[Coco] A little OT, but...

[Joel Ewy]

On 09/01/2011 12:43 AM, Bob Devries wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> How easy is it to get IBM-XT keyboards these days?
>

I don't know about obtaining them, but I do have a small supply of PC/XT 
keyboards and XT<->AT switchable keyboards.  I have a stack of original 
IBM brand PC/XT keyboards that would be nice except for the fact that 
the layout is rather odd.  I believe there's a backslash key ('\') where 
left shift ought to be.  I have other XT compatible keyboards that 
conform to the AT layout we've all become accustomed to.  Shipping to 
Australia from Kansas would probably be prohibitive, but I haven't 
looked into it.

Most, if not all x86 PCs have an 8042 microcontroller for a keyboard 
decoder (or an embedded equivalent in the chipset) so they're pretty 
well hard-coded to work with XT or AT keyboards.  But the MM/1 uses a 
UART and software.  I believe the hardware is capable of communicating 
with an AT / PS/2 keyboard -- someone just needs to write an appropriate 
driver.

JCE

> In my locality, they're like hen's teeth. Even the OP shops in Brisbane now don't keep them.
>
> Sigh, I have a trio of computers that use them, but only one working XT keyboard. None of these computers can use the AT or PS/2 keyboards, and I don't think modification is feasible. My MM/1 is one of those (just to keep this slightly on-topic).
>
> If anyone in Australia has any to sell cheap or give away, please email me.
>
> Regards, Bob Devries
> Dalby, QLD, Australia
>
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