Commander X16

On 10/21/2022 at 3:51 PM, kelli217 said:

Is that an active adapter, or one that relies on the keyboard having PS/2 fallback?

I used to use one of the passive ones, and that could be a twin for it.

Luckily, as long as the common domestic configuration for desktop PCs in China includes a PS/2 keyboard, the Chinese will keep making the dual mode keyboards.

 

Yeah, passive, it's all I've ever used and I have several lying around.

The only keyboards I've had issues with on the MBC2 is cheap "60%" boards. I have two and neither work using these adapters, but the other several keyboards I tested out work perfectly. Ranging from expensive Razer, Corsair, and Logitech boards to cheap Rii 10-keyless ones and your run of the mill Dell office models.

Of course, I did all that "testing" for no good reason other than I was curious, since this build is pretty much just for me to enjoy. Well, and to add to my blog posts. ?

Similar situation here. Some of my keyboards with USB plug work with such passive PS/2 adapter, and others don't. And manufacturer does not state in the specs whether it is a dual mode keyboard or not. Pure luck when I buy one.

EDIT: But I remember I bought one keyboard that had such passive adapter in the box. That one time I was 99.9% sure it was a dual mode. ))

It seems like you will find more new keyboards advertised as PS2 on eBay than on Amazon. It no longer works to search for "dual mode", which would have worked a number of years ago, but which far more often gives wired / Bluetooth keyboards today.

Yeah, "dual mode" or "PS/2 Compatible" used to be listed on many boards, but not anymore. I cant recall the last time I've see it listed outside of eBay.

Thankfully, like @BruceMcF said, a majority of keyboards still support it, even if they don't advertise it anymore.

The two 60% boards I have, https://amzn.to/3VR38PL & https://amzn.to/3CPwHIM don't support it, and I assume it's because of all the "special functions" used to access all the combined keys. I like these boards for their small size and portability and use them on my Raspberry Pi units as needed.

Thankfully, the cheap Rii Primer 10-keyless boards I like work perfectly. I use one on my bench computer and the other is on my home server.

That all being said, I'm seriously thinking about buying a Perixx Periboard for the Z80-MBCs build. Plus, I just love the old-school IBM Model M look and reasonable asking price! I already know it's adapter compatible since a friend uses one on an old DOS/Windows 95 system he uses for retro gaming.



 

EDIT: It's a good thing I double-checked my base 3D design. I had 2 supports for the uTerm in the way of the MBC2, and I forgot about the SD card and RTC module mounting. ?

I tripped-checked it, and it "should" be ready to print now!

Well, I'll know in a little over 3 hours if I messed up the base print. Fingers crossed! ?



 

EDIT: PROGRESS! So far it's looking good.



 

Edit #2: The base is complete! Seems my measurements were good! I think it turned out quite nice.

Now I'm printing the platform for the uTerm that sits on the 4 pegs on the left side of the base. That area is also where the cables will be stuffed out of sight... hopefully.

Also working on a front panel mock-up just to verify I have that correct as well.



 

This should be close to what the front panel will look like when it's all said and done. Just printed it out on paper to make sure my alignments were close and see if I liked the white on grey... and I do! I may just stick with the white vinyl.

What do you think?

Had to make some revisions to my original design.

1. 
   I forgot about the LEDs  on the uTerm. Added them.
   


2. 
   Had to change the spacing on everything so it fits properly and not overlap/cut-off text.
   

The photos make the front panel look bigger than it actually is. Once you cram a USB port, 4 switches/buttons, and 9 5mm LEDs on there, it gets cramped really quickly. Hence the reasons for the mock-ups.

I hope this is the final major change I have to make. ?



 

Just a quick small question - what doe the iOS and IOP lights represent/indicate? All the other LEDs make sense to me, even the one (USER) that indicates the computer has a user/person or not ?. I skimmed this long thread and looked at some of the Z80-MBC2 websites and didn't find the answer.

On 10/27/2022 at 8:17 AM, Edmond D said:

Just a quick small question - what doe the iOS and IOP lights represent/indicate? All the other LEDs make sense to me, even the one (USER) that indicates the computer has a user/person or not ?. I skimmed this long thread and looked at some of the Z80-MBC2 websites and didn't find the answer.

IOS, unless I'm mistaken, simple means "Integrated Operating System" and indicates the IOS is loaded and running. In all reality, since the MBC2 is always running an IOS, it's basically a power light. ?

IOP is actually "IO OP", there just wasn't enough room to include all the text. Again, unless I'm mistaken, it's "Input Output OPerations". That and DMA both basically indicate when the MBC2 is working/processing. When it's idle, they both burn solid, when it's working/processing, they both flash in accordance with those operations.

USER indicates when you have pressed the USER button. It (and RESET) are used to put the MBC2 into different modes, but the USER input can be used for anything. It's just a generic input. ?