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Can the new wired aluminum keyboard power Bluetooth Dongle?

T

The Man

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2004
613
225
Hello,

I'd like to buy the new aluminum Apple keyboard. Currently I have the Apple Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and a D-Link Bluetooth dongle. I really would like a laptop-style keyboard. Can one of the USB ports of the new keyboard power my Bluetooth dongle? That way, I'll have the other USB port on my iBook free for other peripherals. According to the specifications, the dongle only consumes around 38mA max. So I'm thinking the keyboard should be able to power it. Or maybe, I'll just buy the new Bluetooth keyboard when they become available. Any thoughts or experiences are much appreciated.
 
Aea said:
My bet is that the keyboard is USB 2.0 compliant and thus will have enough power to feed all the ports.
Click to expand...

Just being USB 2.0 means nothing. As has been discussed a dozen times in the last couple of weeks, many people can't get their iPods to charge or sync through the new keyboards. It's essentially an unpowered hub, and there are certain peripherals which won't work through an unpowered hub.

Now, given that the Bluetooth dongle is a relatively low-power item, it will probably work. My RF receiver for my Logitech VX Revolution works fine in the new keyboard.
 
mrogers said:
My RF receiver for my Logitech VX Revolution works fine in the new keyboard.
Click to expand...

Then the Bluetooth dongle would probably work too. I can loan the former white wired keyboard from someone to test. If it works on the old, can I assume it will work on the new one?

Also, what are the exact dimensions of the new wired keyboard? It looks a tad smaller than the old one.
 
A friend just arrived with the old white wired keyboard. Plugged in the Bluetooth dongle and it worked. No problems. I fired up System Profiler, it says that the dongle takes 100 mA bus power from the keyboard hub. The Apple Pro Keyboard itself takes 250 mA. So I plugged in a white iPod shuffle, and it connects fine. I don't think it charges, though. The orange led on the front also won't stay on. System Profiler says the shuffle takes 100 mA current.

Mrogers, can you check how much current the new keyboard itself takes in System Profiler? If it is also 250 mA, I'm in the clear.
 
Just to update this thread: The keyboard will power my D-Link Bluetooth dongle. It will also power my old Wacom Graphire tablet. This is on my iBook. So the keyboard has no problem powering my lower power USB devices.

I am really pleased with this keyboard. I can really type fast on this thing. This is well worth the money. Just thinking about it: All these years, working on my Mac hasn't been more pleasurable than right now with this new keyboard. Can a keyboard make all the difference? This keyboard may be the best I have ever used, which is not necessarily saying much.
 
I am sending mine back. I can't use a flash drive, plug in anything like a card reader, iPod ... only a mouse and I have a wireless one. I have decided to exchange this for the new wireless one when it's out.
 
koobcamuk said:
I am sending mine back. I can't use a flash drive, plug in anything like a card reader, iPod ... only a mouse and I have a wireless one. I have decided to exchange this for the new wireless one when it's out.
Click to expand...

It is too bad that the wireless keyboard is not available yet. I wanted that one, also because of its size. I guess, Apple wants to see the response to the new keyboard in general and the demand for the wireless version before producing them in large quantities. It is also bad that the ports will not power those high power devices, except for on the new aluminum iMac. Personally, I will not be using the ports for these kind of devices, so it doesn't matter to me. Apple really did good on this one concerning the key action, though. It is such a pleasure to use.
 
The Man said:
Just to update this thread: The keyboard will power my D-Link Bluetooth dongle. It will also power my old Wacom Graphire tablet. This is on my iBook. So the keyboard has no problem powering my lower power USB devices.

I am really pleased with this keyboard. I can really type fast on this thing. This is well worth the money. Just thinking about it: All these years, working on my Mac hasn't been more pleasurable than right now with this new keyboard. Can a keyboard make all the difference? This keyboard may be the best I have ever used, which is not necessarily saying much.
Click to expand...

The Stig said:
I'm going to go with "No". It isn't a powered usb port. I doubt it will work.

The Stig
Click to expand...

Did you miss the part where he says it worked? :D
 
it states on the apple website that "Devices that draw high power from the USB connection, such as iPods, hard drives and some flash drives, can only be used with the new keyboard when it is attached to the aluminum iMac."

Edit* i see 'the man" said that.
 
:confused: It seems that more and more people on these forums do not read other people's posts. And thus, it can become very confusing to people skimming posts for information. I started this thread with a question, and I provided the answer so that others might benefit.

Read people, read, before posting!
 
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