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Tashtari's ADB Tools (also a plea for rare devices!)
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-11 13:55:12
Wow, the ADB I/O's manual seems like it contains a full specification of the ADB protocol... it's unfortunate that only the HTML version of it seems to have been archived, and that without any of the images. Grrr.
Posted by: Phipli on 2022-11-11 14:22:27
Wow, the ADB I/O's manual seems like it contains a full specification of the ADB protocol... it's unfortunate that only the HTML version of it seems to have been archived, and that without any of the images. Grrr.
There is loads of stuff here :

Wayback Machine

web.archive.org web.archive.org

Filter by ".hqx" or whatever.


Here are the pdfs I could get plus some C libs.
Posted by: aladds on 2022-11-11 14:26:42
I found an ad with a render of the box in it 🙂

Edit: And I see that the PDFs have _loads_ of pictures too!
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-11 15:24:49
Shoot, I thought I'd looked for that. Anyway, great! The appendix on the ADB format makes it quite straightforward to program a PIC to speak this language... can't promise anything, but I could definitely see implementing this in the not-too-distant future.
Posted by: Phipli on 2022-11-11 15:36:27
Shoot, I thought I'd looked for that. Anyway, great! The appendix on the ADB format makes it quite straightforward to program a PIC to speak this language... can't promise anything, but I could definitely see implementing this in the not-too-distant future.
I suspect they used this style (voltage/brand/model tbc) of relay :

www.ebay.co.uk

12VDC Normally Open Reed Relay SPST DIP12-1A72-12L 5063200172972 | eBay UK

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 12VDC Normally Open Reed Relay SPST DIP12-1A72-12L at the best online prices at eBay UK! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk

It would be nice to put some open collector outputs on it so we could drive interesting loads.... but I'm getting carried away.
Posted by: jeremywork on 2022-11-11 18:20:22
Without splitting it open, there are some steps that you can perform (or that anyone with any ADB device can perform) to get some first-pass information on it:
  • Download and run ADB Parser on a mac with the device plugged in
  • Identify the device on the list
    • Your ADB keyboard and mouse should be the devices at addresses 2 and 3, and the host should be at 0, so the ADB device under test should be whatever's left over if there are no other devices plugged into your ADB ports
  • Click the device in the list and note the "Original Address", "Original Handler", "Current Handler", and "Current Address"
  • Click "Talk" on the radio buttons in the left panel and enter "1" for the register, then click "Send Command" and note the data received below (if any)
  • Do the same with "2" for the register
Doing this will help me start to compile a list of devices and their IDs and benefit the general cause of Apple history. =)
Thanks for this, I'll test other ADB devices when I come across them.

My Rainbow Sentinel Eve with the DiaQuest sticker pictured upthread does not appear in the list even when downstream devices are recognized.

The Sentinel Eve3 pictured beneath it:
Original Address 01
Original Handler 34
Current Handler 34
Current Address 1
Talk "1" no response

Talk "2" reports consistently as many times as the command is sent until the ADB Reinit button is pressed, the computer is rebooted, or the device is hotplugged. Here are ten consecutive outputs:

770077474C6A
3E003E800000
5D005D61D4BE
120012AC7048
39003985A4F6
080008B6B864
9300932B1C92
870087370C8A
1B001BA37C42
EB00EBD33C22
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-11 19:37:08
Talk "2" reports consistently as many times as the command is sent until the ADB Reinit button is pressed, the computer is rebooted, or the device is hotplugged.
Hmm. When you say it "reports consistently", do you mean it gives the same sequence of outputs every time starting when reset/rebooted? If so, does it ever appear to loop?

In any case, thank you, I've added the Sentinel Eve3 to the ADB devices list on TashNotes.

Also, aiee, don't hotplug unless you have more electrical engineering knowledge than I do (which isn't difficult) and know it to be safer than I think it is...
Posted by: jeremywork on 2022-11-11 20:36:48
Hmm. When you say it "reports consistently", do you mean it gives the same sequence of outputs every time starting when reset/rebooted? If so, does it ever appear to loop?
Sorry, it reports the same value every time I click send command, up until I click ADB Reinit/etc

In about 20 tries I didn’t catch a loop, though the first and third hex pairs always seem to match; second pair always 00.
In any case, thank you, I've added the Sentinel Eve3 to the ADB devices list on TashNotes.
You’re welcome!
I’ll be on the lookout for others I can help populate.

