Creating a mini keyboard - guidance!

Other Hardware 3rd Party Boards
1

Hi Guys

First post here so apologies if this is the wrong category.

I am making a mini keyboard for work with just 4 keys. I have already sourced the keys (Cherry from RS) I am now looking at the controller.

I am someone with little Arduino experience at the movement so need some advice n the best device to use. I have been looking at the Arduino Mini.

Does anyone have recommendations for controllers and more importantly if this is feasible?

Best
Will

2

You haven't said exactly what it is you want to do with the results of the keypresses, but yes, the Mini is perfectly capable of handling four switches.

3

Hey AWOL

Thanks for your reply. One key would control space bar, one would control ESC key, one would control left arrow and one would control right arrow.

In terms of programming what sort of level would this be looking at? Apologies for the novice questions - completely new to Arduino.

Thanks

4

A keyboard by itself isn't much use, unless you like the sound of the click it makes.
What will the Arduino be doing?
What, and how, will it be connected to?

5

It will just be functioning as an additional keyboard, containing just those 4 keys.

It will be used to control stop, pause, forward and back functions within an audio control programme.

The Arduino will be sending the values made by the push buttons to the computer via USB.

Hope this is cleared now!

6

An additional keyboard to WHAT?
A PC?
A DMX console?
An Aston/Chyron?
Some other piece of proprietary kit?

7

An Apple MacBook Pro

8

I'd recommend a Leonardo, but I see it's been retired.
Sorry, I have no interest in or knowledge of Apple products.

9

If I understand correctly, you want to build a device that looks like a USB keyboard to the MacBook, but only implements a couple keys.

Implementing the keys is easy and can be done with virtually any Arduino. See, for example, the Examples -> Basics -> DigitalReadSerial sketch in the development environment.

The harder part is making the device appear to the MacBook as a USB keyboard. There exists a "Mouse and Keyboard Library" which is compatible with AtMega32u4 based Arduinos (e.g. the Leonardo mentioned up thread). Hence you are looking for products which have USB and are Atmega32u4 based.

Because the Arduino programming environment normally expects to be programming devices via USB serial (i.e. something the computer handles differently than a USB keyboard or mouse) working with this sort of device is more complicated than "beginner Arduino level".