|
| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: From Wired to Bluetooth |
| 3 | +description: How To Add Bluetooth to Most Keyboards |
| 4 | +author: Boardsource |
| 5 | +subcategory: easy |
| 6 | +draft: false |
| 7 | +tags: |
| 8 | +- 40% |
| 9 | +- 60% |
| 10 | +- ergo |
| 11 | +- kit |
| 12 | +banner: |
| 13 | +thumbnail: |
| 14 | +--- |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +### Hardware |
| 17 | +| Item | Count | Required | |
| 18 | +|---------------------------|-------|-------------| |
| 19 | +| BLE Controller | 1/2 | [x] | |
| 20 | +| Battery | 1 | [x] | |
| 21 | +| Battery Helper PCB | 1/2 | [] | |
| 22 | +| Power Switch | 1 | [] | |
| 23 | +| Keyboard Kit (solderable) | 1 | [x] | |
| 24 | +| Milmax sockets/pins | 1/2 | [] | |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +# The hardware changes |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +Building a bluetooth keyboard is very similar to building a wired keyboard. The |
| 29 | +main difference is changing out the controller to something that supports |
| 30 | +bluetooth, and a battery to give it power. Controllers like the |
| 31 | +[Nice!Nano](https://www.boardsource.xyz/products/nice!nano_v2) and |
| 32 | +[SuperMini](https://www.boardsource.xyz/products/supermini) will both work with |
| 33 | +bluetooth and replace a pro micro/elite C/blok as those don't have a wireless |
| 34 | +function. |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +# When to buy optional items |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +For things like the [Battery |
| 39 | +Helper](https://www.boardsource.xyz/products/Battery-Helper), these are useful |
| 40 | +if your PCB does not support a battery+switch as many keyboards were built |
| 41 | +without wireless in mind. While you do not need a switch, it's highly |
| 42 | +recommended to be able to turn off your keyboard for storage or transport. The |
| 43 | +power switch is usually supported on any keyboard if it already supports a |
| 44 | +battery. The most common power switch for keyboards is |
| 45 | +[this](https://www.boardsource.xyz/products/smd-slide-switch), and one is |
| 46 | +included with the battery helper if you use that. Milmax sockets and pins are |
| 47 | +massively recommended as they allow you to easily remove the controller if you |
| 48 | +want to test things, or if something goes wrong and you need to replace it. |
| 49 | +Desoldering controllers from standard headers is quite difficult, and most |
| 50 | +people would not want to go through that should they need to repair/replace |
| 51 | +anything. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +# PCB's that include battery+switch support |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +This is a short list of keyboards that we offer that do not need the battery |
| 56 | +helper if you want to use a power switch. These PCB's have the function |
| 57 | +integrated into the keyboard. Anything not on this list will likely need a |
| 58 | +battery helper. |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | +- Corne |
| 61 | +- Sweep |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +# Installing the battery |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +If you are using the battery helper, you can see the [documentation for that |
| 66 | +here.](BatteryHelper.md) |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +For other keyboards that integrate batteries and switches, please reference the |
| 69 | +image below for their pinout and where to connect them. |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +### Corne |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +Photo of corne with battery attached |
| 74 | +Image of corne pins for power switch and polarity for battery |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +### Sweep |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | +Photo of sweep with battery attached |
| 79 | +Image of sweep pins for power switch and polarity for battery |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +# Final checks |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +It's recommended to check power switch (if used), and the voltage of the battery |
| 84 | +with a multimeter to ensure that the controller is getting the correct voltage. |
| 85 | +Most controllers will flash a light when they see power, but this is a good |
| 86 | +thing to check before you start wrapping things up. It may be a good idea to |
| 87 | +flash a firmware before installing the controllers as well as it may be easier |
| 88 | +to debug. |
| 89 | + |
| 90 | +# Further reading |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +Some other useful articles that we have about ZMK may help you get your firmware |
| 93 | +in working order. |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +[What is ZMK?](../guides/what_is_zmk.md) |
| 96 | +[A GUI for ZMK!](../guides/zmkGui.md) |
| 97 | +[How to Flash](../guides/flashing_a_uf2.md) |
| 98 | + |
| 99 | +## Extra |
| 100 | +For questions, ask in [Boardsource Discord |
| 101 | +server](https://discord.gg/5qpqbgaTYz) |
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