Also, aiee, don't hotplug unless you have more electrical engineering knowledge than I do (which isn't difficult) and know it to be safer than I think it is...

Yeah… no additional engineering knowledge, but I’ve used a couple analog ADB KVMs for years now without any unrecoverable incidents. One even has a switch to disconnect and reconnect the ADB without removing the cable, which resolves the occasional non-responsive keyboard after switching. It might still be a bad idea, but I felt comfortable enough given the hundreds of uneventful handoffs my hardware had already been through. Whenever I do hotplug an interface which probably isn’t designed for it, I try to be cognizant to push it in swiftly without causing the connection to pulse on the way in. Fwiw, probably still just as dicey.
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-11 20:44:08
it reports the same value every time I click send command, up until I click ADB Reinit/etc
Interesting. I might have to slap the analyzer on mine to see if the host sends it something that seeds the value or something...
Posted by: jeremywork on 2022-11-11 21:21:42
Interesting. I might have to slap the analyzer on mine to see if the host sends it something that seeds the value or something...
I was thinking it could produce a sequence of rolling codes, but I took more readings and found repeats. They don't appear to be in a pattern though, maybe it just chooses from a list of valid codes and the software is set to expect a different one each launch?

(same Eve3 as above)
Screen Shot 2022-11-11 at 9.17.54 PM.png
Posted by: aladds on 2022-11-12 00:16:46
It would be nice to put some open collector outputs on it so we could drive interesting loads.... but I'm getting carried away.
Whilst my PIC programming skills aren’t quite as developed, I’d happily design an interface PCB to include things like this. We can take this off line for now to ensure we don’t bombard this topic with noise, though 🙂
Posted by: Phipli on 2022-11-12 06:02:49
My dad has this - I think it is a PostScript licence dongle for his printer. I can ask him to test it if it is of interest. He still uses it on a Beige G3.

2(4).jpg
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-12 12:03:13
I can ask him to test it if it is of interest.
Sure! I doubt I can crack it remotely (knowing as little as I do about Mac dongles) but I'd love to add it to the list.
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-12 14:52:36
@aladds @Phipli

Well, I went and did it. =D We can move discussion pertinent to the project over to the new thread.

TashIO: Clone of BeeHive Technologies's ADB I/O

Just a little Saturday project. Introducing: TashIO! Elevator Pitch It's a clone of BeeHive Technologies's ADB I/O, a device with analog and digital I/Os for automation, control, and interfacing to sensors and other devices. It has existing software support in C, RealBASIC, Fourth Dimension...
68kmla.org 68kmla.org
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-12 14:54:04
Also, news: @demik has extremely generously offered to send me a LaCie FM Radio so I can try to decipher its protocol. Huzzah! \o/
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-13 12:51:32
Another ADB tool for your tooling pleasure:

github.com

GitHub - lampmerchant/adb-test-device: A test device for the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB).

A test device for the Apple Desktop Bus (ADB). Contribute to lampmerchant/adb-test-device development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com github.com

This allows the user to prototype the behavior of an ADB device in Python (or other language on a host system) or imitate the behavior of an ADB device in order to stimulate a driver on the Mac.
Posted by: Jockelill on 2022-11-19 11:42:42
B2B47035-4710-4C45-8BDE-746D628B6FC4.jpegA8DE88A7-81D1-43D6-8E73-15EA85144A98.jpeg
Does this qualify 🙂? It’s a Nubus image grabber (color) from neotech, but it also uses the ADB bus to control the box.
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-19 13:54:52
Does this qualify 🙂? It’s a Nubus image grabber (color) from neotech, but it also uses the ADB bus to control the box.
It certainly does! I'll DM you.
Posted by: olePigeon on 2022-11-19 20:38:29
@tashtari I also have a Rebound. 🙂
Posted by: Tashtari on 2022-11-26 07:02:06
Update: I've been able to RE the protocols used by the PowerKey PK-1 and PowerKey Rebound! and uploaded writeups on them to TashNotes at the aforementioned links. Look for this functionality showing up in one of my projects before too long, hopefully...

Profuse thanks to @olePigeon for lending them to me!
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