Amiga keyboard on PC

meynaf · 04 November 2017, 13:04

I can live with emulation, which at least has some advantages - cpu speed, easy hd backup - but i miss the Amiga's keyboard very much.

So, just wondering if it's possible to have (on the pc side, say, plugged in usb), if not directly an Amiga keyboard with some adapter, at least the same layout - and something robust enough so that it does not need to be changed every 6 months.
I don't have soldering or whatever skills required to do something like that myself. Not to mention i don't have a suitable keyboard at all...

I never liked pc keyboards because of their not very clever layout (imo), but da stupid cheapo plastic laptop's kbd already has dead keys after not even 3 years usage. In comparison my old A1200's kbd lasted more than 20 years !

This is food for thought. I don't see a solution, aside of yelling like hell (which does not solve the problem but helps bearing it).

What do other ppl here think about all this ?

ElectroBlaster · 04 November 2017, 13:11

Quite a few options!

Keyrah,
Arduino

And one more recent adaptor that seems to be very good! just forgot the link need to find it.

The keyrah seems only geared towards the A1200 keyboard.

Arduino's can be used with an A500 keyboard, but I see no reason why an A2000 or A4000 keyboard could not be wired up and used!

The other adaptor that I forget the name of, is maybe more suited. I want the Amiga keyboard to work fully! As in being able to access the Bios of a pc! The Arduino does not allow that, I think the Keyrah is hit and miss as well. Unless things have moved on since I tried, this was a few years back mind.

I shall post up that link soon as I find it

meynaf · 04 November 2017, 13:17

I have an A1200 keyboard that could eventually do the job. But it's not very practical to use outside of the A1200 case...

ajk · 04 November 2017, 14:40

There were external cases for the A1200 keyboard for use with Micronik tower cases. Perhaps with some luck you could track one down. Although I'm not sure if the Keyrah would fit in without modifications.

http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?76573

Of course you could also use an entire empty A1200 case, would certainly get the original experience that way

Daedalus · 04 November 2017, 15:02

Back in the late '90s when I first put my A1200 in a tower, I used the original A1200 case for the keyboard, but cut the rear vented area off to reduce the depth. So if you had no qualms about butchering a case, that's an option. An A2/3/4000 keyboard would be a neat option with an Arduino as suggested.

I also had mine connected via a large ribbon cable to the motherboard connector - not an elegant solution! But it worked fine until I got an A2000 keyboard.

meynaf · 04 November 2017, 17:19

I have no qualms about butchering a case, but if i start doing so it'll be really butchered, i.e. rendered useless

Yes i'm that bad with hw handling

The keyboard already doesn't fit well anymore - some keys like Esc get locked down when pressed - and the plastic is yellowed and seems ready to break, so the less i touch it, the best it is.
Not to mention my financial means are quite limited and physical space on the desk is even more...

My dream is a black cdtv keyboard (of course with some adapter) with french (azerty) layout, but that can't be found anywhere i'm afraid.

ElectroBlaster · 05 November 2017, 16:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by meynaf

I can live with emulation, which at least has some advantages - cpu speed, easy hd backup - but i miss the Amiga's keyboard very much.

So, just wondering if it's possible to have (on the pc side, say, plugged in usb), if not directly an Amiga keyboard with some adapter, at least the same layout - and something robust enough so that it does not need to be changed every 6 months.

Here it is! I found the people that make the adaptor which I think is the thing you are looking for! I am wanting to buy some of these myself

http://blog.tynemouthsoftware.co.uk/...-keyboard.html

bwldrbst · 05 November 2017, 23:06

I made an Arduino Leonado (actually, a cheapo clone from EBay) into an A2000 -> USB keyboard adapter using the code posted on this forum thread: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=139358.0

I've been using it at work for a couple of years, much to the amusement of my co-workers.

meynaf · 06 November 2017, 08:38

I have no keyboard to plug in these adapters...
Besides, as said, physical room is limited on the desk so no space for the whole case.
For now the keyrah seems the best solution, even if a bit unwieldy.

