CF-VKBL02 + 03 backlit keyboards that fit into CF 29 - looks good on paper

Thanks for the clarification tough-2-go
What PDRC keyboards will work on the cf-29
Will the -02 and -03 versions work properly
My PDRC keyboard is the rubber type , I think it's compatable
Do we have to stay away from all the keyboards with the higher keys





Alex

 

Hrm well I just bought one for my CF-29 that is the -02 model so I guess we'll find out if it works or not whenever I get mine. I really hope it does work. I need an backlit keyboard bad but don't want to drop a ton of money into a computer that I got pretty cheap...

 

@ ert01

The keyboard in the -02 is listed as part number N2ABZJ000043
My CF-VKBL02 has a rubber backlite type though, not sure of the keyboard component part # ,as I don't want to remove

I have used the N2ABZJ000071 keyboard 100% working
Quite a different part # from the -01 model

Cap's, comment earlier in this thread on the possiblility on a keyboard substitution is a valid point
He has had a few PDRC systems over the years


Alex

 

So is it just truly pot luck as to which keyboard is inside the -01? Maybe the date of manufacture makes a difference? The one I received did not look like the picture, but the one with the ridge around the f11 key.
Does the 28 style one have the Texas shaped inverter inside it? Mnem is looking for one of those inverters.

 

i have the three conductor "third" ribbon cable so I guess I am out of luck for the cf29. It seems like I have a keyboard for a cf28 I do however have a cf28 I wonder if it will just plug right in hmmm

 

I wasn't paying attention back then, but the first few PDRCs I had, 2-5 years ago all had the rubber keyboards. I'm thinking that the emissive keyboards came after the CF-28 was well past End of Life as far as Panasonic is concerned. Again, I know that some sellers on eBay are selling VKBL*** keyboards which have had the emissive kb's replaced with standard ones. I'm assuming they are then getting big bucks for the take outs. The practice is of course dishonest, big surprise. Your only protection is to be sure the listing has an actual photograph of the item, and look carefully. If there is no white bar on the space bar, its not an emissive kb!
CAP

 

just took the backlit silicone kb out of my cf28 plugged it all in and NO luck. I guess I need the high voltage bord some have referd to. I kind of figured that it wouldnt work when I peeked inside the hole over the F4 key and did not see any sensor. I left the keyboard in anyway, my cf28 sits in the garage now all i use it for is the net if i have to look up a schematic, and for tivo when i am out in the garage. Now I have two toughbook projects get both backlit keyboards working

 

the VKBL01's that I got from crazychit1 all had the white line on the space bar, underneath the keys was a clear touch point and the keys showed light able to transmit thru the symbols, sounds like emmisive backlit whatever you wish to call it but were the chicklet type keys, hope this helps, still waiting on the VKBL03's and VKBL02's I got from the other guy, were all -03's but he emailed me and said he only had 2 instead of the 4 I bought, offered -02's and cables to make up for the lack of -03's and price reduction as well, so I'll get chance to inspect all of the types on hand and let you know. haven't yet tried to install yet as waiting on parts for the projects.......Driller

 

I bought four, only they arrived just thrown in the box with a few pieces of sty-foam for packing. Two of them had multiple keys broken off, with the keys laying around the bottom of the box. Got mine for ten dollars each, but so much for a deal. I had some new cf-28 grey/white standard keyboards laying around and popped one of those in one of them and it LOOKS better than the original, but talk about a million little screws to get it out. I hope everyone else gets ones better then I did.

