Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

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BarbeWire
 
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Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by BarbeWire »

Hi!

I want to build something like this (http://handheldsci.com/kb).
Is this posible with some adafruit bluetooth board?

I dont need the PS/2 port. Its just to connect a USB keyboard to a PC.
This way I can type with my mechanical keyboard while sitting on the couch.

I have no idea were to start. I would be glad for any hints, links or help.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

You would need a microcontroller to handle the USB side of things. You can do what you want with an Arduino Micro and an Adafruit EZ-Key. Run the Keyboard library on the Micro to get ascii keystrokes from the keyboard. Then write the ascii to the EZ-Key to transmit the keystroke

BarbeWire
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by BarbeWire »

Sounds good. Is there any information on how much input lag this will cause, compared to a direct USB connection?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

No idea. But I wouldn't expect too much lag.

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Kmannarbor
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by Kmannarbor »

I'm looking to convert my mechanical keyboard to bluetooth as well. I'm wondering if the Adafruit Feather M0 Bluefruit LE would be appropriate because I plan to use this with the rpi zero w inside the case of the keyboard and I'm pretty certain that the USB/OTG will not provide the necessary 5v to power the keyboard. If the Adafruit Feather M0 Bluefruit LE is appropriate, I plan to use a lipoly battery to power the keyboard and another 5v source for the rpi zero w. I would also mod the keyboard case to accommodate the HDMI port and the usb charging ports for the Adafruit Feather M0 Bluefruit LE and the rpi zero w battery. Would the Adafruit Feather M0 Bluefruit LE be appropriate to add bluetooth and power to the keyboard?

Thanks!

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

The Feather doesn't have a booster. It won't give you 5V from a battery.
You need a PowerBoost
https://www.adafruit.com/product/468?q=powerboost&p=2&

Not sure you need the Pi Zero. Seems you could just use a feather BLE and a powerboost to do the whole thing.

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Kmannarbor
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by Kmannarbor »

Thanks rick! Could I use any feather? For instance the feather bleufruit le uart friend? Also, are there any resources for how I would wire the feather to the keyboard?

Thanks again.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Bluetooth / WUSB Keyboard Adapter

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Oh, wait - sorry - this is a USB keyboard, right?

In that case, then you *would* need the Pi Zero, since you couldn't attach the USB to a feather.
So, what you would do is use a Bluefruit SPI friend (not a UART Friend), and a powerboost charger to get the 5V from your battery (and to charge the battery):

https://www.adafruit.com/product/2633
https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1944

The Pi would read the keyboard input, and send it out to the Bluefruit.

This is where there's a bit of a problem. We have a BLE Python library, but it doesn't have HID support in it. It just does UART. The SPI Friend supports HID alright, but you'd have to do something with the python library to add HID support. I don't know what that would involve.
https://learn.adafruit.com/bluefruit-le ... y/overview
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Python_BluefruitLE

It would be MUCH easier to do this with a PS/2 keyboard, if you have one of those available.

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