Background

It doesn't matter which experiment generator you use to run your computer-based Psychology experiments the Black Box ToolKit USB response box helps improve your millisecond reaction time (RT) accuracy in custom applicatiosn or where a BBTK USB response pad cannot be used.

Truly plug in and play as our USB response pad appears to your computer as a second keyboard and each external button press produces a standard key press!

Accepts up to 4 high quality external buttons or hand-held triggers.

Works on any platform including iPads, Android tablets and phones.

Millisecond accurate 4 port USB response box key features

---

Simply plug into a USB port on your PC/Mac/Linux system and our response box will appear as a second keyboard. Also works on any platform including Apple iPads, Android tablets and phones with appropriate adapter. Press an external button or other push-to-make switch 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.

The K-RB1-4 response box is intended for custom applications where our 1-8 button USB response pad cannot be used. Up to four high quality push-to-make, or momentary buttons, can be connected via 3.5 mm mono jacks* Now includes single TTL out/TTL trigger socket for use with a BBTK v3 or mBBTK v2 (event marking version).

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 boxes 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 box.

For sub-millisecond TTL event marking of stimuli and responses, you should combine our response box 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

Four port millisecond accurate response box Works with any high quality push-to-make/momentary buttons with 3.5 mm mono jack (not supplied) Full-speed USB 2.0 (compatible with USB 3.0) Supplied with 1.8 m USB A/B cable Appears as second standard HID compliant keyboard Fully Plug and Play Windows/Mac/Linux compatible iOS & Android compatible for tablets and phones Sends standard keystrokes when a button(s) is pressed, e.g. d, k, [enter], [space] Reliably detects button presses in millionths of a second 2.5 mm stereo socket sends a single 50 ms long TTL event mark/TTL trigger when any button is pressed. NB: Does not differentiate between buttons and can overlap (for more detailed TTL output consider our USB response pad)

Registers button presses and sends keystrokes in under one millisecond* Field updatable firmware 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).

Typical uses

The four port USB response box is used in custom applications where high accuracy and reliability is required and our 1-8 button USB response pad is unsuitable. It can be used with high quality push-to-make buttons/momentary switches, or hand-held triggers, such as Piko buttons or our own hand-helds. For event marking a single TTL lead is provided which outputs a 50 ms pulse aligned with a button press.

Due to its small size and our ability to produce a cross-branded versions it is ideally suited to fit and forget applications where high reliability is needed.

Note: no buttons are supplied by default.

Technical specifications

ABS plastic enclosure -- Dimensions: 67.1 mm x 28.2 mm x 67.1 mm (WHD) 1x 2.5 mm stereo socket for +5V TTL event marker on any button down 4x 3.5 mm mono sockets for external push-to-make/momentary button input Full-Speed USB 2.0 (USB 3.0 compatible) 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 can be held down and released 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)

Checks for a button press 68,600 times a second (68.6 kHz sampling rate) Typical time to recognize a button press 13.9 millionths of a second (13.9 µs) 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 4 buttons/keys, transmitted on first available USB packet Typical time to recognize a button up 75 millionths of a second (75 µs) 2.5 mm socket +5V TTL pulse width 50 ms (interrupt driven timer) 50 ms button up debounce (a button has to be cleanly up for 50 ms before a key up signal is sent to the PC)#

^#This can add 50 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 boxes 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.