Happy Hacking Professional Bluetooth

[nubbinator]

I'll be interested to see what people think.  I've been debating getting the hasu controller, this may change things.

But what IS a soft keyboard case? How does it differ from the regular keyboard? I'm confused... is it the keyboard case ITSELF or is it a carrying cloth bag?

A cloth sleeve. I coudn't find exact model but it clearly says "BIRD" on the label, looks like there's no PFU branding at all. Looks pretty generic.

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Bird makes wrist rests, some of which are HHKB sized., probably the same company.

[joric]

Found it in the Bird Electron facebook feed.

https://www.facebook.com/BIRDELECTRON/photos/a.168546086530891.49368.168542443197922/1118139348238222/?type=3

[iLLucionist]

Found it in the Bird Electron facebook feed.

https://www.facebook.com/BIRDELECTRON/photos/a.168546086530891.49368.168542443197922/1118139348238222/?type=3

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Doesn't look too bad but doesn't look particularly pretty either. Reminds me of the cr*p you usually get with motherboards that you eventually end up never using.

[hasu]

I'll await further testimonials as to how good the BT works with regards to latency and connecting, staying connected, and reconnecting after going to sleep.

Same here -- I'd happily make this upgrade if it turns out to be usable!

I can't perceive any latency and weird on typing and connection, no problem at all. Its case and controller are completely new designed and not compatible with Pro2 anymore, but just like Pro2 in terms of typing, no surprise and no disappointment.

As a bonus its rubber feet are way better than Pro2's   And battery compartment is not seeable when typing luckily

[Belfong]

hasu, what about waking up from inactivity? Do you need to press the On button to wake it up? Does the Bluetooth goes to sleep?

[demik]

whats the price on one of them?

i dont need another keyboard but if it's an hhkb...

[Belfong]

hasu, what about waking up from inactivity? Do you need to press the On button to wake it up? Does the Bluetooth goes to sleep?

Nvm, hasu answered it in another thread. There is a dip switch to make the HHKB never to sleep. By default it sleeps after 30 min of inactivity and the only way to wake it up is via the power button.

This is brilliant to me. I want a keyboard to not sleep.

[iLLucionist]

hasu, what about waking up from inactivity? Do you need to press the On button to wake it up? Does the Bluetooth goes to sleep?

Nvm, hasu answered it in another thread. There is a dip switch to make the HHKB never to sleep. By default it sleeps after 30 min of inactivity and the only way to wake it up is via the power button.

This is brilliant to me. I want a keyboard to not sleep.

Good to know. What is this "other thread"?

[Belfong]

@iLLucionist https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=12047.msg2153391#msg2153391

[joric]

Another new video:

[Macsmasher]

hasu, what about waking up from inactivity? Do you need to press the On button to wake it up? Does the Bluetooth goes to sleep?

Nvm, hasu answered it in another thread. There is a dip switch to make the HHKB never to sleep. By default it sleeps after 30 min of inactivity and the only way to wake it up is via the power button.

This is brilliant to me. I want a keyboard to not sleep.

I wonder how long the batteries will last in the 'always on' mode.

[skeaono]

Apparently I'm the weird one here, AA battery and MicroUSB just sold me on this. Now I'm patiently waiting for a package from Tenso.

[joric]

Yeah. Death to MiniUSB! That MicroUSB isn't really USB though, just a reserve power, there is only two wires:

[kekman]

Yeah. Death to MiniUSB! That MicroUSB isn't really USB though, just a reserve power, there is only two wires:

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death to all usb, bring back the telephone cable ps2 cable from the model m :v

[losing_ctrl]

I'll await further testimonials as to how good the BT works with regards to latency and connecting, staying connected, and reconnecting after going to sleep.

Same here -- I'd happily make this upgrade if it turns out to be usable!

I can't perceive any latency and weird on typing and connection, no problem at all. Its case and controller are completely new designed and not compatible with Pro2 anymore, but just like Pro2 in terms of typing, no surprise and no disappointment.

As a bonus its rubber feet are way better than Pro2's   And battery compartment is not seeable when typing luckily

Thanks for your initial observations.

I am still hoping for additional impressions from the early adopters here. This keyboard is really tempting me.

[TopreFan333]

I'll await further testimonials as to how good the BT works with regards to latency and connecting, staying connected, and reconnecting after going to sleep.

Same here -- I'd happily make this upgrade if it turns out to be usable!

I can't perceive any latency and weird on typing and connection, no problem at all. Its case and controller are completely new designed and not compatible with Pro2 anymore, but just like Pro2 in terms of typing, no surprise and no disappointment.

As a bonus its rubber feet are way better than Pro2's   And battery compartment is not seeable when typing luckily

My wallet weeps at this news.

Though, realistically, I'd imagine I could offset much of the price by selling:
- my current HHKB (black body and very lightly used black keys I took off almost immediately to use white ones)
- an unused set of black keys from the bluetooth one

[xtrafrood]

Apparently I'm the weird one here, AA battery and MicroUSB just sold me on this. Now I'm patiently waiting for a package from Tenso.

