Are all the keys working right?

[martinlombana]

Hi there, and thanks for sharing this. I am interested, myself, in using this as a controller for a Y480 lenovo keyboard. But I am wondering if you could share you experience with it after all this time:

1. Are all keys functional? (Including FN?)
2. Can you create your own mappings for the FN key or modifications?
3. Is there any input lag, or problems so far?

Using a pico is much cheaper than a teensy, hence my interest. Specially if I can use python.

Thanks so much.

[s12wu]

Hi martinlombana, I'm glad you like it! I still use it every day as part of a "renewed" netbook - which is slow (the computer, not the keyboard), but I love it

1. Yes, every key is functional and except for the FN key, they are passed through USB HID. Keyboard shortcuts work as expected - there's a list of the current state of all the keys, and if any of them change (press or release), the change is reported to the adafruit_hid library.
2. The FN key can be used to perform any custom function - https://github.com/s12wu/laptop-keyboard-reader/blob/master/code.py#L165 . For example, I use it to control the volume and display backlight. My own keyboard had a pin ripped off the ribbon cable after half a year, so I created shortcuts using the FN key to replace the lost keys.
3. No. The system it's connected to isn't that fast (Radxa Zero 1.4 with 1GB ram, Manjaro XFCE), but the response time feels great.

[martinlombana]

Nice to hear!
The keyboard that I will use is this one:

It has a 24 pin connector. Any tips for the wiring, in this case? Would I really need a port expander, or I should be fine?

Thanks!!

[s12wu]

As long as each pin of the connector goes to a separate GPIO, you don't need a port expander. I just needed it because I have some more peripherals connected to the Pico.
You could use GP0 to GP22 and GP26 to connect your keyboard, remember to use external pull-up resistors