Author Topic: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO  (Read 893813 times)

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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1550 on: Sat, 05 May 2018, 08:44:25 »
You did notice that the connections are showing the socket, not the plug, didn't you?
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Offline feltel

  • Posts: 8
    • feltel.de
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1551 on: Sat, 05 May 2018, 08:50:57 »
I think so. I repurposed the parts of the original cable. So black wire goes to 5V, white to ground, red (which is DATA) to PD0 and yellow (CLOCK) to PD1.
IBM Model M Metal  IBM Model M SSK   Unicomp Classic with red ESC key

Offline 624245305

  • Posts: 19
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1552 on: Mon, 14 May 2018, 03:47:35 »
I come from China, a primary school student, I learned a lot, the original HID appeared 404,HID which corresponds to the scancode translation table

Offline Red October

  • Posts: 97
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1553 on: Tue, 12 June 2018, 16:41:19 »
Hey guys, I'm having a bit of a problem here.  I bought a Soarer's Converter for XT keyboards from Orihalcon on eBay a while ago, used it happily for some time, only to have it develop an intermittent fault.  He had me send it back and sent me a new one.  Now that one has developed a fault too, at first it was intermittent too, but last week it just up and quit on me.  I decided that, as I had already received a second one and that it had been some time, I would tackle this one myself, especially as my soldering skills have improved greatly and I have a lot more tools for electronics work. 

I proceeded with disassembly and discovered that the circuit board inside the USB plug was potted in hot snot (da bigger da gob, da better da job, amIright? ...) which hadn't bonded to the board or components, or even the rubber shell, only the wires.  I cut everything back and proceeded to solder up the USB and DIN-5 connections now inside an enclosure box with a panel-mount DIN-5 and a USB cable with a gland, salvaged from some other thing long ago.  Unfortunately, when I was doing something, I managed to knock off a tiny little surface-mount component about 1/4 the size of a grain of rice.  Aided by a bright LED torch, I finally found the goddamn thing (on a filthy cement floor... fun!) and was able to put it back on the board, thanks to my needle tweezers.  Testing it with a meter showed it seemed to be a capacitor, as with the probes in one orientation the meter counted upwards and in the other downwards (in Ohms mode, beautiful old HP 3455a).  I put it back in what I thought was the correct orientation and tried the unit.  Plugging it into a laptop for testing (Dell Precision M60 portable workstation) I got an error from Windows: "Power Surge on Hub Port".  I checked all my work, found some little bits of wire from the USB side that may have been making contact with one-another and trimmed them back.  Same problem.  I swapped around the orientation of the mystery surface-mount device, still the same error.  What's up here???

Offline thealeinman

  • Posts: 10
  • Location: Essex Missouri
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1554 on: Wed, 04 July 2018, 15:13:59 »
Just wanted to say thanks for the software, gave me a fun 4th of july soldering and hiding the arduino inside the keyboard and maintaining the original cable, the tip job is bad but I cut an old cable, ordered a proper one but still not in yet thanks.  This is the first thing ive typed on this model M and it aint to shabby for 25$  Hopefully this attaches right, also first post.

Offline joshualuo7

  • Posts: 4
  • Location: United States
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1555 on: Tue, 17 July 2018, 22:42:36 »
Trying to convert my Model F XT but things are not working out....
I'm using an Leonardo Pro Micro (ATmega32U4, 5V/16MHz) and I did the wiring according to http://i.imgur.com/lLDBHvZ.jpg
I wrote the hex file using QMT toolbox on Windows.
Everytime I did plug everything in it either shows USB not recognized and nothing in the hid_listen (not enough voltage, but I tried multiple usb cable and only one work occasionally), or when it is corrected recognized, the hid_listen terminal just show a bunch of random code https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/378255567426420736/468925320842706945/2018-07-17.png


Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1556 on: Tue, 17 July 2018, 22:58:37 »
To start, have a look at this post.
REΛLFORCE

Offline joshualuo7

  • Posts: 4
  • Location: United States
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1557 on: Tue, 17 July 2018, 23:17:21 »
I put some solder on J1 and it finally does connect everytime I plug it in an usb, however, the random letters on the hid_listen is still there... and I don't thinks keys are registering...

Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1558 on: Wed, 18 July 2018, 00:30:04 »
You could try swapping the clock & data wires. That's safe to try. If they're wrong there's no damage, but I don't know if that could cause your random characters.
REΛLFORCE

Offline joshualuo7

  • Posts: 4
  • Location: United States
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1559 on: Wed, 18 July 2018, 15:24:44 »
Tried to swape the clock and data... the same thing happens... also I realized that f11 (which doesn't even exist on XT :/) are been pressed repeatedly. I also tried downgrading the framework to 1.03, the hid terminal doesn't show chunks of code now and f11 aren't been pressed. but instead show R04, R05, or R06 Error code. Tried a new Chip and the same thing happens... Gonna order an Teensy and try that now..

Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1560 on: Tue, 24 July 2018, 12:18:03 »
Hi guys , found myself a model m terminal keyboard with the round (3179 / 318x/ 319x) connector. Since i dont have the added keys of the 122 key variant im only interested in adapting it to modern ps/2 connector. Can i just cut off the connector and splice in a ps/2 connector while following the diagrams in the OP. Im not interested in remapping anything. Thanks guys.





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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1561 on: Tue, 24 July 2018, 14:42:04 »
No. Terminals don't speak the same language and you will need a hardware converter.

However, if you follow Soarer's instructions, that terminal should respond properly with no additional drama.
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Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1562 on: Tue, 24 July 2018, 18:21:28 »
No. Terminals don't speak the same language and you will need a hardware converter.

However, if you follow Soarer's instructions, that terminal should respond properly with no additional drama.
it always mentions for 122 keys keyboard. since i only have the 104 key variant will it still work?

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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1563 on: Tue, 24 July 2018, 19:33:33 »
It has never failed to work with any IBM, in my experience.

Soarer was meticulous in his work. The entire project began as a means to remap keys on an F AT.
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Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1564 on: Tue, 24 July 2018, 19:38:32 »
It has never failed to work with any IBM, in my experience.

Soarer was meticulous in his work. The entire project began as a means to remap keys on an F AT.
awsime ill give it a try

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Offline Ridingmac

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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1565 on: Tue, 24 July 2018, 21:53:45 »
found myself a teensy 2.0 from ebay. Downloaded the whole soarer package. now for the way. ;)
It has never failed to work with any IBM, in my experience.

Soarer was meticulous in his work. The entire project began as a means to remap keys on an F AT.

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Offline supermario802.1

  • Posts: 31
    • tinkerBOY
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1566 on: Wed, 25 July 2018, 02:28:24 »
I'm selling a few of my tinkerBOY XT/AT USB Converter with Soarer’s Converter Firmware if anyone is interested. I have tested them myself with an old IBM XT and AT keyboard.

Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1567 on: Fri, 27 July 2018, 11:07:28 »
i downloaded all the packages and zips on the op. i couldnt find a easy to understans tutorial in it. (Unless i missed it) on how to do this. I havent received my teensy yet but i was gsthering up info on how to do this. could anyone give me a small crash course. flashing the teensy seems easy enough but wich file do i flash. there seem to be a few hex files and im just not sure.

I have the 104 keys terminal model m

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Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1568 on: Fri, 27 July 2018, 11:33:33 »
i downloaded all the packages and zips on the op. i couldnt find a easy to understans tutorial in it. (Unless i missed it) on how to do this. I havent received my teensy yet but i was gsthering up info on how to do this. could anyone give me a small crash course. flashing the teensy seems easy enough but wich file do i flash. there seem to be a few hex files and im just not sure.

I have the 104 keys terminal model m

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The docs are in Soarer_Converter_v1.12_docs.zip - use a web browser to navigate the HTML pages.

Open Soarer_Converter_v1.12_update.zip to find four files. Different files for different hardware. For a Teensy 2.0 you'd flash it with Soarer_at2usb_v1.12_atmega32u4.hex

After that your keyboard should just work. Nothing else is necessary unless you want to use the programming features to change layouts or whatever.
REΛLFORCE

Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1569 on: Fri, 27 July 2018, 12:15:58 »
A huge thanks. Simple enought. you made my day ;)
i downloaded all the packages and zips on the op. i couldnt find a easy to understans tutorial in it. (Unless i missed it) on how to do this. I havent received my teensy yet but i was gsthering up info on how to do this. could anyone give me a small crash course. flashing the teensy seems easy enough but wich file do i flash. there seem to be a few hex files and im just not sure.

