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TransKey-II in development


mytek

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Chrome works (with ataribits) on my phone on the AT&T network. I'll look for an endpoint that is on AT&T to VPN through and try it on the computer.

 

Thanks for checking this Kyle. It might be something associated with AT&T in my area only, although not limited to my block or account, since the two AT&T connections I tried are clear across town from each other, on different accounts, one's DSL the other is U-verse. Very odd.

 

 

Those are nylon bolts. I'll cut them with diagonal cutters when I mount them. I just buy the biggest size in stock and cut them to length. I will also trim the aluminum with nibbler tool when I do a final fitting.

 

I'll be curious to see the end result ;-)

 

- Michael

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Fuji-Man I have a question relating to the relocation of the capacitor to the bottom side of the 600XL motherboard. Since I don't have a 600XL to look at, I was curious if the capacitor would also fit on the top side if it were bent over in a similar fashion. Do you think it would still be too high for the TK-II-PB board to clear?

 

- Michael

Edited by mytekcontrols
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PS/2 mounting bracket mounted above PBI...

That look very nice. really like the nylon bolts, never considered them. Along while ago I bought a multi pack of hollow PVC hex standoff; various lengths. They aren't threaded but very easy to run a tap into both ends for 6-32 screws. Cutting them is easy but of course need to be careful about having them all the same. Anyway I'm using them up and was thinking about alt standoff solutions. Will have to check out McMaster Carr :)

Yogi

Edited by Van
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PS/2 mounting bracket mounted above PBI...

 

Nice :thumbsup:

 

I'm playing around with a PCB layout to mimic what you did DIY. So far this is what I got (still need to route traces).

 

R3LsNAg.png

 

The idea is to have J1 setup to work as a dual purpose single jack interface (need Y cord to use this with mouse), and to also support an independent mouse jack as well. So populate it with what you desire. Luckily I implemented the keyboard/mouse connector as a DIL connector on the TK-II-PB, never thinking about the other possibilities connection wise. Haven't priced this out yet, but I suspect it'll be cheaper than using the Startech PS/2 cables. Thanks again for the great idea :).

 

BTW, using the keystone brackets, I believe that the 4-40 threaded holes line up with the PS/2 connector centers, so it would be relatively easy to mark out 4 holes on the same center line, and then use a step drill to make the larger PS/2 holes. Final result should look like it was done at the factory.

 

 

A 10ufd tantalum will lay down very well.

 

Bob

 

attachicon.gifDSC01503.JPG

 

Thanks Bob. Yeah I kinda figured that would be the case, although I wasn't thinking tantalum, since they have some pretty slim electrolytes which would probably be cheaper. And because this is on a regulated 5 vdc bus, the cap voltage rating can be relatively small (8-10 V would do it).

 

 

- Michael

Edited by mytekcontrols
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I finished assembling all of the ones I have, I might have a few left over...

 

Could have given some out for Trick-or-Treat :D

 

How many did you end up ordering?

 

Other than the mouse, any new feedback on the keyboard operation (bugs, missing key combos, feature requests). Something that you may or may not have noticed, is that you will have more SHIFT+CTRL+key combinations than the stock keyboard. Probably due to a conflict with the Atari key matrix, certain combinations do not produce a code, although the PC keyboard connection does. Also it is possible to do multi-key roll-over with the PC keyboard (some more than others) whereas not with Atari's stock keyboard. On the PC keyboard try pressing JKL simultaneously to see what I mean (all 3 keys should register as individual key presses). This wont be the case with the stock keyboard.

 

Ok yes I do want your critique on the mouse as well. Aside from the lack of any true movement acceleration, I was thinking that perhaps the mouse buttons should be programmable as to what key code they put out. So for instance if you want the left button to do return, perhaps pressing it in combination with ALT+Return would assign that (or any other key) to it. This could be stored in EEPROM, so that it would stick. just a thought.

