Stupid Questions About Adapting

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 01:36

So recently I've got a hold of a decent soldering iron I need to go through with a couple of my projects regarding wiring old keyboard up to be new, but I've realized I'm actually missing some crucial components...

First off, is there a difference between teensys? Where can I get insulated wiring (just scrap it from somewhere?)

I know these are sort of stupid questions, but this is my first foray after all.

andrewjoy · 09 Jul 2018, 14:10

For wire just rip it out of a cat5 cable, works well for me

nyerel · 09 Jul 2018, 14:53

I've bought insulated wire (and other necessary items, like a soldering iron, connectors, etd) from an electrical supplies store - I would think most cities have them. There must be some online, or even Amazon could be helpful.

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 15:43

andrewjoy wrote: ↑For wire just rip it out of a cat5 cable, works well for me

Oh, not a bad idea! I got loads of those sitting around, thanks!

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 15:43

nyerel wrote: ↑I've bought insulated wire (and other necessary items, like a soldering iron, connectors, etd) from an electrical supplies store - I would think most cities have them. There must be some online, or even Amazon could be helpful.

I've tried looking online and I guess I might not be using the right keywords or something :s

andrewjoy · 09 Jul 2018, 15:48

consideringquiet wrote: ↑
andrewjoy wrote: ↑For wire just rip it out of a cat5 cable, works well for me
Oh, not a bad idea! I got loads of those sitting around, thanks!

I have a 100m box of "fell of the back of a Russian boat in the 90s not quite but almost" cat 5e in work. That works wonders for hooking stuff up

.

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 16:07

andrewjoy wrote: ↑
consideringquiet wrote: ↑
andrewjoy wrote: ↑For wire just rip it out of a cat5 cable, works well for me
Oh, not a bad idea! I got loads of those sitting around, thanks!

I have a 100m box of "fell of the back of a Russian boat in the 90s not quite but almost" cat 5e in work. That works wonders for hooking stuff up .

I don't have that much 5e laying around but then again I only have two projects!

So is it more common when adapting stuff to just completely replace the microcontroller in the keyboard or is it moreso just adapt the protocol by stripping the wire? I've been wanting to adapt my NCR 4950 and I'm not sure where to start ><

Anakey · 09 Jul 2018, 17:11

first off do you definitely know that it will not work with a pc in some way? if it was made after about 1980 then there is a good chance there are already commercial or community made converters that already exist. What i am saying is you might be ok with a couple of connectors plugged at the end of the original cable rather then chopping all the controller circuitry off and manually wiring up the matrix.

Blaise170 · 09 Jul 2018, 17:15

Wire is extremely easy to find, I use old power supplies and I also buy it off eBay for like $5/100ft on eBay.

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 17:19

Anakey wrote: ↑first off do you definitely know that it will not work with a pc in some way? if it was made after about 1980 then there is a good chance there are already commercial or community made converters that already exist. What i am saying is you might be ok with a couple of connectors plugged at the end of the original cable rather then chopping all the controller circuitry off and manually wiring up the matrix.

I'm not sure it works to begin with unfortunately, I got it at a yard sale

I am with you on not chopping the original controller though. From what I've seen online the board uses AT protocol so I might be able to just get a PS2 connector running off the wiring if I can chop the rj connector. But I wonder if that's even necessary? I attached a picture of the rj11 connector to the controller, I wonder if I could adapt from here?

Blaise170 · 09 Jul 2018, 17:20

If it's AT protocol, it should be relatively easy to just make a new cable coming from that portion of the board.

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 17:22

Blaise170 wrote: ↑Wire is extremely easy to find, I use old power supplies and I also buy it off eBay for like $5/100ft on eBay.

I actually have a few old psus sitting around too, I think I might not even have to buy it off eBay

Also, should I just use a ps/2 cable from another board and Frankenstein them together or? Sorry I'm new to this

andrewjoy · 09 Jul 2018, 18:15

Its always handy to keep old PSUs. I always save old HP server PSUs with 2 jumper wires you can turn them into a crazy 80 Amp 12v PSU.

: IMG_20180709_171101.jpg (1.5 MiB) Viewed 2660 times

Blaise170 · 09 Jul 2018, 18:30

Not so handy to keep PSUs when they are the latest bargain bin junk. It's not uncommon to find terrible PSUs in lower end desktops.

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 18:57

Blaise170 wrote: ↑Not so handy to keep PSUs when they are the latest bargain bin junk. It's not uncommon to find terrible PSUs in lower end desktops.

Probably best to trash those really, or scrap em

Blaise170 · 09 Jul 2018, 19:25

Hence, why I scrap them for the wire and materials. No sense trying to resell it (worthless) or use it myself (fire hazard).

consideringquiet · 09 Jul 2018, 20:00

Blaise170 wrote: ↑Hence, why I scrap them for the wire and materials. No sense trying to resell it (worthless) or use it myself (fire hazard).

Speaking of, do you know of a place I could get a ps/2 cable that could work too replace that rj11? Or if it's possible? I found a thread that showed the pinout, I'll try to find it when I get home