USB keyboard ?

[RogerS]

We know this about USB:

-the USB device has to be self-powered (e.g., battery- or AC-powered. Note: many USB hubs describe themselves as "self"-powered to mean "bus"-powered)

- the 770 has a type Mini B USB jack (eg, "female"); at least I think it's called a Mini B. You can see a converter at store.yahoo.com/abccables-store/ca-000306.html (http://store.yahoo.com/abccables-store/ca-000306.html)

Type A female to Mini B male gender converter
http://us.st11.yimg.com/store1.yimg.com/I/abccables-store_1870_18861652

I guess you could use a converter to get into the Nokia 770.

Does anyone know any USB keyboards that work with the 770? Does anyone know of any battery-powered (or AC-powered) USB keyboards?

[bhima]

I've never seen a battery powered USB keyboard.

From my testing, it would appear that most devices that include their own power supplies still don't work without at least a little bit of power from the USB bus - I've tried a hub with an external power supply, a digital camera, and a wall powered USB CD burner. My 770 was in host mode, with a correct cable, but it failed to work with them.

My theory is that the bus interface circuitry is powered off the USB host no matter what. I'll be doing some more testing to see if that's the case - I haven't wired up an external 5v power supply to the USB bus yet.

[RogerS]

I've got to say I'm surprised that those ac-powered USB devices didn't work. I was thinking a battery-powered USB hub would make for some neat capabilities. Counting my chickens before they were hatched, I guess.

[meshsmooth]

http://www.darkain.com/nintendo_ds/usbcable.php Here is someone taking the plunge with there Nintendo DS cables. But after someone gets a powered USB hub connected and plugs in there 770 and keyboard. Will it need a driver? Someone who already has a 770 needs to do this test. i am still waiting for it to be finish being delivered into my sisters hands on the other side of the world, then be sent to me on this side.

[lbattraw]

I finally got it working after re-reading the posts here-- you must supply power to both the USB device (keyboard, flash drive, etc.) and the 770. If the 770 USB power lead isn't connected to 5V+ it doesn't know anything is plugged in. Once I did that it was all good. I have a mini 4-port USB 2.0 hub (not that the 770 is USB 2.0, but it was what Walmart had) and it works great. I have one port used up because I have a USB cable end plugged in to steal power from the hub for waking up the 770; the black and red wires are connected to the 770's. Using an older 48MB flash card it writes at about 300KB/sec ("time dd if=/dev/zero of=testfile_on_flash bs=1024k count=20" was what I tested with-- a 20MB file is created). Nothing amazing, but definitely usable.

[mk500]

I finally got it working after re-reading the posts here-- you must supply power to both the USB device (keyboard, flash drive, etc.) and the 770. If the 770 USB power lead isn't connected to 5V+ it doesn't know anything is plugged in. Once I did that it was all good. I have a mini 4-port USB 2.0 hub (not that the 770 is USB 2.0, but it was what Walmart had) and it works great. I have one port used up because I have a USB cable end plugged in to steal power from the hub for waking up the 770; the black and red wires are connected to the 770's. Using an older 48MB flash card it writes at about 300KB/sec ("time dd if=/dev/zero of=testfile_on_flash bs=1024k count=20" was what I tested with-- a 20MB file is created). Nothing amazing, but definitely usable.

That's cool that you got it working! Have you tried a keyboard yet? What devices have you tried other than the memory card?

[RogerS]

I have one port used up because I have a USB cable end plugged in to steal power from the hub for waking up the 770; the black and red wires are connected to the 770's.
This doesn't quite make sense to me -- are you saying that you don't have a plain cable from the hub to the 770? (Plain in the sense that it's like the one to the PC, or uses a gender bender if that's needed.)

If you're connecting wires directly, what the heck do you mean "the 770's [red and black wires]"?

Can you take a picture of this just so we can see?

And try out a USB keyboard, please!

[lbattraw]

I ran down to Fry's Electronics and picked up a BTC "ultra-slim" USB keyboard for $19.95. I plugged it in and it just works without any goofing around. What's even better is when you click on or select text input fields on web pages the onscreen keyboard doesn't pop up-- very nice.

Now for some issues.... Opera doesn't seem to understand pgup/pgdn; the arrow keys work the same as the 770's D-pad. When typing on the keyboard the power-saving functions that dim the screen/etc. don't recognize the keyboard input as activity, so it will turn itself off eventually whether you're typing or not. I expect a plugin of some sort could fix that.

Abiword works flawlessly! It understands all the normal keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl-S to save, pgup/down, ctrl+shift+arrow keys to highlight text, etc. Truly a pleasure to use. F4 brings up the normal pulldown menu for file/tools/etc. F5 will minimize and switch back to the "desktop" screen. Alt-tab switches back to fullscreen. Sweet!

As far as hooking up this beast... A USB cable has four colored wires and a braided shield (see http://pinouts.ru/data/USB_pinout.shtml at the bottom of the page). To get this to work I hacked off the male end of a USB extension cable. I then hacked off the male end of a male USB->mini USB cable like the one that ships with the 770 and connected each wire from the extension cable to the mini-USB cable (red->red, black->black, etc.). This does not work by itself, since the 770 and USB device require power. I re-hooked the red and black wires of male end of the USB->mini USB cable up to my existing red/black connections, leaving the white and green wires of the male connector unconnected. Plugging the male connector into a USB hub provides power for the 770 interface and keyboard. Confused yet? Here's some pictures. http://lbattraw.home.insightbb.com/770_wires.jpg and http://lbattraw.home.insightbb.com/770_full_setup.jpg
WARNING: very large pictures for detail, 2.5MB apiece

Larry

[bsarsgard]

Great work, lbattraw! You could probably wire an even simpler supply off a battery pack instead of the usb-hub (assuming you get the voltage right), since all it appears to be doing is supplying power (right?). Just take the two male cable ends (1 mini and 1 normal), and splice the battery pack in the middle. A little solder & electrical tape to secure things, and you've got a portable powered USB keyboard!

[lbattraw]

Yep, already thought of that. My ideal would be to hack off the USB keyboard cable and put a mini-USB-ended cable on with the appropriate batteries connected at the keyboard. Probably need to add a switch for that matter to avoid draining the batteries the entire time. That way there would only be a single cable to plug directly into the 770. I was at Walmart today and they sell a "PSP USB" cable that is really just a mini-USB->USB male cable like the Nokia one. The cool thing it's only $5, so you can afford to hack away with having to buy expensive cables.

