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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!ihlpf!gmark
From: gmark@ihlpf.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.m6809
Subject: Re: Future of Coco
Message-ID: <2930@ihlpf.ATT.COM>
Date: Thu, 3-Dec-87 00:41:58 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlpf.2930
Posted: Thu Dec  3 00:41:58 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Dec-87 16:52:02 EST
References: <821@cblpf.ATT.COM> <1299@puff.wisc.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 42
Keywords: Coco OS9
Summary: Keyboard extensions?  Not too bad.

In article <1299@puff.wisc.edu>, kottke@puff.wisc.edu (Rich Kottke) writes:
> COCO line indefinitly:
> 
> 1) Add an external keyboard with a long (8') curled cord.  I have been trying to
>    find time to do this with my system; my idea is to plug it into the cassette
>    port and use the cassette port as another bit-banger port (this wouldn't be
>    so bad because the keyboard will not respond until you ASK it to, so the 
>    port isn't really running asynchronously).
>        Think of the problems this would solve! The COCO/MULTIPACK/CABLE_SNARL
>    mess could be pushed out of sight and all you would see on your desk would
>    be a stylish keyboard and a monitor.  I bought a surplus ADAM (tm) keyboard
>    that has some kind of serial interface, but I guess I will probably have to
To: ihnp4!homxb!mtuxo!mtune!rutgers!rochester!bbn!husc6!uwvax!puff!kottke
Subject: Re: Future of Coco
References: <821@cblpf.ATT.COM> <1299@puff.wisc.edu>

Acually, guy, the Adam keyboard is not serial at all, and you CAN
take off the back of the sucker and do some real cannibalization
to redo the switch matrix.  That is, the pattern formed by the SPST
switches that make up that keyboard will not map into that of the COCO
as is.  Better yet (but still a pain), get one of the Switchcraft
keyboards, from Jameco, or some such surplus outfit, like I did, for
about 10 bucks.  You've seen these keyboards.  Similar ones are made
by Switchcraft, I believe, for the HP26xx, ADMs, etc..  You take
the chart from the COCO tech manual as a guide to wire the bare
pins together in the correct pattern and simply add a long
cable.  I ended up needing 15-conductor, made a snappy aluminum
box for the thing, soldered the end to a 15-pin connector, mounted
a matching connector very inconspicuously on the side of the COCO box,
and wired it in parallel to the connector for the keyboard inside the
COCO.  Works great and looks great too.  I also used some of the extra
keys on the new keyboard to provide more conveniently-located
redundant keys for myself.  For instance, I put an extra backspace key
near my left little finger, put the cursor arrow keys together, and put
the OS-9 control key where I'm used to seeing the control key on UNIX
boxes.  Made an extension for the Multi-Pack using a ribbon cable, too.
Lots of tedious soldering, but simple otherwise to hack together and
(perish the thought) fix.

				G. Mark (helpful) Stewart
				ATT-BTL Naperville, ix1G-266
				979-0914 ixlpq!gms