They really are awesome. I want to buy more.

I just tested a PS\2 Keyboard with the circuit I posted yesterday, and it works perfectly. Now I just need to hook up the PS1 controller, write the program, test it out, then cram it all in the PS1 Controller!

Check out my blog for a short vid that shows the keyboard working.

http://rpgmakerxp.us/blog/

UPDATE: I wrote the program for PICAXE. Kupid is no longer just an idea, or a proof-of concept. Kupid LIVES! See the latest vid here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kupid-testing

I have caps-Lock working. Just press the caps-lock key on your keyboard, and the caps-lock light will turn on or off, indicating to you whether or not you have caps-lock on.

I am still working on the special symbols & characters. But should have the entire program complete shortly.

Due to memory limitations, as I feared, I won't be able to get that copy/paste function working. It's doable with the addition of a 4KB EEPROM, but that would raise the price and mean a lot more work for me. So I'm just going to focus on making the core Kupid unit.

The final circuit (click on image for larger pic):

You have my sword!

Thanks, Lantis.

UPDATE: Special characters & symbols are now working. Just press either shift key (don't hold it down), then the "num-lock" light on your keyboard will light up, and then you just type in whatever special character you need. Also, F1 through F5 type in the special symbols (male symbol, smiley face, heart, etc).

The PICAXE program is now complete. I may make a few adjustments as I continue to work on Kupid, but for all intents and purposes, the program is done. It clocked in at 428 lines of code.

All I need to do now is get everything crammed inside the PS1 controller. I still need to get a few more components, though (I need more resistors before I get started ).

It may take me a little bit to figure it all out (as you can see in the pics, it's a lot of stuff to put into the small case of a PS1 controller), but I'll post updates as soon as I make progress.

I spent 8 hours working on Kupid today, I'm done for now.

Just know your work isn't going unnoticed. I'm horribly excited about it all.

Thanks. I'll really find out how much my work is appreciated when I complete the first prototype unit and open up pre-orders.

The stuff I have photos of posted is going to stay that way, and I'll be making a new unit from scratch. That way I'll be able to see the working circuit and use it as reference while I build the final prototype.

I'm going to use this as an opportunity to experiment with some of the controllers I have, and try to figure out the best way of getting the wires soldered securely to the controller PCB. I'll try drilling through the PCB, soldering, and using a special conductive glue, and maybe a combination of those things and more. It will take longer that way, but I want to make sure the wires are secure and that Kupid is functional. I'm going to need to be creative to get everything to fit into the controller.

I am posting in one of the most significant threads in RPG Maker history!

And Mose, all this Kupid news has me like this:

Thanks.

As soon as I get those resistors, I'll get the final prototype built. I bought a new drill press back in '08, along with some special ultra-tiny bits meant for drilling PCB. If drilling is the right way to go, then at least I'll have an easy time of it. ^_^

What's with that last video? It seems like you're typing with a PS1 controller rather than the keyboard. Were you simply testing the arrow keys?

There's nothing wrong; the speed is just set low to reduce the number of button misses. While it moves more slowly, it prevents a lot of button misses which actually saves time. Though, at the last part of the video, I had a problem with a loose wire, that's why it took me so long to get the period typed in.

Well, I hope that wasn't the final speed, 'cause I could type faster than that with just the PS1 controller.

I still have to optimize the speed on the PICAXE-based unit; though I don't know how much faster it's going to get.

I may include two special-function keys that you can use to adjust the speed up and down to suit your own preferences (i.e. speed over accuracy, or accuracy over speed).

I just got the resistors. Need to go down to the campus and sign my new contract, and do a few other things first, but I'll get started on Kupid as soon as I can.

Been working on Kupid all day. Here are some pics of my progress.

I tested the connections, and they're all working.

I'm still working on Kupid tonight, so expect more updates shortly.

I've been having some trouble trying to get the circuit I designed built for the final prototype, so I made the below circuit schematic to help me out. I'll be using that as a guide in making the final circuit.

I've been working on Kupid for about 20 hours straight, now. Below is a pic of my progress.