Seems to me that more than a few people are content with the AA battery compartment. This has both surprised me and intrigued me for sure

[joric]

Got it today (ANSI with legends, black on black). First impression - it's ****ing huge and heavy (with the batteries), it's not comfortable to hold in one hand anymore due to the battery compartment. Comes with 2xAA Fujutsu batteries, didn't use them, installed a couple of my own Duracell Turbo Max. Battery cover doesn't seem very sturdy, probaby the first thing that will break and fall off if you drop the keyboard. MicroUSB has soft rubbery cover as on digital cameras. Came with that Smart Case from BIRD Electronics, ought to be just a dirt cheap neoprene bag without any Smart features. Rear button is just a push button as on most bluetooth peripherals; you hold it for about a second to turn the keyboard on and for about 3 seconds to turn the keyboard off. LED (red/orange/blue) turns off right after pairing and doesn't even blink afterwards, which is great (I hate LEDs on bluetooth devices). Pairing requires random 8-digit pin code that you have to type from the keyboard itself and press its own Enter (as on Filco Convertible 2).
Can't really add something else to what hasu posted so here are his pics http://imgur.com/a/YfcYt Internals are NOT interchangeable at all, totally different controllers and connectors.

Upd: some SBS comparison (angle is kind of too wide but believe me, that battery compartment is huge, it's about 2x1.5 cm, keys stick out differently because pro 2 is dentalbanded and because I squeezed keyboards together, cases seem entirely different so you wouldn't be able to switch the top covers, HHKB BT seems generally less rectangular). The whole album is here http://imgur.com/a/YYAOv







It says  "Thank you for ordering a pfu hhkb bt. We have listened to the customer's opinions about wanting a bluetooth model. The included smart case is a first 1000 preorder exclusive. Please give your product a lot of love!"

[the_marsbar]

Great, thanks for the pics. Would you think it might be possible to put the internals of the BT inside a regular Pro 2? I'm thinking it should be possible.

[adhoc]

Does it come with a usb dongle or does your device already have to have bluetooth capabilities?

[joric]

Does it come with a usb dongle or does your device already have to have bluetooth capabilities?

Ofc there's no usb dongle but it's bt 3.0 (bcm20730) so it will work with every piece of **** outdated bluetooth device on the planet.

[xtrafrood]

Great, thanks for the pics. Would you think it might be possible to put the internals of the BT inside a regular Pro 2? I'm thinking it should be possible.

I don't see how that would be possible, judging by the pictures PSU made a larger case for the BT to accommodate the extras. I could be wrong though

[adhoc]

Does it come with a usb dongle or does your device already have to have bluetooth capabilities?

Ofc there's no usb dongle but it's bt 3.0 (bcm20730) so it will work with every piece of **** outdated bluetooth device on the planet.

Thanks for the answer. So for those of us on desktop we need to buy a bluetooth stick as well :/

[joric]

Great, thanks for the pics. Would you think it might be possible to put the internals of the BT inside a regular Pro 2? I'm thinking it should be possible.

Here are the pics:



Sorry it's rotated on the pic, but well, looks like keyswitch boards match. So yeah apparently it's possible. But I'm not sure, haven't tried yet (it would need unscrewing 18 screws, to me it's fine as is). Maybe Hasu. Or maybe when I'd feel the urge to dentalband it (I don't really want to do that now, but it rattles as a mother****er, same as a stock Pro 2). Controllers are entirely different though, and probably different voltage. It's not that ugly to ***** about it, but yeah, there's no white or Type-S HHKB BT (yet?).

Upd: long story short - you can't put HHKB BT internals into a HHKB Pro 2 case without damaging it (I'll post pics later). Sorry for raining on your parade. You'd either need an extender cable for the bluetooth board or cut part of the left leg compartment off. Also the keyswitch board blocks the top left screw and there's a few plastic stems (at least 2 long ones at the top and 1 at the top left screw) that you'd have to cut off, irreversibly damaging the case.

Upd2: more pics - you have to cut off a few plastic stems and probably use an extension 20 pin cable because bluetooth board interferes with the left stand (you probably won't cut the case so much, all I've done is pretty innocent. Warning! Gore!).










TL;DR: I wasn't able to swap cases, it needs a lot of carving (more than I can allow in order to sell the HHKB Pro 2 afterwards). Maybe it's possible with a flat 20 pin extension cord to move the bluetooth board out of the way (you can actually close the case if you move those boards a bit here and there. Not sure about the battery though, probably you could find a place for a small Li-Po battery (it's not that notorious power hog anymore) and a tiny charger board. There's no place for 2xAA, that's for sure.

P.S. That hump with batteries is actually removable, so one could probably mold another, a more pleasant one. The shape is pretty complicated though.

[the_marsbar]

Thanks for the great info It's especially great that the battery compartment is removable. Modifying that somehow would be much better than switching cases IMO.

I really feel like buying one, had I just known it before I bought my black Pro 2. Three HHKBs might be a bit over the top...

[joric]

Dentalbanded, blank caps and Red/Blue Ctrl/Esc set (not included). Beauty shot (check out dat ass!):

[LunarisDream]

High five, Joric

[demik]

battery pack looks like a tumor

[FrostyToast]

[joric]

Regarding that wake up button and 30-minute inactivity - I left the keyboard overnight with the dip switch set to "Wake Up Enable: ON" and it woke up with the first keystroke. I guess I should use "Wake Up Enable: OFF" in order to save the battery.

