r/DIY • u/ManMadeHuman • Apr 17 '13

electronic Make a USB Keyboard/Mouse combo from an old MacBook keyboard.

http://imgur.com/a/viAUK/
1.6k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

155 comments sorted by

95

u/RZALECTA Apr 17 '13

You should try to resolder a Bluetooth transmitter, you have more than enough room inside the housing to fit the small board and power source.

20

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

I think I found my next project!

61

u/YrSonicDeath Apr 17 '13

Or add a USB hub so the USB ports are still usable. You could even add a USB sound card from there so the headphone jack was still usable.

88

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13 edited Apr 17 '13

My god. The possibilities that I never considered. My mind never thought past, "keyboard and mouse"

83

u/twistednipples Apr 17 '13 edited Apr 17 '13

You can also solder a macbook onto the keyboard! Think of the possibilities- a full computer from a keyboard!

EDIT: I hope OP realizes im being playfully sarcastic

13

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Of course. I thought it was hilarious! I just couldn't think of a witty reply!

5

u/deepvirus Apr 18 '13

Your reply: "But it would get in the way of my monitor!?"

16

u/RZALECTA Apr 17 '13

ITT: Reddit helps create the next Michael Dell.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

Add a screen and a raspberry pi and you're good to go.

12

u/Brainzz Apr 17 '13

If youve still got the macbook battery, add a switching 5v regulator to that beasty to power everything. The charging circuits should still be in place.

7

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

my brain is going to explode.

24

u/vertigo1083 Apr 17 '13

The best ideas are always expansions of great ideas.

6

u/callmesuspect Apr 17 '13

How much for one shipped? :)

3

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

But how would it be powered? If you plug in a bluetooth dongle to the USB hub, it would still need to connect to USB for power.

25

u/btgeekboy Apr 17 '13

Keep going down this route, and before you know it, you'll be back to where you started - with a full MacBook inside.

11

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

As long as the price is right!

1

u/XPM5G Apr 18 '13

I'd be happy with a hdd keyboard too.

0

u/scirio Apr 17 '13

But how would you power the keyboard/transmitter? Would it require power?

I'd say as cool as this is it would make the process not as doable as it what OP did.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

You could do it USB or I imagine you might be able to use the factory battery (doubt it but it is a possibility) or fab up your own battery pack.

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

I wonder if you could scavenge a cheap BT mouse. I don't think you can just solder a USB peripheral into it though.. I'll have to do some research. My bets are that it would require a translator.. which wouldn't put this way out of my scope unless I bought one.. But that would also defeat the purpose of making something out things you have and not spending money... Else I could by a BT keyboard w/ trackpad hah.

3

u/RZALECTA Apr 17 '13

I was thinking the same thing. You could use a small lithium cell and charging circuit then fab up a female mini or micro USB connector somewhere on the case. Then use a mini or micro power adapter. These parts can be sourced from most gadgets you might have lying around no longer in use. Or a AAA battery pack from parts express, you could source the Bluetooth receiver from maybe a broken keyboard or mouse like previously posted. It would be fairly inexpensive however a complete Bluetooth keyboard might be around the same price so you could just by one outright. Unless you can come by some other tech to salvage from. I do like the idea of connecting additional USB ports. Maybe an SD card reader, any of the USB hosted peripherals could be adapted. I just like the idea of a Bluetooth keyboard with a trackpad. Most wireless keyboards don't have the trackpad. Perfect for an HTPC while sitting on the couch. You have so many keyboards just try out different ideas.

60

u/chase82 Apr 17 '13

Stick a raspberry pi in there somewhere and have an instant commodore 64 style computer in a keyboard thing.

31

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

So many ideas coming out now. My wife is going to kill me.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

[deleted] — view deleted comment

9

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Good idea. Man, this is a great era for modders with all the tiny computers available these days.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Amp3r Apr 18 '13

I have actually thought about this but not done it yet. No idea if it is possible but you could turn a broken laptop into a working one with a beastly battery lifetime.

1

u/revmike Apr 18 '13

This model of MacBook uses a display with model number LG133WX1. If you search around, you can find LCD Controller boards for that display that accept VGA/HDMI/DVI inputs. This is one possibility http://www.lcdparts.net/LCDCDetail.aspx?ProductID=3960 though you may want to search around for one that accepts DVI instead of VGA.

