Re: Possible to adapt a //e keyboard to PC?

[salfter@salfter.dyndns.org (Scott Alfter)]

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In article <krudnUjWHYQmPk6iRVn-tA@comcast.com>,
Bill Garber <willy46pa@comcast.net> wrote:
>"Scott Alfter" <salfter@salfter.dyndns.org> wrote in message
>news:LVMAb.24525$o9.17195@fed1read07...
>: Speaking of which, do you know of anything that would adapt a PS/2
>: keyboard to a II+?  Searching Google for parallel ASCII keyboards (what
>: the II+ uses) didn't turn up much, and the keyboard in mine is flaky.
>
>Vince Briel was working on a PS/2 adapter for his Apple I replica. I
>believe he was also converting the design to work with the Apple II as
>well, but I don't know if he has any completed.

Looking at the (sparse) information available for the Replica I, the
translation looks like it's done with a microcontroller.  If more technical
information were available, it might be possible to take out just the
keyboard-conversion part of the circuit and build that as a keyboard
translator.

I've had half a thought of picking up a cheap keyboard and rewiring it into
something that might work with the II+'s keyboard encoder.  I suspect that
hack would end up looking ugly as hell and wouldn't work all that well. 

Searching Google and eBay for parallel ASCII keyboards or keyboard adapters
hasn't turned up much that's useful either.  This page is the closest to
useful that I've found:

http://www.izabella.freeuk.com/html/6809_project.html

It uses a 6809 to read a PS/2 keyboard and produce parallel or serial ASCII
data.  Something that's simpler WRT hardware would be nice, but I suppose
this is a start.

>I'd also like to see one for the IIe since I have a number of IIe
>motherboards and no extra cases and keyboards. I've been scouting for IIe
>cases, PS's, and other parts but no one has come forth with any. Many of
>them were used in student situations and became damaged so they remove the
>goods and throw the outsides away. Shame too as I could use a few outside
>parts.

That would be a tougher project to pull off, given that the keyboard
connector in the IIe is wired directly to the switch matrix.  All of the
scanning is done on the motherboard.  On a II/II+ keyboard, all of the
scanning is done in the keyboard and it just dumps ASCII data into the
motherboard's keyboard connector.

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