Upd: Yep, with "Wake Up Enable: OFF" it completely turns off and needs a button. This is cool (well, it's battery friendly, that's for sure).

[Trev]

Will a keystroke not typically wake it up? Is this thing really that old-school?

[joric]

It's Topre, capacitive switches, they always draw power - no matter what, so PFU has added an option to wake up from a physical (passive) button.

[Trev]

Ah, of course. Anyone checked if it's still 5V or have they gone lower?

I'd be curious to see how long it can last for in the never-sleep mode.

[bocahgundul]

battery pack looks like a tumor

this and the curvy side

why pfu why?

[Trev]

Because they're stuck in 2004. I hate their design lazyness and how much they're charging for the privilege, but I still want one. Hopefully we'll see a mod to remove the hump and use a flat LiPo internally instead. 

[hasu]

Ah, of course. Anyone checked if it's still 5V or have they gone lower?

I'd be curious to see how long it can last for in the never-sleep mode.

It drives all of components and switches with 3V.

[Belfong]

When typing fast, do you notice a lag?

[joric]

No there's no noticeable lag on those devices, I guess it's some kind of urban legend. Or maybe I'm just not typing fast enough.

[Belfong]

No there's no noticeable lag on those devices, I guess it's some kind of urban legend. Or maybe I'm just not typing fast enough.

I feel lag when using the Apple Magic Trackpad on a Mac. I haven't tried a Bluetooth keyboard but I'd imagine the lag is due to the communications over Bluetooth. So it's not exactly a urban legend.

[TopreFan333]

I've used bluetooth mice and that same Apple trackpad (not the current version, but the previous one), and used to use an Apple Bluetooth keyboard (before I became enlightened enough to use my HHKB) and have never noticed any discernable lag. I'm not counting the initial tiny blip of unresponsiveness you might get when the device has been unused for a while.

Then again, I top out at maybe 80 wpm, so I'm not sure if typing lag kicks in above some super high threshold or what. Also, I don't really game, so some tiny amount of mouse lag would probably not affect me as much as some super twitchy gamer type...

[MJ45]

No there's no noticeable lag on those devices, I guess it's some kind of urban legend. Or maybe I'm just not typing fast enough.

Although it has no noticeable lag the Apple wireless keyboard only has as little as 2kro to 6kro, depending on the combination of keys pressed. A stock HHKB 2 PRO or Realforce have 6kro, with Hasu's HHKB Alt controller nkro is possible over USB - 6kro with Bluetooth.

[joric]

It's especially great that the battery compartment is removable. Modifying that somehow would be much better than switching cases IMO.

It's not that removable, well it's mounted with a couple of screws - but if you remove it, the board with the button sticks out for about 1.5 cm, you'd have to saw it off.



Upd: it's not that bad, actually, but it still sticks out. There are 4 glue strips but it's pretty easy to remove (you'd have to pick up latches and push it inwards). Without the batery compartment there could be a place for a small Li-Po battery but you won't be able to put 2xAAAs there, the bluetooth board occupies a lot of space.











Added more pics here http://imgur.com/a/YYAOv

[Enz0man]

Just realized i replied to the wrong thread :/

Great first post...

[FrostyToast]

I'll buy one, see if I can modify the design to not have the bulge. If it doesn't work, oh well; the bulge isn't actually that bad.
If I destroy the thing, then that's an issue.

[MrRooks]

The bulge doesn't look too bad, nice tear down.

[Jedi]

Did we find where we can buy one?  Can confirm no stock in Tokyo or Kyoto as of this week.  Are you guys buying on Amazon.jp and or using a proxy?

[hasu]

Did we find where we can buy one?  Can confirm no stock in Tokyo or Kyoto as of this week.  Are you guys buying on Amazon.jp and or using a proxy?

I don't think you can find it at street shop. It is available only at online; Amazon or rakuten.

Amazon can ship to your hotel in a day or two if you are staying in Japan probably.

[joric]

Amazon.jp - choose your model here http://www.pfu.fujitsu.com/hhkeyboard/bt/ and http://zenmarket.jp
Shipping took just about a week and $20. Shipping weight is about 1100g (PFU ships in a large box). Cheers!

[losing_ctrl]

I've had good experiences with Smart Imports, they ship direct to USA. That's where I got my HHKB JIS Type-S.

They seem to have one version of the HHKB BT in stock:

http://www.smartimports.net/pfu-happy-hacking-keyboard-professional-bt-bluetooth/

[joric]

They seem to have one version of the HHKB BT in stock:
http://www.smartimports.net/pfu-happy-hacking-keyboard-professional-bt-bluetooth/

Just tried that, they sell keyboard that costs about $277 (29700 JPY) for $319.00 WITHOUT shipping, shipping to US will cost either Airmail (Uninsured - 7 to 10 days) $18.50 or Insured EMS Express $26.00. So insured delivery would cost $345.00, almost +$70. I say f*** them.