 

- Michael

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<"Trick or Treat!!!">

"Here is a Transkey II piggyback ps/2 keyboard-mouse adapter."

<grabs a mini-Snickers> Thank you!

Sigh.

 

I ordered 3 xegs and 9 piggy. I'll have one xegs and 2-3 piggy left over. I've made a few more homebrew ps/2 brackets, but I would buy 6 more from OSH Park. Wiring them by hand is a chore. lol.

I'll be setting up my main machine with one in a few days and playing with keystrokes. I've accidentally hit Alt-B which can be a pain if you are coding. Maybe if it was a 3 finger combo for BYE.

The mouse is pretty good. I think I'm used to having the mouse cursor stop when I stop moving the mouse. I'm not sure if POKEY has that kind of granularity. It would be nice, but it would take quite a bit of trial and error to get it. If the mouse stuff has a buffer, maybe shorten it.

Like I said, keyboard, works awesome. maybe map the numeric keypad as mouse where 1-3-7-9 are diagonal and 2-4-6-8 as l-r-u-d?

 

I'm willing to try new firmware anytime...

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<"Trick or Treat!!!">

"Here is a Transkey II piggyback ps/2 keyboard-mouse adapter."

<grabs a mini-Snickers> Thank you!

Sigh.

 

LOL ain't that the truth :grin:

 

"I've made a few more homebrew ps/2 brackets, but I would buy 6 more from OSH Park."

 

I'll have to finish that board I was working on and get it uploaded to OSH Park.

 

"I've accidentally hit Alt-B which can be a pain if you are coding. Maybe if it was a 3 finger combo for BYE."

 

CTRL+ALT+B could easily be accommodated.

 

"If the mouse stuff has a buffer, maybe shorten it."

 

Also easy to do.

 

"...maybe map the numeric keypad as mouse where 1-3-7-9 are diagonal..."

 

I like that idea :thumbsup:

 

I'll see about implementing this stuff into the next rev. Thanks a bunch for the great feedback.

 

- Michael

Edited by mytekcontrols
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I've made a few more homebrew ps/2 brackets, but I would buy 6 more from OSH Park. Wiring them by hand is a chore. lol.

 

Don't make any more, since a PCB replacement is in the loop.

 

pO5Xecj.png

 

I would like to test this out first to be sure it is wired correctly, but if you are feeling lucky here's the SHARE LINK.

 

My version is slightly bigger than yours due to the extra spacing between the PS/2 connectors, but it should still mount in the area that you placed yours. Two reasons I did this, one is that I was lazy and did not want to make a new component having a "shared" mounting pad, and two because it would still be possible to use a USB-to-PS2 adapter without interfering with the other connector.

 

-Michael

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The newest member of the TK-II group has been assembled and tested. This is the one that uses a single PS/2 jack which will support both the mouse and the keyboard via a 'Y' cable adapter. Without the 'Y' it defaults to the keyboard. It can be panel mounted (note the right angle brackets), and therefore used as a solder-in version where desired. The idea would be to either use a male D-Sub 15 ribbon connector to mate with the female on the TK-II-XEGS-S board, and then solder the fanned out ribbon cable wires to the various POKEY and Console Switch connections on the Atari motherboard. Or simply leave off the female on the PCB and solder the jumper wires directly to the D-Sub 15 pads. Personally I would opt for the ribbon cable connection myself, but where room is particularly tight this might not work.

 

0yvLvK1.jpgE8YnISy.jpg4wmVyIG.jpg

Download and OSH Park Purchase Link (be sure to use TK-II-XEGS-S links)

 

- Michael

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News Flash: There will be a minor revision of the TK-II-XEGS-S board layout coming soon.

 

This simply re-routes a couple of traces and eliminates a via. The current rev works fine, but I am just a perfectionist and when I discovered this today, it bugged me :mad: . If you already ordered the current rev, no worries it'll work just fine.

 

- Michael

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If you wish to use a mouse with the new TK-II-XEGS-S board, then you'll need one of these...