I have the 104 keys terminal model m

Sent from my SM-N915W8 using Tapatalk

The docs are in Soarer_Converter_v1.12_docs.zip - use a web browser to navigate the HTML pages.

Open Soarer_Converter_v1.12_update.zip to find four files. Different files for different hardware. For a Teensy 2.0 you'd flash it with Soarer_at2usb_v1.12_atmega32u4.hex

After that your keyboard should just work. Nothing else is necessary unless you want to use the programming features to change layouts or whatever.

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Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1570 on: Sat, 28 July 2018, 10:34:21 »
If i were to add a 5V LED strip to the keyboard. Could i just weld it on the 5v and gnd pin on the teensy along with the keyboard or would that intefere with the keyboard. Unless there would be a way to send 5V to another pin?

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Offline supermario802.1

  • Posts: 31
    • tinkerBOY
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1571 on: Sun, 29 July 2018, 21:30:07 »
Tried to swape the clock and data... the same thing happens... also I realized that f11 (which doesn't even exist on XT :/) are been pressed repeatedly. I also tried downgrading the framework to 1.03, the hid terminal doesn't show chunks of code now and f11 aren't been pressed. but instead show R04, R05, or R06 Error code. Tried a new Chip and the same thing happens... Gonna order an Teensy and try that now..

Are you testing it on a Windows or Linux computer?

Random letters usually means an issue an issue with the power supply. How are you powering the keyboard? Im assuming from the Pro Micro? Coz that might be your problem.

Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1572 on: Thu, 02 August 2018, 17:35:18 »
Would anybody have the wiring color. Wich color goes to where. I want to put the teensy inside the keyboard so ill wire it close to the board.

theres yellow, white, red and black and an unshielded wire but i already know that ones the gnd.

Would i be right to assume red is 5v.

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Offline Ridingmac

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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1573 on: Thu, 02 August 2018, 17:41:16 »
nevermind got it ;(

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Offline johnson20050

  • Posts: 2
  • Location: Taiwan
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1574 on: Sat, 01 September 2018, 16:48:32 »
Hi,
    I faced some problem on using this USB converter.
Does anyone know how do I find "Soarer's Converter"
in scinfo command?

I'm trying to connect my PS/2 keyboard to arduino Pro Micro.
And it works with Soarer_at2usb_v1.12_atmega32u4.hex file.
The problem happens when I'm starting to build my keymap.
scwr & scinfo cannot find out the converter:

terminal output:
    scinfo v1.10
    scinfo: looking for Soarer's Converter: not found

Do I need to put the hex file to some specific directory?

Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1575 on: Sat, 01 September 2018, 17:23:33 »
Hi,
    I faced some problem on using this USB converter.
Does anyone know how do I find "Soarer's Converter"
in scinfo command?

I'm trying to connect my PS/2 keyboard to arduino Pro Micro.
And it works with Soarer_at2usb_v1.12_atmega32u4.hex file.
The problem happens when I'm starting to build my keymap.
scwr & scinfo cannot find out the converter:

terminal output:
    scinfo v1.10
    scinfo: looking for Soarer's Converter: not found

Do I need to put the hex file to some specific directory?

Are you putting the Pro Micro into bootloader mode? You don't need to do that. Once Soarer's is flashed onto the Pro Micro you never need the bootloader mode again.

Just run scinfo without messing with the Pro Micro at all and it should be seen.
REΛLFORCE

Offline johnson20050

  • Posts: 2
  • Location: Taiwan
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1576 on: Sat, 01 September 2018, 18:50:23 »
Are you putting the Pro Micro into bootloader mode? You don't need to do that. Once Soarer's is flashed onto the Pro Micro you never need the bootloader mode again.

Just run scinfo without messing with the Pro Micro at all and it should be seen.

Oh, it works !
Thank you.

