Not much to add beyond the thread title.
Just wondering if an A500 keyboard will fit into an a1200 case?

Thanks in advance.

@fishy_fis

Doubtful since an A1200 is longer.

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@DiscreetFX

Quote:

DiscreetFX wrote: @fishy_fis Doubtful since an A1200 is longer.

Does not compute

The KBDs are pretty much the same, with A1200 one lacking the control logik and LEDs so id something doesn't fit it would be need just minor modifications to fix.

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@Kronos

I defer to the experts then, I don’t know what I’m talking about.

:)

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@DiscreetFX

Quote:

DiscreetFX wrote: I don’t know what I’m talking about. :)

/me guesses you were talking bout A600 KBDs....

Almost all Amiga KBDs are the same except for:

- A1000 : cramped layout
- A600 : cramped layout missing the num-pad
- early A2000 with Cherry keys : smaller F-Keys

With everything else the actual KBD should be easily interchangeable IF you can figure out the electric connections.

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@fishy_fis

Yes.. example here
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uN-f8-xnUx8

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@LaBodilsen

Thanks.

Id seen someone ask over at eab, but no-one had responded when I posted the same question here.
I purchased a blue a1200 case about 12 months ago and never got around to doing anything with it. Recently had the opportunity to get ahold of an a500 keyboard for a decent price, but wanted to make sure I can use it in the a1200 case before forking over the cash.

The video you've linked to is something along the lines of what I want to do, but I have zero interest in something as weak as a Pi4 or a500 mini for it, and would also like to have the system emulate ppc as well as 68k and also have 3d hardware acceleration available to OS3.x.
Will probably go 12th or 13th gen Core-i, or Ryzen 7000 series. Nothing too high end in those series, I don't need high core counts for the project, and form factor is obviously paramount, but the high IPC is what I'm interested in which is why Id like to use either of those microarches.

@fishy_fis

Quote:

fishy_fis wrote: The video you've linked to is something along the lines of what I want to do, but I have zero interest in something as weak as a Pi4 or a500 mini for it, and would also like to have the system emulate ppc as well as 68k and also have 3d hardware acceleration available to OS3.x. Will probably go 12th or 13th gen Core-i, or Ryzen 7000 series. Nothing too high end in those series, I don't need high core counts for the project, and form factor is obviously paramount, but the high IPC is what I'm interested in which is why Id like to use either of those microarches.

I'm thinking the only thing that'll comfortably fit into an A1200 case with that level of performance are the innards of a recent intel or AMD gaming laptop.

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@agami

I was planning to gut something like a Beelink system or similar, which should be small enough to fit along with a usb to ds9 adaptor and greaseweasel.
Not sure if there's 13th gen Core-i models or Ryzen 7000 models yet, but there's definitely 12th series and Ryzen 6000 versions.
I'll wait until I get the keyboard before buying the hardware though to see how much room I have to work with.

Last edited by fishy_fis on 06-Mar-2023 at 07:47 AM.

@agami

Cooling would be a problem with a normal desktop cpu for sure.

But maybe a frameworks laptop mb could be a good fit:
https://frame.work/marketplace/mainboards

An Intel 1240P have pretty good IPC, though even the lowest 13gen i3 have better IPC. But for the powerusage, a laptop cpu would do pretty good.

Seems like it would even fit in an A600 case

Last edited by LaBodilsen on 06-Mar-2023 at 07:52 AM.

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@fishy_fis

Doesn't the A500 keyboard have a small microcontroller PCB attached?

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@Karlos

Im under the impression it's just for the LEDs.
It can be removed if need be though. I'd prefer to keep the LEDs functioning, but I'll have to see how I go when the keyboard arrives.

@fishy_fis

Looks like an awful lot of IC to control a few LEDs. I think it's actually the scanner for the switch matrix. That's on the motherboard in the A1200, so the first thing I'd want to check is if the ribbons are the the same and also long enough to reach.

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@Karlos

That rings a bell actually in regards to whatever the micro controller is for being on the A1200 mobo.
Never had a need to give any thought to Amiga keyboards before, Ive only ever used whatever is inside a machine already so only just now started looking into it for the 1st time.
Mostly going for the a500 KB because they're easier to get ahold of and because the a1200 KBs seem to have more issues with multiple key presses not registering.

It's for a dedicated emu box though, so the ribbons dont matter too much. Going to be using an adaptor regardless.

@fishy_fis

Quote:

the a1200 KBs seem to have more issues with multiple key presses not registering.

The bug is in the keyboard controller chip on the A1200 and has nothing to do with the keyboard itself. The only reason to avoid the A1200 keyboard for this type of project is that the Keyrah USB adapter is not currently available to buy.

@fishy_fis

They keyboard of the A500 and A1200 are electrically incompatible.

The keyboard of the A500 has a build in MCU for scanning the keys and transmitting a scan code over a serial line. They have more in common with an A2000 keyboard without a case.

You will find a good schematic of the A500 keyboard here:
http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=81893

The on the A1200 has the MCU is instead on the main board of the A1200, the keyboard itself is dumb.

If you want to connect a A500 keyboard with an A1200 you have to bypass the 6570 on the A1200 board. Here are some people who where discussing the changes needed:
https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=37769

---
My suggestion:

Don't amputee a keyboard from a functioning A500 (only if it's dead) try to repair the A1200 keyboard instead.
There are a lot of people online selling spare parts for a keyboard, from cases, key caps, foils, ...

Last edited by OneTimer1 on 08-Mar-2023 at 07:29 AM.

@naysayers

Did nobody watch the YouTube video?

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@fishy_fis

I have an Amiga 1200 in pieces right now. It isn't going well. I've seen both keyboards and I think OneTimer1 said it very well. The mechanism is very different. I was going to make an offer. I would buy a 1200 with non-functioning keyboard if you decide to sell it. (Depending on the price, of course.) And pay postage from Australia.

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@OneTimer1

The case is one of new ones so there is no motherboard or existing keyboard to be concerned about. The plan is to fit X64 hardware in the case use an adapter to connect the Amiga keyboard to that and use it as an emu box.

@agami

Quote:

agami wrote: @naysayers Did nobody watch the YouTube video?

Yes. ppcamiga's worst nightmare

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