VOGONS

KVM for Retro PCs

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First post, by DayDreamer

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Hi, first post. I registered here because when searching for answers to other questions---they frequently were found here.

I'm working on a DOS PII machine (not built yet, still hunting for the parts I want as parts allow) and after that, I would like to build a 486DX machine and am even considering at some point a 286 and/or an 8088.

CRT monitor are in high demand so I thought I should use a KVM with these systems.

It looks like the "Belkin Omni View 4 Port PS/2 Keyboard Mouse Monitor Sharing Switch F1D066" would allow sharing the same monitor, keyboard, and mouse between multiple systems but while it supports the pre-PS/2 keyboard and mouse, I'm unsure if it will convert a PS/2 keyboard and mouse to the serial devices used by them on the 8088 systems.

Does anyone here happen to know?

Also, is there a better KVM for this purpose than what I mentioned?

It's doubtful I would ever have more than one system booted at the same time but not impossible.

For my initial PII based DOS machine (using a 440LX chipset motherboard, I'll leave the supply of better 440BX motherboards to people wanting to run Windows > 3.11) I don't need the KVM and will likely just use my old Dell monitor that supports SVGA input, but I do CRTs are better at resolution switching than a flat-panel (best at its native resolution) and will be building a 486DX (largely for MechWarrior, one of the few non-text based games I enjoyed). A 286 and/or 8088 system is less likely, but I want the option open.

Thank you for suggestions.

Reply 1 of 4, by Shadzilla

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I use a Belkin OmniView F1DS104P which is similar but stands upright, and switches audio along with VGA and PS/2 ports. Works great 😀

Reply 2 of 4, by zuldan

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Can anyone recommend a 8 port PS2 KVM with audio?

Reply 3 of 4, by alfiehicks

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The PS/2 keyboard connector is literally just a shrunken-down version of the AT 5-pin DIN keyboard connector, so you could find a keyboard that supports XT and AT protocols, and then convert it to PS/2 with a passive adaptor like this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001156207966.html

There aren't too many programs that will run well on an 8088 and use a mouse, so honestly you could just not bother hooking up the mouse to the 8088. Serial KVM switches do exist, however, and as long as you don't mind using a serial mouse on your other systems, you could use one of these:
https://www.cwc-group.com/4wayattykvmm.html

Reply 4 of 4, by wbahnassi

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486's typically do not have a PS2 connector, so the least common denominator for mouse is a serial mouse. Conversion between serial and PS2 mouse is not straightforward. I wouldn't even rely on a KVM to do such conversion as it can easily fail in some certain cases.

My suggestion is to ignore the mouse and just use a direct serial mouse to the 486 and either a PS2 or a USB mouse on the P2. Keyboard and VGA should work on the 486 and P2 via the KVM.

The XT is quite an outlier as it requires an XT keyboard, so that will simply not work with any KVM out there.. so it will have to be a dedicated keyboard.
Also, unless you put an 8-bit compatible VGA card into the XT, you'll also need a TTL monitor, which is even a more rare breed of CRTs.. and of course won't work with the KVM.

So, TLDR; the XT will be a full standalone setup completely outside the KVM, unless you start modifying it to be less of an XT and more of an AT.
If you want to avoid this rabbit hole, go for a 286 instead.

Turbo XT 12MHz, 8-bit VGA, Dual 360K drives
Intel 386 DX-33, Speedstar 24X, SB 1.5, 1x CD
Intel 486 DX2-66, CL5428 VLB, SBPro 2, 2x CD
Intel Pentium 90, Matrox Millenium 2, SB16, 4x CD
HP Z400, Xeon 3.46GHz, YMF-744, Voodoo3, RTX2080Ti

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