And I am able to use Dvorak keyboard!
( Just my first step, confirm this package owns the ability to configure PS/2 keyboard )
----------------------------------------------------------
// The above is my murmur...
//  I need to use sudo to get the information.
// So I need to use "sudo ./bin/scinfo"

No, I don't connect my Arduino.
After reading your suggestion, I connect my arduino and retry scinfo.
No matter whether I press reset button, scinfo cannot find Soarer's converter.

And no other message shown.


p.s. ( I don't know if it is useful information or not )
lsusb command output:
reset button pressed:
    Bus 002 Device 011: ID 2341:0036 Arduino SA
reset button not pressed:
    Bus 002 Device 012: ID 16c0:047d Van Ooijen Technische Informatica Teensy Keyboard+Debug
« Last Edit: Sat, 01 September 2018, 19:03:31 by johnson20050 »

Offline supermario802.1

  • Posts: 31
    • tinkerBOY
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1577 on: Tue, 11 September 2018, 04:04:14 »
Hey guys, I'm having a bit of a problem here.  I bought a Soarer's Converter for XT keyboards from Orihalcon on eBay a while ago, used it happily for some time, only to have it develop an intermittent fault.  He had me send it back and sent me a new one.  Now that one has developed a fault too, at first it was intermittent too, but last week it just up and quit on me.  I decided that, as I had already received a second one and that it had been some time, I would tackle this one myself, especially as my soldering skills have improved greatly and I have a lot more tools for electronics work. 

I proceeded with disassembly and discovered that the circuit board inside the USB plug was potted in hot snot (da bigger da gob, da better da job, amIright? ...) which hadn't bonded to the board or components, or even the rubber shell, only the wires.  I cut everything back and proceeded to solder up the USB and DIN-5 connections now inside an enclosure box with a panel-mount DIN-5 and a USB cable with a gland, salvaged from some other thing long ago.  Unfortunately, when I was doing something, I managed to knock off a tiny little surface-mount component about 1/4 the size of a grain of rice.  Aided by a bright LED torch, I finally found the goddamn thing (on a filthy cement floor... fun!) and was able to put it back on the board, thanks to my needle tweezers.  Testing it with a meter showed it seemed to be a capacitor, as with the probes in one orientation the meter counted upwards and in the other downwards (in Ohms mode, beautiful old HP 3455a).  I put it back in what I thought was the correct orientation and tried the unit.  Plugging it into a laptop for testing (Dell Precision M60 portable workstation) I got an error from Windows: "Power Surge on Hub Port".  I checked all my work, found some little bits of wire from the USB side that may have been making contact with one-another and trimmed them back.  Same problem.  I swapped around the orientation of the mystery surface-mount device, still the same error.  What's up here???

Post some pictures I might be able to help you.

Offline nullb

  • Posts: 3
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1578 on: Sat, 24 November 2018, 02:53:13 »
Hey guys I'm trying to replace the PS/2 cable on a 82G2383 Model M, scored this thing but the cord was chewed and broken.
https://imgur.com/a/qAYQdtf

Does anybody know what the pin-out is on these boards? Don't really have the equipment to check myself.

Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1579 on: Sat, 24 November 2018, 09:19:21 »
Hey guys I'm trying to replace the PS/2 cable on a 82G2383 Model M, scored this thing but the cord was chewed and broken.
https://imgur.com/a/qAYQdtf

Does anybody know what the pin-out is on these boards? Don't really have the equipment to check myself.

207684-0

For the other end - I think this is right

white = ground
yellow = data
red = clock
black   = 5v

207686-1
« Last Edit: Sat, 24 November 2018, 09:34:45 by Tactile »
REΛLFORCE

Offline nullb

  • Posts: 3
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1580 on: Wed, 12 December 2018, 04:09:52 »
Thanks for that can confirm that was correct, my keyboard works...

Well almost, a number of keys are dead, I'm thinking it may be the board... It's safe to assume if I see nothing in hid_listen.exe for some keys that it's not the Soarer's mapping being wrong... right?

Offline Ridingmac

  • Posts: 23
  • Location: Gatineau
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1581 on: Wed, 12 December 2018, 07:38:30 »
Thanks for that can confirm that was correct, my keyboard works...

Well almost, a number of keys are dead, I'm thinking it may be the board... It's safe to assume if I see nothing in hid_listen.exe for some keys that it's not the Soarer's mapping being wrong... right?


