Page 1 of 1

Can't get DIY keypad to work

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 4:38 pm
by Bursar
I've been struggling all day trying to build a DIY keypad for my LK204 25 WBV LCD.

I knocked up a sheet of paper with 5 strips of tin foil on, and connected each strip to a column pin.

I then had a second sheet of paper with some holes cut in it to act as the insulation layer.

Finally there was a 3rd sheet of paper with another 5 strips of foil on, and they connected to the row pins.

Whenever I shorted a connection, I got the same keypress regardless of where on the row (or column) I press. So all of column 1 would give me an input of E for instance. Column 2 would give me a J. (I can't remember the exact keypresses, but you get the idea).

This is driving me completely mad. I've posted over at Bit-Tech, and they've given me a little advice, but I think essentially what I have built *should* work. I'm not very good at this electronics stuff, so it could be that I've missed something very very obvious.

Any pointers to what this could be would be gratefully appreciated.

Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2002 11:35 pm
by Henry
You have to make sure a row and a column get shorted together, not 2 of the same...

Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2002 4:27 am
by Bursar
Upon further investigation, it seems as if a single sheet of paper isn't enough to act as insulation, and may have been causing a couple of keys to short at the same time.

Once I beefed it up a bit more, it seemed to work.

Talk about always checking the obvious things first... :D