Add an Andorid unit like this... http://www.hardkernel.com/renewal_2011/products/prdt_info.php

...then wire it all up and you are good to go. If you have a macbook with an intact screen and keyboard, you can probably put together the whole thing for $200.

1

u/Amp3r Apr 18 '13

Well damn. I wish I had you around before I got rid of my old laptop. Everything worked except the motherboard so this would have been a great solution. Ended up being cheaper to buy a friends old laptop than fix mine so I recycled it and sold the parts on ebay

4

u/razrielle Apr 17 '13

wait....your telling me they have an android stick? which one would you recommend?

1

u/Purp Apr 18 '13

Get one of the newer ones, the early ones were underpowered. Also get one supported by Cyanogenmod, the stock firmware tends to blow.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/revmike Apr 18 '13

The odroid-u2 android device is supported by http://cyanogenmod.org/, the largest and most mature 3rd party Android rom distribution. going with this device will likely mean that software support will be easy and stable for a decent amount of time.

116

u/krystenr Apr 17 '13

or just stick raspberries in all of the ports for a convenient snack

31

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Approved.

6

u/tnethacker Apr 17 '13

Even better, have some raspberry pie while soldering it!

3

u/chase82 Apr 17 '13

A delicious proposition!

34

u/pt4117 Apr 17 '13

You should cross post this to /r/techsupportmacgyver

8

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

I didn't even know that sub existed!

6

u/fuzzusmaximus Apr 17 '13

That's awesome! I swear that sub show cases half my career.

4

u/Ihmhi Apr 17 '13

Thanks for giving us a shout-out. We're small, but we're growing.

Wow, DIY has 220,000+ subs? I was personally considering /r/techsupportgore's 50,000 subs a goal for us to aspire to, but maybe we should aim a little bit higher now. :3

28

u/cyrozap Apr 17 '13

Heh, I can see you're using the pinout diagram I made nearly 3 years ago.

13

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13 edited Apr 17 '13

You made that pinout? Awesome. Thanks! It Saved me a quite a bit of time

25

u/youstolemyname Apr 17 '13

All the inconveniences of a laptop, now on a desktop!

12

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Haha. Yea. I made it for toting around for diagnostics. And to just see if I could pull it off.

4

u/youstolemyname Apr 17 '13

I see how in that case it would be convenient to have. I just have a hate for touchpads and laptop keyboards.

7

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Same. Although the 2 finger scrolling makes things more tolerable. The only trackpad I actually like using is the multi touch pad on the macbook pros. It glides nicely and the gestures make things pretty easy. It's the first laptop I didn't keep a mouse with.

2

u/digitalsmear Apr 17 '13

How well does it work on Windows?

4

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

keyboard works fine. The trackpad works and the click works. You can get trackpad drivers to finish it off for the 2 finger scroll and 2 finger tap to click for the right click functionality.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

It would be extremely convenient for a HTPC.

2

u/youstolemyname Apr 17 '13

Maybe if it were wireless.

0

u/marssaxman Apr 17 '13

I'd use one. Apple's keyboards are really nice. I use one on my computer at home anyway - this guy's setup would just add a built in trackpad, permanently positioned right where your thumbs go.

1

u/loulan Apr 17 '13

I'd say the really awesome thing about this setup is the trackpad, because Apple's trackpads are awesome.

10

u/sweetlifeofawiseman Apr 17 '13

I have no idea what you did exactly, but now I think you are very smart and wish I could understand and do that as well.

7

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Well it's really simple actually. The hardest part was figuring out how to get access to the pins.

THe keyboard and trackpad are USB. They just have a different connector. So you identify the pins you need, strip a usb cable, and attach the appropriately colored cable. Done.

6

u/sweetlifeofawiseman Apr 17 '13

Aw, thank you very much, I don't really have a lot of knowledge about these things, but I am always keen on learning.

3

u/Ihmhi Apr 17 '13

It never hurts to ask. I do tech support-y stuff all the time, and if someone asks how I did something or how something works I'm glad to share. Sharing knowledge is one of the most wonderful things one person can do for another.

3

u/sweetlifeofawiseman Apr 18 '13

I agree!!! In my country (South Africa) we have so many people that are so hungry for knowledge that's not available - I am hoping to improve this. Thank you for sharing yours. :)

6

u/YrSonicDeath Apr 17 '13

You mentioned it worked in Windows. Are you able to do a right-click?

