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Showing 1 of 84 conversations about:
WherestheSNES
129
Aug 14, 2018
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I'm a little confused. You plug your keyboard into the dongle. Then that dongle goes into...another dongle? what is that MPOW device? A battery? And then you can pair your wired keyboard with bluetooth 4.0?
nebisu
3
Aug 14, 2018
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WherestheSNESThe keyboard can't power the adapter since keyboards passively use power from the computer they're connected to.
So the adapter seems to need an external source, like a portable battery or a wall charger, to be powered.
PirateIce
232
Aug 14, 2018
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nebisuso thats not a host... this adapter does use bluetooth wireless to pair? and then that makes the male usb port, simply a power port?
PirateIce
232
Aug 14, 2018
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nebisuthe part about "thats not a host" was just about the rectangluar device in the pictures, I think we are saying the same thing.
handheldsci
153
Aug 14, 2018
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WherestheSNESThe dongle can go into either (1) a USB port of a computer, in that case it acts as a USB to USB bridge, AND you can use the keyboard via Bluetooth at the same time; or (2) any USB power source like an AC adapter or battery power bank (for mobility). In that case you only get Bluetooth connectivity.
PirateIce
232
Aug 14, 2018
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handheldsciYou can type to two computers at the same time, what is this the future?!?!?
handheldsci
153
Aug 14, 2018
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stu556Another reason to choose a male USB for power is for the USB-USB bridge functionality. I consider that more interesting and useful than Bluetooth. Imagine, with just a few commands (no software to install), you can change your keyboard to a different layout (e.g., Dvorak), or swap Atl key with Ctrl key, or turn your keypad keys into media keys (vol+, vol-, etc). The possibility is endless.
WherestheSNES
129
Aug 14, 2018
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handheldsciNow you've got my attention. That sounds kind of like Hasu's USB to USB adapter that uses TMK software to remap your board.
How exactly does this device allow you to remap your board?
How exactly does this device allow you to remap your board?
handheldsci
153
Aug 14, 2018
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PirateIceCorrect. You can certainly disable one interface (either USB or BT) if you don't want to use both at the same time. You never know how people will use a new feature. I have seen keyboards with 20-key rollover. Never understand how that can be useful unless you use your feet together.
handheldsci
153
Aug 14, 2018
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WherestheSNESRemap almost anything to anything (with macros and timers). Look through the manual at our web site: http://handheldsci.com/kb. We know every similar products in the market including Hasu's. Can't compare that with ours since they are not in the same level :-). For instance, all others (including those "configurable keyboards") require you to recompile some firmware and load to the device (how many people are able to do that, btw). Ours don't. Here is how to do it: open a text editor, press the mode button to enter command mode, type in a few commands to re-map some keys (or configure other things), save and reboot. That is it. Now you have the keys remapped. Can't get better than this.
handheldsci
153
Aug 14, 2018
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handheldsciAnd we are talking about doing this in such a small form factor, with BOTH USB & Bluetooth connectivities. We are so excited about this product. It is game changing, truly.
ezsolt
52
Aug 15, 2018
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handheldsciIt is not clear how can I enter command mode in a word or similar text editor application? I would assume I can communicate with the device in terminal rather than word. Can you explain this? Also I am on linux and macos, so no windows, does the communication working in those OS-es?
handheldsci
153
Aug 15, 2018
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ezsoltYou can use any text editor, including word., or even this text window. No terminal program is needed. The Adapter is NOT a serial port device and it does not communicate with the OS (truly platform independent!). When you can type texts from the keyboard through the adapter (like I am doing now), press and hold the mode button for 2 seconds, it enters command mode where all keystrokes from the keyboard are intercepted and interrupted as commands, and the command responses are displayed in the text editor. Let me show you how it works in real time using this text window. I am using a keyboard connected to BT-500. Now I press and hold the mode button for 2 seconds:
Bluetooth Adapter Firmware v5.0.4 Copyright 2018 Handheld Scientific, Inc. Type help or ? > help Commands: help, syntax, show, set, map, macro, timer, key, device, save, exit, reboot type "help [command]" for more help > show throttle interval (ms): 0 Blue (Bluetooth) LED Intensity: 10 (0-10) Green (Device) LED Intensity: 10 (0-10) Bluetooth interface is enabled USB interface is enabled Ctrl-Alt-Ins to enter command mode is enabled > exit Exit command mode
Now I am back to normal (transparent) mode. The only things I typed in command mode was "help", "show" and "exit". Everything else was generated by the Adapter.
Bluetooth Adapter Firmware v5.0.4 Copyright 2018 Handheld Scientific, Inc. Type help or ? > help Commands: help, syntax, show, set, map, macro, timer, key, device, save, exit, reboot type "help [command]" for more help > show throttle interval (ms): 0 Blue (Bluetooth) LED Intensity: 10 (0-10) Green (Device) LED Intensity: 10 (0-10) Bluetooth interface is enabled USB interface is enabled Ctrl-Alt-Ins to enter command mode is enabled > exit Exit command mode
Now I am back to normal (transparent) mode. The only things I typed in command mode was "help", "show" and "exit". Everything else was generated by the Adapter.
ricson.chua
78
Aug 16, 2018
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handheldsciI know it is too much to ask and I think it won't be for this iteration. I just realized that it would have been nice if the tact switch (mode button) was a reed switch instead. It'll be easier to cram this inside a case and not be intrusive as one will only need to use a magnet to trigger the device!
I've seen some controllers do that. The Frosty Flake for Cooler Master QuickFire Rapid is one example!
I've seen some controllers do that. The Frosty Flake for Cooler Master QuickFire Rapid is one example!
MechEng
345
Aug 19, 2018
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handheldsciThe item in itself is not self-powering and will need to be powered because it has no battery...so you need to power it with a battery bank or adapter/ USB...thereby no longer making it as portable?
handheldsci
153
Aug 19, 2018
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MechEngWithout a built-in battery, you can say it is less portable when used with a battery bank, since you now need to carry two pieces instead of one. But look at the up side, there are so many selections of those battery banks out there with different sizes and capacities. Keyboards also have different power requirements. A fixed size built-in battery does not have the flexibility to meet all those different needs.
MechEng
345
Aug 19, 2018
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handheldsciThanks, I forgot about the power requirements of the keyboard! I was just think about the Bluetooth device.
Vance
5
Aug 20, 2018
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handheldsciDumb question perhaps, but does the key remapping feature also work over Bluetooth?
handheldsci
153
Aug 20, 2018
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VanceYes. the same key mappings are applied to both USB and Bluetooth. In fact, currently there is no way to have different mappings for the two interfaces. We are pondering whether that is a useful enhancement to add.
Vance
5
Aug 20, 2018
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handheldsciYeah, I guess in most cases the keyboard shortcuts/remaps that a user wants would be the same over USB and BT. However, there may be some situations where a certain key combination is useful on a desktop system (connected through USB) but would not be functional on a phone or tablet (connected through Bluetooth.) I can't really think of why that would be a limitation for me, but I'm not really one of the keyboard enthusiasts that may find more complex uses for this adapter.
MechEng
345
Aug 20, 2018
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VanceCan't you just add another layer for what you would have mapped to bluetooth or wired directly? Or does this device not do layers?
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