Hacking Apple A1048 Keyboard

by Les Pounder



Confession - I love early 2000s Apple design asthetics. So when I had the chance to own an A1048 mechanical keyboard...I jumped at the chance.

The keyboard itself was a little unloved, being left in a storage rooms for years. So I took it home and photographed it as it was, before the great restoration / hacking project begins.

So what do I need to do?

  • Remove all of the keys
  • Wash all of the keys
  • Restore ice white colour to keys using Hydrogen Peroxide
  • Vacuum the case to remove muck
  • Take keyboard apart
  • Clean everything!

What do I want to do after?

I would love to steal power from one of the two USB ports at the rear of the keyboard, and use that to power an Arduino that is controlling a series of neopixels...giving me a nice glowing keyboard.

Keep an eye on the blog for updates, and pics on my Twitter account