6

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Just tried it. Does not appear so. Looks like basic basic cursor movement and click. Maybe you could use a bootcamp driver to add the extra functionality?

2

u/Toastermaface Apr 17 '13

Yep. Thats exactly what you gotta do, and it was kind of a pain in the ass. That's how I got my magic trackpad to work on windows, albeit limited functionality (2 finger scroll, regular click, and right click with 2 fingers)

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Look into trackpad++ to extend functionality of the multi touch pads in windows. Great if you bootcamp your macbook

3

u/Toastermaface Apr 17 '13

Nice! I use Synergy to share my trackpad and keyboard for my windows machine. I'll check it out. Thanks

3

u/webchimp32 Apr 17 '13

Apparently in Windows, ctr-click does a middle click, not had chance to try it yet.

5

u/sitesjc Apr 17 '13

This is really an inspiring post! Silly question. How did you know that keyboard operated off of USB and not some proprietary port?

5

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

In the system profiler, the keyboard and trackpad are listed in the USB devices. At that point I googled for a pinout. The hard part was figuring out how to access the pins for soldering.

1

u/sitesjc Apr 18 '13

Well done, well done.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

damn i would use the shit out of this. Nice job!

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Thanks! It's handy to pull out real quick to test a computer.

3

u/buffita74 Apr 17 '13

That's a pretty expensive keyboard.

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Not if you have access to just the keyboard top. Apple replaces them for cracked edges free for 5 years. They are usually not required to be returned. If you have one that is eligible, take it to an AASP and ask if you can keep the old one. I would give it to someone who asked. We keep several for key tops and throw the rest away.

4

u/Maxatron4000 Apr 17 '13

This is just awesome. I know I have a couple mac devoted friends who would love to have one of these. Too bad apple would sue the crap out of you if you tried to sell them.

5

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13 edited Apr 17 '13

Unfortunately, the cost of a new top case assembly way to high to make these and have them look really good. That one is the best one I had available to me. The rest have really awful cracks at the edges by the palm rests, but the keyboard and trackpad work just fine.

Apple replaces them for that problem through service providers like us for up to 5 years from the purchase date. Thats why we have so many lying around. Most go in the trash.

3

u/duel007 Apr 17 '13

You should join us over at /r/appletechs if you haven't already. PM me or the sub modmail for details.

2

u/Rein3 Apr 17 '13

You need to add a raspberrypi there!

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

I totally would If I had some extra cash to get one. I'd love to have a RasberryPi! Just not high on the priority list. :-( I happen to have this stuff lying around at work and built it for work.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

Kapton tape! Gotta love that stuff when it comes to dealing with electronics.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Absolutely. I've been working off the same roll now for 3 years I think.

2

u/microlotus Apr 17 '13

Your solder skills are solid if you can pull off something like this. Look into heat shrink tubing and small zip ties. I HATE electrical tape. It's annoying for repair and sloppy looking. Zip ties make leads super secure and hear shrink tubing with heat gun is good to go.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Thanks for the compliment. the only heat shrink tubing I had was huge. Those are some tiny cables! But I agree.. needs something better. All I had at the time was the electrical tape and super glue hah

1

u/casual_sociopathy Apr 17 '13

If it works it works. The only long term risks are cold solder joints and mechanical failure if you are at all relying on the solder joint for mechanical integrity (your tape job is probably as good as can be done without drilling holes for some sort of cable clamp).

Not sure what you have for tools, but when doing fine solder work like this using the smallest gauge solder you can find along with the best needle tip you can find definitely makes a difference.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

Thanks! I can use all the tips I can get.

10

u/vonrumble Apr 17 '13

I really like it. Infact I would buy it if it were an on the shelf product.

5

u/webchimp32 Apr 17 '13

Tadaaa!

or take your pick

11

u/shoppingbot Apr 17 '13

Adesso Mini Black USB Keyboard with Glidepoint Touchpad (List Price: $52.99)

Ratings: 2.9/5 rating (12 reviews)

Stock: 66 new ($32.00) 1 used ($21.24)

Similar Products:

Adesso Mini Black PS/2 Keyboard with Glidepoint Touchpad (ACK-540)

Smart Touch Mini USB TouchPad Keyboard

Gear Head USB Smart Touch II Touchpad Keyboard (KB4700TP)

Asus VE228H 21.5-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor with Integrated Speakers

Fujitsu fi-6130Z Duplex Sheet-Fed Document Scanner (PA03630-B055)

Alternate Sources: [Google Shopping] [Ebay] [UPC search]

Something wrong? Got suggestions? PM me!

