ST KB in Mega ST case

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atari030
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ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by atari030 »

Hi all, has anyone ever dropped a ST(M) keyboard into a MegaST keyboard housing? I have a UK ST KB that I want to drop into a US Mega case. It seems to fit and it looks like I just need to extend the internal cable?
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PaulJ
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by PaulJ »

Electrically the ST keyboard will work with a mega. You would need to terminate the ST keyboards electrical connections into the standard mega 6 pin connector and final a way to mount that connector in the proper spot.
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stephen_usher
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by stephen_usher »

Don't you have to have some sort of reset circuitry as the motherboard usually resets the keyboard on power-up?
Intro retro computers since before they were retro...
ZX81->Spectrum->Memotech MTX->Sinclair QL->520STM->BBC Micro->TT030->PCs & Sun Workstations.
Added code to the MiNT kernel (still there the last time I checked) + put together MiNTOS.
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by rubber_jonnie »

Yep,the Mega doesn't have a reset line AFAIK and when I tried to hook up a regular ST keyboard to my Megas, it didn't work.

Still need to circle back to that project to see if there is a way around it.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
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PaulJ
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by PaulJ »

stephen_usher wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:40 pm Don't you have to have some sort of reset circuitry as the motherboard usually resets the keyboard on power-up?
Yes, the reset line on the ST keyboard processor is wired directly to the connector... no pullup resistor or anything. I can't remember what I ended up using.. just that it wasn't a big deal hence it didn't even rate a memory. If I'd had a case I'd still be using it. :)
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PaulJ
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by PaulJ »

rubber_jonnie wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2020 4:44 pm Yep,the Mega doesn't have a reset line AFAIK and when I tried to hook up a regular ST keyboard to my Megas, it didn't work.

Still need to circle back to that project to see if there is a way around it.
Jon, I think you you should circle back on this one all though I have been very happy with the Eiffel interface. I'm not much of a game player so I've never used the joystick ports on the Eiffel with joysticks. I did test them with the Atari test suite and they both fail. :(
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by rubber_jonnie »

@PaulJ I'll definitely come back to it 😁
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
atari030
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by atari030 »

Right now I'm using a spare MegaSTE keyboard and that works fine. Bear in mind it is an original ST (not an F/FM) keyboard I'm going to use. The internal connector looks identical bar colour and length.

The other (small) drama is I don't have a cable for it, so I will have to make one as well. All the shops are shut locally so I can't go in and browse for spares. PITA when you need to see how big a cap is. :-/
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rubber_jonnie
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Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by rubber_jonnie »

What I do have is what I believe is a Lighthouse KBD case, and it has a small PCB inside, be interesting to see what that does. Only trouble is that it's for an original 520ST KBD with the longer connector to account for the mouse and joystick ports off on the mainboard, so I need to get the pinouts and see if it does anything with reset or just converts to a different plug. My plan is to make a spare Mega KBD out of it if I can.

I should probably scope the reset pin, see what it does during power on, reset, normal use etc.
Collector of many retro things!
800XL and 65XE both with Ultimate1MB,VBXL/XE & PokeyMax, SIDE3, SDrive Max, 2x 1010 cassette, 2x 1050 one with Happy mod, 3x 2600 Jr, 7800 and Lynx II
Approx 20 STs, including a 520 STM, 520 STFMs, 3x Mega ST, MSTE & 2x 32 Mhz boosted STEs
Plus the rest, totalling around 50 machines including a QL, 3x BBC Model B, Electron, Spectrums, ZX81 etc...
atari030
Posts: 315
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:43 pm

Re: ST KB in Mega ST case

Post by atari030 »

Ah, I see. I seem to recall all this when I towered my Falcon. I have an ST keyboard in a free keys case hooked to that. I have also used the MegaSTE KB with that, but, the mylar on all four of my MegaSTE/TT keyboards has gone to crap so I need to repair them. The reset line I have hooked to the PC tower case reset switch. I'd forgotten about that. Its handy having the turbo switch for the CT2 as well.

I'll see what I can rig tomorrow. Maybe a cable for the Falcon. I found your last discussion on KB's. I will have a crack at setting up my spare freekeys for the MegaST too. It might be of some help to you. From what I can see, the ST keyboard should be a drop in replacement.
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