Re: Rom 3 keyboard question

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

grent@comcast.net wrote:

>Dana Eckel wrote:
>> I heard Rom 3 IIGS's can support lights and stuff like that on some Apple
>> keyboards. Which modles would that include?
>
>I take it you are asking about the cap lock and the other 2 or 3 green
>leds on the full sized apple keyboards. 

    The ROM 3 motherboard uses an enhanced ADB Keyboard Micro. This chip
can toggle the status of "Caps Lock" LED indicator on most ADB keyboards but
still ignores the "Num Lock" and "Scroll Lock"--those LEDs remain unlit.

    The newer ADB chip also adds built-in Sticky Keys and Keyboard Mouse, 
they can be activated even at cold boot without loading any software. Both
are fairly useful actually.

>They will also work with a Rom 1. There is an INIT for that if I am not mistaken. 
>Had one working on my Rom 1 Woz. 

    Yes, System 6 provides all three operations (LED updater, Sticky Keys and
Keyboard Mouse) in software for the ROM 01, however from what I recall it 
was problematic, often causing lock-ups and freezes.

>There are also some wireless keyboard that work also on
>the IIgs.

    And there's a handful of ADB keyboards that do not work. Back to the
original question, I know my Apple Extended Keyboard I (the Extended II
should be no different) and Apple Design Keyboard both work as far as 
lighting up the Caps-Lock LED when connected to my ROM 3.

    One thing to keep in mind is the extra keys on these extended (105 key)
keyboards are ignored by Apple IIe and Apple IIGS software, unless 
specifically written to recognize them. Off hand I think Hermes, the NDA 
mini word processor, is one of the few programs that takes advantage
of an Extended keyboard.

Mitchell Spector