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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: user404 on Fri, 13 May 2016, 20:09:28

Title: How do i Turn a laptop keyboard into a USB keyboard
Post by: user404 on Fri, 13 May 2016, 20:09:28

I wish to make a usb laptop keyboard out off http://www.ebay.com/itm/PANASONIC-TOUGHBOOK-CF-19-CF-18-KEYBOARD-N860-7672-T301-23187-/262429068132?hash=item3d19fdcb64:g:40IAAOSwlfxXFnjl (http://www.ebay.com/itm/PANASONIC-TOUGHBOOK-CF-19-CF-18-KEYBOARD-N860-7672-T301-23187-/262429068132?hash=item3d19fdcb64:g:40IAAOSwlfxXFnjl) how would i do this? i do not wish to just buy a $10 usb keyboard

Title: Re: How do i Turn a laptop keyboard into a USB keyboard
Post by: tp4tissue on Fri, 13 May 2016, 20:40:02

The reason it has that big ribbon cable is because the Controller is NOT in the keyboard itself.

the Controller is on the Motherboard.

They don't make the controller..

So if you want to do it, You'd have to matrix it to a teensy..


This is certainly possible to do, but it's not practical.

Title: Re: How do i Turn a laptop keyboard into a USB keyboard
Post by: Findecanor on Fri, 13 May 2016, 21:03:54

I would not recommend buying a used low-profile scissor-switch keyboard either way.
The rubber domes inside these are very small and wear out easily. You can't tell how long it will last.
I say this because I have worn out keys on a Thinkpad.

The "Teensy" in this case is either a Teensy 2.0 or Teensy++ 2.0 from PJRC (http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/). The most popular firmware to put on one of those is TMK (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=41989.0).
You would have to do some programming for sure.

Title: Re: How do i Turn a laptop keyboard into a USB keyboard
Post by: Leslieann on Sat, 14 May 2016, 03:23:57

If you just need a keyboard, which is what it sounds like, just go buy a $10 keyboard and save yourself some money and a lot of work.

The Teensy controller you need will cost more, the connector you need will cost almost as much, and the amount of time and effort will be far more than you can imagine. Wiring the Teensy will be easy compared to soldering the FPC FFC connector.


Findecanor, even if it wears fast, used laptop keyboards are pretty cheap (in many cases), so a complete replacement could be done fast and easy depending on keyboard and how you build the case. Which also adds to the amount of time and effort needed to pull this off.

Title: Re: How do i Turn a laptop keyboard into a USB keyboard
Post by: Darkshado on Sat, 14 May 2016, 15:39:16

Any reason for this keyboard in particular? Low-profile? Layout? We might be able to recommend a better solution for what you have in mind.