Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227 
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
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Post by Raspofabs on Feb 15, 2016 11:31:36 GMT
Now, some of you may know that I like to tinker, and others might be aware that I like mechanical keyboards, and those that checked out pictures of my desk at work would have noticed that I usually use a very small keyboard. Image Search for my type of keyboardNow, these keyboards take a bit of getting used to, but once you are used to using them, they are amazing. They are amazing, but they lack a numpad, on purpose, to reduce size. I don't use a numpad very often even when I have one, but sometimes I do want one, and when I don't have one, typing numbers on the top row just feels wrong. I wanted a numpad that I could plug in when I felt like it, which does exist, but I thought about what I could do to make it better than a standard numpad whilst also being a stepping stone to building my own full custom keyboard. PASSWORDS! So, my custom numpad while being very nice and handy for when I do want to type in numbers quickly, will also be a short-cut system for typing in passwords. I'm going to make it able to store passwords inside itself, and be able to play them back when I enter a "password mode" on the device. To do this, I am going to use a nice little new Arduino clone I found out about on SparkFun a while back (the pro micro) which uses an ATMEGA32u4 chip which includes USB support out of the box. Very important when designing a device that needs to be able to run off USB. So, I plan to report on progress here, and here's some preliminary work done with finding parts: (1) the circuit board and keycaps, (2) the diodes, switches, screen, and pro micro board   |
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on Feb 15, 2016 13:06:32 GMT
First, I found out if it was even possible. I made a test program that typed in my password for logging onto Windows at home. It would press <ESC>, then after 200ms, type the password and hit enter. All this without any keys attached at all. It worked great, and so I set out to collect the parts, that's where the other pictures come from. Now I needed a plan to build it. I found someone else had made a numpad on the interweb, so stole their layout, printed it, and glued it to the copper side of the board (in reverse):  Then I began the task of cutting the holes...  I am not the most perfect engineer in the world. Once the drilling was done, I placed all the switches to see how they fit, and saw that a few were off by a few millimetres / degrees.  |
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on Feb 15, 2016 13:10:45 GMT
How to wire? So, as with any other electronics project, the biggest problem is really "How do I wire it so it works?", and in this case I needed to cut the metal away to make the wiring...  Once the "planned" cuts were done, I had to do some more unplanned cuts. Things didn't quite work out, and I needed to solder bridge some stuff that I accidentally cut too.... But anyway, after the initial cut, I started soldering in the diodes:  Diodes are used so that the numpad keys don't read wrong. If I hold down 1,2,5,6, and 9, the diodes stop it from thinking I'm holding down all the number keys. |
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on Feb 15, 2016 13:13:01 GMT
Soldering the diodes, followed by the jumpers between the different parts of the board, then finally the switches, took some time.  But in the end, I had something that resembled what I was after. At least, on the outside.  Next post will be about how I will probably have some interesting soldering bugs, and software issues. |
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Lord Ba'al
Supreme Deity
Posts: 6,260
Pledge level: Half a Partner
I like: Cats; single malt Scotch; Stargate; Amiga; fried potatoes; retro gaming; cheese; snickers; sticky tape.
I don't like: Dimples in the bottom of scotch bottles; Facebook games masquerading as godgames.
Steam: stonelesscutter
GOG: stonelesscutter
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Post by Lord Ba'al on Feb 15, 2016 13:56:35 GMT
Awesome project. Quite ambitious. Can't wait to hear more.
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Post by Spiderweb on Feb 15, 2016 17:42:30 GMT
very cool, I brought an external numpad once, it is now gathering dust in the back of my wardrobe, but I'm jealous you find time for these projects plus your games development. Great stuff!
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on Feb 15, 2016 21:23:35 GMT
So, managed to get the numpad wired up to another Arduino for testing purposes (as the other board is new to me, thought I should test the wiring in a more comfortable environment). Hmmmm, funny, getting really odd on off pulses... oOOOhhh, forgot to tie the inputs high... yeah... anyway, once I had figured that out, I set about wiring up the screen... not much issue there. Added some nice debug... here's the result of tonight's hour and half of faffing. |
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on Feb 15, 2016 23:03:10 GMT
Okay, so now I did spend another hour soldering my pro micro board, and now I have a working numpad....
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Lord Ba'al
Supreme Deity
Posts: 6,260
Pledge level: Half a Partner
I like: Cats; single malt Scotch; Stargate; Amiga; fried potatoes; retro gaming; cheese; snickers; sticky tape.
I don't like: Dimples in the bottom of scotch bottles; Facebook games masquerading as godgames.
Steam: stonelesscutter
GOG: stonelesscutter
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Post by Lord Ba'al on Feb 16, 2016 6:51:15 GMT
Does it do all the things you wanted it to do?
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on Feb 17, 2016 0:08:21 GMT
Not yet. I'll update when I get to the bit where I start pulling my hair out.
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Lord Ba'al
Supreme Deity
Posts: 6,260
Pledge level: Half a Partner
I like: Cats; single malt Scotch; Stargate; Amiga; fried potatoes; retro gaming; cheese; snickers; sticky tape.
I don't like: Dimples in the bottom of scotch bottles; Facebook games masquerading as godgames.
Steam: stonelesscutter
GOG: stonelesscutter
|
Post by Lord Ba'al on May 3, 2016 19:00:13 GMT
Not yet. I'll update when I get to the bit where I start pulling my hair out. So how did the rest of your numpad project go? |
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Raspofabs
Former 22Cans staff
Posts: 227
I like: coding, high peat single malts, ... , yeah, that's about it.
I don't like: object oriented design, and liver.
Steam: raspofabs
|
Post by Raspofabs on May 4, 2016 15:56:43 GMT
Not yet. I'll update when I get to the bit where I start pulling my hair out. So how did the rest of your numpad project go? Actually haven't been able to sit down long enough to finish the damn thing. Though I have managed to get the software working. I will take some pics and update soon, as there is something to report. If nothing else, I have made a case for it.  |
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Post by 13thGeneral on May 4, 2016 16:44:14 GMT
Really interested in how this turns out. I'd love to build my own split keyboard, if I knew how.
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