Will the PC-Key 600 work with an Amiga 500

[rjd324]

Hello all,

If I have an A500 keyboard with this extension (https://www.checkmate1500plus.com/Products.aspx?id=355) and I attach it to the PC-Key 600 (http://eu-shop.elbox.com/en_GB/p/PC-Key-600/636) can I expect full functionality?

Thank you.

[Vypr]

No it won't.
The PC-Key has an AT keybaord socket which is a 5 pin DIN plug. The Checkmate adapter uses 7 pin Dins as there are two extra lines for the floppy and Power LED's.

However, it's not that difficult to make your own version of the Checkmate adaptor. You just need a 5 pin DIN Socket like this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You'll also need a cable to conect the two like this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and wire up a pin header to it that the A500 keyboard can connect to. I have made two of these myself to connect A500 keyboards to a couple of A1200 Power Towers which have PC-Keys in them. Aside from the power and LEDs not working, the keyboard works fine.

[rjd324]

Thanks for the response.

I guess another way to do it would be to have a checkmate keyboard as standard - with the 7 pin female at the back. Then, have a 7 pin male and have some combination of components that wire the necessary 5 wires from the 7 pin that ultimately end up into the 5 pin female PC-Key 600?

[Vypr]

That's a bit overcomplicated and more expensive than necessary..
What would be better is to just buy the keyboard case and the two parts I linked to.
The socket I linked to fits perfectly into the Checkmate case and you will just need to connect a wire a pin strip to the socket.
As I've said I have done this very mod for two Elbox Power Ztowers and it works quite well

If you like I can make one up for you for a small fee

[rjd324]

Originally Posted by Vypr

That's a bit overcomplicated and more expensive than necessary..
What would be better is to just buy the keyboard case and the two parts I linked to.
The socket I linked to fits perfectly into the Checkmate case and you will just need to connect a wire a pin strip to the socket.
As I've said I have done this very mod for two Elbox Power Ztowers and it works quite well

If you like I can make one up for you for a small fee

What I am aiming for is a way to use the checkmate keyboard as input into a PC-Key 600 and as input into a Checkmate 1500 when I want to switch between those machines. I would not want to open the keyboard shell all the time; of course, you did not know that requirement when I originally asked.



So I am thinking that keeping the checkmate keyboard as standard will cause less hassle. Then, I can connected as normal with the checkmate tower and then have some 7-pin-male-to-ultimately-5-pin-male connector to the PC-Key 600.



Please let me know if you see any flaws or better alternatives.


Thank you for the help so far!

[Vypr]

I checked with my own Checkmate keyboard adaptor and the pinout is slightly different from the standard PC XT layout that the PC KEy uses.

As you can see fromt he diagram below, VCC and GND are reversed. Pins 1 & 4 on the Checkmate aren't needed as these are the power and floppy LEDs.

What you could do is rig up a 5 pin DIN cable with pins 4 & 5 reversed on one end (the 5 pin DIN will fit in the 7 pin socket) or, since the Checkmate adaptor just uses standard Dupont connectors, prise the pins for VCC and GND out of the connectors at both ends and swap them round. That way you can use a premade 5 pin DIN cable as soldering DIN cables is an absolute bitch to do.

[rjd324]

Originally Posted by Vypr

I checked with my own Checkmate keyboard adaptor and the pinout is slightly different from the standard PC XT layout that the PC KEy uses.

As you can see fromt he diagram below, VCC and GND are reversed. Pins 1 & 4 on the Checkmate aren't needed as these are the power and floppy LEDs.

What you could do is rig up a 5 pin DIN cable with pins 4 & 5 reversed on one end (the 5 pin DIN will fit in the 7 pin socket) or, since the Checkmate adaptor just uses standard Dupont connectors, prise the pins for VCC and GND out of the connectors at both ends and swap them round. That way you can use a premade 5 pin DIN cable as soldering DIN cables is an absolute bitch to do.

Your help is invaluable. Thank you. I will look into this. It is good to know that the 7 pin is "backwards compatible" with the 5 pin.

[rjd324]

Hey. So I ended up not quite doing this. I have an amiga 2000 keyboard. So I used dupont connectors to internally swap the GND and 5v around inside the 2000 case. Anyway I am currently using that for the checkmate but ctrl A A does not cause a reset. Do you know what I have to do?

[Jope]

Look at the A2000 schematics where it generates keyboard reset, then create this same circuit on a piece of vero board or something.