68kMLA Classic Interface

This is a version of the 68kMLA forums for viewing on your favorite old mac. Visitors on modern platforms may prefer the main site.

Click here to select a new forum.

PS/2 Keyboard to Plus/512k/128k Keyboard Converter

Posted by: Tashtari on 2024-06-11 08:47:30 I'm sure someone's done this before, but I enjoyed the challenge (I used all but 61 words of program memory and all but 4 bytes of SRAM!)... I made some firmware for the PIC12F1501 that lets a PS/2 keyboard be used with a Mac Plus or the other Macs that used the phone-cord keyboard. It makes full use of the PS/2 keyboard, or as near to it as I felt I could get - Print Screen maps to Cmd-Shift-3, for example. The otherwise-unused Esc and function keys can be programmed on the fly by the user, just hold the key you want to program and press the keystroke you want to associate with it and Bob's your uncle. If folks are interested, I could knock together a PCB for this... its requirements are incredibly simple, it doesn't even require external resistors. On top of that, unlike the PIC12F1840 (used in TashTalk), the PIC12F1501 can be programmed by the ubiquitous TL866 programmers, so it's that much more accessible.

Posted by: Tashtari on 2024-06-11 09:16:21 Oh, right, the code... GitHub - lampmerchant/ps2-to-plus-keyboard: An adapter to connect a PS/2 keyboard to a Macintosh Plus/512k/128k. An adapter to connect a PS/2 keyboard to a Macintosh Plus/512k/128k. - lampmerchant/ps2-to-plus-keyboard github.com

Posted by: Tashtari on 2024-06-29 11:35:46 Got a PCB! It makes a pretty neat and tidy little dongle once covered in heatshrink. I'll make up some kits for sale if anyone finds this interesting.

Posted by: mg.man on 2024-06-29 11:46:07 It makes a pretty neat and tidy little dongle once covered in heatshrink. Very neat! 👍

Posted by: Tashtari on 2024-07-04 05:24:59 Made up some kits for this, now available in my ko-fi store!

1