 

I agree with you on the somewhat less than adequate packaging and just tried to install on a cf-29. The VKBL03 worked fine and lit up like it should have with no problems. The VKBL01 had the 3 cables and the keys worked but no backlite function. The third cable was not like the -03 that had 2 wide bright copper connections, instead the -01 had 3 darker narrow lines shorter flat cable that didn't require the "bend" and as well was a face up slide fit. but it didn't work anyway. so unless these on say a cf-28 they wont work on my cf-29's. may try something else on these to see if can be made to work, but if not another lesson learned, looked good on paper though.....................Driller

 

As a previous poster stated the black contacts are for the cf-28 style and will not light up

Springfield was selling the cf-28 style keyboards in kit form with the needed inverter in our buy and sell section, they only work on cf-28 models

If you end up with a good keyboard or keyboards from the other seller you probably saved quite a bit as these are worth $100

How well did you make out, I am not sure on where you bought the compatable keyboards , the amount you purchased and what you paid for them

And I edited the thread title as Driller has a good point



Alex

 

Hmm...I don't know how I managed to get one that worked perfectly for my CF 29. I must have gotten real lucky. I even checked the number when I got it. It was in fact a CF-VKBL01. I checked because it did not look like the picture. And it had the exact backlit keyboard needed for the CF 29. It was plug and play. The keyboard had the same number on back as the backlit CF 29 keyboard.
I am sorry for those of you that got duds. I hope I am not in the doghouse too long. Woof..Woof

 

@ deere245

Cap's point on the seller changing them or even them being changed by the original owner makes sense

My -02 is rubber and I think Cap reported this a well , but other -02 keyboards look like hard emissive like the cf-29

So far the -03's that I see look good

There was quite a few listings on ebay for these, so I will be curious to see how people have made out

Broken keys reported are not good,
Even if the backlite does not work, if the keyboard is in good condition it is cheaper than the sellers selling keyboards by themselves lol



Alex

 

I did find a site that listed the difference between the -01 -02 -03.
It was a while back and I can't seem to find it now. I do remember that the -02's or -03's are all supposed to be rubber. I can't remember which. I tend to agree from the reports here that a lot of these must have gotten switched around. All 3 models are supposed to be backlit.

 

I spent $90 for (2) special brand and speed 2GB ram modules for my cf-29 mk-4's to upgrade to 2GB early as ***cough Azrial cough*** suggested

I should of listened to the majority that said DON'T DO IT as we found out later the units that have 512mb on board do not work or boot

The ram was used elsewhere , thats the thing with Toughbooks
You think you have all your spare parts used up and you find a deal on another Toughbook that needs something LOL




Alex

 

NO barking from me, I love good intel, even when it doesn't pan out all the way.(excuse the pan pun)

I only paid $10. each for my four, so not a huge loss. I actually wanted the complete unit more than the back lit keyboards, so other than the time it takes to remove all the screws and put in the replacements its all good.

I should have known the packing was poor, as I bought from them before, and my last PDRC monitor came with a scratch on it.

* ALSO, IF ANYONE BOUGHT THEM JUST FOR THE KEYBOARD AND DOESN'T WANT THE HOUSING, PLEASE LET ME KNOW, AND MAYBE WE CAN WORK OUT A DEAL.

 

I bought a vklb01 and it has the CF-28 style keyboard. There is an inverter inside the housing, and high voltage warning stickers on the bottom. I wanted one without the rubber keys, but still backlit.

 

@ vwhed1979

I sent you an email



Alex

 

so has anyone recieved one of these yet and verify it works in the cf29 ? and is backlit

 

Here is a photo of the PCB's that were inside the one I got that had the backlit keyboard in it. I don't have the housing anymore. Notice the PCB in the upper left. It says EM KEY on it. The square PCB is just the touchpad. The large rectangular one is where the keyboard plugs into.

 

The CF-VKBL01 used the chicklet backlight (looks like standard keyboard), the VKBL02 used the rubberized keyboard, and the 3 used the hybrid keyboard.

That is how they came from panasonic. and yes the keyboards will fit the 29/30 fine and work without issues aside from the VKBL01 Standard keyboard.

 

Just took one of my CF-VKBL01 keyboards apart and the number on the keyboard itself is ESU64TB304BB; the same as yours.

Guess they're still usable as they were originally intended: as remote backlit keyboards for remotely-mounted Toughbook ruggedized laptop computers.