Incidentally I'm just finishing up the initial mke2fs of the 30G USB hard drive I have hooked up. I purchased a USB enclosure for a laptop drive at Fry's ($20) and thought it would really be cool to have a "man-sized" bit of storage for the 770 :-)

[RogerS]

As far as hooking up this beast... A USB cable has four colored wires and a braided shield (see http://pinouts.ru/data/USB_pinout.shtml at the bottom of the page). To get this to work I hacked off the male end of a USB extension cable. I then hacked off the male end of a male USB->mini USB cable like the one that ships with the 770 and connected each wire from the extension cable to the mini-USB cable (red->red, black->black, etc.). This does not work by itself, since the 770 and USB device require power. I re-hooked the red and black wires of male end of the USB->mini USB cable up to my existing red/black connections, leaving the white and green wires of the male connector unconnected. Plugging the male connector into a USB hub provides power for the 770 interface and keyboard.
If I understand the photo right, as well as your description, you've got a regular 770-to-PC cable connected to the 770 and to the USB hub, which you then cut in two. And you've got a USB extender cable connected to the keyboard's cable, and you've cut off the extender's male end. (Obviously that means you can use this connection with any other USB device.)

After you cut the 770-to-USB hub cable in two, you connected both red wires with the red wire of the cable to the keyboard, and then the same for black.

Then you connected the green wire from the 770-connected cable to the green wire of the keyboard cable, and likewise the white. You left the USB hub-connected green and white ends unconnected.

And of course the USB hub has AC power. (Presumably the battery-powered USB hub from Cyberpower would work too.)

I think all I've done is describe the cables by what they connect to, instead of what type of USB end they have -- easier for me to follow, especially with the photo.

This all makes sense. But there's one part of this whole situation I don't understand. I accept that you need to do this, but I'm confused about why, if the USB hub is supplying power to both the keyboard and the 770, plugging both the 770 and the keyboard into the hub doesn't work.

Appreciate your clarifying that for me.

Roger

[Mike Cane]

Man, all these wires STSOM! You expect someone with a silly phobia like mine -- *fear of electrocution!!!* -- to diddle around like that?

And. geez, seeing that keyboard next to the wee 770 made me laugh!!!

Aren't there smaller keyboards? (Aside from Stowaway/ThinkAhead BT!)

[RealNitro]

Yep, already thought of that. My ideal would be to hack off the USB keyboard cable and put a mini-USB-ended cable on with the appropriate batteries connected at the keyboard. Probably need to add a switch for that matter to avoid draining the batteries the entire time. That way there would only be a single cable to plug directly into the 770. I was at Walmart today and they sell a "PSP USB" cable that is really just a mini-USB->USB male cable like the Nokia one. The cool thing it's only $5, so you can afford to hack away with having to buy expensive cables.What about making that PSP USB cable really short (cut a piece out), and attach the battery to it. That way you would be able to connect any usb-device to your tablet.

[lbattraw]

<snip>
This all makes sense. But there's one part of this whole situation I don't understand. I accept that you need to do this, but I'm confused about why, if the USB hub is supplying power to both the keyboard and the 770, plugging both the 770 and the keyboard into the hub doesn't work.

Appreciate your clarifying that for me.

Roger

The problem is that the USB hub only supports host->peripheral communication, not peripheral ->peripheral. I tried it and it doesn't do anything. It would be ideal if it was more like an network hub that allowed all ports to talk to each other, but that's not the case. Here's a diagram for of my setup for those who had trouble with the pictures:

http://lbattraw.home.insightbb.com/770_plan.png

What I haven't show is an alternate setup where the 770 plugs into the hub master port so you can connect more than one device. It's just a matter of taking a mini-USB->male cable and plugging the male end into the female end of the the wire going to the 770 (still need the male cable plugged into the hub for power though) and the mini-plug into the hub.

Larry

[lbattraw]

Man, all these wires STSOM! You expect someone with a silly phobia like mine -- *fear of electrocution!!!* -- to diddle around like that?

And. geez, seeing that keyboard next to the wee 770 made me laugh!!!

Aren't there smaller keyboards? (Aside from Stowaway/ThinkAhead BT!)

:-) I wasn't planning on leaving it like that; it was easier to see the wires that way. I have tried a _lot_ of PDA keyboards with various devices, ranging from rigid ones for my old Palm Pilot Pro that it sat on, to foldable ones like the Stowaway, to IR foldable versions with those terrible little cradles and reflectors. In my book they all stink for one reason or other, although with the exception of the rigid keyboard they are all roughly pocket-sized.

Pocket-sized is very overrated as I usually have a backpack with my gear in it. This keyboard is not only rather small compared to a normal 104-sized keyboard, but it is also very thin (as thick the 770 in its case as its thickest point). Thus, in my bag it doesn't take up much room. It's very pleasant to type on, with a springy action and muted click, and the keys are normally spaced so there's no relearning curve. I'm not crazy about the extra real-estate taken up by the buttons across the top for power/volume/etc., although it would be interesting to get them working.

Then there's the price: $20 and easy to find, vs. $70 or more for a BT keyboard that may or may not work with the 770. If you can splice cables you can have virtually any USB keyboard working with the 770, no software required, on the cheap.

Just my 2 cents...
Larry

[MrNape]

first i really want to say thanks for the great usb plan.

i build it up at home now but it doesnt work. ;o(

im quite sure i connected everything wright, because if plug in a male 2 male cable and connect the computer instead of the keyboard the 770 gets recognized absolutly normal.

if i plugin the usb keyboard in the 770 absolutly nothing happens ....
is it possible that the problem is that i'm in service mode to become root???

i will try starting in normal mode, but i really dont think that's the problem .

so please tell me if you have aany ideas what can be wrong ??

wich non standard software packages you have installed.......


hope help is coming cheers sebastian

[fpp]

Maybe a silly question, but : have you flashed the unit to enable USB host mode ?

[MrNape]

i didn't flash it for usb host mode do i have to?


and if yes how can i do this?

was there something i have forgotten to read in the future posts????

Thanks Sebastian

[lbattraw]

If you're running Linux and have the flasher utility, it's a matter of:
./flasher --enable-rd-mode --enable-usb-host-mode

A word of warning though: your PC will no longer recognize the 770 as a mass storage device to copy files to until you disable host mode with the flasher utility. Here's a link to a discussion here on ITT about host mode:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-186.html
and here is a FAQ: http://maemo.org/maemowiki/FrequentlyAskedQuestions#head-54a3382efe81c6eb28ffd3e11f6f856b3c74595f

Of particular note is the fact that you must switch the 770 off (with the power button) and power it on with the USB cable connected to the PC (the PC must be running the flasher and waiting for the 770 to connect). That, and the power cable cannot be connected or the 770 will never power off. I didn't catch that the first time and couldn't figure out why it didn't work.

