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Newton Keyboard?

Author	Topic
Da Penguin Senior Member USA 1094 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 06:48:01 Ok i have a VERY VERY small background when it comes to hacking, and alot of that electrical mumbo jumbo flies over my head. But i understand concepts and so came up witht he following small lil "leanring" hack for me: Is it possible to hack a newt keyboard into an ADB one? Yhe connector end on mine is screwed and so there is very little hope. I could always splic it back onto another serial cable, but since i have no newt, figured i may as well us it on another mac! It would be like the iMac keyboard of its day... Ok, so is this possible? anyone got pinnouts? advice at all? ~The Penguin \| Captain, Intelligence Operations / Space Cowboy \| There is only one path and that is the path that you take, but you can take more than one path. 68k.torpedobird.com <-- Hotline Server
TiMacLover Senior Member USA 1282 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 12:00:37 btw, do youy still have uyr broken Newton? Jeremy "I'll see you on the Dark Side Of The Moon" - Pink Floyd Covert Ops 68k Hacks General Macs Liberated:18 ENTER THROUGH THE GATES
Trash80toG-4 NIGHT STALKER USA 2899 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 12:44:42 quote: Ok i have a VERY VERY small background when it comes to hacking, and alot of that electrical mumbo jumbo flies over my head. But i understand concepts and so came up witht he following small lil "leanring" hack for me: Is it possible to hack a newt keyboard into an ADB one? Yhe connector end on mine is screwed and so there is very little hope. I could always splic it back onto another serial cable, but since i have no newt, figured i may as well us it on another mac! It would be like the iMac keyboard of its day... Ok, so is this possible? anyone got pinnouts? advice at all? not familiar with it, but if it's a serial keyboard, there are drivers for using serial mice on macs, there could well be one for drivers for keyboards too. does that thing have its own battery or is the serial port (?) on the newt powered? is it an ASCII output? has anybody tried an ASCII keyboard on a newt if it is? there has to be a driver for ASCII serial input on a mac SOMEWHERE! sorry if i'm all questions and no answers, but i love hackin' keyboards and would like to figure out how to get it online if possible! jt ™. Trash Hauler: call sign: eight-ball C.O. AC-130H SpecOps 68kMLAAF
thelip Full Member USA 729 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 13:11:01 OH this has been discussed for ages on the newton talk list. People have spent entire lives solving the mystery of said NEWTON KEYBOARD. I also had/(still have) newton keyboard with a bad cable. What i did was hack a female serial plug and mount it in the keyboard. So then I could use any length serial cable for my keyboard. let me state that I am horrific with a soldering gun and my hack turn into a well, just that, a hack. the keyboard worked once and that was it. I still have it and someday i'll mess with it again, but until then, it's in it's cover in a box somewhere. to my knowledge of reading the newton talk list for roughly a year between 2000 and 2001 there was no success with any other keyboard with the newton. If somebody is more talented than me, they might pick up my idea and continue on. Sgt. Thelip Heavy Weapons Specialist 950 division Liberated Macs: 12 Creator and Keeper of THE NEWTON STYLUS ALLIANCE
Trash80toG-4 NIGHT STALKER USA 2899 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 13:34:53 a challenge, eh? . . . . . i knew i shouldn't have stuck my nose in here! are there any links to piccies of the insides of this POS? i don't understand why no other keyboard works, i put a link in TLP to software that lets the mac act as a newt keyboard via the serial port IIRC, which led me to think it might be a lil' ASCII pooper. still need to know if it has its own battery . . . jt ™. Trash Hauler: call sign: eight-ball C.O. AC-130H SpecOps 68kMLAAF
Da Penguin Senior Member USA 1094 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 14:21:51 Well i know it doesnt have a battery, id take/post pics if i could, but no digi cam . Oh well. I feel like ive now got myself in over my head cause i really have very little clue what to do, but hey, i can go with it! ~The Penguin \| Captain, Intelligence Operations / Space Cowboy \| There is only one path and that is the path that you take, but you can take more than one path. 68k.torpedobird.com <-- Hotline Server
Da Penguin Senior Member USA 1094 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 14:37:17 woohoo! dunno if this helps but: http://www.markus-fritze.de/newtonen/ it works thru a serial port atleast, so not too much farther? ~The Penguin \| Captain, Intelligence Operations / Space Cowboy \| There is only one path and that is the path that you take, but you can take more than one path. 68k.torpedobird.com <-- Hotline Server
Trash80toG-4 NIGHT STALKER USA 2899 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 15:41:04 quote: woohoo! dunno if this helps but: http://www.markus-fritze.de/newtonen/ it works thru a serial port atleast, so not too much farther? bingo! doesn't sound like it! does the newt kbd use std mac serial ports/cables? jt ™. Trash Hauler: call sign: eight-ball C.O. AC-130H SpecOps 68kMLAAF
Da Penguin Senior Member USA 1094 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 17:02:15 Yes it uses a standard serial cable, there was an adapter for newt use. ~The Penguin \| Captain, Intelligence Operations / Space Cowboy \| There is only one path and that is the path that you take, but you can take more than one path. 68k.torpedobird.com <-- Hotline Server
Trash80toG-4 NIGHT STALKER USA 2899 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 17:08:09 quote: Yes it uses a standard serial cable, there was an adapter for newt use. so tell us how it works! jt ™. Trash Hauler: call sign: eight-ball C.O. AC-130H SpecOps 68kMLAAF
Da Penguin Senior Member USA 1094 Posts	Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 19:15:13 well i gotta splice it into anotehr serail cable first, so gimme a day, been busy tonite. Hopefully i can find a spare cable tomorrow before i dissappear to an art show (yes im a cultured penguin!) Ill post back! ~The Penguin \| Captain, Intelligence Operations / Space Cowboy \| There is only one path and that is the path that you take, but you can take more than one path. 68k.torpedobird.com <-- Hotline Server

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