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Monday, October 15, 2012

How to use HHKB Pro 2 as an external keyboard to an iPad


Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 (HHKB Pro 2), which is produced by PFU Limited of Japan, is a great keyboard with a small footprint, and it contains only 60 keys. As a new iPad owner, I wonder if I can combine these two gadgets and write notes on-the-go.

After some trial-and-error, finally I make it work! Here is how to make it. First you need to buy iPad Camera Connectivity Kit from Apple. This kit is designed for connecting to a digital camera, so if you ask any salesperson in Apple store, he or she will probably tell you it's not designed to connect to an external keyboard. Never mind what he or she says, just buy it. And then you'll need a USB hub with external power supplied, i.e. you actually need to plug the external power cord to a power source because HHKB Pro 2 draws larger current from USB port than an iPad can supply. Now connect your HHKB Pro 2 to the USB hub with external power supplied, and then connect the USB hub to your iPad via the camera connectivity kit. Open any text-oriented application, e.g. OmniOutliner, and then you can type by your HHKB Pro 2!

To use these gadgets on-the-go, I bought a mobile battery with me so that the USB hub can be supplied by the battery. Here are the photos of them:

What you need

How to connect HHKB Pro 2 to a new iPad


Requirements:
- a new iPad, or iPad 3
- a Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2
- a USB hub with external power source
- a mobile battery if you want to use them on-the-go

Note I'm not sure if older iPad works this way.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I've reserved the following:

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/apple-apple-lightning-to-usb-3-camera-adapter-mk0w2am-a/10418294.aspx?

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/insignia-insignia-4-port-usb-2-0-travel-hub-ns-pch5420-c-ns-pch5420-c/10290275.aspx?

Based on your post. Hope it works! Eager to be able to use my HHKB with an ipad.