Powerbook G4 12" keyboard and trackpad connection

[adamissad]

hi there,

I currently own a very unhappy Powerbook G4 12" and was thinking about using it for another project (for context, the hard drive and disk drive have gone and before that it would constantly shutdown or refuse to let me log in at all for weeks at a time). I am thinking about trying to reuse parts of it and maybe replace the internals with a raspberry pi.

Connecting the screen looks challenging but possible, however I am yet to find out much about reusing the keyboard and trackpad. if it comes to it, I could jut buy a usb keyboard of a similar size, however I would love to be able to keep the original keyboard and trackpad working if it is possible to convert them to USB.

If anyone has any suggestions on how I might do this then that would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Amethyst1]

[…] I would love to be able to keep the original keyboard and trackpad working if it is possible to convert them to USB.

If it’s a 2005 model, the KB and trackpad use a USB connection. Earlier models use ADB.

 

[adamissad]

My model is pre 2005 so i'd imagine this will make it a bit more complicated. Does the trackpad use ADB as well as the keyboard? And if so do you have any idea how simple/possible it would be to convert an internal keyboard and trackpad to USB? Thanks!

 

[Amethyst1]

Does the trackpad use ADB as well as the keyboard?

Yes.

And if so do you have any idea how simple/possible it would be to convert an internal keyboard and trackpad to USB?

No idea. But have a look at this for a start.