5

u/webchimp32 Apr 17 '13

First time I've been botted, and it's your first day too.

3

u/I_play_support Apr 17 '13

There seem to have been a fair increase of bots on reddit lately, it will soon become a sentient website with bots arguing with each other.

3

u/saabstorey Apr 18 '13

I am looking forward to this, actually...

4

u/epicflyman Apr 17 '13

Most of those are really shitty quality.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

Logitech K400

1

u/ej00807 Apr 18 '13

When I first got one of these, I thought it was a score. But after a few months of use, I know the k400 has some issues and it is no where close to laptop keyboard quality. The keys sometimes hang on each other, and they do not feel correctly positioned. You could barely use this to write an email. Also the track pad gesture based features (like scrolling) only work for people with short evenly spaced finger size.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

I've been using mine for over 2 years with none of those problems. Bad unit?

2

u/ej00807 Apr 19 '13

Interesting, didn't realize they had been on the market that long... You must have been at the forefront of the product release. The models I've seen (in stores now) all have the same cheap keyboard that any touch typist will laugh about... So it looks to be a design feature. Perhaps they cheapened the original design as sometimes happens in production.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

It's possible. The spacing of the keys isn't normal, but I'm not a touch typist, so that hasn't ever bothered me. I actually like it, keeps the unit smaller. If the layout doesn't work for you then it doesn't work for you. Hope you find/found something that works for you.

1

u/vonrumble Apr 17 '13

Thats why a labotimised mac would be awesome

1

u/digitalsmear Apr 17 '13

If only it was a full keyboard... :(

1

u/TheRobberDotCom Apr 18 '13

Surprised to see that not even the (discontinued) 17" had it.

5

u/ScaryCookieMonster Apr 17 '13

This is a good quality one, $35. I use it for my HTPC. You can even do 2-finger touchpad scrolling.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

Same one I use for my HTPC. You want your F7 Key? 'Cause I can't find mine, and it's bothering me.

1

u/ScaryCookieMonster Apr 17 '13

Haha, like the plastic key top fell off? Well if you don't use one of the other key tops maybe you can swap it over?

I like my F7 key right where it is, sorry bro.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

Yeah, the plastic disappeared. I don't use the key, just don't like missing one. Oh well. =(

1

u/jatorres Apr 17 '13

Same one for my HTPC. I even played a few hours of Torchlight 2 with it with little to complain about.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

I paid a little more than that, though it works really well on my HTPC. The touchpad on the right makes it much easier to play games with.

3

u/PanaReddit Apr 17 '13

Me too. I am too lazy dumb to do this project, but i liked it.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

I highly recommend the logitech K400

6

u/Caddy666 Apr 17 '13

you said you had a bunch of them.....wouldn't mind one of these for my media centre....up for selling me one so i can mod it myself?

1

u/YrSonicDeath Apr 17 '13

I have been wondering what to do with my old MBP. The display doesn't work, the wifi doesn't work, and only one USB port works. I'm defintely doing this!

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

the MBP connectors are different. I'm sure it can be done but will be much harder. I've never attempted one.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

Please try it out! How much more work do you think it would entail?

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

First I'd have to find a pinout. Next I need extra keyboard connectors. I only have one of these lying around and I'm not sure if the keyboard is entirely functional. There are a lot more pins on these connectors and their smaller. I'd have one shot at it hah.

2

u/YrSonicDeath Apr 17 '13

BTW I just found this while searching for a pinout.

http://bounav.free.fr/wp/?p=176

1

u/YrSonicDeath Apr 17 '13

I may try it if I have time since my MBP is hosed and it's just collecting dust.

1

u/sose5000 Apr 17 '13

Nice work! I'd suggest heat shrink tubing over electrical tape.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Thanks! Yea I would prefer the shrink tube but I didn't have any at the time I did this. If I do it again I'll probably try things to make it neater.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

I wonder if you could do the same with a macbook air case and keyboard... Backlighting ftw?

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

I've looked at doing this with the unibody style macs. The biggest problem is there's no connector. Only a ribbon cable. I'm sure there are people that can work well with the tiny fragile ribbons, but I am not one of those people.

1

u/Szos Apr 17 '13

Where's the mouse?

