Stenoboard User Manual
You can use Stenoboard without installing any software, besides Plover or equivalent, as by default it emulates a NKRO USB keyboard.
However, if you think that in the future you will need to use Gemini PR or TX Bolt protocol on that computer (eg: if you need to use professional captioning software), or if you plan to do Stenoboard firmware upgrades from that computer, it is advised to first install the arduino IDE.
To install the IDE download it from http://arduino.cc/en/main/software, install, and then plug the keyboard in and wait for all the different drivers to be installed.
If you get an error during the driver installation, usually that is not an issue.
To test installation, you can try Gemini PR or TX Bolt protocols with Plover or equivalent (see below, “ Change communication protocol ”). If either of those protocols works, you can be confident that IDE installation was successful.
Stenoboard has two functions keys at the left of the left consonants keyboard. Starting from the top, they are Fn1 and Fn2, as highlighted in the picture below.
To change communication protocol, you can use the following commands:
| Command | Communication mode |
|---|---|
| Fn1 + PH-PB | NKRO Keyboard emulation mode (default) |
| Fn1 + PH-G | Gemini PR protocol mode |
| Fn1 + PH-B | TX Bolt protocol mode |
To change LEDs intensity or to turn the LEDs off, you can use the following commands:
| Command | LED adjustment |
|---|---|
| Fn1 + Fn2 + HR-P | LED intensity up |
| Fn1 + Fn2 + HR-F | LED intensity down |
It is very easy to modify the mapping so that you can reassign keys to whatever you need!
In the StenoFW code, you can find the following table:
char qwertyMapping[ROWS][COLS] = {
{'q', 'w', 'e', 'r', 't', ' '},
{'a', 's', 'd', 'f', 'g', ' '},
{'c', 'v', 'n', 'm', '3', ' '},
{'u', 'i', 'o', 'p', '[', ' '},
{'j', 'k', 'l', ';', '\'', ' '}
};
You can change the keys there, save and then upload the firmware to your Stenoboard.
For example, 'q' and 'a' will both be interpreted as 'S' by Plover, so you can change 'q' to another key. If you need special keys, you can use a constant from this list: http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/KeyboardModifiers
For instance, to update the mapping to send a CTRL press instead of 'q' press, you would substitute 'q' with KEY_RIGHT_CTRL. Then the table will look like this:
char qwertyMapping[ROWS][COLS] = {
{KEY_RIGHT_CTRL, 'w', 'e', 'r', 't', ' '},
{'a', 's', 'd', 'f', 'g', ' '},
{'c', 'v', 'n', 'm', '3', ' '},
{'u', 'i', 'o', 'p', '[', ' '},
{'j', 'k', 'l', ';', '\'', ' '}
};