geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: berserkfan on Sun, 02 June 2013, 07:08:35
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What does this seller know that we don’t?
He’s selling a model F XT. That’s what he says, and that’s what the pictures say as well.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290874516109&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123
He insists that you only need an adapter – furnished by him – to make the XT run on any modern computer. He even has a picture of what looks like the adapter.
Is it true that we can just buy a plug in adapter and instantly any XT keyboard turns into a USB keyboard? That’s what I’d like to know as well!
(addendum: ok, found one here: KE-XTUSB Converter. Never heard of it; hope some of you guys have tried it out before. I would hate to pay more for it than for a model F XT, only to find that it doesn't work perfectly! Remember, if we're using a keyboard all day as our primary keyboard, we cannot afford to have unreliability or weird keypresses/ signals!)
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What does this seller know that we don’t?
Not a lot :p
I believe a couple of members have used the Hagstrom XT converter (http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/products/ke_xtusb.html), and report that it worked fine - search GH for hagstrom (http://geekhack.org/index.php?action=search2&search=hagstrom&advanced=1&sort=id_msg|desc).
My converter (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=17458.0) works well with the XT, and also gives you remapping/layers/macros :D
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I had a Hagstrom a couple of years ago, the older primitive model, and it worked great.
That one is a $50 unit while Soarer's Teensy is $20, and gives far more flexibility, if you are willing to do a little work yourself.
At $250 for an F XT, the seller can afford to toss in a free adapter!
I think that the going rate is more like $50, you could easily build a complete fully working package for under $100.
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Aha! Excellent; maybe I should buy twee teensies.
(I am not confident of my skills, so I'm pretty confident I will end up destroying at least one.)
I had a Hagstrom a couple of years ago, the older primitive model, and it worked great.
That one is a $50 unit while Soarer's Teensy is $20, and gives far more flexibility, if you are willing to do a little work yourself.
At $250 for an F XT, the seller can afford to toss in a free adapter!
I think that the going rate is more like $50, you could easily build a complete fully working package for under $100.
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Aha! Excellent; maybe I should buy twee teensies.
(I am not confident of my skills, so I'm pretty confident I will end up destroying at least one.)
I had a Hagstrom a couple of years ago, the older primitive model, and it worked great.
That one is a $50 unit while Soarer's Teensy is $20, and gives far more flexibility, if you are willing to do a little work yourself.
At $250 for an F XT, the seller can afford to toss in a free adapter!
I think that the going rate is more like $50, you could easily build a complete fully working package for under $100.
It is very easy, I have done at least 4 and only wrecked one, by carelessly shorting 2 wires. Be sure to get the Teensy "with pins" and it can even be done without soldering.
You should use a continuity tester to verify which wires are which, never trust "color-coding" but you only have to connect 4 of them.
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hahaaha!
oh great, I don't even know what a continuity tester is. Why do I get the impression I am not the brightest bulb in the room?
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The most basic continuity tester is some wire, a light bulb and a battery. I think you can figure out how that gets used.
DMMs (Digital Multi Meters) have a mode where it beeps when continuity is established.
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It is not always obvious which pin on your keyboard plug corresponds to which wire.
There are 4 wires that will need to be identified and connected to 4 pins on the Teensy.
Unfortunately, you can never trust color-coding, even IBM-to-IBM.
But with a flashlight bulb, battery, and 2 pieces of wire you can touch both sides tell whether current is being carried through.