I mremember when i did mine, most of my numpad was dead. The escape key did an enter command and some of the function keys were messed up . All it took was a remap. Like you mentionned HID listen will confirm if you have the same issue i had.


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Offline nullb

  • Posts: 3
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1582 on: Wed, 12 December 2018, 16:47:21 »
Seems to be the ribben cable if I clean it I get more keys, but still not all of them.

Offline youxiaojie

  • Posts: 31
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1583 on: Sat, 29 December 2018, 01:15:53 »
Is the source code available for the latest version?I use oscilloscope to recode a set of scancode (non-standard.thank)and hope to modify your converter to use my old keyboard. Thanks a lot.

Offline 624245305

  • Posts: 19
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1584 on: Mon, 28 January 2019, 09:00:39 »
I have 2 DEVLIN keyboard. When I press a button, it is released as LSHFIT+L. Is this a macro configuration? I looked at the description of the macro and the examples in configs. But what I wrote doesn't seem to work, I hope to get a complete example.

Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1585 on: Mon, 28 January 2019, 11:30:25 »
I have 2 DEVLIN keyboard. When I press a button, it is released as LSHFIT+L. Is this a macro configuration? I looked at the description of the macro and the examples in configs. But what I wrote doesn't seem to work, I hope to get a complete example.

A lot of special purpose keyboards have the controller programmed to send key combinations to trigger something in their software. I don't know if this will help but here's my story of one such keyboard.

The board I bought looked like this:
211556-0
The F1-F8 keys above the numeric keypad worked as expected but there was no F9, F10...F12. Instead the double row of extra keys would send F9+A, F9+B...F9+Z and F10+A... you get the idea.

This keyboard came from some kind of special medical equipment. Companies will program their keyboards with key combinations because if their software is based on Microsoft Windows, and it usually is, Windows will only recognize the "usual" keys and will ignore anything else. So they can't just use a distinct keycode for some function - Windows will ignore it - they have to stick with regular keycodes and use combinations to trigger their special functions. In the end, for these special keys, I used the first key of the combination to trigger a layer change and then acted on the second code of the key combination. Here's my Soarer's file for this keyboard:

Code: [Select]
#
#
# Soarer's converter file for my TG3 keyboard
#
#

#
#
# Numlock is permanently on so no need to map it to a key. Turn numlock off
# and the keyboard controller turns it right back on again.
#
#

#
#
# Simple remapping works for the group of 8 FN keys above the numeric keypad
# and for the numpad keys we want to be math operators
#
#

remapblock
    F1 INSERT  # top row - l to r
    F2 HOME
    F3 PAGE_UP
    F4 UNASSIGNED
    F5 DELETE  # bottom row - l to r
    F6 END
    F7 PAGE_DOWN
    F8 UNASSIGNED
# Numeric keypad operators - from the enter key we go up & then turn left
    PAGE_DOWN PAD_PLUS
    PAGE_UP PAD_MINUS
    DELETE PAD_ASTERIX
    HOME PAD_SLASH
    ESC TAB
    END UNASSIGNED  # top left numpad corner - usual numlock position
endblock

#
#
# Our oddball keys are all prefixed with F9 or F10
# We'll let F9 or F10 switch layers and then act on the second key code:
# The top leftmost key sends F9 + A, so in our code:
# F9 is absorbed as it shifts to layer 1, then we act on the "A"
# This works remarkably well and wasn't my idea -
# I asked for help on Geekhack.org and ShawnMeg came up with the idea.
#
# SHIFT + RIGHT or LEFT arrow also presses F11 so we need to have F11 trigger
# a layer. The layer trigger itself absorbs the phantom keypress of F11
# then the shifted right/left arrows act normally
#
#

layerblock
    FN1 1
    FN2 2
    FN3 1
endblock

remapblock
  layer 0
    F9 FN1
    F10 FN2
    F11 FN3
endblock

#
#
# UNASSIGNED doesn't seem to work here (?) so we'll use EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
# It's a code unrecognized by Windows and so effectively blanks these keys
#
#

