Zenith Z-150 black badge still not convert-able?

[Sup]

I was thinking about getting one but i read people saying that it isn't fully convertible and that there are still issues. I also haven't seen any documentation of someone successfully converting one to USB with out any weird problems.

Is it possible to convert one successfully to USB with a teensy 2.0 .

[Engicoder]

It is most certainly convertible. The problems have been that existing configurable converters such as Soarer's do not handle it correctly at all times, specifically the reset line. There are a number of "XT" keyboards that have proprietary variations from what IBM used with it's PC/XT keyboard and will not work properly with existing converters; the Zenith just happens to be a more common and desirable one.

[ZedTheMan]

It is actually easily convertible with Hasu's TMK XT Firmware. It uses the same wiring as a soarer's, and works with my black label Z-150 with no problems. (You just need to make sure the keyboard is plugged into the converter before plugging the converter into the computer.)

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=94649.0
See this geekhack thread for links to the firmware.

[Hypersphere]

@ZedTheMan: I have my Zenith Z-150 100-1886 Black Label keyboard working at the moment using a temporary breadboard setup with a Teensy 2.0 and Soarer's converter 1.12 firmware and 1.10 tools for Windows.

I have two pullup 1k Ohm resistors between Data and +5V and between Clock and +5V.

I also have the reset line connected.

I was able load my custom keymap. Everything seems to be working except that I get intermittent repeated keystrokes, especially on Spacebar and Backspace, but also some letter keys. I also get some missed keystrokes And sometimes the Right Shift acts as if it were the Caps Lock. The keyboard appears to be quite clean, so I don't think there are defective switches, but I cannot be sure of this. I've noticed that when these problems occur, they are accompanied by the LED on the Teensy being illuminated. When the keyboard is operating okay, the Teensy light is off.

Questions:

1. What does the Teensy LED signify?

2. I have tried loading Hasu's latest hex file, "xt_usb_unimap.hex". I did this both with a Teensy and with a Pro Micro. The Pro Micro had been previously flashed with the Orihalcon/Soarer converter. The hex file appeared to upload to the ATmega32u4 chip, but afterward, I could not get the keyboard to respond. I connected the converter to the keyboard first and then connected the USB cable to the computer. Should the keyboard respond with just this hex file uploaded?

3. Very naive question: What is the procedure for creating my own keyboard remapping using Hasu's TMK? I have done this previously using his onine editor and it has worked with no problems, but this was using one of the preset configurations on the TMK editor.

4. Can Hasu's hex file be used with either a Teensy 2.0 or with a Pro Micro? What are the correct procedures for each one?

Thanks.

[Slom]

Questions:

1. What does the Teensy LED signify?

Isn't the teensy led connected to PD6? Do you have that pin wired up to something?

[Hypersphere]

My Teensy 2.0 wiring is listed below. The first Teensy pin number is in C nomenclature; the number in parentheses is the Arduino nomenclature:

GND = GND (GND)
Vcc/+5V = Vcc (+5V)
Data = PD0 (5)
Clock = PD1 (6)
Reset = PB7 (4)

The pullup 1k resistors are between Clock and Vcc and between Data and Vcc.

I am very pleased to report that I now have my Zenith Z-150 d100-1886 XT-type keyboard working flawlessly.

I uploaded Hasu's latest xt_usb hex file to his online TMK Editor, remapped using PS/2-USB rev.1 keymap as a template, saved the revised hex file and uploaded it to my Teensy 2.0 using teensy.exe. Everything now works as expected, with no unwanted or missed keypresses.

Unfortunately, I cannot get things working with a Pro Micro. However, the Teensy is working so well, I think I will use it for my internal converter.