Magnetic USB-cable mod for Ultimate Hacking Keyboard

I love my UHK. It comes to work with me, and it comes back home when I am done for the day. It goes where I go. The UHK (v1) features mini-USB port, which usually are quite durable, but it is placed kind of awkwardly on the keyboard.

So in order to A) stop tearing at the USB-connection and B) avoid the hassle of connecting the cable twice a day, I figured a magnet cable would be perfect. Kudos to @Massenhaft for the inspiration.

The cables I bought had these holes in the connector , so I just pushed some wire into them and soldered a bit of cable onto those wires instead of trying to solder the connector inside. I suck at soldering so I don’t think I would be able, and it seemes to work just fine as I am currently typing this on the modified UHK.

The mini-USB cable I butchered had color coded wires inside wich was really helpful since the schematics for micro USB I found online had the same color coding.

I regret that I wasn’t more careful when cutting the hole for the connector. All I had was a 1,5mm drill bit and a huge electic screw driver - it worked, but I drilled one hole too much - so there is a small hole above the connector which is kind of an eye sore. I thought I would be able to push the connector further up, but there is a piece of plastic blocking it from going any further.

Anyway, it works* and I am very pleased.

*I just realized that FTY blinks when connecting the cable, and that’s not a very good thing, but it resolves itself within a few hundred ms.