[Coco] Convert Passive Matrix Keyboard to USB...

[Allen Huffman]

On Mar 30, 2013, at 10:38 AM, Frank Swygert <farna at amc-mag.com> wrote:

> Found this searching for some Raspberry PI projects on Instructables. The keyboard part sounds like it will work with a CoCo keyboard.  Uses a Teensy++ 2.0 microcontroller <http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/index.html> for the keyboard interface.

And yes, this is exactly the same thing I am doing for the CoCo keyboard. The Teensy 2.0 has enough I/O pins that it can be done simply by running the keyboard matrix wires to I/O pins on the Teensy and writing a bit of code to handle translating the matrix to USB keyboard codes. Very cool.

John Strong sent me a few PCBs he made that will plug in to the CoCo keyboard connectors and then let me solder in wires, which is good for an experiment, but I will have to find something more off-the-shelf so others can build them (or I can make them for them) easier.

 My latest experiments with the Arduino Ethernet board, and my first time playing with a Raspberry Pi, have been fun. I haven't really done anything like this since the CoCo days. Things have certainly gotten much easier with all these gadgets -- heck, Radio Shack has accelerometers, distance censors, servos and all kinds of cool stuff in their parts shelves.

-
Allen Huffman - PO Box 22031 - Clive IA 50325 - 515-999-0227 (vmail/TXT only)
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