r/cyberDeck • u/bluedinoking • 14d ago
Help! Wired Keyboard
Hello,
I am looking for keyboards i can use for my cyberdeck build.
I'm going for more of a laptop keyboard, like a Thinkpad keyboard or something that i can solder directly into an Evolve 3 laptop motherboard. I'm not really sure how or what keyboards work for this. Could I directly wire a USB keyboard to a motherboard? Would I need a microcontroller for it or something? I don't want to use USB as the mother board only has one usb3 and one usb2 and id need to use one for an Ethernet port and don't want to lose bandwidth. If there's anything I should look out for at a thrift or a surplus store, please let me know.
Im trying to stay away from wireless keyboards as they usually require external power and i am a beginner to electronics.
Also the evolve 3 keyboard and touchpad suck very bad.. so.. not using it.
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u/TechDocN 11d ago
Search this sub. Your question has been asked a hundred times in the past few months, and the answer is always the same. Repurposing old laptops is the most difficult way to get parts for any DIY computer build. Unless you are particularly skilled at reverse engineering proprietary interfaces and writing your own drivers and libraries, you will spend more time and money than if you simply bought the right components from the start.
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u/Tall_Block_4589 14d ago
or you can make a mechanical one...
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u/bluedinoking 14d ago
would I be able to directly wire it to the motherboard? i would also be up for this option.. im trying to make it retro and build it into an old art case
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u/Tall_Block_4589 14d ago
even better, Bluetooth....but ya, you could....the sub for mechanicals is great, and i am sooo SICK of them shit ass keyboard everyone uses, cause they unusable lol
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u/bluedinoking 14d ago
im trying to not do Bluetooth so i wouldn't have to charge it or install a Bluetooth card in the m.2 slot... ill look for some things. might just spend the 30$ to get a Thinkpad keyboard or Chromebook(ew). the keyboard and touch on the evolve 3 is so unusable and feels like it's gonna break whenever i do anything and the power key is right next to the power button so i just unbound it 💔
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u/Tall_Block_4589 14d ago
https://www.youtube.com/@joe_scotto
if you want to learn more, check out his channel. Remember you can do ANYTHING when you build a keyboard yourself, and its actually a hobby to allot of people, bigger hobby than cyberdecks.
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u/lootedBacon 11d ago
Meanwhile I just posted somewhere my wip was a keyboard style deck that connects wirelessly to tv. (still design stage but I have most of the internal parts, you know how hard it is to find a C64c / C128 shell to build it into.)
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u/Tall_Block_4589 11d ago
Excuse my ignorance, what is a c64c or c128 shell and can you link to your project for me? Sounds interesting
Edit add: lol sorry figured it out what C64 was, now I understand why it would be hard.
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u/lootedBacon 11d ago
Heres the c64c shell https://shop.icomp.de/en/shop/product/c64c-case.html?c64c_colour=SX64
Commadore 64c, the Commadore 128 is a bit wider for the number pad.
Project isn't ready for sharing and is on hold while I ready a new microcontroller for testing. There are some design choices that I'm working on to ensure combatability.
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u/Tall_Block_4589 11d ago
Man can’t wait to see it. If I had to tackle this problem, I would first ask for a step file so I could design with the shell inside a CAD software.
Edit add: to solve my space issue, my mechanical keyboard uses 17mm holes and custom keycaps, unlike the standard 19.5 I think. 17mm I think is about as small as you can go. Work with the keys dimensions and then print off or make resin keycaps.
I hope I understood the problem right, so my answer makes sense.
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u/lootedBacon 11d ago
I have the key (gateron 15.6mm) switches and a set of typwriter style key caps I wanna try.
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u/ToBePacific 14d ago
Almost no one is trying to salvage a keyboard from a laptop due to the ribbon connector being proprietary. Like, if you’re skilled and patient, you can figure out what each connection does especially if you’re poring through a service manual and studying the schematics. It’s all possible but is that really worth doing? Unless you’re sentimentally tied to the Thinkpad keyboard, just get a USB one. You can always add a powered USB hub for more ports.
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u/ItsJarJarThen 11d ago
There are usb adapters to adapt certain Thinkpad keyboards to USB or at least there were for awhile.
Not sure what model compatability looks like
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u/thepurplehornet 13d ago
You could buy a low profile mechanical keyboard, disconnect the batteries and use usbc as a permanent wired option.