FK-2001 6 PIN DIN to PS2

consideringquiet · 05 Sep 2018, 04:48

Hey again. Despite the fact I still haven't quite finished a bunch of other keyboard projects, I still managed to stumble across more boards...

Anywho, I found an FK-2001 for 10 bucks at a local garage sale the other day. A bit dirty on the caps, but otherwise fine. When I went home to test it with my 6 DIN to PS2 adapter, the lock lights came on and for the first few seconds were able to be toggled. When the login screen came to on my computer, all the lights got stuck on and I was unable to use the board.

Does anyone know how to fix this issue? Is the board fried? I realize that Focus isn't known for the best quality boards, is it possible some capacitors have gone awry? Any help would be appreciated.

Blaise170 · 05 Sep 2018, 16:53

People consider Focus poor quality? That's news to me. Anyways, is it possible that you have it set to XT mode instead of AT mode? There would be a switch on it if so that you need to toggle.

consideringquiet · 05 Sep 2018, 17:02

Blaise170 wrote: ↑People consider Focus poor quality? That's news to me. Anyways, is it possible that you have it set to XT mode instead of AT mode? There would be a switch on it if so that you need to toggle.

I meant they just didn't have the best qc or best parts. I personally like their stuff but still :/

I made sure I was in at mode, and no dice

Polecat · 05 Sep 2018, 17:56

consideringquiet wrote: ↑
Blaise170 wrote: ↑People consider Focus poor quality? That's news to me. Anyways, is it possible that you have it set to XT mode instead of AT mode? There would be a switch on it if so that you need to toggle.
I meant they just didn't have the best qc or best parts. I personally like their stuff but still :/

I made sure I was in at mode, and no dice

I had an FK-2001 that I was using for parts because I thought it was dead. But when I tried to use the cable on another keyboard it didn't work. One of the wires was broken internally. Tried another cable and the "parts" keyboard worked fine. I don't know how common this is on Focus boards, but it's easy to check and fix.

consideringquiet · 15 Sep 2018, 23:24

Bump? Can anyone help me on this?

consideringquiet · 15 Sep 2018, 23:26

Polecat wrote: ↑
consideringquiet wrote: ↑
Blaise170 wrote: ↑People consider Focus poor quality? That's news to me. Anyways, is it possible that you have it set to XT mode instead of AT mode? There would be a switch on it if so that you need to toggle.
I meant they just didn't have the best qc or best parts. I personally like their stuff but still :/

I made sure I was in at mode, and no dice
I had an FK-2001 that I was using for parts because I thought it was dead. But when I tried to use the cable on another keyboard it didn't work. One of the wires was broken internally. Tried another cable and the "parts" keyboard worked fine. I don't know how common this is on Focus boards, but it's easy to check and fix.

I might try throwing the ps2 cable I have from another FK2001 on. Would that fry anything?

Polecat · 16 Sep 2018, 03:32

consideringquiet wrote: ↑
I might try throwing the ps2 cable I have from another FK2001 on. Would that fry anything?

Did the one in question also come with a PS/2 cable? If not I wouldn't risk it without first confirming the pinout. From the database the FK-2001 was built for at least 13 years, 1988 to 2001, and there were quite a few changes. The earliest one I've seen with a PS/2 cable was from 1997 and I've only swapped cables between DIN5 versions.

If you have an ohmmeter it's easy to check the original cable. Just check for connection between each wire at the PC board connector to the computer end. There may be an unused pin at the computer end, but every wire on the connector at the keyboard end should connect to a pin on the DIN5 or PS/2 connector.