During research on a new keyboard I purchased I found a tech review of an engineering pre release sample which referenced to some multicolored LEDs that were under each keycap. I knew that the production models didn’t have the LED features, but other models from the same manufacturer did, so when I received my keyboard my first step was to open it up and see just how much of the implementation was still included.
Thankfully not much has changed from the research I did and everything looked to be in place. The keyboard was designed to use surface mounted diodes(SMD) that would sit on the bottom of the keyboard shining up through the keycaps. The issue here was the keycaps being used were a solid black plastic and not clear so no light would shine through and the LEDs would be muted. Coming up with an alternative solution I discovered that the keycaps did have a spot on the top of them to allow in rectangular LEDs. They could not be multicolored so I decided on a clear white and ordered a package of them. Testing on a single keycap I ran the LED through the keycap and soldered it to the power and red signal line. After reassembling enough to do some testing I followed instructions for a similar model keyboard and thankfully the keyboards firmware did have the included instructions for driving the LED. I then finished soldering the remainder of the LEDs in and have enjoyed this custom modification.
“Raindrop” effect
"Chevron" effect