A600 keyboard adapter and project suggestions

[jvdw007]

Hi all,

I hate to let the cat out of the bag, but I'm a little stuck on which approach to take with my project with regards to the keyboard, so unfortunately I'll have to explain what I am working on and wipe your memories later on

I am busy building a cocktail cabinet for using a large LCD TV and my A600 in for arcade gaming.
I wish to map buttons to keys on the keyboard for obvious reasons (WHDLOAD).
Mainly I want to be able to wire up the joystick using an old amiga joystick and the buttons wired up to arcade buttons. That part is the easy bit.
Then I want to wire up various keypresses to other buttons, like ESC, F10, * etc, amongst others.
I have previously used gremlinsolutions.co.uk's arcade kits, but they all use USB or older PS/2 connectors to simulate keyboard presses.

So, my initial thought was to see if I can get an A600 keyboard adapter like a PC Key 600 (if I can even find one), attach a PS/2 keyboard to it and wire up buttons to the keyboard directly. However, I'm not sure what keyboard I'd need to do this and if this approach is even possible.

So, any people out there with experience/knowledge got ideas? Maybe one of the wonderful engineering types that frequent Amibay could build a custom solution for money?

 

[BLTCON0]

You could clip a PLCC socket upside down onto the keyboard MPU and wire switches/buttons directly to the MPU pins.
Some keys are off-matrix and use a single pin on the MPU (2xA, CTRL, 2xShift and 2xAlt) others are part of the matrix and use two pins on the MPU to register the equivalent keypress. This means a single button would have to simultaneously press two switches.
MPU input pins are active low, so they should be kept high (4.7 Kohm resistors should be fine for this). This means the switches should ideally be of the switch closed = circuit open type, but you can get around this with NOT gates.

 

[Zetr0]

@jvdw007

Initial Thoughts

I love cocktail cabinets - really do take me back to those better amusement arcade galleries of old - (I am not that old)!

Initially I should say that an A600 without a CPU upgrade (68010) or higher doesn't have a VBR (register) that WHDLoad needs to sense a Quit Key press. As you have mentioned some games require a keyboard - this can be tricky BUT not as hard as you might think - I will explain in a bit.

You can run a direct WBench replacement like AG-Launch or a derivative there of - it has a low memory footprint and can even be used without a mouse and solely on joystick to select a game to play. There are also a few other joystick / menu driven game launchers as well.

Alternatives

Now, my first idea would be a PC Key - however the more I think about it I would probably de-solder the keyboard tail socket from the motherboard and then run a flat IDC cable from that to a mounding position for the cable.

The A600 keyboard is a delightful compact yet full stroke keyboard - it also has that Amiga Feel that could work with your project - if it is something you would like to consider but dont have the skills - I would be happy to help FOC - just cover return postage.

I would suggest a cocolino or other PS2 mouse interface - from this I would consider building in a PS2 based mouse touch-pad solution - some of these you can rob from dead laptops.


@thread

All in all a very interesting project i look forward to its completion - but not to soon as I want to see lots of hardware pr0n!!!

 

[jvdw007]

You could clip a PLCC socket upside down onto the keyboard MPU and wire switches/buttons directly to the MPU pins.
Some keys are off-matrix and use a single pin on the MPU (2xA, CTRL, 2xShift and 2xAlt) others are part of the matrix and use two pins on the MPU to register the equivalent keypress. This means a single button would have to simultaneously press two switches.
MPU input pins are active low, so they should be kept high (4.7 Kohm resistors should be fine for this). This means the switches should ideally be of the switch closed = circuit open type, but you can get around this with NOT gates.

All good intentions, but mate, you've lost me already. Thanks anyway!

@jvdw007

Initial Thoughts

I love cocktail cabinets - really do take me back to those better amusement arcade galleries of old - (I am not that old)!

Initially I should say that an A600 without a CPU upgrade (68010) or higher doesn't have a VBR (register) that WHDLoad needs to sense a Quit Key press. As you have mentioned some games require a keyboard - this can be tricky BUT not as hard as you might think - I will explain in a bit.

You can run a direct WBench replacement like AG-Launch or a derivative there of - it has a low memory footprint and can even be used without a mouse and solely on joystick to select a game to play. There are also a few other joystick / menu driven game launchers as well.