Larry

[lbattraw]

I stopped by Fry's again last night and found they carry a $3.99 Female->Female USB gender changer. It's quite small and allows two male cables to be connected... Like the Nokia Male-Mini cable and a keyboard. I opened up the keyboard and attached two wires to the board inside for power (where the USB cable was connected internally). I fed the two wires out that same hole the USB cable comes out, add four AAA (rechargeable NimH) batteries and presto! No more scarey rats-nest of cables. The only downside is now I have about 8 feet of cable between the Nokia and keyboard cables to coil up. I specifically recommend rechargeables since they put out a lower voltage; 4 X 1.25V per cell = 5V required to run USB stuff.

Larry

[MrNape]

thanks a lot, i didn't recognize before that i have to go in to host mode, stupid me ;o)

but now its working and i got a keyboard and a usb harddisk connected to my lovely 770.

my first impressions:
keyboard works fine, but sometimes it repeats one pressed button 7 times?
someone else has recognized this behavior?
usb harddisk also works fine, but be aware of mountig a 200gb harddisk into the users mydoc directory, the file manager seems to search thrue the whole harddisk, and doesnt responde for a 1 coffee and 2 cigarettes time.

but again thanks a lot, and i really have to says, this community is working great.
and so my 770 becomes more and more fun..


Sebastian

[meshsmooth]

dose anybody want to post photos of there solutions?
Do you think it would be able to, at some stage hack a utility to enable and disable host mode without rebooting? or even set a value in an application to go into host mode on next reboot? This would make it more flexible when on the move and you want to plug into PC's and use USB devices but cant get back to a computer where you can run the flasher utility to re-enable host mode. Say your out with your USB devices and the 770 crashes. then you cant use them until you get home. If it was a difficult to swap between host and slave modes and you had a USB “thumbdrive” you would have the means to input files over USB in a way.

[bigboote]

I rigged up a keyboard using the info from this thread. I think this is a more elegant solution, although it requires a little soldering. Here's what I did:

Ingredients (from Frys):
- BTC 6100 ultra-slim USB keyboard
- Vakoss USB mini hub (m# TC-212-AS)
- USB A to USB B mini converter

Opened up the Vakoss hub, and poked around with my Radio Shack continuity tester until I found solderable spots on the board for 1) +5V power, and 2) the power line back to the 770 (i.e., pin 1). I then soldered a wire (orange in the attached pic) onto the board to connect these two.

Then I enabled host mode, and pluged it in. Worked right off the bat!

There are several advantages to this rig:
- you get to plug and power more than one device from the hub.
- you could plug a 5V battery source into the hub to make it portable.
- it looks slick: the Vakoss and keyboard are the same metal/black color scheme as the 770!

[RealNitro]

Great work! :eek:

[fpp]

Months before the 770 actually shipped, once it was known USB host mode was available but unpowered, this gentleman had designed and tested the following hack (using a 9V battery instead of 3x1.5): http://spect.ath.cx/~spect/stuff/usb-power/
It would be interesting to combine your hub idea and his portable power source !

[gareth]

Good stuff everybody, I am probably going to get a big hub box like bigboote's and put in a voltage regulator (probably some switching type) and then have a line to the 770 too, so the whole lot can be powered from a car or a lead acid battery or whatever.

Gareth

[bigboote]

A few questions:

1) How do you get the 770 to mount a USB HD, and has anyone gotten it to mount a USB thumbdrive? I tried a thumbdrive and it doesn't seem to autdetect/mount, so do I have to issue a mount command in xterm?

2) Is there a way to prevent the screen from dimming? I thought I saw a comment about this somewhere, but the ITT forum is getting so big I can't find it again!

3) I know this sounds insane, but has anyone heard of a way to get a USB mouse to work? Would be nifty when using the 770 with the keyboard for word processing, etc.

[MrNape]

it is possible, i already did it.

* you have to be root (flash in root mode, in xterm type: sudo gainroot)
* you have to mount the harddisk in xterm:
make a directory like /hdd cmd: "mkdir /hdd"
mount the harddisk/ thumbdrive by typing: "mount /dev/sda1 /hdd" (normal it gets loaded as /dev/sda1, but it also can be /dev/sdb1 the number is the partition on the harddisk )
after you mounted the drive you can't the anything in the filemanager, and its good so. because if you mount a 200gb harddisk in the user directory your file manager will take 20 minutes to show all folders.
* then make a symlink of the folder you want to use to your homedirectory for using it with the filemanger (for instance your mp3 folder):
"ln -s /hdd/mp3 /home/user/MyDocs/"
now you should see the mp3 folder if you open the filemanager

I hope i have written als commands correct i dont have a linux box here in office.

This should work the same way with the thumbdrive.

Hope this was helpfull

Sebastian

[bigboote]

it is possible, i already did it.

* you have to be root (flash in root mode, in xterm type: sudo gainroot)
* you have to mount the harddisk in xterm:
make a directory like /hdd cmd: "mkdir /hdd"
mount the harddisk/ thumbdrive by typing: "mount /dev/sda1 /hdd" (normal it gets loaded as /dev/sda1, but it also can be /dev/sdb1 the number is the partition on the harddisk )
after you mounted the drive you can't the anything in the filemanager, and its good so. because if you mount a 200gb harddisk in the user directory your file manager will take 20 minutes to show all folders.
* then make a symlink of the folder you want to use to your homedirectory for using it with the filemanger (for instance your mp3 folder):
"ln -s /hdd/mp3 /home/user/MyDocs/"
now you should see the mp3 folder if you open the filemanager


I tried your suggestions last night and unfortunately the thumbdrive does not appear as "/dev/sda1" or "/dev/sdb1", or anything I can see. I tried various combinations of plugging before/after booting, etc.

BTW: This thumbdrive is detected and automounted by my Ubuntu desktop. Also, for the 770, I'm plugging the thumbdrive into my hacked powered hub, next to my USB keyboard.

Later, I'll try a USB hard drive I have. Maybe flash drives don't announce themselves to the OS properly?

Any ideas?

John

[bigboote]

Followup to the USB thumbdrive question:

After re-flashing my 770 (system was somehow corrupted), I was able to mount the USB thumbdrive as per Sebastian's instructions (it showed as /dev/sda1).

It is not hot-swappable: you have to boot the 770 with the thumbdrive plugged in to the USB hub. Also, every time you reboot, you have to mount the drive in xterm.

[Cloud8]

bigboote, that hub power hack is exactly what I've been looking for.

Has anyone done that with a Cyberpower 420MP battery powered hub? I bought one to use with a keyboard but I don't have the experience poking around inside electronics to figure out how to hack it myself.
In order for the hack to work, do you have to connect the upstream port to the 5V, or can you connect any port to the 5V and plug the 770 into that? I've looked at some usb specs and diagrams but I can't figure that out. I'm afraid that the points that need soldering might be hidden underneath a small pcb that I can't figure out how to remove so it may not matter anyway. I think if it can be hacked in the way bigboote hacked that Vakoss hub, it'll be the ideal solution for on-the-go 770 usb connectivity. Maybe I can get a picture of the hub's layout later...

