[comp.sys.amiga.hardware] Amiga 1000 Keyboard Hack?

fbueller@bucsf.bu.edu (Peter Sherman) (05/05/90)

	Greetings netland! I have a problem, and I hope some kindly hacker
out there could help me. I recently aquired a used Amiga 1000, and as you
can probably guess, no keyboard. But I bought an interesting little device
which allows me to use a 2000 keyboard. But, the 2000 keyboard costs more
than I paid for the computer, and so I'd like to use an IBM keyboard, since
the connector appears to be pin compatible. I'd like to know if an IBM
keyboard could be attached to this, and if not, if there are there any
hardware/software hacks which I could use to do this. I heard that the
Amiga 2000 keyboard has its' own chips to encode information.
 
	Thanks in advance.
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grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins) (05/05/90)

In article <56796@bu.edu.bu.edu> fbueller@bucsf.bu.edu (Peter Sherman) writes:
> 
> 	Greetings netland! I have a problem, and I hope some kindly hacker
> out there could help me. I recently aquired a used Amiga 1000, and as you
> can probably guess, no keyboard. But I bought an interesting little device
> which allows me to use a 2000 keyboard. But, the 2000 keyboard costs more
> than I paid for the computer, and so I'd like to use an IBM keyboard, since
> the connector appears to be pin compatible. I'd like to know if an IBM
> keyboard could be attached to this, and if not, if there are there any
> hardware/software hacks which I could use to do this. I heard that the
> Amiga 2000 keyboard has its' own chips to encode information.

The technology is similar to that used in IBM keyboards, but the encoding and
possibly handshaking details differ.  Unless you are able to reprogram the
microcontroller in your "IBM" keyboard, I don't see that as a real alternative.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,     uucp:   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing:   domain: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com
Commodore, Engineering Department     phone:  215-431-9349 (only by moonlite)

slfields@uokmax.uucp (Scott L Fields) (05/06/90)

In article <56796@bu.edu.bu.edu> fbueller@bucsf.bu.edu (Peter Sherman) writes:
>
>	Greetings netland! I have a problem, and I hope some kindly hacker
>out there could help me. I recently aquired a used Amiga 1000, and as you
>can probably guess, no keyboard. But I bought an interesting little device
>which allows me to use a 2000 keyboard. But, the 2000 keyboard costs more
>than I paid for the computer, and so I'd like to use an IBM keyboard, since
>the connector appears to be pin compatible. I'd like to know if an IBM
>keyboard could be attached to this, and if not, if there are there any
>hardware/software hacks which I could use to do this. I heard that the
>Amiga 2000 keyboard has its' own chips to encode information.

The IBM keyboard have a different scancode and transfer than the Amiga
so the only way you could get a IBM keyboard to work would be either to
reprogram the microcontroller in the keyboard itself or to built a converter
box on the outside that you plug the keyboard into and plug the box into the
amiga's keyboard port. Neither are simple or convienant.