The video above shows how someone turned her father’s old straight key into a USB keyboard. This imgur gallery shows some construction details. The processor is an Arduino-compatible Teensy embedded in the base.
Currently, the project only supports lower-case characters and character timing is set at a fixed value, but adding upper-case shouldn’t be too difficult. All you’d have to really do is to add a prosign for SHIFT.
Paul - K9PLG says
Pretty Neat !! Now It just needs a sidetone for feedback…
Wonder how fast it can copy ???
Dan KB6NU says
Hmmmm. Yes, a sidetone would be a great addition.
The speed thing is one of the biggest drawbacks. Currently, the character rate is fixed. The software counts any switch closure greater than 150 ms as a dah, and a closure less than that as a dit. I would guess, however, that there’s code out there that would be more adaptive.