[RogerS]

Some years ago, I ran across a shop in NYC that would custom make a cable for you with the specific adaptor ends you needed. Been so long ago now that I don't remember who they were.

Must be other users around who would rather not do the splicing themselves -- does anyone know a shop who would do this for us?

Edited later to add:
I think the place in New York was Cables and Chips. At any rate, there IS a shop by this name in New York now. I've emailed them with specifics to see what they would charge for such a custom cable.

[Mike Cane]

Roger -- I used that place back in the late 80s. Two custom cables. Didn't work. Had the mailroom guy look at them -- soldering was bad! He fixed it and they worked. I can't recall the name right now... when I do, I'll post it.

[bigboote]

bigboote, that hub power hack is exactly what I've been looking for.

Has anyone done that with a Cyberpower 420MP battery powered hub? I bought one to use with a keyboard but I don't have the experience poking around inside electronics to figure out how to hack it myself.
In order for the hack to work, do you have to connect the upstream port to the 5V, or can you connect any port to the 5V and plug the 770 into that? I've looked at some usb specs and diagrams but I can't figure that out. I'm afraid that the points that need soldering might be hidden underneath a small pcb that I can't figure out how to remove so it may not matter anyway. I think if it can be hacked in the way bigboote hacked that Vakoss hub, it'll be the ideal solution for on-the-go 770 usb connectivity. Maybe I can get a picture of the hub's layout later...

If you send me one for Xmas, I can tell you how to hack it...

Consider buying a mini-multimeter from Radio Shack. They're cheap and no nerd should exist without one (and if you're not a nerd, why do you own a 770?). They have a "continuity tester", which means it beeps when you touch both probes to a continuous wire. Very handy for tracing, for example, the circuit path from the upstream USB power pin to a handy solder spot on the board.

And, to answer your question: you need to send power back specifically to the 770, which must be connected to the downstream (ie host) socket.

In case, anyone wants to mess with the Vakoss hub, I've added a closer-up pic to the original post that should make it clear where to solder the wire.

[Mike Cane]

OK, I've caught up on this KB thread. Let me see if I have this correct:

1) A USB keyboard will not work out of the box

2) The 770 must have its Flash modified to enable host mode

3) Even after that, a USB keyboard will not work out of the box

4) A USB hub (only AC-powered ones were mentioned/tried) has to be modified to provide power back to the 770

-or-

5) A set of USB cables have to be modified in such a way that the 770 gets power

This all correct?

I'm disappointed that Nokia didn't think of allowing a USB keyboard. Well, most likely they did and there is some technical reason they decided against it.

As for me, I fondled the Stowaway BT KB -- and hated it. It seesaws on a platform and the keyfeel is too hard. I'd need to fondle the Nokia BT KB before deciding to get it. What I'd *really* like is the USB Zippy 610 KB. It has wonderful keyfeel and their placement seems to be custom-made for my hands. Help! Make this so!

[Simon]

How about these weird little keyboards:

http://www.hackerstickers.com/products/frogpad-mini-keyboard-usb.shtml

They come in both bluetooth and USB. You can type one handed leaving the other hand free for, errr, other stuff I guess :)

[bigboote]

OK, I've caught up on this KB thread. Let me see if I have this correct:

1) A USB keyboard will not work out of the box

2) The 770 must have its Flash modified to enable host mode

3) Even after that, a USB keyboard will not work out of the box

4) A USB hub (only AC-powered ones were mentioned/tried) has to be modified to provide power back to the 770

-or-

5) A set of USB cables have to be modified in such a way that the 770 gets power

This all correct?

I'm disappointed that Nokia didn't think of allowing a USB keyboard. Well, most likely they did and there is some technical reason they decided against it.

As for me, I fondled the Stowaway BT KB -- and hated it. It seesaws on a platform and the keyfeel is too hard. I'd need to fondle the Nokia BT KB before deciding to get it. What I'd *really* like is the USB Zippy 610 KB. It has wonderful keyfeel and their placement seems to be custom-made for my hands. Help! Make this so!

Yep, that's the story, and yeah, it sucks (except for folks with the knowledge to hack around it). One thing that really bugs me about the 770 is how hard it is for regular folk to do some of these simple things.

For example, with my USB hub hack you can use an unaltered USB keyboard, but you still have to run the flasher tool to enable host mode. But for that you need a linux box (there's no Windows version of the flasher, right?), which not many people have. I created a dual boot XP/Linux config just so I could hack on my 770, but I don't think the kind of people the 770 is targeted for would be willing or capable of doing this.

[fpp]

Yes, the lack of a Windows flasher (even a command-line one, which should be enough to keep most clueless users at bay, if that's really what Nokia is afraid of...) is a drag.
OTOH, I expect flashing should work from a Linux LiveCD such as Knoppix, which is less drastic than repartitioning and dual-booting :-)

[Mike Cane]

ARGH! Nokia, please give us mortals USB keyboard ability!

Anyone got that Nokia BT KB? How's its touch?

Live and cold via free 770...

[Mike Cane]

Typing this from the SOHO Apple Store.

I had a brainstorm: *Apple* has a BT keyboard. Could I get that to work with the 770?

No.

1) Open BT Connection
2) Searches and brings up a sh*tload of BT devices
3) Shows the Apple Keyboard
4) Select and click OK
5) It wants a 4-digit passcode entered into the "phone" it is connecting to!
6) HTF do I get *that* into the Apple keyboard?

Result: Failure.

And, yes, I *did* have the BT KB "hack" installed (in fact, I installed it after remembering I hadn't, after the first try to pair with the Apple KB).

Anyone have any clue as to how to make this work?

For God's sake, I do not not NOT want to be limited to that Stowaway BT KB. The keys *suck* and it wobbles!

S.O.S.

edited to add:

BTW, the Apple Store went above and beyond the call of duty to try to make this work. Got a KB from the Genius Bar to try. Contrast that to the eejit salesdroid at J&R who said it would take "several hours" to "requisition" batteries for their demo Apple BT KB. Dope!

Reggie, I think this thread should be a Sticky!

[Mike Cane]

BTW, Roger scooped me. Yes, that place in NYC is called Cables & Chips. It's on Fulton Street. 1-212-619-3132. Near J&R.

[Mike Cane]

This is the keyboard I desperately want to use. It is just bloody wonderful:

http://www.zippy.com.tw/K_product_detail.asp?lv_rfnbr=2&pk_rfnbr=112&pck_rfnbr=9&pk_code=WK-610

[CrossBow]

I have hacked up a really nice USB system for my 770.

