Northgate Omnikey 102 with Converter

[zbaylin]

Hey everyone,

I just got a Northgate Omnikey 102 in the mail. I bought it on eBay for around ~$45. The problem is I can't seem to get it to work with either a Soarer's PS/2 adapter or a TMK PS/2 adapter, both flashed onto a Pro Micro.

Every time I plug in the board, the lock lights flash for a second then go off (which I think is to be expected, since it happens on my Model M as well). However, once plugged in, the board only recognizes the lock keys (i.e. I hit Caps Lock and the respective light on the keyboard lights up).

I saw someone else with this same problem here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=82820.msg2241405#msg2241405. I, too, have fiddled with all the DIP switches listed in the manual for different host configurations to no avail.

At this point I'm wondering if the board is dead (unlikely I guess because at least some response is being generated), or if my converters are incompatible with the board (also seems unlikely considering I've put the board into AT, XT, and other modes).
 
I was wondering if anyone had gotten their Omnikeys (regardless of specific model) to work with a Soarer's/TMK converter. If there is another ProMicro/Teensy based converter I could try, I would definitely try that, but I haven't found any. Or maybe I just need to buy a different/new converter on Amazon.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[pixelpusher]

I had an omnikey for mac that did this until I had the dip switches in the right position.  You’ll need to look up the positions online. 

[daguil68367]

The capacitors have probably gone bad. You can replace them with new ones by soldering/desoldering.

[zbaylin]

The capacitors have probably gone bad. You can replace them with new ones by soldering/desoldering.

I have since taken the board apart and it looks like all the capacitors are in working order  . I'm not super experienced with that kind of stuff, so I've taken a picture here to show what it looks like:


Sorry for the bad lighting!

Let me know if anything looks amiss.

[pixelpusher]

Would need a multimeter to test I suppose


Pages 4-6 explain the dip switches. 

http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/northgate/Northgate_OmniKey_Users_Guide_Apr92.pdf

[zbaylin]

Would need a multimeter to test I suppose


Pages 4-6 explain the dip switches. 

http://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/northgate/Northgate_OmniKey_Users_Guide_Apr92.pdf

Thank you for that link. Unfortunately, even after iterating through each DIP switch configuration, I still can't get the keyboard to work :/. I wonder if anyone else has had this problem, or has had any luck repairing Omnikeys like this one.

[pixelpusher]

This is the option that worked for me. Worth one last try maybe?

[GuyfromWroclaw]

Wanted to say thank you, and confirm that switches 1 and 3 in the on (down) position also works for the OmniKey/PLUS (GT6OMNIPLUS1), in conjunction with the drakware ADB->USB converter.  There were some posting online recommending 1, 3, and 8 being in the on position for an omnikey ultra, butit  didn't work for me.  See https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?t=25139.  Was about to rip out my hair and give up but for this post.

[pixelpusher]

Wanted to say thank you, and confirm that switches 1 and 3 in the on (down) position also works for the OmniKey/PLUS (GT6OMNIPLUS1), in conjunction with the drakware ADB->USB converter.  There were some posting online recommending 1, 3, and 8 being in the on position for an omnikey ultra, butit  didn't work for me.  See https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?t=25139.  Was about to rip out my hair and give up but for this post.