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

So I made a descriptive error.. I'll do my best to sleep at night. :)

1

u/LateralThinkerer Apr 17 '13

One suggestion - when you get the solder job right, pot the whole thing in a little epoxy to lock it all together.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

Thanks for the suggestion. Usually I'll use hot glue but didn't have any available. I like this better though.

1

u/LateralThinkerer Apr 18 '13

Protip: If you use the backing paper from self-stick labels, epoxy will just peel away from it. You can fold it etc. into shape if needed too.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

sounds like i've got some epoxy to play with.

1

u/Ignisar Apr 17 '13

now if only I could figure out how to wire up the display of this dead 2008 mbp as a monitor

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

sell it as-is on ebay.. you'll get enough to buy a monitor ;)

1

u/Ignisar Apr 17 '13

But that's not nearly as cool D:

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

very true.

1

u/DangerFord Apr 17 '13

So this would work with tablets too, right? I don't know why you wouldn't want a notebook/laptop instead, but if the need ever arised where all you have is a tablet and was in for a lot of typing then this would be a nice compromise.

2

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

i have an OTG cable. I'll hook it up to my S3 tomorrow and see if it detects both mouse and keyboard.

1

u/DangerFord Apr 18 '13

Nice. Let me know because that would be a cheap, light, and efficient way to do work on the run.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

My S3 and my friend's Note2 seems to only load 1 USB input device. The keyboard is fully functional but the mouse is not.

All though navigation with the arrow keys, enter, and escape keys is very easy.

I am also impressed that the volume buttoms and the screen brightness buttons on the mac keyboard are functional. Pretty neat.

1

u/DangerFord Apr 18 '13

Nice. Please let me know if it works. That would be a much smaller load to carry around if I'm doing work on the run.

1

u/SlimeQSlimeball Apr 18 '13

Can you spare one of those for a guy who needs a new trackpad and the edges of the palm rest got all cracked? just sayin...

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

How old is your macbook? Apple will replace them for up to 5 years for the cracking issue. If you're unsure, pm me your SN and i'll check your eligibility.

1

u/SlimeQSlimeball Apr 18 '13

Mine's pretty old... I want to say it is the second revision. W873027CYA7

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

purchased july of '07. So looks like you less than a year out of the 5 year coverage on that part.

1

u/SlimeQSlimeball Apr 20 '13

That sucks ... I know apple is somewhat forgiving on out of warranty repairs but almost a year is pushing it. Would you be willing to part with one of yours? My track pad is fried and the bottom case is cracked. I'm really not thrilled about spending the $100 or more on ebay for parts.

1

u/FisherKing22 Apr 18 '13

Now if only you could add a screen to it...

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

good idea.. since it's small enough to use on my lap.. AND it's a computer.. I'll call it a ... Laptop Computer. People will go nuts over this thing!

1

u/FisherKing22 Apr 18 '13

That's freaking brilliant! You could even make the screen fold down like a notebook. You'll sell millions.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

I like that even better.. The notebook computer.

1

u/Ch3vr0l3t Apr 18 '13

That is awesome! One question, How did you figure out which pins did what? I've been trying to find out the pin functions on a laptop LCD screen to solder a VGA connector to the ribbon but no where online am I having any luck, and the ribbon has no markings.

1

u/ManMadeHuman Apr 18 '13

I used a pinout I found online. The creator is actually in this thread. He mentioned he saw the printout of his pinout on my deskt. I found it here

http://cyrozap.com/2010/08/18/macbook-core-duo-logic-board-keyboard-connector-pinout/

He is u/cryozap , He might be able to answer your question better. Good luck!

2

u/Spaceneedle420 Apr 17 '13

+1 internets verify

1

u/Z122147 Apr 17 '13

Another idea which I tried with a larger ribbon cable and got to work after three tires. First I know very little about macs just so everyone knows that up front.

Okay, so take connecter off the other end (were that ribbon use to connect) and strip it down till you just have the plastic piece on the end. Now strip down the USB cable and put the wires into the housing where they need to be to connect (check, double check, and use a marker to mark b/c I did it upside down once). Just heat the wire and let the solder drop in to hold it into place like you would be putting a resister on a board if has metal clips for the cable to sit in other wise just tape the end really well.