Basically, it is a modified $5 USB hub, litterally bolted to a USB battery pack. I hacked the little end off of a USB cable that fit the 770, keeping about 5 inches of wire, and soldered this to the hub instead of the normal cable. I now have a battery powered hub, with the proper connector for the 770. It looks fairly professional, and has no glue. (except for where I broke a plastic tab inside the hub.)

USB Hub $5.00
USB Cable $3.00
USB Battery Pack $10.00
Total cost $18.00

I'll try to send some pictures later.

A few observations:

I also bought a Mini USB keyboard. It is made by logitech, (Intended for PS2). It works with the issues noted below.
I also tested an Apple USB keyboard. Works with the issues noted below.
A Dell keyboard with some funky Media controls at the top, crashes the 770 as soon as it is plugged in.

I have tried several USB Flash drives. All worked fine. I could even plug the USB drive into the hub on the Apple Keyboard.

The keyboards seem to have a fast repeat problem. Almost like keybounce in the old days. This seems to come and go. Sometimes it will be fine for a while, and then it will do something like:
eeeexxxxiiiitttt (when I typed exit.)
I am NOT a slow typist.

It seems like the return (enter) key stops working sometimes. It will instead act like pressing the center of the directional pad. In terminal it usually makes the on-screen keyboard appear and disapear. Ctrl-M continues to work as enter. Unplugging the keyboard and plugging it back in seems to correct the problem.

Keyboard activity does not keep the display from dimming or the 770 from going to sleep. I see that the BT keyboard users have a fix for this. Does the modified libbt.so help for USB keyboards? I though the FAQ said that all keyboard support was done via BlueZ.

Have any others who have hacked up USB keyboard support seen the issues I am seeing, or is it my concoction that is causing the problems?

[Simon]

Have any others who have hacked up USB keyboard support seen the issues I am seeing, or is it my concoction that is causing the problems?
Man it's painful trying to edit that on the 770! Having a scrolling window on a page that scrolls then trying to select text inside of it. I wish the bit I am trying to edit would stay on the screen when the keyboard pops up.

Anyway in answer to your question I will let you know when my USB keyboard arrives and I hack it up! A question though. When you flash USB host mode does the port still behave the same as in slave mode when you connect it to a PC? I mean does it still show up as a drive I can copy to?

[bigboote]

Have any others who have hacked up USB keyboard support seen the issues I am seeing, or is it my concoction that is causing the problems?

I have a similar setup, but I don't use it often. I'd thought the 770 might double as a super portable writing device. Unfortunately, the screen dimmer (why can't you just turn that 'feature' OFF?) and lack of mouse support (stylus sucks for text editing) thwart that ambition. Maybe someday these issues will be resolved...

Have you figured out how to automount USB drives? There must be a place to put a mount command at startup.

Now there's a cool project for you maemo devies: a plugin that scans for and installs new USB devices.

BTW: the BT plugin doesn't seem to keep the screen on for USB kbds.

[CrossBow]

When you flash USB host mode does the port still behave the same as in slave mode when you connect it to a PC? I mean does it still show up as a drive I can copy to?
I'll have to wait to answer this one. I read that it no longer will work this way, but I have not tried it yet, and I do not have my USB cable with me at the moment. IMHO, this is not a big loss, since I prefer Bluetooth for transfering small files and documents (either BT browsing, or sobex). For larger files, I remove my card and insert it in a USB 2.0 card reader. Transfering things like movies is not really tolerable over BT or the USB cable.

Also, I think I have anwered 2 of my other questions:

1. Google'ing around, I found some discussion of keybounce issues with late kernels and certain keyboards. One post I read specifically said that Debian kernels lacked a patch that fixes this. Obviously, we can assume that Nokia did not give this issue much effort on a device that has no official support for USB keyboards.

2. The Return key issue is only with Xterm, and is fixed by re-starting Xterm, not by unplugging and re-plugging the keyboard as I had stated.

[fpp]

USB Hub $5.00
USB Cable $3.00
USB Battery Pack $10.00
Total cost $18.00
I'll try to send some pictures later.

Yes, please do ! Especially the cable-to-hub soldering and the battery pack assembly (does that mean the batteries power the hub and everything connected to it just by plugging its USB plug into the hub ?...)
Looks like a really clean mod, and easier than most preiously published !
TIA,
fp

[CrossBow]

OK. Here it is.

The hub was originally a non-powered version, with no means to power it. However, there were pads marked '+5' and '-'. The +5 was connected to pads for a diode that was not installed in this un-powered model. The diode would have prevented the external +5 (in hubs that supported that) from going back towards the host. I wanted power to go back towards the host, so I simply jumpered the pads. A few quick continuity tests verified that the +5 line was connected through from the upstream (host) to downstream (devices) connectors. I soldered 2 wires to the pads marked '+5' and '-' .

I also de-soldered the host side cable, and soldered on the small end of a cable very similar to the one (and infact worked in place of) that shipped with the 770.

The battery box on the bottom was a device that held 4 "AA" batteries, and had a full size host USB socket on it. It was meant to charge devices that were USB Powered (such as a iPod shuffle), or a Mobilephone by using the appropriate cable. I verified that it did have circuitry to regulate the +5 volts. Output with fresh alkalines is ~4.9 volts. I de-soldered the USB connector, fed the 2 wires through a hole in the bottom of the hub, and through the place where the USB connector used to be. I soldered them to the holes for the +5 and - pins of the now gone USB socket.

The 2 units are held together by small screws that are long enough to penetrate up from the battery pack, and into the USB case, but not long enough to contact the bottom of the hub PC board. Due to the thickness and type of the plastic used on the hub, this is strong enough for me to pick it up by the hub and shake it (professional shaking of course - with batteries installed) without it comming apart. (I only ever use glue as a last resort.)

A few warnings: I don't mean to sound arrogant, but if you do not have the expirience in these sorts of things, and the proper tools, please do not try this.

Your granddad's Weller (you know - the one with the wooden handle, fabric covered power cord, and 1/2 inch wide chisel tip) is NOT the "proper tools" for this.

Be warned that slagging your 770 is a very real possibility.

Another hint: Look at the big (big is used realatively here) electrolytics as an extra step to verify the power paths, and to verify polarity.

In hindsight, it would be better to have the whole thing a little "lower profile" for travelling. I guess this could be done by using a different hub, or by putting the whole thing in a special project case.

I used this several times today, and the only real problem has been the previously mentioned keybounce issue.

[CrossBow]

A couple more picts.

The first is the whole thing in use, and the second is an attempt at showing where the power supply wires run under the hub-board, and down into the battery pack.

[Stickarm]

OK. Here it is.That's awesome! Really nicely done!! Your instructions/explanation seemed very clear as well.