 

@ vwhed1979

Resent to your yahoo email

@TBtech29

Thanks for the clairification

Recap

-03 is the model for the backlite hard keys
-02 is the model for the rubberized backlite
-01 wrong type ,normaly used on the cf-28 using the high voltage inverter

Unless the keyboard has been changed since it left Panasonic



Alex

 

Does anyone have the pin outs to make a spliter or know the pany part number so these key boards could be used for computer with seperate mouse and keyboard ports?

 

The guy selling the -03's just refunded my money and said they are out of stock of the -03's. anyone else get this e-mail?

Looks like im going to have to fork out the extra cash from one of you new KB sellers on here

 

i think this should be removed from the faqsince they are incompatable with the cf29

 

Only the VKBL01 Keyboard I dont believe is compatible.
The other 2 versions the keyboards fit and work fine.

 

If you are intending to use the keyboard with a PC with separate PS/2 ports, you do not need a "splitter", as it is intended to combine both of the CF-VKBLxx keyboard's PS/2 ports into a single goiing into the PC.

How about two of these?

MALE TO MALE 5FT PS/2 KEYBOARD MOUSE EXTENSION CABLE

If you are really wanting to utilize a single PS/2 port, in addition to the "Male/Male" cables above, you will also need one of these:

IBM PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Y-Splitter Cable

 

Thanks topcop. I was trying to thank of this in reverse now it makes sense seems like the best way to go. It would still be nice to have the right angle connector for the one for my truck but now such luck yet. I can use this splitter combo for my server down in the dark basement! I have a full PDRC unit coming with the VKBL03 that should come with this cable and I can compare that the VKBL03 I get comes with the square around the F11 key. Fingers are cross!!!!!!!

 

I think you have it backwards. If you have independant PS2 keyboard and mouse ports then you will need a splitter because each port will support either the keyboard or the mouse. If you are plugging into a toughbook with a single PS2 port which supports both the keyboard and the mouse then you would not need the splitter as long as you have the correct cable which carries the keyboard and mouse signals on a single ps2 cable.

 

The CF-VKBLxx backlit keyboard has two (2) PS/2 ports: one for the keyboard and one for the touchpad. Therefore, to connect it to a PC with separate PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, only the Male-to-Male (and not the Male/Female extension) PS/2 cables are necessary.

For a PC or laptop with but a single PS/2 port a splitter is required for both the keyboard and touchpad of the CF-VKBLxx backlit keyboard to function.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

 

Incorrect

There is two ports on the back of the keyboard

Only one is a PS-2, and it has both keyboard and touchpad functions

The other port is a proprietary connector (not ps2) for the Function keys and it connects only to the panasonic display



Alex

 

Ok I just got my PDRC that came with the VKBL03 and I can confirm it has the two conductor gold so this should work in CF29 it is also the same type I have seen in the CF30's. Tomcat you are right there is only one PS2 connector sorry topcop. These are the connectors that are on all CF-VKBLxx models. As stated before the F11 has raised box and notice no icons on the F keys. In order to get the vkblxx to work with pc with seperate mouse keyboard PS2 connector a y cable will have to be used and maybe some special reassignment of pins. Will try to post some pictures as soon as I figure out how to resize. On another note wish crazy from flea bay would by some bubble wrap.

edit: Well I guess I got the pictures anyway

 

Wow Orion90

You made out like a thief

That keyboard looks like new




Alex

 

Only had small ching in bottom edge of keyboard and the 1 key was popped off. It did pop back on and works fine tho. The display lost a corner off the sunvisor. and he took 60 for whole pdrc best offer havent checked the rest of the pdrc but what the heck the keyboard was worth that. Just wish the green back lit would work in the 29's a little easier on the eyes when at the telescope.

 

Well, they looked the same.

I haven't tried to hook one of the two I got in up to a PC or laptop yet, and sine the second port requires the hard-to-find "proprietary" cable, I probably won't for a while.

Thanks for the info.

