cyclone3d wrote:

Should I just bite the bullet and get a mechanical AT keyboard?

In my opinion -- Yes.
It's just easier to have a real AT keyboard.

If the USB keyboard supports PS/2 through one of those "dumb" (no circuitry) adapters, you can just hack off the USB plug and solder on an AT one.

skitters wrote:

cyclone3d wrote:

Should I just bite the bullet and get a mechanical AT keyboard?

In my opinion -- Yes.
It's just easier to have a real AT keyboard.

Easier yes.. but what happens when the supply of good old keyboards dries up?

In any case, I ended up ordering a Laser III XT/AT keyboard with the SMK white switches.

xjas wrote:

If the USB keyboard supports PS/2 through one of those "dumb" (no circuitry) adapters, you can just hack off the USB plug and solder on an AT one.

If that were the case, why couldn't I just use a USB-PS/2 and then a PS/2-AT adapter?

And even if that were the case, would it for sure work with an AT adapter? Like I said before, I have a number of PS/2 keyboards, but only a single one that actually works with an AT adapter.

I use a cheap ass standard USB office keyboard through normal USB/ps2 and ps2/at adapters and it works fine.

c0keb0ttle wrote:

I use a cheap ass standard USB office keyboard through normal USB/ps2 and ps2/at adapters and it works fine.

That keyboard must specifically support PS/2 signaling then.

What keyboard is it?

cyclone3d wrote:

xjas wrote:

If the USB keyboard supports PS/2 through one of those "dumb" (no circuitry) adapters, you can just hack off the USB plug and solder on an AT one.

If that were the case, why couldn't I just use a USB-PS/2 and then a PS/2-AT adapter?

And even if that were the case, would it for sure work with an AT adapter? Like I said before, I have a number of PS/2 keyboards, but only a single one that actually works with an AT adapter.

PS/2 signalling is electrically identical to AT, the only thing the adapter does is re-route the pins. In this case I'd suspect the adapter is at fault (broken contacts, etc.)

You absolutely 100% can cut a USB connector off a USB/PS/2 hybrid keyboard and solder on an AT connector - I've done it - provided the keyboard fully supports PS/2 through the use of a dumb adapter. If it needs any "smart conversion" it won't work.

I was using the same brand new converter when I tested all my ps2 keyboards. Maybe the board d I was testing with is just really picky. I know the other keyboards work with a computer that has ps2 ports.

cyclone3d wrote:

skitters wrote:

cyclone3d wrote:

but what happens when the supply of good old keyboards dries up?

If a real need comes up, someone will solve the problem and start selling custom-made adapters on this forum 😀

Isn't the PS/2 to AT adapter just a "connector size/pinout" adapter ? like those CF to IDE Adapter

cyclone3d wrote:

xjas wrote:

If the USB keyboard supports PS/2 through one of those "dumb" (no circuitry) adapters, you can just hack off the USB plug and solder on an AT one.

If that were the case, why couldn't I just use a USB-PS/2 and then a PS/2-AT adapter?

And even if that were the case, would it for sure work with an AT adapter? Like I said before, I have a number of PS/2 keyboards, but only a single one that actually works with an AT adapter.

Using an old Blackbox KVM switch with my retro rigs, that just won't accept dual protocol keyboards, only pure PS/2 ones works. Perhaps a related problem? Thought of completely disabling USB signalling in the keyboard controller, hoping it could be done with some simple hardware hack, like pulling down a pin or something. Turned out the only way to do it was by firmware hacking, which is outside my skill set, so couldn't try it.

.legaCy wrote:

Isn't the PS/2 to AT adapter just a "connector size/pinout" adapter ? like those CF to IDE Adapter

Yes it is 😀

kaputnik wrote:

Using an old Blackbox KVM switch with my retro rigs, that just won't accept dual protocol keyboards, only pure PS/2 ones works. […]
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cyclone3d wrote:

xjas wrote:

If the USB keyboard supports PS/2 through one of those "dumb" (no circuitry) adapters, you can just hack off the USB plug and solder on an AT one.

If that were the case, why couldn't I just use a USB-PS/2 and then a PS/2-AT adapter?

And even if that were the case, would it for sure work with an AT adapter? Like I said before, I have a number of PS/2 keyboards, but only a single one that actually works with an AT adapter.

Using an old Blackbox KVM switch with my retro rigs, that just won't accept dual protocol keyboards, only pure PS/2 ones works. Perhaps a related problem? Thought of completely disabling USB signalling in the keyboard controller, hoping it could be done with some simple hardware hack, like pulling down a pin or something. Turned out the only way to do it was by firmware hacking, which is outside my skill set, so couldn't try it.

.legaCy wrote:

Isn't the PS/2 to AT adapter just a "connector size/pinout" adapter ? like those CF to IDE Adapter

Yes it is 😀

So it shouldn't be a problem the end of good AT keyboards supply.

If you have plenty of ps2 keyboards, a simple ps2 to AT cable will be your best bet. And keep in mind that some keyboards won't like certain motherboards--these were just conflicts we would run across back in the day. 😎

I feel fairly confident saying there are no good active converters out there. Much easier to just buy a keyboard that supports PS/2 signaling. I've found that the Filco Majestouch 2 and WASD CODE keyboards make for nice ps/2 compatible mechanicals.

p24t wrote:

I feel fairly confident saying there are no good active converters out there.

Why would you need an active converter for px2 to AT? There's only a connector difference, nothing more. 😕

p24t wrote:

I feel fairly confident saying there are no good active converters out there. Much easier to just buy a keyboard that supports PS/2 signaling. I've found that the Filco Majestouch 2 and WASD CODE keyboards make for nice ps/2 compatible mechanicals.

I disagree. I have a couple NTI converters (USB-PS2-R) that work great. They are picky about mice (won't work with my KVM's emulated mouse), but all keyboards I tried including my KVM work fine.

There is a guy selling them on ebay for $10 which is a steal considering they are normally $70+.

Plasma wrote:

p24t wrote:

I feel fairly confident saying there are no good active converters out there. Much easier to just buy a keyboard that supports PS/2 signaling. I've found that the Filco Majestouch 2 and WASD CODE keyboards make for nice ps/2 compatible mechanicals.

I disagree. I have a couple NTI converters (USB-PS2-R) that work great. They are picky about mice (won't work with my KVM's emulated mouse), but all keyboards I tried including my KVM work fine.

There is a guy selling them on ebay for $10 which is a steal considering they are normally $70+.

You, sir, have won the Internets for the day.

I did a lookup for prices elsewhere and I was only coming up with them in the $120 range.

I have now ordered 2 of them from that eBay seller.

Plasma wrote:

p24t wrote:

I feel fairly confident saying there are no good active converters out there. Much easier to just buy a keyboard that supports PS/2 signaling. I've found that the Filco Majestouch 2 and WASD CODE keyboards make for nice ps/2 compatible mechanicals.

I disagree. I have a couple NTI converters (USB-PS2-R) that work great. They are picky about mice (won't work with my KVM's emulated mouse), but all keyboards I tried including my KVM work fine.

There is a guy selling them on ebay for $10 which is a steal considering they are normally $70+.

Interesting. Last time I tried any active conversion from usb to ps/2, I got noticeable lag and even dropped keystrokes if I recall.

Just an update. I received these the other day and they are brand new in original box.

I'll post another update when I test.