I wonder if there would be anything similar to the '+5' and '-' situation in the circuitry for the keyboard itself. That is, given the success shown here, is there any hope for a homebrew self-powered USB keyboard that can be used with the 770 without the homebrew self-powered USB hub?

[fpp]

It's already been done, in this very thread : look for lbattraw's post at the end of page 2...

[fpp]

Crossbow : thanks a lot indeed for the very detailed explanation & pics.
So in the end you only use the casing and regulating circuitry of the battery box, sacrificing the USB part ?
What do you think of lbattraw's approach of using 4 AAA rechargeables for lower voltage and total output under 5V ? Is this not sufficient security ?
You are right about the skill issue also. I have just bought a Keysonic nano kbd specifically for the 770, I have a portable USB hub ready to sacrifice, and USB cables galore. I can solder and have a Dremel tool for the delicate assembly mods, but I do lack the tools and experience for the electrical part (multimeter, continuity testing etc. ).
I just know + from - and how to use a LED for polarity and continuity. Think I stand a chance ? :-)

[CrossBow]

That's awesome! Really nicely done!! Your instructions/explanation seemed very clear as well.
Thanks !!

As far as powering a keyboard, finding where to supply the power is easy -- it's the outside pins of the USB connector. Please be careful with the polarity. If you supply power in this manner, you are supplying both the keyboard and the cable, so it should work fine.

Make sure what ever you use for power is regulated. I have seen some suggest using 4 x 1.2v rechargeables. This is dangerous. First, there is always the possibility of accidently installing alkalines, and second, I have seen rechargeables come off of the charger a little "happy". Would 6+ volts harm the 770? I don't know, but it seems like poor design, and I wouldn't try it on my 770. Finding something with a regulator in it like I did, or even designing one is not hard.

The hub is clearly optional, but due to the (current) limited size of RS-MMC cards, I wanted to be able to use a Flash drive or card reader. Besides, I used components that were available to me at the time.

I would have loved to build mine into a USB keyboard with a hub in it like was mentioned is a previous post. I also have the circuit board of the 2 port hub from an Apple USB keyboard (met with a tea accident.) I thought of adding that and a battery pack to a mini USB keyboard. This would make a nice single package, but the physical surgery to the keyboard was more than I wanted to tackle. Besides I think I will mostly just carry the hub with me. These days you can "scare up" a USB keyboard almost anyplace.

Another note. I just typed quite a bit on my 770 using an Apple keyboard (not the one that got tea on it). I had no keybounce events, so I guess it is just that mini logitech that has the problem.

[CrossBow]

fpp;

DO NOT use an LED to check for USB power!

Typical (classic) LED's run on about 2 volts. 5 volts at sufficient current can cause them to explode, possibly sending bits of plastic out at high velocities. 5 volts from a battery powered device will probably just damage the LED, but it is possible that a PC, or even a hub with a large filter capacitor could make the LED fail violently.

An LED and the proper resistor is safe, but is not "proper tools".

I would not connect anything I built/hacked/whatever to my 770 without testing with a good and trusted DVM.

So in the end you only use the casing and regulating circuitry of the battery box, sacrificing the USB part ?
That is correct.
;

[Mike Cane]

Man it's painful trying to edit that on the 770! Having a scrolling window on a page that scrolls then trying to select text inside of it. I wish the bit I am trying to edit would stay on the screen when the keyboard pops up.

Me too! I wish Nokia could fix that!

[Mike Cane]

A couple more picts.

The first is the whole thing in use, and the second is an attempt at showing where the power supply wires run under the hub-board, and down into the battery pack.

::: great waves of envy to you!! :::

If Nokia -- or someone, some great big generous hacker-type person -- would ever come out with an app that switches the 770 to/from host mode on the 770 itself, I'd be first in line to beg you to make me one of these things for money! I have a 20GB pocket HD I'd just love to hook up to the 770... and even if that didn't work, I'd figure out something else.

Nice, that you found that PS2 KB. I saw it at J&R and mentioned it in my "blog" w/o knowing anyone else had seen it (I'm late catching up on threads!).

[fpp]

fpp;
DO NOT use an LED to check for USB power!
Typical (classic) LED's run on about 2 volts. 5 volts at sufficient current can cause them to explode, possibly sending bits of plastic out at high velocities. 5 volts from a battery powered device will probably just damage the LED, but it is possible that a PC, or even a hub with a large filter capacitor could make the LED fail violently.

Whew :-)
Have you ever noticed that on good days, when you are blissfully unaware of such dangers, they also sometimes ignore you ?... I've done just this twice, in good faith, very recently, to verify output polarity on two "wall-warts" (5V and not too puny output - like 2.5A). Admittedly I only lit the LED a fraction of a second each time, but I held it between my fingers and probably too close my eyes too. Given the ubiquity of such things in computers & other electronic gizmos I sort of assumed 3-to-5V should be OK... Thanks for the warrning !


I would not connect anything I built/hacked/whatever to my 770 without testing with a good and trusted DVM.

Crossbow, you have convinced me. I've been shopping at lunchtime and found myself an entry-level-but-not-too-shabby multimeter, and will learn to use it.

Also your remark on batteries and rechargeables finally reminded me that my iRiver mp3 player came with a battery pack (like yours, only not USB) that I had never used and forgotten. Amazingly I managed to locate it and will repurpose it for the 770. It doesn't seem like I can take it apart without breaking it so I can't see if it has voltage regulation built-in, but if I understood you correctly I can make this my first test with the DVM: if I load it with four fresh akalines and get less than 5V output, then it does, right ?

[fpp]

::: great waves of envy to you!! :::
If Nokia -- or someone, some great big generous hacker-type person -- would ever come out with an app that switches the 770 to/from host mode on the 770 itself, I'd be first in line to beg you to make me one of these things for money! I have a 20GB pocket HD I'd just love to hook up to the 770... and even if that didn't work, I'd figure out something else.

I understand protecting users from themselves by making the "root" thing a bit difficult, but I agree the "USB host" ought to be more accessible. Dunno if technically such a machine can "flash itself", though. My iRiver mp3 player does just that, so it's possible...

Nice, that you found that PS2 KB. I saw it at J&R and mentioned it in my "blog" w/o knowing anyone else had seen it (I'm late catching up on threads!).
You should see the KeySonic nano keyboard (ACK 3400U) - it's SO cute. About as thick as the 770 (without cover), barely taller, and some 50% wider. Short of the foldable BT stuff it's probably the best match you can think of - right down to the matte black finish. And it's a *real* keyboad, albeit petite - not something you'd want to write "War and Peace" on, but definitely beats anything on a PDA, past and future :-)
(must remember to snap & post a pic...)

