I like my Boox, but I want to type and charge at the same time.

[MarjaE]

If I'm writing, I need my keyboard.

It makes it a lot easier to type, and because it has nav keys, it makes it a lot easier to page between sections or page to the end of what I'm writing.

It is a constant power drain, though.

Having to stop, disconnect the keyboard, and connect the charging cord limits how much I can write, and keeps me from adding a bit at a time.

It also causes apps to restart whenever I disconnect or reconnect the keyboard.

Is there an adaptor that would let me charge and type at the same time? I bought a wireless keyboard hoping to avoid this problem, but it turned out to use a usb-a dongle, and I use a usb a to c adaptor with it.

[ottischwenk]

Im using a bluetooth keyboard.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by MarjaE

Is there an adaptor that would let me charge and type at the same time?

Yes, but it works with almost no phones or tablets because the USB port only gives out current and won't charge on almost every device if the OTG is activated to make the USB be a host and connect a peripheral slave.
A small hub powered from charger will power the hub and the keyboard and reduce USB port drain to zero. There are also power split USB cables for micro USB host so an HDD etc can be powered from the USB charger.

BT is a possibility but most BT keyboards are rubbish. I only once in over 15 years recently bought one good typing action and reliable pairing (as long as you only use it with one host).

[Renate]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Im using a bluetooth keyboard.

I'm using two Bluetooth keyboards.
You can set them up for different languages/layouts.
OTOH, you can set a single keyboard for multiple layouts and can cycle through them with Ctrl-Space.

With USB Type C it is possible for your device to charge and be a host at the same time.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by MarjaE

It also causes apps to restart whenever I disconnect or reconnect the keyboard.

Android is too enthusiastic about thinking it needs to restart apps on the slightest change in "configuration". The logic is that if you change from portrait to landscape or any change (like connecting a keyboard) your app needs to reload all its resources. I consider that overkill. Ultimately it's up to application itself.

That's why I put this in AndroidMainfest.xml:

    <activity
      ...
      android:configChanges="keyboard|keyboardHidden|orientation|screenSize|uiMode|navigation">

This doesn't mean that you have to ignore configurations changes. It just means that your app doesn't need to automatically restart.

If the app is open source you can modify/build/sign it yourself.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

With USB Type C it is possible for your device to charge and be a host at the same time.

But not all USB-C device support it.
A very few micro-USB Android and Microsoft devices do support it.
A good BT keyboard is the solution. A small USB-hub + PSU/Charger is next best but won't charge the tablet/reader/phone.

[Renate]

I've used a "back-powering" hub with Nook NST for years. It's a question of getting the horse to drink.

TLDR: Just bypass the diode on the input to your hub from the host connector. YMMV. Not responsible if you blow anything up.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

I've used a "back-powering" hub with Nook NST for years. It's a question of getting the horse to drink.

TLDR: Just bypass the diode on the input to your hub from the host connector. YMMV. Not responsible if you blow anything up.

You've been very lucky.

That would destroy some gadgets because the charging system may be only operational in slave mode. Electronics Engineer answer, "if your gadget can't charge in host mode out of the box, accept it."

[MarjaE]

Originally Posted by Quoth

A good BT keyboard is the solution.

So how do you find keyboards? I've had a lot of trouble trying to find keyboards online, and ending up with ones which don't meet all my needs.

This "wireless" keyboard relies on a usb dongle to connect. My last keyboard relied on key combos, and didn't work with sticky keys, so I couldn't do a lot of key combos, either because they required too many keys, or too far apart, or in awkward positions.

When I've searched for mini keyboards with nav keys, I find a bunch of full-sized keyboards with nav keys, full-sized keyboards without nav keys, mini keyboards without nav keys, miscellaneous keyboards which rely on mod keys and only have the mod keys on one side, 2-handed bent keyboards, 1-handed chordal keyboards, etc.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by MarjaE

This "wireless" keyboard relies on a usb dongle...

Watch out. Everything today communicates on 2.4 GHz, the unlicensed "ISM" band. If your "2.4 GHz" device needs a dongle, it's probably using some non-standard communication. There's nothing that wrong with that, but if you get an actual Bluetooth keyboard and you have a Bluetooth device, you save the hassle of needing a dongle. If it doesn't say "Bluetooth" it ain't.

[MarjaE]

There isn't a bluetooth version of my current keyboard, and it's a pain to try to find a new keyboard that might work.

If anyone knows a way to find usable keyboards, that'd be very helpful, because so far it's a lot of work to sift through all the clearly-unusable ones on online stores, and then hit-and-miss whether the remainder might be usable.

