CADAM Function Keyboard

[blackbit]

CADAM_function_keyboard.jpeg (2.04 MiB) Viewed 2580 times

Hi

I have this CADAM function keyboard that is collecting dust in my basement for 20 solid years already.
it seems to be similar in concept to the IBM LPFK, and it was indeed connected to an IBM RS/6000 back then.
I cannot get anything out of the thing. The codes from brutman.com don't work.
The approach from reddit didn't work either.
Any pointers or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

-blackbit

[MMcM]

What's inside the right-hand box? It's awfully big to just be a null modem, which is all it seems like would be there conceptually. Among other things, which of the DTE signals from the computer are actually wired up in there? That might tell whether DTR matters.

I think a reasonable working assumption is that there was only one serial protocol and it and the LPFK adapter both implement it, so eliminating other reasons the same codes wouldn't work before searching for different ones seem fruitful.

[blackbit]

The box on the right-hand side is just a power supply for the lamps and the logic inside the function keyboard.
It's huge for what it does.
I can measure which pins are wired through the power supply. Thanks for the suggestion.

[sharktastica]

the logic inside the function keyboard.

Seems so. In fact, I have an IBM-branded version of one of these from 1991 that I bought from Japan a few months ago, and there's a lot of circuit in these for what they are, indeed.

2020-04-29 SNKB-0199132.jpg (311.27 KiB) Viewed 2498 times

I haven't gotten it to speak serial yet either.

[blackbit]

I opened my function keyboard a while back. There is a lot going on in it.
There are even quite some (20 or so?) unpopulated IC sockets. I don't know that they are for. I would imagine for macro functions or so.

[Findecanor]

Does it say "Take back one Cadam to honour the Keyboard God whose gizmo this is" on the back?

(sorry, I just had to)