Ye olde Model F XT - fill me in on the latest mod strategy for modern use?

[Voixdelion]

Last I checked on this front, there were some experiments going on, and I am wondering were they met with success?  Preferably any kind of success that can be easily duplicated or farmed out inexpensively so that I can resurrect the beast, perhaps?  Is my best option still the adapter from hagstrom  http://www.hagstromelectronics.com/products/ke_xtusb.html

or is there some streamlined DIY option that doesn't involve knowing anything about programming a "Teensy" (whatever that is).  I can solder well enough that I don't mind messing with that, but I have way too much going on right now to attempt learning anything about keyboard signaling and protocols and such. I'd be happy to purchase a sort of "Kit" with a diagram that tells me to attach a to b, but if it involves research and digging through 30 pages of thread and mod logs, I'd just as soon buy the prefab thing.  I don't wanna spend more brain effort other than lining up what goes where.  I WOULD pay an additional  premium for someone to distill that research into a straightforward how to guide, though, provided they could include specifics of what to buy too - better yet, just get that thing and sort of create that aforementioned kit as a unit, but I imagine at that point we'd be approaching the cost of the hagstrom anyway to make it worth someone's while.

SO with that in mind, what are my current options for getting that old beast running on a modern machine (I guess USB is probably a safer bet, but PS2 works for me also) ?   

[Pacifist]

soarer's

[Voixdelion]

soarer's what?

[Pacifist]

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=17458.0

[dorkvader]

or is there some streamlined DIY option that doesn't involve knowing anything about programming a "Teensy" (whatever that is).

soarer's

Did you even read the post?

Voxdelion, it sounds like the hagstrom is right for you. The aforementioned soarer keyboard converter code is an excellent solution for many people, and is often a person's first project. I think it is well within your capabilities to complete, but it's not "streamlined" and there's no "kit" so it requires a basic amount of research and effort. Because of this, it's not for everyone. We are indeed lucky that a turnkey solution exists.

Another option would be to pay a GH'er to make you one. The parts and labor costs would be well under the price of a hagstrom.

[fohat.digs]

but it's not "streamlined" and there's no "kit" so it requires a basic amount of research

If you know which end of a soldering iron to hold, there is nothing to it. And soldering is not required, anyway. There are 4 wires to connect to 4 holes.

Soarer's firmware takes, what, 60 seconds?

But if you want to pay more than double for a plug & play "one-trick-pony" then buy the Hagstrom.
 

[E TwentyNine]

but it's not "streamlined" and there's no "kit" so it requires a basic amount of research

If you know which end of a soldering iron to hold, there is nothing to it. And soldering is not required, anyway. There are 4 wires to connect to 4 holes.

Soarer's firmware takes, what, 60 seconds?

But if you want to pay more than double for a plug & play "one-trick-pony" then buy the Hagstrom.

Can't agree strongly enough here.  Soarer's is dirt simple.  The firmware with the Teensy is as simple as running Word.

Hagstrom's is old news and way overpriced.  You can do the vanilla setup with Soarer's and then learn to do fancier things if you're so inclined.

[fohat.digs]

You can do the vanilla setup with Soarer's and then learn to do fancier things if you're so inclined.

And, most importantly, Soarer's will work its magic with dozens of keyboards, instantly, while the Hagstrom is XT-specific. Unless you don't intend to move past the XT .....

[dorkvader]

or is there some streamlined DIY option that doesn't involve knowing anything about programming a "Teensy" (whatever that is).  I can solder well enough that I don't mind messing with that, but I have way too much going on right now to attempt learning anything about keyboard signaling and protocols and such. I'd be happy to purchase a sort of "Kit" with a diagram that tells me to attach a to b, but if it involves research and digging through 30 pages of thread and mod logs, I'd just as soon buy the prefab thing.  I don't wanna spend more brain effort other than lining up what goes where.

I think he made it clear in the OP. He doesn't want to spend brain effort reading the documentation or the thread (not surprisingly! There's a lot of information there, I would be daunted myself). Soarer's code does require thinking to lead, as evidenced by the number of people who make mistakes loading it, or otherwise can't figure it out. There is no "streamlined" diy solution.

Compare to the world of DIY audio. There, I can buy a kit, solder it up, plug it in, and be done. Lots of fun, no wasted brainpower, etc. In this case, more thinking is required. You have to look at the thread, figure out which board pinout is yours, make sure you wire it up correctly (don't mess it up or you'll forever damage the board beyond repair!) doublecheck your work, get soarer's code loaded, etc. It requires doing your homework, etc. It's not for everyone.

DIY isn't for everyone. Something that's easy for you may be very difficult for someone else. That's why there exists (and must exist) other solutions. The hagstrom is expensive, but known to work and also turnkey: no setup required. That's why I recommended it in this case.

[fohat.digs]

The hagstrom is expensive, but known to work and also turnkey: no setup required. That's why I recommended it in this case.

I agree with Dorkvader here. The reason that I went off on my tangent was the OP's comfort level with soldering.

Most people's paranoia with the Teensy/Soarer thing revolves around their fear of tracing and soldering 4 wires.

[dorkvader]

The hagstrom is expensive, but known to work and also turnkey: no setup required. That's why I recommended it in this case.

I agree with Dorkvader here. The reason that I went off on my tangent was the OP's comfort level with soldering.

Most people's paranoia with the Teensy/Soarer thing revolves around their fear of tracing and soldering 4 wires.

for me it was (and will remain to be) the relative difficulty of actually programming them. If I mess up in hardware, I can usually figure out what happened and get that fixed, but if something goes wrong loading the teensy firmware, I don't even know where to begin looking into fixing it. I've been getting better and more knowlegeable, but it's still the biggest hurdle.

I think most new DIYers fall into one of the two groups. Both aspects of the design (soldering the hardware and loading the software) aren't too difficult by themselves, but since they are such different aspects, most people will be put off by one.

[Pacifist]

IMO compared to a pro micro, teensy flashing is mindless. Run teensy exe, pick hex file, hit button, hex loaded.

For me the wires were annoying due to my ****ty solder job, but it works

[orihalcon]

Yep, Soarer's converter is the way to go.  I agree, using a teensy is easy, but if you try to use a lower cost arduino other than a Teensy, it can be a little frustrating and time consuming.  That was my experience anyway.

[ShawnMeg]

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