I've ordered the A600 4mb expansion off @Kipper2k, so memory won't be a problem here. I was going to either write my own launcher using AMOS or use alternatives like Tiny Launcher by Gibbs, which I thought is excellent.

Alternatives

Now, my first idea would be a PC Key - however the more I think about it I would probably de-solder the keyboard tail socket from the motherboard and then run a flat IDC cable from that to a mounding position for the cable.

The A600 keyboard is a delightful compact yet full stroke keyboard - it also has that Amiga Feel that could work with your project - if it is something you would like to consider but dont have the skills - I would be happy to help FOC - just cover return postage.

I would suggest a cocolino or other PS2 mouse interface - from this I would consider building in a PS2 based mouse touch-pad solution - some of these you can rob from dead laptops.

I already have a few Amiga trackballs, so using a mouse isn't an issue, as I am integrating it into the design, similar to arcade cabs would usually have
Regarding extending the keyboard to a flat cable, I think that's a brilliant idea and a cleaner overall solution. I love it. I can simply make a slide-out drawer below or beside where the joystick and buttons are mounted for easy access but hidden for aesthetics. However, I would really need your help on this. As mentioned elsewhere, my soldering skills are not to be trusted near any motherboards..

@thread

All in all a very interesting project i look forward to its completion - but not to soon as I want to see lots of hardware pr0n!!!

I will provide pr()n as soon as I return from my Turkey holiday in a month. The wife has spent all the money so I can only resume this project after

On a different topic, how goes the Speccy game launcher? I might consider doing a speccy cocktail cabinet or bartop...

 

[Zetr0]

I've ordered the A600 4mb expansion off @Kipper2k, so memory won't be a problem here. I was going to either write my own launcher using AMOS or use alternatives like Tiny Launcher by Gibbs, which I thought is excellent.

Gibbs is a good Launcher, sadly AMOS has a large overhead - however with 4MB Fast - I doubt that will be a problem.

I should tease you with an idea for a capactive screen - these are overlays you can by that are stuck to the screen - they then connect via PS2 Mouse or RS232 connection and provide a touch screen - combining this with a custom AG-Launch would be quite delicious and if you dont do it I may...

I already have a few Amiga trackballs, so using a mouse isn't an issue, as I am integrating it into the design, similar to arcade cabs would usually have
Regarding extending the keyboard to a flat cable, I think that's a brilliant idea and a cleaner overall solution. I love it. I can simply make a slide-out drawer below or beside where the joystick and buttons are mounted for easy access but hidden for aesthetics. However, I would really need your help on this. As mentioned elsewhere, my soldering skills are not to be trusted near any motherboards..

Yep I have done this before on an A1200 for a fellow forum chummy -





I believe that one could easily get about 30cms extra length with this method without signal degradation - perhaps up to 45cm if needed. This is on top of the existing 15cm (aprx) of the A600 keyboard (membrane) tail.

I will provide pr()n as soon as I return from my Turkey holiday in a month. The wife has spent all the money so I can only resume this project after

Turkey is a wonderful place my friend, I have many good memories of that country!

On a different topic, how goes the Speccy game launcher? I might consider doing a speccy cocktail cabinet or bartop...

Well my friend, if you do want to make a Spectrum Cocktail / Bar-Top, I would be most happy to develop something custom for you!

 

[protek]

Modchip for PS2

Modchip for PS2

Somebody shoot me in the head! This post was meant to be a separate thread. :double: Sorry.

 

[rkauer]

You can use a full A500 keyboard instead of the A600 one. Creamy keys instead of white, but a full keyboard with numeric pad in the trade.

 

[jvdw007]

A500 keyboard sounds like an interesting idea, and I didn't know they were compatible, but I'd actually like to keep a smaller keyboard because the whole cabinet will actually be small-ish (has to fit in my living room or the missus will make me get rid of it!). My intention is to keep to arcadey games, not flight simulators or games that require much keyboard use!

Zetr0, I would like to take up your offer of assistance for the A600 keyboard extension. Let me know your details so I can post of my A600 board to you - no rush (you have a month )

One final thing I'm trying to think of is I know that I need to use a strong glass, ie tempered glass for the surface, but I wonder if there's a cheaper, semi scratch resistant alternative? Hmm.. Maybe applying those smoky coloured car stickers they use to apply to windscreens, maybe then I could use a cheaper glass or something. Don't want to risk injury though!