Mini Bluetooth Keyboard with Blackberry Keyboard and Touchpad

Hey,

I recently bought a few of these

https://www.tindie.com/products/arturo182/bb-q20-keyboard-with-trackpad-usbi2cpmod/

which is a light blackberry keyboard with touchpad, that connects via usb c to a host or can be used as a i2c device via multiple connectors.

I added a MDBT breakout module that fits pretty neatly into the free space inside the enclosure.

Used the Web IDE to connect wirelessly to the breakout board, which works seamlessly, if you remember or implement a few tricks to switch pairing once you start the BLE HID mode. The Espruino module connects to the great I2C interface of the original keyboard and does its own keyboard mapping etc.

There is enough IO left to actually connect the keyboard matrix directly to the MDBT breakout, but you would need to provide your own level converters etc., so this is a neat compromise for now.

I'll try to polish the pairing and security functions, but for general use, it's working quite well already.

Pretty happy with Espruino's incremental tinkering experience that lead to a viable solution for the problem.

I'll promise to re-do the ugly soldering next time I need to open the case...

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That looks great! So the keyboard itself has a digital interface rather than needing scanning?

I can actually imagine that being really useful - and is that one of those special buttons at the top where you can rub your thumb over it and scroll around?

That looks great! So the keyboard itself has a digital interface rather than needing scanning?

Yes, it comes with its own 2040 that does does the USB HID and a I2C node that provides config, keystroke (down/held/up), touchpad delta-since-last-poll, backlight control and several raw access registers, including managing an interupt pin (which I'm not using right now).

Pretty neat for using with a mini-Linux machine or in a embedded setup.

The i2C interface can provide ascii with direct modification (shift/alt) or provide just the keycodes. Might also be a good candidate for an espruino module.

I also implemented a nice dimming effect, which unfortunately makes the little power bank shut down due to low power consumption :) Mapped the dim-down onto a key combo now and use it as an off switch until I might replace the battery with something simpler.

Works great for now with that singe-file Espruino solution.

The vertical opportunity would have been doing everthing with just the keyboard module and a 1.8V nRF. But that would have meant a new board, casing, flow soldering instead of just soldering four cables. But it might run well on a 3V coin cell instead of the "bone".

and is that one of those special buttons at the top where you can rub your thumb over it and scroll around?

Yes. Great addition to the keyboard.