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1Step 1
The Hardware
Assembly
- Solder the 500mah jumper on the trinket backpack for batteries larger than 500mah
- (Optional) Cut the switch trace on the trinket backpack and solder a micro switch between the two contacts. See https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-pro-trinket-lipoly-slash-liion-backpack for more details
- Solder the trinket backpack to the Bluefruit micro
- Solder the micro USB power connections to ground and 3.3v on the Bluefruit Micro
- Solder the Data ( + ) pin(PS2 clk) of the micro USB to pin 2 on the Bluefruit micro
- Solder the Data ( - ) pin(PS2 data) of the micro USB to pin 3 on the Bluefruit micro
- Solder all batteries in PARALLEL to the trinket backpack
- Plug the micro USB into the keyboard and double stick tape the electronics
Battery life and charging
- Battery life depends on the size of your battery, power consumption of your keyboard, and the power level of your bluetooth
- I haven't tested my battery life with 6000mah battery nor have I measured the power consumption( multimeter broken :( )
- I can run a 12 hour work day with stock bluetooth power settings and medium backlight with no problems
- You can charge the keyboard through the micro USB on the bluefruit.
- I usually charge mine when I leave work
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2Step 2
The Software
Setup
- Download my git repo
- Install the proper drivers
- Download the adafruit Bluefruit library
- https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_BluefruitLE_nRF51/archive/master.zip
- Add to your arduino library
- Add Adafruit board support in Arduino IDE
Update your BLE module
- Download the adafruit app
- Follow this procedure
- https://learn.adafruit.com/bluefruit-le-micro-atmega32u4-microcontroller-usb-bluetooth-le-in-one/dfu-bluefruit-updates
- REMEMBER TO GROUND THE DFU PIN
Upload the Firmware
- Open this project in the Arduino IDE
- Select Bluefruit Micro as your board
- Select the proper serial port
- Click upload
Configure and connect
- Hit shift + ctrl + esc on your MODIFIED keyboard
- This will reconfigure your bluetooth module for keyboard use
- Bluetooth is now named "BLE_WASD"
- Do this again if your keyboard ever stops working randomly
- Connect your keyboard to your computer or phone
- I have only had luck with Windows 10(it was able to solve the funky driver errors from the adafruit bluefruit module)
- Windows 7 was a no go
- Windows 8 is untested
- Android only works upon first pairing
- Apple products untested
Hacking
- This code will work with any arduino and bluefruit module, you just need to change the pinouts and stuff.
- This code supports 100% of the PS2 receiving protocol(one way communication) and has some extra features for a WASD keyboard(media keys)
- Use the `special_functions( )` function to do custom things with your keyboard. Like make a T9 number pad.
- You can change the power output of the Bluetooth module to increase range or save battery
Discussions
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