deskthority

I found this gigantic TA Gabriele 9009 in my dad's old stuff. It appears to use Cherry M9 switches and beautiful MX compatible doubleshots (probably ABS, as the rest of the case is made from it). Because I saw this 8-pin connector at the back, I was wondering if I could actually use it on a modern PC. (Not that I would actually daily drive this monster, as it would take up at least ¼ of my desk)

That connector does not look like a normal XT or AT keyboard connector (180 degree 5-pin DIN) or even the kind used on the IBM terminal keyboards (240 degree 5-pin DIN).

But, as long as it outputs something from that connector as the keys are tapped then it should be possible to build a converter using a microntroller and something like TML or QMK as a base. It could be a lot of work though to identify what the pins do and what protocol it uses.

I don't suppose you have any documentation? What about test equipment? Would you be able to see whether any of the pins are power/ground and any are data, i.e. pulse when keys are pressed. Also some of the pins may be input, i.e. to use the typewriter mechanism as a computer printer.

I thought these things worked as RS232 printers so that is an input rather than an output?

In this image (from foxtrott's Triumph Adler Typewriters, Typewriters, Typewriters.... thread) we can see that the keyboard module has a ribbon cable connector.
When a keyboard module has a wide ribbon cable, that cable most often exposes the raw keyboard matrix. There would also be several LEDs on it.


You could probably trace what each pin is, split that cable up and connect to a microcontroller board.

Well, i am also looking for the name of that connector, all i know's it's mainly used by Fujitsu Keyboard, Mitsumi Keyboard and this one. 8 Pin Din (not the mini kind). Was going to convert mine too.

I have now looked deeper into it, and the port sadly does seem to be an input, not an output. Still thanks for the help.

mulm wrote: 26 Aug 2020, 13:00 I have now looked deeper into it, and the port sadly does seem to be an input, not an output. Still thanks for the help.

It would still make an awesome printer. Those can be made to work using I think this driver: