1-4 button USB response pad with 1024 position slider/fader key features

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Simply plug into a USB port on your PC/Mac/Linux system and our response pad with slider/fader will appear as a second keyboard. Also works on any platform including Apple iPads, Android tablets and phones with appropriate adapter. Press a button or slide the fader and a standard keystroke will be sent to your experiment.

No need for drivers, no need to recode! Works out of the box with E-Prime, SuperLab, Presentation, Inquisit, PsychoPy or any other software that can accept standard keyboard responses.

Finished in an attractive carbon fiber effect our response box houses a 15 cm /6" horizontal fader and up to 4 buttons in a range of colors and locations.

To use the slider simply decide how many segments you would like to divide it in to. For smaller ranges, segments can range from 2-32 positions, with each position producing a single keystroke. For finer grain judgements in Judgement and Decision Making studies the slider range can be divided into 1024 segments. In this mode once the slider is stationary for a set time it will type a number between 0-1023 depending on position.

The three available modes the response pad can be run in are summarized below:

• Mode 1: Buttons produce keystrokes, 1, 2, 3 & 4.
• Slider movement produces continuous keypresses: (left) abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz[]/;'. (right).
   
• Mode 2: Buttons produce keystrokes, a, b, c & d.
• Slider produces a 4 digit number followed by a return keypress once stationary, i.e. CRLF, for each of the 1024 positions it is moved, (left) 0000 to 1023 (right).
   
• Mode 3: Buttons produce keystrokes, 1, 2, 3 & 4.
• Slider movement produces a keypress once stationary: (left) abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz[]/;'. (right)

Sister models without faders also available.

All our response boxes & response pads aim to reduce inconsistencies and improve your Response Time accuracy compared with using standard keyboards, mice or competitors devices.

*Remember although our USB response pads hardware is millisecond accurate and helps reduce RT variability in your experiments it cannot automatically correct for any mistimings that are inherent within the experiment generator or other hardware you use.

For example, if your experiment generator presents an image and does not check for a response in a timely fashion, your OS intervenes, or an anti-virus check runs, your Response Times will remain inaccurate regardless of the quality of the response device. What | Why | How

For self-validation you should independently check the accuracy and consistency of your experiment generators presentation and response timing, or system as a whole, with a Black Box ToolKit v3 together with a BBTK USB response pad.

For sub-millisecond TTL event marking of stimuli and responses, you should combine our response pad with a mBBTK v2. The unique mBBTK v2 takes over all timing duties from any experiment generator so you can be 100% sure of your presentation, synchronization and response timings.

Key features

Sleek carbon fiber enclosure around the size of a paperback book (202 mm x 137 mm x LW) Choice of 1 to 4 buttons (24 or 30 mm dia) Horizontal 15 cm/6" slider/fader Linear fader with up to 1024 positions Works out of the box with PCs/Macs/Linux iOS & Android compatible for tablets and phones Compatible with all Psychology experiment generators, e.g. E-Prime, SuperLab, Presentation, Inquisit, DMDX, ERTS, DirectRT, PsyScope, PsychoPy etc. Needs no drivers – fully plug in & play Appears as a second keyboard Full-speed USB 2.0 (compatible with USB 3.0) Scans for a slider movement 500 times every second Guarantee millisecond accurate responses* Built-in TTL event marking/TTL triggers for EEG, biofeedback, fMRI and time audit

Use up to 4x external buttons as standard Works with the Black Box ToolKit v3 and mBBTK v3 (event marking version) Platforms supported: Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Vista SP2 (32/64), Windows 7 SP1 (32/64), Windows 8 (32/64), Windows 10 (32/64), Windows 11 (64 bit) macOS / iOS# Linux# Android# #BBTK Microsoft Windows software Apps not supported directly. USB Keyboard HID natively supported via Plug and Play (PnP).

Range of button colors, sizes and clear caps

A range of colored buttons are available to order.

Clear cap buttons allow you to put your own labels under a tamper-proof clear plastic cover. Simply unscrew the button, remove the clear cap and place your own label under the button top (21 mm dia).




Clear cap buttons are available in a range of colors. The key cap is always clear to enable your participants to see your label underneath.

Smaller diameter buttons are also available on request.

Custom laser cut layouts to your own design

You can customize your button layout by electing where to place between 1 to 4 buttons. Overall lid measurement 202 mm length x 137 mm width. The area you can place buttons in is above the slider and measures 202 mm x 95 mm (gray area in template below).

