Yubikey nano 5c support?

[alanbernstein]

I apologize if this is not the best channel for this question, but:

Do you have any insight regarding using your transistor circuit with the Yubikey nano 5c? I am trying to activate my key remotely, but I can't even get it to work via skin-contact with a short wire (~12cm) attached to the Yubikey's metal strip. For example. when I make contact between the Yubikey and the wire, it triggers, and then when I touch my finger to the other end of the wire, it does not trigger. I wonder if this device is more sensitive and thus harder to activate like this.

I love that you figured out how to do this with a solid-state component, but it does seem like it will be much easier with a servo or a solenoid, if less elegant.

[gierens]

I'm happy to see, that somebody finds this project useful.

I only have a YubiKey 5 NFC, therefore I wasn't able to test the circuit on any other models yet. Nevertheless I strongly assume, that the contact pads of different models share common capacity characteristics to be triggered by a simple touch.

I know from my first experiments with my YubiKey, that triggering it repeatedly over some conductor like a cable, tinfoil or else can be tricky. What type of cable it is, or how it is attached to the key's contact pad can make a difference. Holding the cable in position by yourself can easily result in the YubiKey remaining in the triggered state.

What I would try is placing a copper coin on the contact pad (or pin in case of the nano key) without holding it of course, and then see if touching the coin triggers it. If so I would tape a cable to the coin and try the same thing again by touching the other end of the cable.

An electromechanical component is definitely also a good option if available. I would however first try a variety of conductors and even the circuit with a few different transistors before. I recently talked to a colleague of mine who happens to be eletrical engineer and he believes that it might even be possible without a dedicated circuit at all, by using the Raspberry Pi's GPIO pins as pull-down circuit. I wasn't successful with that when I first tried that.

Tomorrow I have a work meeting with another colleague who might own a YubiKey nano. I will ask him if he can bring it or lend it to me, then I can make a few experiments.

[alanbernstein]

I'm happy to see, that somebody finds this project useful.

I was happy to find it! It's surprising how few resources there are about customizing the interaction for these devices.

What I would try is placing a copper coin on the contact pad (or pin in case of the nano key) without holding it of course, and then see if touching the coin triggers it. If so I would tape a cable to the coin and try the same thing again by touching the other end of the cable.

Thanks, that works for me! It's not 100% consistent, but much better than my previous attempt. Because of the size of this key, it's awkward to connect anything to it; next I will try making some kind of little spring-loaded contact that attaches to my USB extension cable, out of copper sheet.

Tomorrow I have a work meeting with another colleague who might own a YubiKey nano. I will ask him if he can bring it or lend it to me, then I can make a few experiments.

I would appreciate that, but please don't feel obliged on my behalf!

[gierens]

I would appreciate that, but please don't feel obliged on my behalf!

I talked to my colleague yesterday, but unfortunately he doesn't have a YubiKey 5C nano, only a 5 nano, which is quite differently built.

Thanks, that works for me! It's not 100% consistent, but much better than my previous attempt. Because of the size of this key, it's awkward to connect anything to it; next I will try making some kind of little spring-loaded contact that attaches to my USB extension cable, out of copper sheet.

Great to hear! I hope you'll be successful, keep me informed.