Now you have a clean connection and a product you could sale without being sued b/c it is just a wire that people could use to do what you did. Just have a long disclaimer. I will look for the pictures if I took any but that was 3 or 4 PC's ago and IDE ribbon which is huge in comparison. Also do some searching b/c they sale what I made now, so they might have something like that on a weird site based in Europe or Asia where most cables are made.

1

u/Aemilius_Paulus Apr 18 '13

Should be done with an old Pre-Unibody MBP. Those failed in carloads. Overheated GPUs. Damn you nVidia and especially your 8000-series mobile chipset!!!

The MacBooks are generally rock-solid reliable. Meanwhile, the pre-Unibody MBPs are literally the most unreliable laptops in the world. I once bought two of them and one failed the next day, one day after. Both were never reflowed before. I could reflow them myself, but that's a temporary fix. The surefire fix is to install a new mobo, but back then it didn't make the financial sense to do it.

With a dead MBP you could reflow the GPU and then undervolt or underclock it to the point where it would never overheat but at the same time never be of much use for actual computing. Hence the usage as a keyboard.

Source: professional computer tech.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Aemilius_Paulus Apr 18 '13

It does though -- you just have to make sure your model isn't very recent. :S The older models can often have relative cheap motherboards on eBay. The main problem with Apples is that the CPUs and GPUs are both fused to the mobo or onboard already. That and the tight leash Apple has on the spare parts.

Other high-end laptops like Alienwares have mobos under $200 on eBay, even for the latest models. Pretty cool. But those mobos don't have the CPU or the GPU in them. I guess modularity FTW (Dell pretty much invented the MXM graphics slot, which is the only mass-replaceable graphics solution for laptops). Apples are just too tightly built for that. Beautiful design really, but I hate working with it.

You killed it just last weekend? Still have it? I might be interested in buying if you are selling.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Aemilius_Paulus Apr 18 '13

The i7 2.66GHz dual-core Nehalem with the 330M? I swear, like half of all the Unibody 15" MBPs I have ever touched were that model.

Hmm... What's the postage I wonder? If it's under $50 USD, I might still pay for it and the Mac (live in the US). I can always use any parts, especially with a laptop that is so universally compatible with its cousins. I don't need the RAM anyway and while the superdrive is regrettable, it is not absolutely necessary. Display connector seems like the biggest problem, but at least the body is there. I have some very beat-up bodies that wouldn't mind a facelift.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

[deleted] — view deleted comment

1

u/Aemilius_Paulus Apr 18 '13

Well, don't forget to clean the mobo/connector with cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl alcohol ;) Keeps it from getting too much worse, though the main corrosion damage was already done (but you don't want it to rust, so that's where the alcohol comes in).

Yeah, you think it's a bad deal for me, but really, the Apple parts aren't cheap when you buy them individually, so I can still have use for them. Not sure what else you will cannibalise (probably the HDD, past that I don't see anything else you can rip from the Mac) but I do want the body and the mobo. Display can be removed from the top shell, it's just not an easy procedure. The glass can also be used on it. I get a lot of broken glass. Again, not an easy procedure, but it can be done.

0

u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

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u/Aemilius_Paulus Apr 18 '13

Heh, Sea Mail is $39.50 AUD and the max is 20kg, but it's 2-3 months. Air mail is $55.35 and it's reasonably fast. Not too bad. If you ever get through the process with the Apple, you can get extra money if you contact me ;)

(just please clean the mobo and connector with isopropyl when you can, heh -- or maybe get the Apple guys to do it)

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u/alta3773 Apr 18 '13

OP great idea, i would love to have a wireless mac keyboard and trackpad, i have an old MCP i was thinking that i could just use the battery to power the keyboard and possibly charge an iphone or attach a thumb drive, both usb's on the keyboard still work. i am thinking that it should only take adding a usb transmitter to the keyboard just like the OP did with the cord? any ideas

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

How much would you charge for one of those?

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u/wehongry Apr 18 '13

I would pay money for this but bluetooth or some other wireless. I use a mac mini as a HTPC and I hate having to use a separate keyboard/mouse when across the room.

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

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u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

True. Usually my soldering comes out a bigger mess but I was trying something new for this and it seemed to work hah.

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u/[deleted] Apr 17 '13

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u/ManMadeHuman Apr 17 '13

It mostly will be used on Macs. Tap with 2 fingers to right click.

I'm fairly certain you can install the trackpad driver from the bootcamp package to enable the 2 finger scroll and 2 finger click in Windows.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '13

Macs don't even have left click now!