remapblock
  layer 1  # F9 prefixed
    A ESC              # top row left end
    B EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    C EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    D EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    E EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    F EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    G EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    H EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    I EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    J EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    K EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    L EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    M EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    N EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    O EXTRA_PAD_PLUS   # top row right end
    P F1               # bottom row left end
    Q F2
    R F3
    S F4
    T F5
    U F6
    V F7
    W F8
    X F9
    Y F10
    Z F11
Endblock

remapblock
  layer 2  # F10 prefixed
    A F12
    B EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    C EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    D RGUI             # bottom row right end
# row of four at the top right corner - left to right   
    E ESC   
    F PRINTSCREEN
    G SCROLL_LOCK
    H PAUSE
Endblock

These specialized keyboards can be tricky to reprogram in Soarer's, but it can usually be done if you give it some thought. And it's worth the effort. Here's how mine turned out:

211558-1
« Last Edit: Wed, 30 January 2019, 00:16:17 by Tactile »
REΛLFORCE

Offline livingspeedbump

  • * Exquisite Elder
  • Posts: 1552
  • Location: Seattle
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    • KeyChatter
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1586 on: Tue, 29 January 2019, 14:04:37 »
Fairly quick question here. Curious if you can remap undefined keys?
They do register as unique, they simply are undefined:

Overall this was fairly simple, the biggest setback is that the =+ key is UNREGISTERED along with others that make much more sense to be such.

I have made a scratch layout to help me plan/think through/remember the layout, with the current code in the notes.

This is the dude in question, but more on this later:


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Offline youxiaojie

  • Posts: 31
Re: XT protocol is not perfect with one high level bit
« Reply #1587 on: Tue, 29 January 2019, 15:30:31 »
Your xt converter is not  good at one bit start bit instead 2bits start bit. IBM started with 0and1 as start bit, while alt of xt keyboard use 1as start bit, so can you make it  more smart? Or make a setup item stored in eeprom?

Offline 624245305

  • Posts: 19
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1588 on: Tue, 29 January 2019, 23:52:39 »
I have 2 DEVLIN keyboard. When I press a button, it is released as LSHFIT+L. Is this a macro configuration? I looked at the description of the macro and the examples in configs. But what I wrote doesn't seem to work, I hope to get a complete example.

A lot of special purpose keyboards have the controller programmed to send key combinations to trigger something in their software. I don't know if this will help but here's my story of one such keyboard.

The board I bought looked like this:
(Attachment Link)
The F1-F8 keys above the numeric keypad worked as expected but there was no F9, F10...F12. Instead the double row of extra keys would send F9+A, F9+B...F9+Z and F10+A... you get the idea.

This keyboard came from some kind of special medical equipment. Companies will program their keyboards with key combinations because if their software is based on Microsoft Windows, and it usually is, Windows will only recognize the "usual" keys and will ignore anything else. So they can't just use a distinct keycode for some function - Windows will ignore it - they have to stick with regular keycodes and use combinations to trigger their special functions. In the end, for these special keys, I used the first key of the combination to trigger a layer change and then acted on the second code of the key combination. Here's my Soarer's file for this keyboard:
Code: [Select]
#
#
# Soarer's converter file for my TG3 keyboard
#
#

#
#
# Numlock is permanently on so no need to map it to a key. Turn numlock off
# and the keyboard controller turns it right back on again.
#
#

#
#
# Simple remapping works for the group of 8 FN keys above the numeric keypad
# and for the numpad keys we want to be math operators
#
#

remapblock
    F1 INSERT  # top row - l to r
    F2 HOME
    F3 PAGE_UP
    F4 UNASSIGNED
    F5 DELETE  # bottom row - l to r
    F6 END
    F7 PAGE_DOWN
    F8 UNASSIGNED
# Numeric keypad operators - from the enter key we go up & then turn left
    PAGE_DOWN PAD_PLUS
    PAGE_UP PAD_MINUS
    DELETE PAD_ASTERIX
    HOME PAD_SLASH
    ESC TAB
    END UNASSIGNED  # top left numpad corner - usual numlock position
endblock

