Hardware and PsyToolkit
A number of special devices can be used with PsyToolkit- Parallel port
- Measurement Computer digital IO (pci-dio24)
- Cedrus response pads
- Ultra response pad
- Iolab systems
- EGI eeg system
Parallel port
The parallel port is still available on many computers for connecting the printer. PsyToolkit provides functions to use the parallelport.Measurement Computer digital IO (pci-dio24)
Like the parallelport, the pci-dio24 offers a way to send discrete signals (on/off) to an external device. Pcidio24 has more lines and flexibility than the parallel port. If you can afford a pcidio24, it is recommended over the parallelport. Given that you can build a simple keyboard for less than 20 pounds, it might be worth considering. If you find this too much hassle, you are far better off with a IOLab or Cedrus keyboard.Download this driver from here: driver
Cedrus response pads
Cedrus keyboards are made by the producer of Superlab. The cedrus keyboard is probably the most widely distributed keyboard in experimental psychology.Here is a picture of the RB-834. This keyboard has 8 buttons. The image below also tells you which key has which number.
You can very easily use cedrus. In the example section you can find a simple experiment using the RB-834. Further, there is the example "testcedrus", which helps you to test whether your Cedrus keyboard works properly, and which button corresponds to which number.
Cedrus is very easy to use in combination with Linux, because the device uses the FTDI chip. All you need to do is to make sure the correct driver is loaded. The driver is part of the standard Linux kernel, and its name is fdti_sio.
This driver is already part of the kernel, and you do not need to download or compile the kernel at all. All you need is just a line to activate the driver.
As superuser, you can add the module as follows:
Install the FDTI driver temporarily (until you restart your computer)
sudo modprobe ftdi_sio vendor=0x0403 product=0xf228
Load driver automatically after boot
Add the following line to /etc/modules (you need to be superuser to edit this file with a texteditor) ftdi_sio vendor=0x0403 product=0xf228
Once the driver is installed, you can unplug and replug the Cedrus keyboard without any problem (and without reloading the driver).
Ultra response pad
The ultra response pad is a do-it-yourself response pad. The idea and design for this comes from Felix Frey of the University of Leipzig. You can build it for a very small amount and connect it to the parallel port (which most computers have, and if they do not have it, you can install one for a small amount).Instructions on how to build ultra can be found here.
Specify "ultra" in the options, and use "ultra readkey" to check the key.
Iolab systems
Iolab systems has a very advanced device that works as an external keyboard, voicekey, and digital input/output system. It is probably more expensive than a basic Cedrus keypad such as the RB-834, but it also offers more functions, such as a voice key interface. On a standard Linux installation, you do not need to load and special drivers.