 

So has anybody tried to see if they work on a PC yet with just the male to male PS/2 keyboard / mouse cable

 

@ toughasnails

I will try some different combinations later
I have an extensive collection of cables and adapters
Only missing one critical item , a splitter to take the single ps2 input and splitting it to allow an output for separate mouse and keyboard ps2 used on most home pc's

I can try it with a single style on an older Toughbook
And also see if it works with a ps2/usb adapter

Alex

 

That's sounds great Alex, only reason I am asking is I have a 51 Duo which has a bad MB keyboard connector and wanted to us it on it.

My CF-VKBL01 came today and yes I too wish the guy had used bubble wrap.....my up key is busted.

 

Tested my -02 keyboard direct using the panasonic male/male ps2 cord direct to the back ps2 port on my cf-72
Both touchpad and keyboard work great including the backlite

I adapted the ps2 end of the cable to several ps2 usb adapters I have on hand and tried in both the usb port on the cf-72 and on a shuttle desktop computer and again everything works perfect

I do not have a ps2 splitter to try spliting into separate keyboard /mouse inputs on the desktop ,and with my success with the usb I do not feel its needed as the usb works perfect

The picture below shows the correct type ps2/usb adapter


Alex

 

@ Top Cop
You probably don't need to worry about the function (proprietary) cable as it only carries the signal for the hot keys on the bottom of the display to the keyboard. If you can live without those hot keys you don't need the function cable. The touch screen signals are carried on the serial cable.
CAP

 

The cable number for the FN Keys are DFJS606WA

 

Great to know; Thanks!

Now all we need to know is if the "commercial" PS/2 cable splitters will function in place of the Panasonic one.

 

Or you can just use the ubiquitous PS2 to USB adapter that Alex posted. I've got a few that have come with various input devices over the years. My CF-30 has no PS2 port, I haven't looked at a CF-29 lately.
CAP

 

Thanks Alex, I will order one of these today http://go.notebookreview.com/?id=525X832&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2FMALE-MALE-5FT-PS-2-KEYBOARD-MOUSE-EXTENSION-CABLE-39-%2F230458289020&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fforum.notebookreview.com%2Fpanasonic%2F521479-cf-vkbl02-03-backlit-keyboards-fit-into-cf-29-looks-good-paper-8.html

 

got the VKBL03's and VKBL02's from buybdl guy, he substituted the two of the 03's for 02's and threw in some cables and reduced the price. ok by me, but the 02's were not what the pictures showed and were standard chicklet KB's. no matter at least got 2 03's and hopefully they will work for a swap on cf-29's. will take the 02's apart to see if they've been gutted and let you know.......Driller

 

Oh so he had them in stock for you but not me huh.LoL

 

yeah, the deal was done on 9/30/10, emailed me week later said he could send 2, send 2 substitute 2 with cables and reduce price, or write off whole order and refund my payment. I figured if I could get at least 2 out of the deal I'd still come out ahead. swapped one of the 03's last nite and it works like it should. the 02's were just standard chicklet KB's but haven't opened them up yet to see what's inside. got a little extra, a nite light over the KB was leds. the 02's were supposed to be rubber KB's backlit, and the picture he showed me looked like they were back lit, delivery just plain KB's though..............Driller

 

Thanks all for the info shared in this thread. Just got my FleaBay CF-VKBL03 and within minutes had my backlit chicklet keyboard up and running. All this for $30. I am pleased

Thanks again

 

More testing to report:

The Good: The PS2 to USB adapter that tomcat mentioned worked with my CF-VKBL03 backlight, mouse, and keyboard all functional. It is plug and play and I have tried it on Mark 1,4,5 CF 29 all running xp pro. It also worked on my gateway which I am typing on now and a dell poweredge server. It loads about 4 human interface drivers a driver for a HID compliant keyboard and a driver for a HID compliant mouse for a total of 6 drivers. Luckily this was plug and play and did all the work for me.

The Bad: Tried this witha CF-VKBL01 all the above machines. No Noda fail. Keep getting unkown device. Any Idea's?