[lbattraw]

I have to chip in here (no pun intended). I've been using and destroying electronic components ever since I can remember and I've never had a LED explode. Granted, I've never attached one to 120VAC to see what it would do, but under logic-level (5V/3V) voltages with virtually unlimited current the worst I've ever seen is a little smoke and discoloration of the epoxy resin they're encapsulated in. I've seen chips and power transistors "pop their top" where a small piece of resin will fly off, but it's not at a velocity that would hurt someone. Anyway, it's more a situation of cracking than shattering; they're made to take a fair amount of abuse.

Digital devices are generally made to tolerate a +/- 5% variation in their supply voltage (5V) and an absolute maximum typically is at 6 volts. This means we're fine from 4.75 to 5.25V, and small spikes above that won't necessarily destroy the device. Rechargeable cells produce a nominal 1.25V, a little over 1.3V right off the charger and 1.2V after some use or idle time. Thus, we're looking at about 5.2 off the charger and 4.8 after some time. This is just fine, but we run into serious problems with alkalines which are sometimes almost 1.6V per cell. Even at 1.5V nominal, we're already at 6V-- bad news.

I've never seen a removable AA battery pack that was regulated. Any regulation will happen on the board of the device. Please just use rechargeables, and keep the DVM handy to double check polarity, voltage, etc. You're guaranteed serious damage if you hook things up backwards :(

[Mike Cane]

You should see the KeySonic nano keyboard (ACK 3400U) - it's SO cute. About as thick as the 770 (without cover), barely taller, and some 50% wider. Short of the foldable BT stuff it's probably the best match you can think of - right down to the matte black finish. And it's a *real* keyboad, albeit petite - not something you'd want to write "War and Peace" on, but definitely beats anything on a PDA, past and future :-)
(must remember to snap & post a pic...)

Live via free 770:

I think I might have seen this @ DataVision under a different name. But a pic is always welcome!

[fpp]

Here you go:

[fpp]

lbattraw : thanks for the reassuring words & advice. I really want to get that keyboard and hub working, but I'll definitely triple-check anything that's going to connect to that USB socket on the 770 :)

[Mike Cane]

Thanks for the pics. I'm at the NYPL on a desktop, but I connected with the 770 also and saved the pics. A block away from DataVision. I'll go compare, but offhand they look the same. I couldn't type on that, cute as it is!

[Mike Cane]

Live via free 770:

Just popped into DataVision. The top fascia is different and some keys are assigned differently, but probably the same OEM. Cute and portable, but too small for me to type on, alas.

[fpp]

Myself I'd rather type slowly on a small keyboard than tap anything more than the occasional URL in Opera or a few command lines in xterm. I can't imagine the dedication it takes to tap or pre-tap the quantity of text you've already posted on this board. Respect for MikeCane, the TapMaster :-)

[Mike Cane]

The 770 put a hypertappia spell on me, dammit. Those Finns!

[Mike Cane]

LVTT:

1) Roger, did you ever get a $ quote for the cable?

2) You USB hxrs -- are you using it regularly?

3) Same group: Do you get repeated characters when using a keyboard?

[lbattraw]

LVTT:

1) Roger, did you ever get a $ quote for the cable?

2) You USB hxrs -- are you using it regularly?

3) Same group: Do you get repeated characters when using a keyboard?

2) Yep. Since I added a Y end to the keyboard cable it's trivial to plug in and use on my laptop or on the 770.

3) I've never had a repeated character at all. This is using both 4 AAA NiMH batteries (direct connect to 770), or via a self-powered hub.

[Mike Cane]

3) I've never had a repeated character at all. This is using both 4 AAA NiMH batteries (direct connect to 770), or via a self-powered hub.

Goddam!

Anyone else?

[fpp]

I tend to have them, unfortunately, in either mode. Not very often, but enough that I have to watch what's on screen before hitting "enter" on a Linux command :-)

[Mike Cane]

LVTT:

Ah, well. You just killed the chimera of non-repeating keyboarding.

Nokia! Stable keyboard use, please!

(Hmmmm... do those using *Nokia's* BT KB get no repeats?)

[RogerS]

1) Roger, did you ever get a $ quote for the cable?
3) Same group: Do you get repeated characters when using a keyboard?I wrote to two places -- including Chips and Cables in NYC (or is it Cables and Chips? whatever) and one on the West Coast, with elaborate descriptions, links to the photos, and extravagant predictions of hordes of 770 owners streaming to their doors.

Neither company has replied.

As for my Stowaway keyboard, I got it for my wife so she could write her lengthy emails when she gets to the computer once a day. My own need for a keyboard on the 770 is a lot less than I imagined pre-770-possession, even with all the writing I do.

I haven't fixed the Opera/multi-line text box problem with numbers and symbols, which presents a problem posting to the blog with that keyboard. Beyond that, no, I for one haven't encountered key repeats at all.

Aside: I had a Think Outside Stowaway keyboard for my HP Jornada 540 PocketPC, ca 2000. One of the most elegantly designed pieces of hardware I've ever held. (Still have it on my desk, even though the PPC died years ago. Actually fondled it yesterday and, yes, that's the right term, and tried to get the 770 to fit in its leatherette carry case -- not a good fit, alas.)

I was sorely disappointed in the BT Stowaway when I received it. It has nowhere near the class of the original (manufactured? distributed? by Targus).

[bigboote]

I occasionally use a keyboard with my Bigboote Hub Hack(R), but not often anymore.

I occasionally get repeats, but not often.

Frankly, keyboard's not much use to me on account of:

- Auto screen dimming (seriously, Nokia, how hard would it be to add the option to NOT TURN OFF THE FREAKIN SCREEN?).
- No mouse support.
- poor word processing support. Ever tried to open a .DOC file in Abiword? Hah!
- poor email software. No need to beat that dead horse.
- if I want to mess around at the command line, I just SSH to the 770 from my desktop.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my 770. I just hope some of the above problems will be fixed before I go back to my keyboard.

BTW: I've taken to reading online novels in bed. 770 is great for this (hint: use fingernail to dragscroll).

Thirteen Bullets, David Wellington's serial Vampire novel
http://www.brokentype.com/thirteenbullets/archives.html

Monster Island, a serial Zombie novel
http://www.brokentype.com/monster/

Warren Ellis' latest graphic novel Fell:
http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics/Fell/Fell01Issue.htm

[bigboote]

OK, one problem solved:

How to turn off screen dimming/blanking
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7946#post7946

Need to use xterm for this fix, though

[Mike Cane]

LVTT:

Yeah, I linked to Fell in my "blog" here.

What accounts for *any* company making screwy decisions? Palm won't let people turn *off* their backlights, while Nokia won't allow them to stay *on*.

And people wonder *why* I want to flee this field?

[lbattraw]

I occasionally use a keyboard with my Bigboote Hub Hack(R), but not often anymore.

