Mini Bluetooth keyboards for LK

There are several models of Mini Bluetooth keyboards available on Amazon, Ebay etc.

They are all cheap, in the range of price between 7 euro and 20 euro, and more or less are the same identical hardware. But the keys can be different!

LK8000 v5 allows you to choose the keyboard layout and the way keypresses are managed, resulting in different actions on the PNA.

Configuring the keyboard

Enter LK8000 setup (Config, Config, LK800 Setup buttons).

Click on Device Setup and choose the correct keyboard type choosing it from the Device model menu

Notice that Device model is normally "Generic" , otherwise some special hardware is in use like Holux, Medion, Minimap etc.

These other models do not support bluetooth keyboards. When you set KeyBoard 1 or 2 3 etc. you are automatically setting also a Generic PNA model.

Which is your keyboard?

Currently we fully support the following small keyboards with their particular layout.

If your keyboard is not among these, there can be small or big differences in how they work with LK, which you will be easily able to find out yourself.

Differences are normally in the lowest row, where Shift Control Alt Space and arrows are positioned. We use this row as "right key", because (as you will see later on) we use the keyboard holding it vertically, like with a TV remote control, with SPACE on the right.

Keyboard 1

With this keyboard, be careful not to press at the same time Fn and Z  because this is commanding bluetooth disconnection.

To pair this keyboard with a V2, you must set Bluetooth ON  on the V2, with Device visible.

Pairing will ask for a pass code, type 1234 and confirm it on the PNA, and immediately after type 1234 and Enter on the keyboard!

The pairing is needed only the first time, then the keyboard is remembering the PNA.

(WORK IN PROGRESS: PAIRING AND RECONNECTION FROM WITHIN LK CONFIG)

The following keys have no effect:  Fn and Alt

Shift (both Shift keys) is used to CONFIRM a selection, such as in the landables pages when you want to select a destination for a goto.

It is the same as performing a long click in the center of the screen. We cannot measure how long a key is pressed on this keyboards, so this is a workaround.

Space is used normally together with the keys on the same row as a "right gesture" to change multimaps for example.

But if a menu dialog is open (buttons for a goto confirmation for example)

then the highlighted button (in this example, Goto) will be triggered by pressing Space.

Keyboard 2

On this keyboard the following keys have no effect:

Fn , the key on the left of space, the two keys on the right of space.

Also on this keyboard the Space key is used for flipping pages and to confirm a button, like in model 1.

Shift is also used to confirm a choice.

Keyboard 3

This is very similar to keyboard 2, but see Cmd keys existing here.

How to use the keyboards

There are different ways of using these keyboards with LK. If you choose  "A" or "B" (mode C not working yet), they work with all keyboards.

Keyboard  A

This modality works with all keyboards. It just use keys from 1 to 0. Each key is assigned to a custom key.

Custom keys are assigned in configuration:

Keyboard  B

This is like Mode A, but with bigger virtual keys. Pressing on any of the buttons inside the group will trigger custom key action accordingly.

Please note that key 10 is not always available , depending on the keyboard type. You can safely rely on 9 keys, 1 to 9.

Keyboard 1

You must think of this keyboards like if they were a touchscreen. Normally you will not need to actually look at what you are typing, because several keys will act the same, just like on the screen when you click on the upper part you zoom in, the same will happen here.

The Space key is also used for confirming the highlighted button in a menu.

Keyboard 2

This is like Keyboard 1 with a few differences in the layout.

Keyboard 3

Advancing to next infopage

When you are viewing infopages like 2.1 2.2 2.3  you may have several splitted pages.

For example, in the 2.3 TPS 1/7  means you are in page 1 of 7 of your turnpoints.

To advance to next page on the touchscreen you simply click on the selected item on the sort box line.

With the keyboard, simply click on any top-left or top-right keys (the top left and top right customkeys in fact are unused while inside infopages).