I still have to solder in the programming jack, and the keyboard jack. I'm really struggling to get everything to fit inside the controller, but I'm going to keep going. You'll notice that one side is full of wires and whatnot, while the other side is nearly empty. One side houses the PICAXE & Darlington array, along with most of the wires (they're already in), while the other side houses the 5V step-up board (which you can just barely see in the above pic), the programming jack, and the keyboard jack (both of which are not in yet).

So far I haven't tested any of the connections, aside from the ones directly on the PCB. I won't be able to actually test it out until I get everything soldered in and completely finished. Hopefully I haven't made any mistakes, and all the connections are sound. Otherwise, it's going to be a real pain trying to figure out where in the bundle of wires the specific problem is.

The main problem I am trying to work around now is how to get the resistors in. They're really small, but still pose a big space problem. I have five that I need to include. It's going to be tough.

Like I said, I'll need to be creative to get this done.

This experience has made me think about the feasibility of selling these units. Even with everything I've learned, it would still take me an entire day or more to make just one. I need to think of a way to speed this up. If I weren't so limited by space constraints, then I could do it a lot faster.

An idea I'm considering is adding a small box onto the PS1 controller, which would house all the extra electronics. If I had even just a couple square inches of space, say an add-on smaller than a pack of cigarettes, then I could make my own PCBs. That would eliminate more than half of the wires, and making a Kupid unit would be a lot faster (just plugging the components into a PCB then soldering them in would probably save around 85% manufacturing time or more versus the way I'm doing it now).

I think that would be the best way to go. Of course, having a custom PCB would also eliminate a whole slew of potential problems like loose wires, bad solder connections, miswiring, etc.

Basically the PS1 controller would look just like a normal one, except for a jack of some kind on the bottom. You would plug in a special little box into the controller, and then plug your keyboard into this box. Man, that would be so much easier.

That would mean I'd have Kupid in development for a little while longer, and add a bit to the prices (maybe around $10 more per unit). Though for that extra money, you'd be getting a much higher quality and more reliable product. But it's either that, or no Kupid at all; 'cause there's no way I'd be able to make any more units entirely by hand after I finish this one. I may be an insomniac but I'm not a masochist.

Well, I'll worry about the future of Kupid after I actually finish this potentially not-so-final prototype.

well Wacom has several types of tablets based on options available and such, but basically they all work the same way. Sounds to me like you can reconcile the differences by just making a basic and a high end model.

Rpg Maker "Propeller Optimized Computer Keyboard for Entering Text"

POCKET

Yeah. I may choose to do that. Need to finish the basic prototype first, though.

Just got the resistors soldered into place. I cut the leads real short on both, then on the one going from the keyboard data line I soldered very short wires to the stumps of both leads and solder those to the appropriate places directly on the PS\2 jack itself. The other 7.4K resistor was also soldered directly to the jack, but I wrapped the leads around the pins, soldered it in place, then clipped the leads to size.

The last step is to solder in the programming jack. That's going to be very difficult as I've pretty much entirely run out of space.

The programming jack is something that wouldn't be included in the for-sale units, but I'm putting it in this prototype unit to aid in the refinement of the PICAXE program.

Once I get the jack in, I'll be able to test out the unit and see if it works. If it doesn't work, it means that I made a mistake somewhere while I soldered everything together. If ever there would be a time in my life that I let the curse-words fly, it would be the moment that the PICAXE doesn't respond to my programming attempt.

Suffice to say, soldering all this stuff together and getting it all to fit in the PS1 controller case has not been easy or particularly pleasant, nor would I like to repeat it any time soon.

Below is a couple of pics of my latest progress:

Well, I finished soldering everything together. And I have some good news and some bad news.

Good news: I can connect to the PICAXE and program it. If I press a key on the keyboard, the cursor moves.

Bad news: The buttons (square, triangle, cross, circle) apparently don't work. And it appears as if there is some kind of bad-connection somewhere that affects the video signal of my PS2 at certain times.

So, I'm going to have to look at all the wires, follow my circuit schematic, and try to trace the problem(s). Right now I REALLY wish I could afford a logic analyzer.

Here is a pic of the nearly final circuit: