[eBay - Ended] WEY HK2000 Modular Keyboards

[seedvd]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEY-HK2000B-Modular-Keyboard-/181538519360?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2a4489f940

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEY-HK2000C-Modular-Keyboard-/201179109102?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2ed73596ee

http://www.ebay.com/itm/WEY-HK2000-Modular-Keyboard-/171474730851?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item27ecb0bf63

[SpAmRaY]

tempting

[dorkvader]

Wonder why the pricing is so different on #2 and 3

[SpAmRaY]

Wonder why the pricing is so different on #2 and 3

Maybe a typo I didn't even notice it earlier...

[SpAmRaY]

Wonder why the pricing is so different on #2 and 3

Maybe a typo I didn't even notice it earlier...

Yeah unless someone bought it I think it was a typo...it is now closed.

EDIT: if someone bought it they got a good deal, the clears in these things are usually pretty awesome, not to mention the keycaps.

[cooldiscretion]

I want those F-row windowed keycaps!

[rowdy]

Can you straight out use one of these on a modern PC (with USB adaptor)?

Do the extra keys actually do anything?

[SpAmRaY]

Can you straight out use one of these on a modern PC (with USB adaptor)?

Do the extra keys actually do anything?

They require a proprietary adapter box along with specific cabling. In their original use they run multiple machines.

The only member I've seen talk about using one was photoelectric.

[dorkvader]

Wonder why the pricing is so different on #2 and 3

Maybe a typo I didn't even notice it earlier...

Yeah unless someone bought it I think it was a typo...it is now closed.

EDIT: if someone bought it they got a good deal, the clears in these things are usually pretty awesome, not to mention the keycaps.

yeah...
that was me.

Can you straight out use one of these on a modern PC (with USB adaptor)?

Do the extra keys actually do anything?

They require a proprietary adapter box along with specific cabling. In their original use they run multiple machines.

The only member I've seen talk about using one was photoelectric.

I do have the adapter box but still need to figure out how to use it. I have another WEY kb as well, so hopefully I can get it going.

If not, $50 for a bag of clears is a pretty good deal.

[SpAmRaY]

So long as its not liquid damaged those switches should be really nice.

[Sniping]

How much did they sell for?

[jonathanyu]

finally got one...

[Sniping]

lol the second one sold 1 minute after the other

w/e

[dorkvader]

How much did they sell for?

$50 shipped

lol the second one sold 1 minute after the other

w/e

one of them had keycaps in much better shape than mine. I will need to get some H2O2 for whitening.

[Sniping]

That's cheap. I really want windowed F-keys for my Lightsaver, and since tin doesn't seem to be doing his GB anymore, the only way to get them would be from these WEY boards.

[IvanIvanovich]

Feng did a buy for windowed row E keycaps in lots of different colors. I'd guess not all of them are sold so you might want to keep an eye out.

[skcheng]

Did anyone get one of these?    The pictured unit looks a bit worn and raggy??

[animaliaparadoxa]

I did. Really hoping it's just dirt and grime and not damage. We'll see.

[skcheng]

Price is right and I know from PhotoElectric that the caps are really nice as well.   But I'm just afraid that these boards are trashed from spending time in some transmission shop??

[SpAmRaY]

Price is right and I know from PhotoElectric that the caps are really nice as well.   But I'm just afraid that these boards are trashed from spending time in some transmission shop??

I assume most people don't buy these to use the actual board just to harvest switches, caps, stabilizers etc.

[dorkvader]

Price is right and I know from PhotoElectric that the caps are really nice as well.   But I'm just afraid that these boards are trashed from spending time in some transmission shop??

I assume most people don't buy these to use the actual board just to harvest switches, caps, stabilizers etc.

I did.

Reverse engineering this thing would be a lot easier if they didn't use a 4 layer pcb on that controller box though. At least power / gnd planes are on the bottom layer but I'll still need to come upwith a cable sometime. Maybe I'll borrow photoelectric's.

On mine the keycaps look to be yellowed and somewhat shiny / worn. I don't mind. On some of the rest they looked pretty good, and on the others the keycaps looked really really dirty. It's always a good feeling once  you clean them.

[berserkfan]

yeah...
that was me.



I do have the adapter box but still need to figure out how to use it. I have another WEY kb as well, so hopefully I can get it going.

And that was me...

After I gave you these two I'm still waiting to hear you tell us about how you conquered the technical issues! 

[HoffmanMyster]

I just bought one of these (accepted offer).  Will have to wait to determine how good of a deal it is after I see how dirty it turns out.  )

I would love to actually convert this for proper use, I always get a kick out of using unique boards.  If not, it will be a good source of some keycaps at the very least.

I do have the adapter box but still need to figure out how to use it.

Is this adapter box hard to come by?

[xavierblak]

I got one of these as well. Hopefully they aren't too dirty. I noticed after I purchased that this seller is basically located in my town. The item description seems to say they don't do local pickup but I sent a message just to see anyway. I also asked if he had any stock of the connector kvm box for these units. I'll post here if I get any info.

[mogo]

Good lord, so many windowed keycaps. At the very least, that will be a good harvest! :O

[SpAmRaY]

I just bought one of these (accepted offer).  Will have to wait to determine how good of a deal it is after I see how dirty it turns out.  )

I would love to actually convert this for proper use, I always get a kick out of using unique boards.  If not, it will be a good source of some keycaps at the very least.

I do have the adapter box but still need to figure out how to use it.

Is this adapter box hard to come by?

The same seller did have some of the boxes but I'm not sure where to get the right cabling.

[dorkvader]

I just bought one of these (accepted offer).  Will have to wait to determine how good of a deal it is after I see how dirty it turns out.  )

I would love to actually convert this for proper use, I always get a kick out of using unique boards.  If not, it will be a good source of some keycaps at the very least.

I do have the adapter box but still need to figure out how to use it.

Is this adapter box hard to come by?

There's at least 2 on eBay right now. I'm still trying to find the cable to connect them together. I think you also need a USB A - A cable to plug it in to "just" one host PC but I may be wrong on that. The connector box looks seriously expensive inside. The PS/2 ports on the connector box also connect to the KB port (big scsi looking connector on the side) so I will try to connect KB to connector box on PS/2 first, but I suspect it won't work. Just about all the pins on the connector connect to chips on the KB so I'm not sure.

I think the HK2000 might use a different box (there are like 5 revisions, at least 2 of which are common) than that one I have but we'll see.

[HoffmanMyster]

There's at least 2 on eBay right now. I'm still trying to find the cable to connect them together. I think you also need a USB A - A cable to plug it in to "just" one host PC but I may be wrong on that. The connector box looks seriously expensive inside. The PS/2 ports on the connector box also connect to the KB port (big scsi looking connector on the side) so I will try to connect KB to connector box on PS/2 first, but I suspect it won't work. Just about all the pins on the connector connect to chips on the KB so I'm not sure.

I think the HK2000 might use a different box (there are like 5 revisions, at least 2 of which are common) than that one I have but we'll see.

The two on eBay have different version numbers. I think I need to educate myself better on what I need.  )  no idea what I'm looking for here.

[dorkvader]

I'll have a better idea once I get a cable and can test what I have properly (I really don't want to solder jumper wires to bridge both PCBs) and can get a good look at this "other" keyboard.

According to WEY I think it should work (EK11 and EKlight)
http://www.weytec.com/en/products/wey-keyboards/eklight/accessories/

I have the "WEY modular keyboard connector box VA" for my EK2000 keyboard (no display).
Their newest high end one (MK06 and ray06) with a display does use a different connector box so I don't know for sure.

Finding the cable is harder than I thought. Anyone know of a 36 pin dual row 1mm pitch connector?

edit: appears to be a 36 pin MDR connector (centronics ?)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eqn205-0020-Enhanced-Parallel-Port-Cable-Mdr36-Male-Mdr36-Male-20-6-0-M-/251583092908?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a938558ac
$72? maybe I'll best offer. Let's see if digikey has them:

http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/14T36-SZ6B-200-0HC/MCA117-2-ND/1130554
$93 ?? That's the cheapest one they have!

random store online? $56
http://www.blackbox.com/Store/Detail.aspx/Enhanced-Parallel-Port-Cable-MDR36-Male-MDR36-Male-20-ft-6-0-m/EQN205%C4%820020

The only place I see them for a "good" price is located in the UK
http://www.cablematic.co.uk/MDR_hyphen_36-Cable/DFP_slash_MDR36-1_dot_8m-Cable-_open_parenthesis_MDR36_hyphen_M_slash_M_close_parenthesis_/MR11/?pag=2
under 8 GBP but with VAT and international shipping I bet that'll go up.

The search continues.

[xavierblak]

Well if it is an MDR 36 pos cable they sell connectors by themselves. May not be a great option but it would probably be the cheapest.

http://www.newark.com/3m/10136-3000pe/mini-d-ribbon-conn-plug-36pos/dp/69K7226

[dorkvader]

Well if it is an MDR 36 pos cable they sell connectors by themselves. May not be a great option but it would probably be the cheapest.

http://www.newark.com/3m/10136-3000pe/mini-d-ribbon-conn-plug-36pos/dp/69K7226

I looked into that but finding 36 conductor cable is not cheap. Also those connectors are $7 each, so it'd be cheaper to order from the UK and pay for international shipping at that point.

I got mine in the mail today. Keycaps are not shiny or yellowed! (must have been the lighting in the picture) but they are extremely dirty and I've had to remove a ton of dust from the KB. The F&J keys had cellophane tape on them

On an awesome note: mine came with eight sets of screw-down stabilizers! All in the top part, so whoever got #1 has more doubleshots but less screw-down stabs.

[xavierblak]

I looked into that but finding 36 conductor cable is not cheap. Also those connectors are $7 each, so it'd be cheaper to order from the UK and pay for international shipping at that point.

The price of 36 conductor cable is indeed expensive but there's no reason you couldn't just use some scrap cable you have laying around and make your own un-sleeved 36 conductor cable. The cable between the keyboard and the box wouldn't need to be very long.

That said I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. I'm hoping someone comes across a pre-made cable on the cheap.

[dorkvader]

I looked into that but finding 36 conductor cable is not cheap. Also those connectors are $7 each, so it'd be cheaper to order from the UK and pay for international shipping at that point.

The price of 36 conductor cable is indeed expensive but there's no reason you couldn't just use some scrap cable you have laying around and make your own un-sleeved 36 conductor cable. The cable between the keyboard and the box wouldn't need to be very long.

So I have been needing hook up wire for a few years. Instead of actually buying some, I take apart whatever cables I can. I find a USB cable on the ground, missing a connector? It gets made into a jumper for a PCB that got damaged.

I was thinking about doing a DIY thing, but since I'm just prototyping it now, I was thinking of just tacking short cables to the solderpoints of the connector and removing them when I'm done. I'm sure the wealthy GH'ers who eventually want to use their WEY can buy their own cable. I gotta keep my hacker basement hacks on the cheap so I can afford more keyboards to hack on.

That said I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. I'm hoping someone comes across a pre-made cable on the cheap.

Well those ones in the UK are only like 7 GBP. I found some on alibaba for cheap, nothing on aliexpress and I'm not chinese enough to search taobao. I will let you know once I contact some vendors in china.

[dorkvader]

I finally found some! The same connector is used in IEEE1284 type c cables, and there are still a few vendors that have stock on the completely useless type-c to type-c cables!

After much searching, I hit paydirt by looking for "HPCN 36" (Half Pitch CeNtronics) and BAM! two vendors under $20 a cable.
http://www.nacwireandcables.com/index.php/hp-centronics-36-hpcn36-male-hp-centronics-36-hpcn36-male-18-pair-c-c-type-6-ft.html
http://www.cableclub.com/varn-centronics-varnhp-centronics-hpcn36-hpcn36-pares-p-2774.html?language=en

To get these working on USB you will need that cable, the connector box and a 12V power source I will just wire up a 12V wall wart I found and call it a day.

[xavierblak]

Nice find! Did you order one? Are we sure the pinout of these cables in standard or are we just hopeful at this point?

