deskthority

When it comes to USB to PS/2 adapters, there are tiers.

At the bottom end, the cheapest thing you can find from Monoprice or Amazon will work with modern PS/2 keyboards. They take the signal from the keyboard, rewire it, pass it on otherwise unchanged.

Next up, active adapters that actually ...

You know those flexible transparent ribbon cables that connect the PCB to the actual keys on a Model M? They have a second layer without any conductors on it, I assume to protect the layer with the conductors. I was plugging both layers into the socket. For one socket, this is fine. For the other ...

I have an IBM Model M, one of the later ones without a detachable cable. The plastic of the cable started coming apart near the plug. I bought a replacement cable from Unicomp, took it apart, and swapped cables. Now the !@#$ thing won't work.

I plug it in to a PS2 port, the LEDs flicker, the ...

So I'm hearing that it's not going to be possible to replace the keycaps. Darn. Swapping the letters around will just confuse the hell out of me when I look at the keys, which isn't all that often but I do look sometimes. Grinding the nubs away means no nubs, and I depend on them existing for touch ...

There aren't really any replacement keys you can get since Alps are no longer in production and the only sets currently made by Tai Hao do not support any layouts other than standard ANSI.

Will any old Alps keycaps work? I have a Dell ALPS keyboard sitting here waiting for me to get it a new PS/2 ...

Tested with an Imate adapter and it works fine. Treasure from trash.

Cosmetically it's not in the best shape, so I'm actually thinking of using it for myself. But... I *cannot* deal with the home row bumps being on the wrong keys. Where can I find some decent quality but affordable keycap ...

I scored a free PS/2 keyboard - a Microsoft Basic 1.0A. If you live in Toronto, Above All Electronic Surplus near Bathurst and Bloor is a great place to visit for your obsolete tech needs.

Now for the sucky part - I have to determine the Microsoft's wiring arrangement. Googling has not helped me ...

Having poked around Google I think the best option is to find a cheap PS/2 keyboard near me and buy it for the cable. Which sucks in terms of environmental responsibility. :(

But AFAIKT, nobody except Unicomp even bothers listing replacement cables for sale (FYI, if you need a new PS/2 cable ...

It would be quite easy though to remove the individual wires from a different connector and then put them into the original connector if it were a different pin spacing etc. The silver prongs that you can see on the side of the connector in the above image can be pushed in with a screwdriver at the ...

I figured out what was wrong with it - missed seeing it the first five times I looked at the damn thing. The outer ring is splayed out so it's bigger around than it should be.

I tried fixing it with pliers, no dice - it's now bent out of shape worse than it was before.

Unscrewed the case and was ...

I've looked carefully and I can't see any deformations - like I said, it looks normal, whatever is wrong with it is too subtle for me to see.

I have an SGI 9500900 "granite" keyboard. The plug looks OK, but I cannot get it to plug in properly without a ton of wriggling and fiddling and a scary amount of force. I've tried plugging it into a couple of different PS/2 ports and adapters, they all are problematic. I can just barely plug it ...

I realized that there was a PS/2 port hiding on my laptop's docking station and Luca was right, it was the !@#$% USB adapter that was the problem.

Now off to try to find the recommended USB adapter. Very disappointed in Clickykeyboards.com for selling dodgy adapters. I guess they only care if the ...

Hi,

Are You using a PS/2 to USB converter?


Yes. I haven't bothered to dig the only PC in the house with a PS/2 port on it out of the basement for testing. But if it doesn't work with a converter, then I've wasted my money.

My PS2-USB converter is the real thing bought from clickykeyboards.com ...

Edit: my PS/2 to USB adapter was the source of the problem. WIll update again when I find an adapter that works with this eccentric old keyboard.

I love the feel of the old Apple Extended Keyboard II. And they are quiet. The only problems are the interface (incompatible with everything) the mac ...

Funny how it's far better to buy the older stuff and use it, rather than to buy any newly produced gear. No wonder this place (DT) rocks, when it comes to promoting decent older gear that still works today :D .

Yeah, that's why I am not really interested in hacking or modding these Matias ...

Two years ago I bought a Matias Quiet Pro (mac edition). After a month or so, one of the keys went dead. I contacted Matias and learned that they'd had a problem with their Chinese supplier providing not to spec keyswitches. They sent me a new keyboard, no questions asked, no need to send in the old ...