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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => DIY Discussions ARCHIVE => Topic started by: tobr1an on Sun, 20 May 2012, 21:30:09

Title: 4 Pin Ps2
Post by: tobr1an on Sun, 20 May 2012, 21:30:09
I recently got a really old keyboard from my friend and it contain white alps. The adapter is 4 pin ps/2 I believe. Is there anyway to convert this 4 pin into USB?
Title: 4 Pin Ps2
Post by: mbc on Sun, 20 May 2012, 22:19:10
An active converter like the blue cube..
Title: 4 Pin Ps2
Post by: kishy on Mon, 21 May 2012, 09:31:28
Although PS/2 only actually uses 4 pins, the connector has 6 positions and often they all have pins present.

What type of keyboard is it? ADB, Apple Desktop Bus for older Macs, also has 4 pins.
Title: 4 Pin Ps2
Post by: tobr1an on Mon, 21 May 2012, 17:34:22
Quote from: kishy;597042
Although PS/2 only actually uses 4 pins, the connector has 6 positions and often they all have pins present.

What type of keyboard is it? ADB, Apple Desktop Bus for older Macs, also has 4 pins.

I really don't know what kind of keyboard it is as I do not see any brand on it what so ever. On the back of the keyboard it say Micro Warehouse, Inc. Model No. Power User 105.
Title: 4 Pin Ps2
Post by: Findecanor on Mon, 21 May 2012, 18:17:30
The "Micro Warehouse, Inc. Power User 105" should be a keyboard for the old Macintosh which speaks the "Apple Desktop Bus" (ADB) protocol.
I had one, here are pictures I took of mine (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?12155-PowerUser-ADB-keyboard) (before I stripped it for parts and put them into my Dell AT101W). Mine had Swedish layout, though.

You need a ADB to USB converter to connect it to a modern computer. Unfortunately, there are not as many of them as there as PS/2 to USB converters.  The only commercial converter that I know of is the "Belkin iMate", which is not always that easy to find.
If you have some skills with soldering circuits, then you could build one yourself: Get a Teensy USB Development Board (http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/index.html), connect the wires and/or ports to it and load Hasu's ADB to USB keyboard Converter for Teensy (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:14290) on it.