I got my keyboard yesterday it's in pretty good shape. I still need a cable and a connector box at this point.

[dorkvader]

Nice find! Did you order one? Are we sure the pinout of these cables in standard or are we just hopeful at this point?

I got my keyboard yesterday it's in pretty good shape. I still need a cable and a connector box at this point.

I have not yet ordered one. According to the standard, all pins should be straight connected across both sides and this is consistent with what I saw in a datasheet for another vendor ($50 USD). This also matches what I see for power / ground connections on the PCBs.

Since I live near Photoelectric, I may ask to borrow their cable though, at least at first.

Box takes a 3 pin power DIN connector, which is sorta hard to find as well. I think I'll just solder in some wires leading to a 12V line.

[xavierblak]

FYI I ordered from this link but I got a call this morning letting me know it was out of stock and discontinued.
http://www.nacwireandcables.com/index.php/hp-centronics-36-hpcn36-male-hp-centronics-36-hpcn36-male-18-pair-c-c-type-6-ft.html

I'll look around for another source. The second store you posted seemed a little sketchy.

Also a quick note regarding the power supply plug. It looks pretty similar to plugs I've seen on thermal receipt printers. Might be a vector for finding something compatible.

[dorkvader]

FYI I ordered from this link but I got a call this morning letting me know it was out of stock and discontinued.
http://www.nacwireandcables.com/index.php/hp-centronics-36-hpcn36-male-hp-centronics-36-hpcn36-male-18-pair-c-c-type-6-ft.html

I'll look around for another source. The second store you posted seemed a little sketchy.

Also a quick note regarding the power supply plug. It looks pretty similar to plugs I've seen on thermal receipt printers. Might be a vector for finding something compatible.

POWER din is commonly seen on printers and monitors, though 4 pin seems to be more common. There's a 3 pin power DIN power brick on eBay right now but I think it's 24V. I'm just going to desolder the plug and glue a barrel plug in it's place. Or just direct wire.

[dorkvader]

Well if it is an MDR 36 pos cable they sell connectors by themselves. May not be a great option but it would probably be the cheapest.

http://www.newark.com/3m/10136-3000pe/mini-d-ribbon-conn-plug-36pos/dp/69K7226

place #2 (the sketchy one)only does UPS and the cheapest option is $15.99. Not worth getting my CC# stolen, so I will look elsewhere.

This seems to be the cheapest:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-Style-20276-Hitachi-T-10336-Cable-3-Meters-36-Pin-Honda-Connectors-SSL-/181530155580?pt=BI_Control_Systems_PLCs&hash=item2a440a5a3c
hopefully all the pins are populated.

Getting the connectors is very expensive because they are fragile without the backshell which adds even more to the price.

Oh, forgot to post but you can source power din connectors from everywhere. CUI makes them:
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/PDP-30/CP-7330-ND/2119403
China isn't even cheaper:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/PDP-30-CONN-PWR-DIN-3POS-STR-PLUG-CUI-Inc/1464573847.html

[dorkvader]

cable arrived from eBay it's 6 feet in length and the keyboard works perfectly. I hope to be able to reprogram it sometime, so I can use some functions and things other than just PC#2. Hopefully we can source cables eventually. I think buying a centronics to HPCN36 cable, hacking off the big end and replacing it with a $5 connector from eBay (or $7 from mouser / newark / digikey) is likely the cheapest way, but soldering all those 36 connectors will be a pain.

I also chopped the end off a 12v wall wart for an 802.11g 10/100 router and soldered it to the PCB. Works great, even if it's a little high in voltage (box is rated for 7-12VDC and the wall wart has poor regulation, so outputs about 13.1V with little load. Box draws 0.15A @ 12V according to the bottom, but W/E it works.

[rowdy]

That's encouraging news!  If I ever manage to find one of those down here.

Any idea how many similar WEY keyboards were made?  Like, are they similar to Model M where nearly everyone knows someone with a few in their warehouse or basement?  Or were they more specialised?  I'm guessing the latter.

[dorkvader]

That's encouraging news!  If I ever manage to find one of those down here.