#
#
# Our oddball keys are all prefixed with F9 or F10
# We'll let F9 or F10 switch layers and then act on the second key code:
# The top leftmost key sends F9 + A, so in our code:
# F9 is absorbed as it shifts to layer 1, then we act on the "A"
# This works remarkably well and wasn't my idea -
# I asked for help on Geekhack.org and ShawnMeg came up with the idea.
#
# SHIFT + RIGHT or LEFT arrow also presses F11 so we need to have F11 trigger
# a layer. The layer trigger itself absorbs the phantom keypress of F11
# then the shifted right/left arrows act normally
#
#

layerblock
    FN1 1
    FN2 2
    FN3 1
endblock

remapblock
  layer 0
    F9 FN1
    F10 FN2
    F11 FN3
endblock

#
#
# UNASSIGNED doesn't seem to work here (?) so we'll use EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
# It's a code unrecognized by Windows and so effectively blanks these keys
#
#

remapblock
  layer 1  # F9 prefixed
    A ESC              # top row left end
    B EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    C EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    D EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    E EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    F EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    G EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    H EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    I EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    J EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    K EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    L EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    M EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    N EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    O EXTRA_PAD_PLUS   # top row right end
    P F1               # bottom row left end
    Q F2
    R F3
    S F4
    T F5
    U F6
    V F7
    W F8
    X F9
    Y F10
    Z F11
Endblock

remapblock
  layer 2  # F10 prefixed
    A F12
    B EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    C EXTRA_PAD_PLUS
    D RGUI             # bottom row right end
# row of four at the top right corner - left to right   
    E ESC   
    F PRINTSCREEN
    G SCROLL_LOCK
    H PAUSE
Endblock
These specialized keyboards can be tricky to reprogram in Soarer's, but it can usually be done if you give it some thought. And it's worth the effort. Here's how mine turned out:
(Attachment Link)

Thank you very much for your help, I cloned the .SC file in my code to fit my Devlin keyboard. However, there are several keys on my keyboard that are the same, such as 2 SPACE/2 PERIOD/2 SLASH, the code monitored by HID is the same. In addition, the LALT/LCTRL on the left and the RALT/RCTL on the right both send the HID code on the left, the LCRT on the left is set to FN, and the CTRL on the right also becomes the FN. Not perfect, but it is very fun to configure the extra buttons.

There are a lot of TG3 keyboards in China. Although I haven't played your TG3, I also have the following TG3. The keyboard is very good. The first row of double-row buttons also triggers two buttons, and your help is very good for me to solve such problems. Here I wish you a Chinese holiday, Happy New Year.

Offline youxiaojie

  • Posts: 31
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1589 on: Sat, 09 March 2019, 07:07:45 »
dear author,I used modify soarer's converter and write configure ok the first time and then I hope to change key configure  it is said failure and scrd return signature error.is there something wrong?how to rewrite eeprom?

Offline ivanthetolerable

  • Posts: 17
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1590 on: Tue, 19 March 2019, 08:12:56 »
Hello all,

I recently ordered two adapters on eBay for my XT model F. One of the adapters randomly died altogether and I was sent a replacement. The replacement arrived, but when I plug in any of my Model Fs, it doesn't work. In HID I am getting R06 WFE for all key presses, and I noticed that the Keyboard IF is 0000 and the code set is Unknown. The mode is set to AT/PS2 instead of XT. Any idea what caused this and how to fix it? It is like that on any computer I use.

Offline 624245305

  • Posts: 19
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1591 on: Thu, 21 March 2019, 08:50:44 »
Hello all,

I recently ordered two adapters on eBay for my XT model F. One of the adapters randomly died altogether and I was sent a replacement. The replacement arrived, but when I plug in any of my Model Fs, it doesn't work. In HID I am getting R06 WFE for all key presses, and I noticed that the Keyboard IF is 0000 and the code set is Unknown. The mode is set to AT/PS2 instead of XT. Any idea what caused this and how to fix it? It is like that on any computer I use.

