If anyone is selling a link keypad I have a 99 with the entire link set up but no keypad. I may also buy an entire kit if anyone has one just to get the keypad!

 

I had trouble finding a keypad so I built my own. I'm not an electronics guy or particularly good at soldering. Parts were about $30 including shipping.

Not terribly hard with these instructions:

http://www.hendy.com/mx5/files/link_..._schematic.pdf

http://www.hendy.com/mx5/images/link...ent_layout.jpg

http://www.hendy.com/mx5/images/link...pcb_layout.jpg

 

And a local electronics store has all the hardware?

 

Radio Shack *might* have stocked everything back in the day,but not anymore.

Digikey and Mouser Electronics definitely have it all online.

I hunted down the exact part number show for the LCD board before finding out it's a pretty generic part with lots of suitable cross references.

 

Awesome..so I built the keypad and there is a USB input. Do you know of any 14 pin ribbon (link side) to USB adapters? I found a 10 pin to USB but not a 14 pin that will fit the link box. Thanks

 

A USB Input?

I'm guessing you're referring to the serial link box which you currently have planned to plug in between your Link and this keypad? If so, good news, just plug the 14 pin ribbon cable in to this box and into your Link.

If you're referring to another USB port please describe?

 

Whoa, I didn't realize there were published specs for the whole thing.

But wait, I am confused.... what makes the text on the screen of the keypad? Is that coming directly from the ECU? It seems like most of the pins are dedicated to controlling the LCD directly and that there's nothing on the board itself that controls the screen. I assumed all along that the keypad actually contained some sort of user interface or something. I feel so stupid.