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Adding a matrix to a keyboard encoder?

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Lilwolf:
Ok, just bought a jukebox... one with about 36 buttons (I think... haven't picked it up yet... but I think its A-Z + 0-1... anyway..)

I don't care at all about gaming... so I was considering buying a 20port cheap keyboard encoder and then try and create my own matrix for the key input.  Can I?

Or after that... How hard is it to hack a keyboard if you don't care about ghosting or others?  should I just hack a keyboard and be done?   I haven't hacked a keyboard before (just a few old joysticks).  I don't think it would be worth my time for 20 bucks and a keywizeco.... unless I had to buy two.

thanks

Chris:
Hacaking a KB could be just as easy; it depends on the keyboard and what kind of connection it uses.  The last keyboard I hacked, I just de-soldered the connector it hald and was able to solder a pin header in its place for a ribbon cable.  If you have a spare keyboard lying around, rip it apart and see how easy it's going to be to hook up wires to it...

SirPeale:
If you can solder, hacking a keyboard is dead easy.  For a jukebox project, it'd work really well.

Someone recently posted a howto on keyboard hacking.  They well all out and put it inside a project box.  This tutorial was awesome, with one major thing that I would have changed:

They soldered wires to every lead on the keyboard PCB, then labeled the wires 1-36.  What they *should* have done was label the first of the sets A-H, and the next ones 1-28 (or however many there were).  Using the example I gave makes it much easier to cross-reference a particular keyset.  Let's see how my table skills are holding up...

12345ABCDE
I'm not sure how to make the lines appear on the table, so just pretend they're there.

whammoed:
If you decide to hack a keyboard, let me know which one you decide to use.  I may have a map for it already...I have a bunch. ;)

RandyT:
Here's another option for you:

Use a KeyWiz Eco and wire up 4 more (or however many you need) dual-diode "one-click Shazaaam" buttons.

If you need more info, contact me.

Otherwise, I'm with the "hack a keyboard" crowd.  Jukeboxes are one of the few applications that won't have single problem with it.

RandyT

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