I occasionally get repeats, but not often.

Frankly, keyboard's not much use to me on account of:

- Auto screen dimming (seriously, Nokia, how hard would it be to add the option to NOT TURN OFF THE FREAKIN SCREEN?).

Exactly. I wish they'd get over this business of adding amazing features like USB host and keyboard support without actually providing a fully working solution. I might add a discovery I stumbled upon earlier... If you have the latest BT keyboard plugin loaded, it will keep the screen from blanking while typing for USB keyboards too! When I plug the keyboard in I get the normal "USB device connected" message as well as a message about a BT keyboard connected. Maybe it's a bug, but it's a good bug!


- No mouse support.


Mouse support would make this truly a portable PC and I spent a fair amount of time over the holidays looking into it. If I plugged a Logitech USB mouse in it was recognized perfectly-- it created the /dev/input/mouse0 device which was readable for the raw mouse data. The /etc/init.d/x-server.sh script will even check for its presence and add it as a command line argument to the X server as a mouse input device. It just doesn't work. It will always use /dev/input/event0 as a mouse (the stylus) and optionally prepend the string for "-mouse /dev/input/mouse0" if the device exists; I tried swapping the order which made the stylus input stop working and it would reboot as soon as I tried anything (it will reboot if the X server dies!). I'm guessing the X server isn't understanding the protocol the mouse is using, which causes it to crash. Anyone know what protocols are built in?

I also got the X cursor back, which will follow where the stylus is dragged/tapped unless it's on a keyboard field, whereupon it disappears; something to do with the odd way Maemo window input is handled I'm sure. Getting the cursor to appear was a matter of loading a fair number of X-specific libraries/utilities (from the Debian pool) onto the MMC card, adding the proper dirs to the path, ld.so.conf, etc. Once that's done you "xset +fp $cursor_font_dir/fonts ; xsetroot -cursor_name X_cursor". Sorry, leaving out a ton of steps. It's not extremely useful without having the mouse input behind it all.


- if I want to mess around at the command line, I just SSH to the 770 from my desktop.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my 770. I just hope some of the above problems will be fixed before I go back to my keyboard.


I definitely agree. I don't think it would be very difficult to get a functional mouse for someone who knows what is going on with the internals of the device, and it's frustrating being so close yet so far.

Larry

[bigboote]

Larry,

Thank you for looking into the mouse issue. Perhaps a knowledgable post over at the Maemo dev group might dredge up a useful trick to enable mouse support. As you say, mouse support (there are BT mice too!) would open up some interesting possibilities.

John

[luminaix]

This is just to confirm hat the BlueEye USB hub for a usb keyboard
(in this case a nano KeySonic qwerty keyboard) works wihout having to
inject back power through a USB Y-cable into the nokia 770. This was
reported earlier as seemingly impossible, but it does work! The BlueEye
hub was bought from pioneer-electronics and is the model H850 USB 2.0.
I find the nano keyboard a bit sticky, but otherwise OK once you get used
to it.

[uNtouched]

I would TOTALLY dig something like this if it was gonna work for sure...

http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=1461&t_mode=des

[wendo]

uNtouched, while every key doesn't work, basic functionality of the Freedom Mini Bluetooth keyboard does work on the 770. See the Bluetooth keyboards thread:

http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=805

I have one and it works reasonably well with the drivers mentioned in the thread.

---

Re: USB keyboards

Thought I'd post a small USB keyboard that I like using that's not too expensive. It's a BTC brand and I got it from Fry's (Outpost.com).

http://tinyurl.com/8vaf7

For some reason, I like the keys on this keyboard, nice and responsive with good tactile feedback.

ETA: Other BTC keyboard at Fry's:

http://tinyurl.com/9aqag

[bretta]

ThinkOutside make a USB keyboard that takes two AAA batteries. I am going to try it with my new 770. Kicking myself: 6 months ago I bought their IR keyboard to use with my iPaq.

I can't work out why anyone would want to buy a BT keyboard. Bluetooth drinks your power - all so, what, you can use the keyboard 10 feet from the screen?

I might find if there's a hack that lets me use my IR keyboard with the 770, maybe if I can get an IR receiver that plugs into the computer. Either way, I will report back on how it goes! If anyone else has tried this, could they please post?

[luminaix]

ThinkOutside make a USB keyboard that takes two AAA batteries

ThinkOutside say on their website that their stowaway USB keyboard is plug-and-play, no batteries required. What makes you think it runs on batteries?

[Simon]

That's the keyboard I have. It doesn't need batteries but I can't get it to work on the 770 (using my USB power box). Each keypress auto-repeats. Other USB keyboards work on the 770 and the Stowaway works on other PCs so it is a little odd.

[Simon]

I mean the Stowaway USB keyboard that Bretta mentions there sorry.

[bm.avatar]

Having decided to go on the usb keyboards side rather
than on the bluetooth side !

I have found two interesting keyboards:
- small keysonic keyboard (sorry it is a french link)
http://www.docmicro.com/pieces/description.php?numpiece=4981

- "soft and gelly" keyboard (normal size)
http://www.materiel.net/details.php3?ref=clavtkblackusb&affcode=mprix

I know that there are many other options... these one are ok for me
and seem to be available with the AZERTY layout which I would preffer.

Other remarks
(these could belong to the usb power injector thread)

I like the usb power injector with the 7805 chip, but is a keyboard
very "sensitiv" would not it be possible to give him something between
let's say 4V to 6.5V ... instead of the very precise 5V ?
in that case we could simply directly plug a 4.5V battery more
directly or use 3*1.5V batteries or 4*1.5v ?

Instead of building a nice "interface" (usb male + usb female)
are there options where it is possible to hack directly inside the
keyboard "case" directly on the wires...

Or other option cut the long wires and insert the "injector" directly
and the wires ... and obtain a smaller, lighter, cheaper design.
(but probably more ugly and risky and less reusable !)


TNX
B.

[audax]

How did you got around with the problem that hitting enter brings up the virtual keyboard?

btw:
I will try to compile xmodmap for the 770 to change the keyboard layout.

[CrossBow]

I have found that installing the Bluetooth keyboard stuff fixes nearly all of the issues with USB keyboard.

It is my understanding that it includes xmodmap.

Reference my article on the USB Keyboard dock I built.

http://linuxslate.com/N770DockingStation.html

With the keyboard I used for the above, I still have a minor keybounce, or key repeat problem, but it is 100% useable.

When my 770 is in the dock, and the dock is on, the on-screen keyboard does not pop up when you tap in a text field, and the enter key works as it should.

When I turn off the dock (i.e. disconnect the USB keyboard), the 770 works as normal.

All I did to get it to work like this is to install the Bluetooth keyboard package.