To help we have provided downloadable templates you can use with your favorite drawing package to customize your layout.

CorelDRAW! 11 .CDR CorelDRAW! x7 .CDR

AutoCAD .DWG AutoCAD .DXF

Adobe Illustrator .AI Adobe Acrobat .PDF

Windows Meta File .WMF

Send us your layout and we'll make it to your design. Alternatively give us a sketch and we'll send you a PDF proof of your design for approval. Nothing could be simpler!

Rear connectors

Connector	What does it do	How can I use it
4x TTL Out (RJ45)	A dedicated TTL line for each button that operates with sub-millisecond accuracy for TTL event marking/TTL triggers. Active high for the duration of each button press (plus smoothing window).	Ideal for +5V TTL event marking/TTL triggering of true individual button response times or for time audit, e.g. in EEG, connection to a BBTK etc. 4 bit port.
But 1 to 4 (3.5 mm mono sockets)	Up to 4x external buttons of your own can be used.	When you connect your own push-to-make buttons via the 3.5 mm sockets these work alongside the corresponding response pad buttons. Participants can press either your external button or our response pad button to make a response.
USB (USB 'B' square socket to PC 'A' flat)	Connects to the PC you want to accept responses on.	Each button sends a standard key down response as might a normal keyboard if you pressed keys 1-4 or a, b, c & d for example. Depending on mode the slider types one of the following characters: (left) abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz[]/;'. (right) or if using all 1024 divisions a number is typed when stationary: (left) 0000 to 1023 (right). Simply set your experiment up to look for standard keyboard keystrokes and key presses to detect both button presses and slider/fader position. TTL inputs will also produce keypresses similar to button presses and are ideal for synchronization between equipment.
Slider TTL Out/2x In	A 5 bit port encodes the binary position of the sliders in modes 1 & 3. Two further input bits allow for triggers and synchronization signals from external equipment.	TTL binary encoding can be used to report the position of the slider/fader to any device that can accept TTL digital I/O, e.g. in EEG, connection to a BBTK etc. 5 bit port. Two input lines allow for keystrokes to be typed when +5V signals are received. These are equivalent to a button press where a keystroke will be held down while a +5V TTL signal is received and key up when going back to 0V.

Technical specifications

Carbon fiber effect plastic enclosure (202 mm x 137 mm x 35 mm LWH) 4x Japanese Seimitsu PS 14 GN 30mm dia buttons, overall dia 34.5 mm (certified for min 1,000,000 presses) Up to 4x unique TTL markers or TTL triggers (one per button, RJ45) - 4 bit port 4x 3.5 mm mono sockets for external push-to-make button input Full-Speed USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 compatible) Slider/fader +5 V TTL binary encoded position event markers/TTL triggers (position 0-31) for use with The Black Box Toolkit v3 or other equipment (RJ45) - 5 bit port TTL in for synchronization (RJ45) - 2 bit port Appears to the host PC/Mac/Linux system as a standard HID keyboard (no drivers required) iOS & Android compatible for tablets and phones Anti-ghosting technology means that up to 4 buttons and slider position can be held down and released/reported in any order whilst being correctly reported to the host operating system – meets full USB HID keyboard specifications

Fully updatable firmware – 32 K flash RAM (100,000 Erase/Write Cycles) In USB response pad mode checks for a button press 500 times a second (500 Hz sampling rate) Typical time to transmit keystroke(s) to PC after detecting a button down 60-87 millionths of a second (60-87 µs) – status of up to 6 buttons/keys from 8, transmitted on first available USB packet Typical time to recognize a button up 75 millionths of a second (75 µs) 25 ms button up debounce (a button has to be cleanly up for 25 ms before a key up signal is sent to the PC)#

#This can add 25 ms to key down durations – onsets or RT's are unaffected as these are sent to the host PC immediately. ALL standard keyboards and other response boxes typically have longer debouncing periods.

*Remember although our USB response pads are millisecond accurate and help reduce RT variability in your experiments they can't automatically correct for any mistimings that are inherent within the experiment generator you use. Hardware capable of sub-millisecond accuracy. Timing accuracy tied to PC or experiment generator used.

Unless otherwise labelled, all products offered for sale by The Black Box ToolKit Ltd are for academic study and/or research use only.