04 November 2017, 13:04	#1
meynaf son of 68k Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Lyon / France Age: 51 Posts: 5,323	Amiga keyboard on PC I can live with emulation, which at least has some advantages - cpu speed, easy hd backup - but i miss the Amiga's keyboard very much. So, just wondering if it's possible to have (on the pc side, say, plugged in usb), if not directly an Amiga keyboard with some adapter, at least the same layout - and something robust enough so that it does not need to be changed every 6 months. I don't have soldering or whatever skills required to do something like that myself. Not to mention i don't have a suitable keyboard at all... I never liked pc keyboards because of their not very clever layout (imo), but da stupid cheapo plastic laptop's kbd already has dead keys after not even 3 years usage. In comparison my old A1200's kbd lasted more than 20 years ! This is food for thought. I don't see a solution, aside of yelling like hell (which does not solve the problem but helps bearing it). What do other ppl here think about all this ?

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04 November 2017, 13:11	#2
ElectroBlaster Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Exeter, Devon, UK Age: 49 Posts: 1,705	Quite a few options! Keyrah, Arduino And one more recent adaptor that seems to be very good! just forgot the link need to find it. The keyrah seems only geared towards the A1200 keyboard. Arduino's can be used with an A500 keyboard, but I see no reason why an A2000 or A4000 keyboard could not be wired up and used! The other adaptor that I forget the name of, is maybe more suited. I want the Amiga keyboard to work fully! As in being able to access the Bios of a pc! The Arduino does not allow that, I think the Keyrah is hit and miss as well. Unless things have moved on since I tried, this was a few years back mind. I shall post up that link soon as I find it

04 November 2017, 13:17	#3
meynaf son of 68k Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Lyon / France Age: 51 Posts: 5,323	I have an A1200 keyboard that could eventually do the job. But it's not very practical to use outside of the A1200 case...

04 November 2017, 14:40	#4
ajk Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Location: Helsinki, Finland Posts: 1,341	There were external cases for the A1200 keyboard for use with Micronik tower cases. Perhaps with some luck you could track one down. Although I'm not sure if the Keyrah would fit in without modifications. http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?76573 Of course you could also use an entire empty A1200 case, would certainly get the original experience that way

04 November 2017, 15:02	#5
Daedalus Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Dublin, then Glasgow Posts: 6,334	Back in the late '90s when I first put my A1200 in a tower, I used the original A1200 case for the keyboard, but cut the rear vented area off to reduce the depth. So if you had no qualms about butchering a case, that's an option. An A2/3/4000 keyboard would be a neat option with an Arduino as suggested. I also had mine connected via a large ribbon cable to the motherboard connector - not an elegant solution! But it worked fine until I got an A2000 keyboard.

04 November 2017, 17:19	#6
meynaf son of 68k Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Lyon / France Age: 51 Posts: 5,323	I have no qualms about butchering a case, but if i start doing so it'll be really butchered, i.e. rendered useless Yes i'm that bad with hw handling The keyboard already doesn't fit well anymore - some keys like Esc get locked down when pressed - and the plastic is yellowed and seems ready to break, so the less i touch it, the best it is. Not to mention my financial means are quite limited and physical space on the desk is even more... My dream is a black cdtv keyboard (of course with some adapter) with french (azerty) layout, but that can't be found anywhere i'm afraid.

05 November 2017, 23:06	#8
bwldrbst Registered User Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 73	I made an Arduino Leonado (actually, a cheapo clone from EBay) into an A2000 -> USB keyboard adapter using the code posted on this forum thread: https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=139358.0 I've been using it at work for a couple of years, much to the amusement of my co-workers.

06 November 2017, 08:38	#9
meynaf son of 68k Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Lyon / France Age: 51 Posts: 5,323	I have no keyboard to plug in these adapters... Besides, as said, physical room is limited on the desk so no space for the whole case. For now the keyrah seems the best solution, even if a bit unwieldy.

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