P.S. I'm having an easier time finding options this time than the last few times...

[Renate]

Are you looking for a specific language or some other limiting factor?
Onyx support 40 different language layouts. Although Persian is broken.
We fixed that with an add-on, see here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=347247

I bought an Anker keyboard at Walmart and a Russian keyboard off ebay.
I've not had a problem with either and have even reprogrammed both internally.

Originally Posted by Quoth

You've been very lucky.
That would destroy some gadgets...

I wouldn't expect most devices to charge correctly, but I wouldn't expect any to blow up either. YMMV.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Renate

I wouldn't expect most devices to charge correctly, but I wouldn't expect any to blow up either. YMMV.

"Blowing up" Hollywood or Star Trek style is rare. Mostly abused stuff either gets weird faults or stops working.

However Lithium cells do burn nicely. I never charge devices near soft furnishings.

This model of USB Keyboard is the best one I've had. About €12 in local Limerick, Ireland shops.
Sold under many brands.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/402395541936

I've used a utility on Android to do more extensive remapping of keys than the stock layouts.

You can buy or print vinyl labels for Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, or use black or white nail varnish (there are white cap versions) and a marker or your own printed label for small changes (UK, Spanish, German, French etc rather than USA).
the
|
\
key is beside return rather than Z on a UK layout. It's approximately full size keys.

I blame IBM for inflicting the one key less USA keyboard on the world.
If you select UK you lose \ and |
US > UK
\ > #
| > ~
# > £
@ > "
" > @
~ > ¬
(on a regular US with Alt Gr Alt Gr ~`key at top left is ¦, with ~ > ¬)
Using a keymap utility you can map the top left key to be \ and | otherwise on any USA keyboard without the extra key you may lose \| if you pick USA layout. If you get a USA Keyboard with TWO \| keys, one will remain \| and the other will be ~#

Android is more like Windows than Linux for keyboards despite underlying Linux kernel, ie poor. On Linux almost all AltGr and Shift AltGr give extra characters and you can map a key as Compose to type all the less used such en, em, Copyright, elipsis etc. So on Linux you can type all Scandinavian, Irish & Western European inc Polish without changing layout. You can add entire Greek and Cyrillic to the Compose key. Compose g f = φ, Compose G F = Φ etc.

I couldn't find any decent UK (or USA + extra key) BT keyboard in nearly 20 years of looking. The one linked works fine on Android phone, tablet and android Mars eInk and Linux laptop, except for being one key short (common on USA layouts).

So if not using US layout you may need to remap top left to \|, the ` is NOT an opening single quote. It's used as a dead key to do è à etc. The ¬ is Not operator maybe used in APL and some maths, so \ is more important than ` and | than ¬ for most UK layout users.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by Quoth

"Blowing up" Hollywood or Star Trek style is rare.

I was speaking in the vernacular. By "blow up" I meant to cause impaired functionality.

[Quoth]

I suppose keyboard layout issues originated with Victorian typewriters

The ' told the type-setter or reader an accent, opening quote, closing quote or single prime like for feet or minutes (time or angles). The Backspace key allowed to to be placed above any character.
O also was used for 0 (no 0 after the 9)
I was also used for 1
The " meant open quote, close quote, ditto or double prime (inches or seconds).
The # was often used as the Any Currency, but L backspace - or = for £ or Lira.
Oddly there was often an @ for prices. 6 loaves @ 2d
In 1928 the Teletype was added. It used only 32 symbols, but one meant alternate, so 62 total, later became Telex and had 7 bits (127 characters. all holes meant null or erased as thus a mistake could be erased). Prior to that it had been a keyboard to tape for sending morse by telegraph or radio. Some characters had special meaning:
BS: Backspace, Move print head back one to allow overprint
LF: Linefeed, Move paper one line without moving head
CR: Carriage Return, Move head to left Margin without advancing paper.
HT: Tab, move head right, a fixed number of times, or to next column
VT: Move a number of lines.
FF: Form Feed. Move about 66 lines. Not eject page, because a continuous roll was used.
BELL: Ring a bell or buzzer!
DEL: Usually do nothing, but if keyboard driving a tape punch it would reverse and put all holes, which would be ignored at receiver.
It was only with Terminal Screens that BS became erase prior and DEL became erase next.
EOT: End of transmission.


In the mid 1940s to 1970s computers used Teletypes for Input/output. So from 1960s the terminal screens used much the same keyboard layout as a teleype/teleprinter in 1928.