nice and quality) someone could cut to size for their current desk and DIY a network of the charging coils underneath and decorating the top how they want then securing to the top of their desk would be really cool!

 

At least that's my idea. Additionally, someone could make a modular design that is also fairly thin that you could put together like Lego and can order various sizes/lengths that could also then be secured to the desk some how and used seamlessly as the surface for the desk. Where each connecting side is overlapping, and sides that do not have connections could have covers.

 

I notice another person mentioning that there's an efficiency issue that would need to be resolved before being super beneficial. Another concern would be controlling the EMI on something of this scale. My desk is 52.5in x 23in (approx) and so if there was a network of these things on my desk, how does that effect the surrounding environment? My speakers? Headphones? Shielding and all that but still makes you wonder.

 

I dunno, I think this is such a neat idea and Linus said it best - how has no one done something like this yet?

 

ETA: Oh yeah, forgot... coil whine too. My smart watch charger that works this way is VERY bad in regards to this.

Edited February 12, 2023 by rednet

[Nystemy]

7 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

So surely you can point to long term studies that prove it?

In regards to the long term safety of being exposed to low levels of RF is a bit hard to find.

 

Mainly since Radio Frequency signals aren't ionizing. So they will not be able to alter any chemical compound, like the DNA in your body.

Secondly the low amount of power will not cause any noteworthy heating. Being exposed to RF will lead to some degree of heating of the body. But the levels here aren't really worth while discussing. Having an old incandescent light bulb within arm's reach is going to provide way more heat.

In short, years worth of exposure from a QI charger is frankly inconsequential.
Take a step out into the sunshine for a few seconds and you will be bombarded with far more dangerous stuff, like a fair bit of UV light _{(slightly ionizing)}. And far more heat. _{(To be fair, if one has poor ventilation, then ambient radon levels is a far more pressing concern than even the sun's rays.)}

 

In the end.

There has been studies on the dangers of RF.
And generally speaking, everything bellow about 750 THz (UV-A) is harmless from the point of ionization is concerned.
And in terms of heating from dielectric absorption, then anything bellow a few tens of watts is typically harmless. Burns can though happen if the energy is sufficiently localized. _{(One will feel the warmth, and a QI charger would frankly burn itself up long before it can push out enough energy to even noticeably heat your hand.)}

 

So you generally don't have to worry about these devices.

[simpsonfan409]

not only is wireless charging super inefficient, but this whole project contradicts itself. 

 

"I don't want to have cables on my desk" solution: wireless keyboard

"but i still have to use a wire to charge the keyboard" solution: put a wire under the desk to a fat, inefficient induction charger

"but i don't want to have a fat induction charger under my desk" solution: put the induction chargers in your desk mat, so your desk mat now has a cable, rather than your keyboard.

 

we did a full 360 here, you still have a cable on your desk.

on a sidenote, i thought linus hated e-waste, what's more e-waste than the degrading battery of a mostly stationary keyboard? seems like he was the wrong guy to host this pointless project.

[Frigid North]

To fix the distance problem with mounting the wireless charging source pad, below the table, get a router, no not a compute rrouter, I mean one for wood working, and counter sink / carve out the full outline of the base to reduce the depth of the table to likely less than half the thickness of the table in that spot. Use some metal brackets at the corners of the wireless charging source pad and screw those into the corners of the table on the under side so it covers the corners of the charging pad source. This will improve the wireless charging connection strength.

[oslohes123]

How to make a wireless keyboard wired 101