Add On Media Keys! (with volume wheel?)

[Andrex348]

I am happy with my keyboard in most all ways except that it is missing media keys, therefore, MAKE THEM.

Is it possible/how would I go about making a small array of keys including skip keys, play/pause, mute and volume keys. The idea is to have a small device just to sit next to my keyboard and connect via usb. If possible, I would LOOOOVE having a volume wheel instead of repeatedly mashing the volume keys, however, I am brand spanking new at this and have no idea what having a volume wheel would require.

This will be my first custom project. I have no soldering or pcb design experience but I am extremely excited to learn how to do both, if you guys have tips on either one I would be very interested.

Thanks in advance everyone!

[qwack]

So, a small dedicated keypad with just a few keys for media control and a volume wheel? You only need a few switches, a Teensy 2.0 and an encoder (an endless potentiometer) for the volume control. Define how many keys you need, start with a small keypad with the Teensy, then add the volume wheel (a search on "volume encoder with teensy" should bring lots of helpful links).

If you have never worked with electronics, you should get a breadboard and spend a little time learning the basics with tutorials (there are nice ones on the pjrc/Teensy website, check the "getting started" section) before you committ to actually wiring/soldering/building your project. I won't take very long, but it is essential to have at least a basic understanding of what you're doing if you want to do it right, even if you're getting help from more experienced people.

[Andrex348]

Gotcha, Thanks! Any suggestions on firmware programming?

[dorkvader]

Gotcha, Thanks! Any suggestions on firmware programming?

What OS?

I think some keyboard firmwares only support media keys on OS X.

this one supports media keys, but there's limited support for keyboard matrices (last time I checked).

[honoka]

How about using something like AutoHotKey to script yourself media functions using a combination of keys. For exempel shift + pgup could be used for volume up. This would not give you a scroll wheel though. If you are interested I can write you a script that does media functions for you. Let me know.

[CPTBadAss]

What about using one of the tech keys business cards and making a case for them?

[Andrex348]

Tech keys buisness cards? Do tell...

Also, about the autohotkey for what I already have, I basically just want to get into this stuff and this project sounded like something simple enough to start with and challenging enough to matter.

[XNine]

Just googled that tech key. That little thing is awesome! Might even build one into my next rig!

[adventurepoop]

It may be possible to use an adafruit trinket, depending on how many buttons you want. What I would do is have a rotary encoder for volume hooked up to the 2 digital IO, and use a resistor ladder to have 4 buttons on the remaining analog IO. Since you wont be hitting these at the same time I doubt this would be a problem. This would let you have something like volume, play/pause, skip forwards, skip back, and mute.

[CPTBadAss]

Tech keys buisness cards? Do tell...

http://techkeys.us/products/techkeys-keyboard-business-card
http://techkeys.us/collections/accessories/products/techkeys-programmable-keyboard-business-card

Get one of those and then make a little case for it? I think a Lego case would be really cute. There's a lot more info in the TechKeys subforum.

[honoka]

Tech keys buisness cards? Do tell...

http://techkeys.us/products/techkeys-keyboard-business-card
http://techkeys.us/collections/accessories/products/techkeys-programmable-keyboard-business-card

Get one of those and then make a little case for it? I think a Lego case would be really cute. There's a lot more info in the TechKeys subforum.

Everyone should have one of those and build a one button keyboard

[Niomosy]

How about using something like AutoHotKey to script yourself media functions using a combination of keys. For exempel shift + pgup could be used for volume up. This would not give you a scroll wheel though. If you are interested I can write you a script that does media functions for you. Let me know.

Autohotkey is nice but when gaming, I prefer simply moving my left hand to a key for volume/media options.  For games where I don't particularly need to have only the game sound on, it's very convenient.