Any idea how many similar WEY keyboards were made?  Like, are they similar to Model M where nearly everyone knows someone with a few in their warehouse or basement?  Or were they more specialised?  I'm guessing the latter.

The HK2000 (with screen) and EK2000 seem to be the most common. These were most likely used for stock trading. The connector box allows you to connect it to 6 PCs and also works as a KVM. My Hk2000B appears to have been used with a bloomberg terminal emulation software and some reuters stuff. I finished cleaning out as much of the dust as I could and put the keycaps back on. Sadly it only functions as a 105-key keyboard for me (using the generic "PC2 input / output set). I'm looking into reprogramming the keyboard and/or connector box now.

[xavierblak]

cable arrived from eBay it's 6 feet in length and the keyboard works perfectly. I hope to be able to reprogram it sometime, so I can use some functions and things other than just PC#2. Hopefully we can source cables eventually. I think buying a centronics to HPCN36 cable, hacking off the big end and replacing it with a $5 connector from eBay (or $7 from mouser / newark / digikey) is likely the cheapest way, but soldering all those 36 connectors will be a pain.

I also chopped the end off a 12v wall wart for an 802.11g 10/100 router and soldered it to the PCB. Works great, even if it's a little high in voltage (box is rated for 7-12VDC and the wall wart has poor regulation, so outputs about 13.1V with little load. Box draws 0.15A @ 12V according to the bottom, but W/E it works.

What did you use to determine the pin-out of the connector? I have a connector Box IV. On the bottom of my box it lists "9VDC 1,35A max". I tried following the pinout below(with 9vdc instead of 25) but I don't get any signs of life.



I see a light pipe near the connector does it light up when you power the box? Assuming it lights, does it need to be connected to a keyboard to light up?

EDIT: This pinout is incorrect. See posts below.

[dorkvader]

I actually found a power brick that's got this plug but it's 24v, so I think I'll just clip the end off.

I have a connector box Va (five a) and it's labelled for 7-12V DC. Below is a picture of it's current state:
(uploading now)

edit: here you go:

Left (pin connected to the trace) is power. Right (pin that doesn't appear to go anywhere; it is connected to the ground plane at three points) is ground. There is about 13V coming out of there since the wall wart is so lightly loaded (rated for 1A, actually delivering ~0.15A), and all the power chips aren't even hot so I call it good for now.

Here's another picture where you can see the polarity label on the cable:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5599/15529261151_b36aaa08bf_o.jpg (make sure you click. I think this picture is a little nicer)

On the PCB, 1 is GND. 2 & 3 are power. The shell connector (shield) is not electrically connected to anything.

Since pins 2 and 3 are connected on the PCB you can think of it this way:

small pin is power, large pin furthest from it is GND.

The solder looks ugly because it's a mix of the lead free stuff they used and the lead solder I used. I was too lazy to properly remove all the solder and it works so I don't mind. I will eventually remove this and switch to a proper plug so I can close the box all the way.

What did you use to determine the pin-out of the connector?

Just my mad skills at engineering. I just looked at the PCB. Power is fused & GND connects to the GND plane. Simple as that.

I have a connector Box IV. On the bottom of my box it lists "9VDC 1,35A max". I tried following the pinout below(with 9vdc instead of 25) but I don't get any signs of life.

Show Image

I believe this is consistant with my picture above. Not sure why it didn't work for you.

I see a light pipe near the connector does it light up when you power the box? Assuming it lights, does it need to be connected to a keyboard to light up?

On mine it lights up green even if nothing else is plugged in.

[xavierblak]

Okay cool I got it working!

I can't get my box open due to it having some small security screws that I don't have a driver for. But following your description of the pinout I realized the picture didn't match the actual pin out. Swapping them got me closer but the 9VDC at 500mA doesn't seem like it had enough juice to drive the keyboard as it would flash but not start up. I swapped in a 12vdc and that got the board started.

So now I'm able to switch keyboard modes and the display changes so it looks like I'm working. The keyboard does make a really high pitch noise maybe I can try some different power supplies to see if that goes away.