 

StarTech #071676 Keyboard/Mouse Splitter Cable

kyc1mf.Main.jpg

 

Best price I've found thus far is from Office Depot (stock # 183075) going for $3.99.

 

- Michael

 

EDIT: Of course there is shipping to pay, which will add more than the item costs to the total order. But on orders of $35+ the shipping is free, and these may even be available at your local store if you are lucky.

Edited by mytekcontrols
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ATTENTION: NEW FIRMWARE CODE

OS Version: 1.3
File: TK-II-OS_v1_3.hex
Date: 11/13/2015

- Removed ALT+B "BYE" Macro (this was dangerous and not needed).
- Added Diagonal Arrow mode to NumPad keys 1,3,7,9. Toggled by CTRL+ALT+NumPad 5 key
 (state saved in EEPROM). Present state viewable by ALT+NumPad 5 key.
- Shortened mouse movement buffer to eliminate overruns.
- Increased POKEY send speed which helps mouse movement and Macro sends.

Code Link

 

I would like to thank FujiMan for providing the feedback that led to these changes. And during implementation I opted to eliminate the "BYE" macro entirely, instead of doing something like a CTRL+ALT combination because this command really isn't all that useful and can always be typed in when needed.

 

Remember the mouse's resolution can still be changed between 1 of 4 settings by first making sure it is enabled (pressing middle mouse button to toggle), and then holding both the Left and the Right buttons while pressing the Middle button to step through the 4 possible settings. This mouse resolution setting is stored in EEPROM, so it will be recalled each time TK-II is powered up.

 

I tested out the faster POKEY send on both my 1200XL and XEGS, with both appearing to work fine. However please let me know if you experience any problems such as dropped keys on your systems, so that I can adjust this if necessary.

 

Thank you,

- Michael

 

P.S. I will update the visual keyboard map on the AtariBits website when i get a chance.

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BTW; I was playing around with the mouse for a while today, and it suddenly struck me how well this would work as a controller in a character based maze type of game. Be pretty cool if someone were to create a demo based on this idea ;) . Any game creators out there up for the challenge?

 

- Michael

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Just a couple of pics showing the new TK-II-XEGS-S board installed in a typical XEGM...

 

rayMAPX.jpg

 

AzA4ViZ.jpg

 

This board was also designed for internal mounting with the appropriate mounting hardware and solder-in connections.

 

- Michael

Edited by mytekcontrols
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I wish someone would make these for the non-tech public. Oh well.

 

If anyone wishes to do so, please don't let me stop you -and- you have my blessing to do so. I've done all the hard work, that being design, firmware development, and PCB layouts, so all we need is an electronic tech willing to produce these. Of course whoever this ends up being is free to charge $$$ for what they produce and then sell. I just hope that they keep it reasonable. I will of course continue to upload any firmware code updates to my AtariBits website. And if someone wishes to mirror those updates and/or PCB design files on another site, I also don't have any problem with that, so long as creative credit is given. Be nice to insure that this stuff doesn't get lost.

 

- Michael

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE

 

Down the road there will be another firmware revision, although due to the holidays it'll take me a while to roll this one out.

 

Basically the main reason for the update will be to add a sustained key action like the stock Atari keyboard, which is required by many games when being played with the keyboard. The normal TK-II behavior in this regard has been to send out timed pulses synced to Pokey for each key pressed on the PS/2 keyboard. It works well for most applications, but not so much for games.

 

- Michael

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The PS/2 Connector Interface board inspired by Fuji-Man's design has been tested and verified, and is now available from OSH Park: DIRECT LINK

 

The design files are available on my website at: http://ataribits.weebly.com/design.html

 

EYQowa4.jpg

 

EkgBe8h.jpg

 

 

I also updated the TK-II-PiggyBack BOM to substitute a Shrouded Box Header for J1 as can be seen in the image above. Although the un-shrouded header could be made to work, the shrouded one is more appropriate for a ribbon connected situation.

 

- Michael

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