RetroPie forum home
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Home
    • Docs
    • Register
    • Login

    Wireless Mini Keyboard

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Projects and Themes
    minikeyboardbluetoohbuild
    16 Posts 7 Posters 5.9k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • caver01C
      caver01
      last edited by

      I also have a Rii mini, though I don't love it. It is feels clunky slow to type on it as the buttons are deform dome clickers and the touchpad is a little squirrelly, but that may be true of all tiny keyboards. It just feels kind cheap (probably because it is ; -P). I do like the plug and play aspect, however. Very easy to just plug in the dongle and go.

      My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

      jonnykeshJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • jonnykeshJ
        jonnykesh @caver01
        last edited by

        @caver01 Are you sure you actually got a Rii? Both mine have been pretty good.
        Anyway, I wouldn't use it to type my latest novel. It's robust (It has been dropped plenty in my house), It is plug and play, It is back-lit (this could be better). And it works.

        caver01C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • caver01C
          caver01 @jonnykesh
          last edited by

          @jonnykesh Now that you mention it, I was thinking it was because it is the same as the photo you posted, but I checked my order from years ago and it is a Hausbell. However, it is absolutely identical. Maybe Hausbell is a knockoff, maybe Rii is the knockoff. But in 2013 these were called Hausbell Mini H7.

          My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

          jonnykeshJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • jonnykeshJ
            jonnykesh @caver01
            last edited by

            @caver01 Not sure, mine are pushing 2 years old and both are working fine as are the other Rii keyboards I have. The ones I have are decent quality, they also have a lot of clones. I know they weren't the OG but they work really well.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • AndersHPA
              AndersHP @Newellj79
              last edited by

              @newellj79 Thanks for the kind words, it looks like you're getting along nicely - great job!

              Also thanks for the inputs - I never heard of the Rii, but they surely look nicer than they cost! The trackpad on top is pretty redundant in a RetroPie setup though, isn't it?

              My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
              My Gameboy

              caver01C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • caver01C
                caver01 @AndersHP
                last edited by

                @andershp I use the trackpad once in a while on a Kodi build, but even that isn’t necessary. I don’t have this keyboard connected to my RetroPie cab, as using it to do anything but a few keystrokes would be maddening. I would never use it to do command line stuff.

                My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

                AndersHPA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • AndersHPA
                  AndersHP @caver01
                  last edited by

                  @caver01 Allright, I'm using Pegasus frontend and the searchbar is actually quite nice, especially when browsing mame romsets.

                  That, and the occasional commands, which I'm fumbling myself through because my regular keyboard has a Danish layout, makes me want a small Wireless keyboard. But you'd recommend something like my second link then..?

                  My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                  My Gameboy

                  caver01C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • B
                    barrymossel @Newellj79
                    last edited by

                    @newellj79 said in Wireless Mini Keyboard:

                    I use the Motorola Xoom blue tooth keyboard. It was designed for use with one if there tablets years ago. I’ve had it for a long time and it works great!

                    Ps... just started putting the artwork on my build last night. Again full disclosure it’s somewhat of a total rip off of yours because yours is so darn nice. You will spot a few small issues that need correcting pretty quickly, but I’m happy so far...

                    0_1515020590957_E0F019B2-A7E3-490B-9BDD-D79976FAA480.jpeg

                    Why that shameless thread hijack?

                    N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • caver01C
                      caver01 @AndersHP
                      last edited by caver01

                      @andershp said in Wireless Mini Keyboard:

                      But you'd recommend something like my second link then..?

                      Oh heck yeah. Either one of your links would be better. That second one is similar in size and shape to the Apple Bluetooth keyboard and would be a dream to type on compared to the Hausbell/Rii. Of course, @jonnykesh may have a different opinion about his Rii, but I would rather walk a quarter mile to get a USB wired keyboard that I can actually type on, and walk back to my arcade cabinet, than use the orange keyboard pictured above to enter any linux commands.

                      I will say that the tiny keyboards are great as "remotes" and are probably at their best controlling Kodi or running through an on-screen menu with the arrows, stopping and starting a video and only an occasional keypress to invoke various features. But to do real configuration work, edit a text file, for example, I will take laptop style chiclet keys and a traditional form factor every single time.

                      My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • N
                        Newellj79 @barrymossel
                        last edited by

                        @barrymossel

                        My apologies. When I seen the author had posted a questions I just wanted to throw out my recommendation, and a shout out to his awesome arcade build.

                        AndersHPA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • AndersHPA
                          AndersHP @Newellj79
                          last edited by

                          @newellj79 said in Wireless Mini Keyboard:

                          @barrymossel

                          My apologies.

                          I didn't mind..

                          and a shout out to his awesome arcade build.

                          Now you can do whatever you want in this thread :D :D

                          @caver01 Cool, I will definitely go for a real, shortened keyboard then.
                          Thanks all.

                          My "Bubble Bobble" Themed Bartop Arcade
                          My Gameboy

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Impman66I
                            Impman66
                            last edited by

                            I've only just started but had a look around for recommended keyboards and the reviews of such. Finally I went for the Rii mini wireless keyboard, it's great, very responsive and comes with all the options you can think of. Plus it is cheap. I am now putting one on order for my work, as the wireless one I have now is full size, granted it has touchpad and number keys, but so does the Rii mini. The BIGGEST advantage with the Rii is it can fit in your pocket! Other advantages are you can actually hear when you press a key, so there should be no miss typed coding.

                            Pi Model or other hardware: Raspberry Pi 3 Model B
                            Power Supply used: Generic 5v 2.5A Panasonic
                            RetroPie Version Used : 4.5.1
                            Built From: Retropie website
                            USB Devices connected: 2 x Dragonrise N64 Encoders

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • First post
                              Last post

                            Contributions to the project are always appreciated, so if you would like to support us with a donation you can do so here.

                            Hosting provided by Mythic-Beasts. See the Hosting Information page for more information.