What connector are you using to connect to a pc? I tried both usb ports with no results. For reference this is the box I have.

EDIT: Oh and the cable I ended up getting was DB25 Male / HPCentronics 36 (HPCN36) Male, 18 Pair, A / C Type, 3 ft. And I had a male to male coupler already so I just plugged the two together. I got them for $6.34 each but they've gone up in price since.

[dorkvader]

Okay cool I got it working!

I can't get my box open due to it having some small security screws that I don't have a driver for. But following your description of the pinout I realized the picture didn't match the actual pin out. Swapping them got me closer but the 9VDC at 500mA doesn't seem like it had enough juice to drive the keyboard as it would flash but not start up. I swapped in a 12vdc and that got the board started.

So now I'm able to switch keyboard modes and the display changes so it looks like I'm working. The keyboard does make a really high pitch noise maybe I can try some different power supplies to see if that goes away.

What connector are you using to connect to a pc? I tried both usb ports with no results. For reference this is the box I have.

EDIT: Oh and the cable I ended up getting was DB25 Male / HPCentronics 36 (HPCN36) Male, 18 Pair, A / C Type, 3 ft. And I had a male to male coupler already so I just plugged the two together. I got them for $6.34 each but they've gone up in price since.

They are Torx T6. I have a spare I can send you if you need. They aren't even pentalobe, torxplus or securitorx(harder to get).

The keyboard itself needs a T6 to open up and a T8 to get the controller off.

With the 12v thing, make sure it's not heating up too much, or you can burn out the voltage regulators. It's a lot easier with the case open though.

About the noise, trying another wall-wart might help. Not sure.

I can't get the upper blocks of keys to output anything usable, but I've only tried the keybaord itself on mode 2, which seems to be some sort of default (on mine. they are obviously reprogrammable so yours might be programmed different). I looked into getting 2 of those cables and a coupler, but it ended up being more. Still I recommend it over any of the $50 cables.

I couldn't get your link to work, is this the box you have ?

[xavierblak]

Thanks for the sizes on the Torx screws. Made it a lot easier to get the right ones. I pulled open the connector box and took a few photos.

Still no luck on getting it to act like a basic keyboard. What are you connecting between the box and your pc?

[dorkvader]

Thanks for the sizes on the Torx screws. Made it a lot easier to get the right ones. I pulled open the connector box and took a few photos.

Still no luck on getting it to act like a basic keyboard. What are you connecting between the box and your pc?

just a USB A cable from an old printer I used to have.

Since the box is a KVM, you need to make sure you are using the right USB port and the right keyboard mode. for the cable position you're using.

edit: wow that box is way different than mine. Pictures incoming.
edit2: here's some pictures

[tchalikias]

Bringing this topic back from the dead, perhaps someone may be able to help.

I recently acquired one of these boards in a horrible condition, I spend half a day taking it apart and cleaning it up. It looks pristine now, used keyboards are truly disgusting when they haven't been cared for properly...

Along with the board I also got a Connector Box IV, the rare mini Centronics 36 cable and I used a 12v/2a power supply I had lying around to power the whole thing up.

The keyboard works, and runs firmware 2.23. It has a surprisingly snappy UI which also supports USB or PS/2 mice plugged in directly to the board.

However, while tinkering, I selected the 'Reinstall Filesystem' in the settings menu, which deleted pretty much every file stored in the keyboard apart from the firmware files. This includes keycode files, custom bitmaps etc. - even the splash screen logo.

I was therefore wondering if any of you lucky owners could use a FAT32 formatted USB stick plugged into the board to dump ('Upload') your board's files and upload them in the file sharing service of your choice.

That would help me a lot towards getting PC USB emulation going!

[ErgoMacros]

Hi,
I'm happy to help if I can. I have a HK2000C WEY TEC keyboard and connector box.
I see that your page of the manual is for a MK06. The manual I have for my HK2000C does not have instructions like this. (Memory stick)
When booting up mine says: FV02.2b 29Jan02

I don't have a USB-A connector on my keyboard, though there are a few on the connector box.

So, if you have an HK2000C, and instructions for that, I am happy to try to help.