I-Appliance BBS
The Official Source for Internet Appliance Upgrades and Mods		 Amazon Honor System Click Here to Pay Learn More
BBS Main List | Sign In | Sign Up | Search | Help | Linux-Hacker.netReply to Thread | Printer |

Home / Web Pads / Panasonic CF-01
simulate attached keyboard

New Messagesimulate attached keyboard (modified 0 times) Stephen
Profile
Hi,

I am tryng to get a :cuecat to work on the cf-01 with also attaching an external
keyboard. The :cuecat barcode scanner works by plugging into the keyboard port
and then you plug the keyboard into the :cuecat.

This makes it a little hard to wander around with the cf01 as a mobile barcode
scanner. I figure either the cf01 or the :cuecat requires something from the
keyboard. If is just the presence of a voltage signal, or pins shorted together
I could build something that plugs into the scanner.

Any ideas on how to make a really small keyboard simulator?

--Stephen

07-18-2001 11:58:04

New MessageRE:simulate attached keyboard (modified 0 times) NITF
Profile
The keyboard requirement comes from the BIOS, it sends out a command to the keyboard asking if everything is OK when it boots. If the BIOS detects that a device is plugged in (ie CueCat) then it expects an all clear message from the keyboard.

The last work I did on a keyboard was with the old AT spec, I am not sure about PS2 but assume it is fairly close.

The command that your device needs to send is "AA" which is the self test passed response. Search for the PS2 interface specs and then build something that only does this one command.

The 2 wire interface is bi-directional so you need tri-state buffers with the D tied low and the actual command data stream attached to the En.

NITF

07-18-2001 14:19:04

New MessageRE:simulate attached keyboard (modified 0 times) tcbordp
Profile
Talk about synchronicity, this months Nuts and Volts magazine has an article on building a keyboard emulator for booting older pc's without a keyboard. It is based on a PIC microcontroller and about 3 other components. I don't know if Nuts and Volts is online, I can check when I get home.

PeteB

07-19-2001 09:34:46

New MessageRE:simulate attached keyboard (modified 0 times) tcbordp
Profile
Here is some more information on the keyboard emulator and Nuts and Volts magazine.

First off their website is

http://www.nutsvolts.com

The article is "Keyless Keyboard Emulator" by Tim Hamel on page 69 of volume 22, number 7 - July 2001.

The circuit uses a 16f84 pic, 2 resistors, 2 capacitors and a crystal. The firmware for the pic is available from the website as the file KBE.TXT. Looking at the parts count and pictures you could probably build this into the cuecat itself with a little work.

PeteB

07-19-2001 20:22:40

New MessageRE:simulate attached keyboard (modified 0 times) tcbordp
Profile
Just thought of something else. When I was reading up on the cuecat a week or so ago there was a site that had an adaptor to plug one into the serial port and software to go with it. I don't remember all the details but the adaptor was quite simple. Do a search on cuecat and you will probably find it.

PeteB

07-19-2001 20:24:58

Reply to Thread | Printer |
All times are PSTPowered by UltraBoard v1.62


Copyright © 2000, Netmake Inc. All Rights Reserved.
See Terms and Conditions for more information.




i-opener opener laptop notebook computer help drivers dll free windows dos repair fix linux mac macintosh 2000 95 98 nt pc configure hardware software sound video netscape explorer network networking lan wan software cmos fat bios printer card mouse modem ide scsi cd rom controllers scanner tape hard drive cgi scripts source code mp3