Code   Error   Description
R03   unknown   something bad happened!
R04   clock   missed one edge of the clock signal, usually because of a short spike
R05   timeout   started receiving clock from the board, but didn't receive enough for a full code
R06   start bit   read a start bit, but it was incorrect
R07   parity bit   failed to correctly read a parity bit
R08   stop bit   failed to correctly read a stop bit
W005   timeout   timeout while writing a command to the keyboard
W105   timeout   timeout while writing the first byte of a 2-byte command
W205   timeout   timeout while writing the second byte of a 2-byte command

Offline 624245305

  • Posts: 19
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1592 on: Thu, 21 March 2019, 09:15:58 »
Have help with the IBM 3178 keyboard converter? I purchased a keyboard with the code C2 without a line. I saw someone making an IBM 3178 converter, and an external 12V power supply, perfect use of the solenoid valve switch.......

Offline ivanthetolerable

  • Posts: 17
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1593 on: Mon, 13 May 2019, 10:50:09 »
Hi all,

Can anyone lead me in the right direction to learn about programming macros in the .sc file? I'm trying to figure out how to map two key presses to one key. I.e, pressing F7 to trigger ALT + LGUI press. Any tips?

Offline Tactile

  • Posts: 1432
  • Location: Portland, OR
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1594 on: Mon, 13 May 2019, 11:12:05 »
Hi all,

Can anyone lead me in the right direction to learn about programming macros in the .sc file? I'm trying to figure out how to map two key presses to one key. I.e, pressing F7 to trigger ALT + LGUI press. Any tips?

With no assurance that this will do what you want:

Code: [Select]
macroblock
    macro F7
        PUSH_META CLEAR_META all
        MAKE LALT
        PRESS LGUI
        BREAK LALT
        POP_ALL_META
    endmacro
endblck

Macros are explained pretty well in the docs, with examples.
REΛLFORCE

Offline apastuszak

  • Posts: 44
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1595 on: Sat, 18 May 2019, 15:57:25 »
I just got my Soarer's Converter in the mail and am currently tinkering with it.

Two questions that I have:

1. Is it possible to have a macro launch an application?  For example, could I configure CTRL+SHIFT+F launch Firefox?
2. Is it possible to do pattern substitution with it?  For example, can I type yw and have the converter convert to you're welcome.

Any and all help from a newbie greatly appreciated.

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1596 on: Sat, 18 May 2019, 20:30:05 »
Launching from keyboard is easy. Just set a shortcut with properties (in the "shortcut key" in Windows).
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Offline apastuszak

  • Posts: 44
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1597 on: Sat, 18 May 2019, 21:48:44 »
Launching from keyboard is easy. Just set a shortcut with properties (in the "shortcut key" in Windows).

I tried that on my Windows 7 work laptop and it didn't work.  I think they may have it blocked by policy or through some other means.

I've been using AutoHotKey to do it, but I got a nasty email that I am not allowed to use AutoHotKey any more.

Offline AJM

  • Posts: 83
  • Location: Germany
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1598 on: Sun, 19 May 2019, 08:33:11 »
1. Is it possible to have a macro launch an application?  For example, could I configure CTRL+SHIFT+F launch Firefox?
2. Is it possible to do pattern substitution with it?  For example, can I type yw and have the converter convert to you're welcome.

1. If Firefox is your standard browser, you can simply program the special code "MEDIA_WWW_HOME" to any key you like, which will open the browser.
If Firefox is not your standard browser, but it is in your task bar - let's say on second position, you could program the macro <WIN> + <2>.

2. No, you would have to program for example <CTRL>+<ALT>+<Y> to output this text.

Offline apastuszak

  • Posts: 44
Re: XT/AT/PS2/Terminal to USB Converter with NKRO
« Reply #1599 on: Sun, 19 May 2019, 09:12:55 »
1. Is it possible to have a macro launch an application?  For example, could I configure CTRL+SHIFT+F launch Firefox?
2. Is it possible to do pattern substitution with it?  For example, can I type yw and have the converter convert to you're welcome.

1. If Firefox is your standard browser, you can simply program the special code "MEDIA_WWW_HOME" to any key you like, which will open the browser.
If Firefox is not your standard browser, but it is in your task bar - let's say on second position, you could program the macro <WIN> + <2>.

2. No, you would have to program for example <CTRL>+<ALT>+<Y> to output this text.

For 1, Firefox was just an example.  If I wanted to launch a batch file with a keyboard shortcut of some kind, is there some way to do it with a Soarer's Converter?  if not, is thee another hardware device with firmware that will let me do it?