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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: mr626 on Wed, 07 September 2011, 18:10:03

Title: Question regarding IBM Terminal PS2 board- 1398224
Post by: mr626 on Wed, 07 September 2011, 18:10:03
Hi all,

It looks like I may be able to get a 1398224 board for a good price. My question is, will this work with a standard pc? The cable uses a PS/2 port. I guess I am hoping to be able to map all those 'extra' keys it has to do useful stuff.

I can't find very much information about this model, but it is similar to this:

http://www.labx.com/v2/spiderdealer2/vistaSearchDetails.cfm?LVid=9939585

Thanks
Title: Question regarding IBM Terminal PS2 board- 1398224
Post by: wcass on Wed, 07 September 2011, 21:55:52
it might, i'm not familiar with that specific model.

some of the keys will not be where you are used to them being. i live in the US, so am used to the wide enter and left shift. the numeric and the navigation keys are jumbled around too.

the fix i go to is to replace the keys i don't like with ones i do when doing a bolt mod (about $5 for parts and a few hours work). for remapping keys and getting functionality out of the extra keys, you need AutoHotkey (assuming you are in Windows). if you want to move your keyboard to another computer, you will need to bring AutoHotkey and your config on a memory stick.

in the future, there should be a hardware fix - follow Soarer's post on Teensy based USB adapter/controller. There is another Teensy based controller mod from Hasu. both projects need a user friendly front end - you wouldn't happen to be a programmer ...?

EDIT: i just looked at your avatar - there are a bunch of tools for remapping keys in linux.
Title: Question regarding IBM Terminal PS2 board- 1398224
Post by: theferenc on Wed, 07 September 2011, 22:07:05
I can help with the linux stuff, if you need it. And unless you're an ISO user, swapping the layout with a bolt mod would be beneficial as well. I can help with that, as well.

wcass, I've actually been looking in to creating a front end for a hardware level remapper, but right now, it's PS/2 only. It's based on Hasu's USB converter, simply because that was the source code I had access to at the time. The general idea is to have the front end edit a .h file, then recompile the code and push it to the teensy -- it's small, so it's pretty quick.
Title: Question regarding IBM Terminal PS2 board- 1398224
Post by: mr626 on Wed, 07 September 2011, 22:17:10
Yup, standard US layout user here. I use both Windows and Linux (depending on whether its work or play I'm doing).

wcass, I do some programming in java and python- not sure If I have the required skills to make a gui front end (most of my work is server-side stuff that users don't directly interact with). Still, happy to try if it might help :-)

theferenc, you have already been a fantastic help to me via PM, and I appreciate your offers of help regarding this too. Given how hard it seems to be to find a nice buckling spring board in my country, If I get this one I'd be keen to make it last so a bolt mod would be an option.
Title: Question regarding IBM Terminal PS2 board- 1398224
Post by: wcass on Wed, 07 September 2011, 23:08:34
theferenc,
good to hear that someone is working on a UI. i have two 122 keys - one is PS2, the other is a 1394100, so it will help with one. i'ld like to see the two projects share ideas and code as they both have unique value.

let me know when you need a beta tester.