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From: a228arig@cdfb.utoronto.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re:  Rants and requests
Message-ID: <8705052332.AA17750@cdfb.toronto.edu>
Date: Tue, 5-May-87 19:32:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: cdfb.8705052332.AA17750
Posted: Tue May  5 19:32:22 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 8-May-87 03:49:56 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 31

>    Has anyone tried making their keyboard separate from the case.
> I'd _LOVE_ to take a 3rd party keyboard (maybe w/ function keys
> and a keypad!) and replace the ][+ keyboard.  It's nice to sit
> back and type.

Yes, I've tried to take the //+ keyboard and putting it further away from
the case.  I've had nothing but trouble.

I took the keyboard out of the case, put it in another keyboard-only
case, and connected it to the computer using a long 16 conductor ribbon
cable.  The result was noise, repeating characters (hit an 'a' key, and
get 15 of them, even after you let go the key.), and things like that.
Apparently, the parallel set-up is not meant to be streched very far.

All the 3rd party keyboards I've seen are serial.  There were a few
such keyboards on sale about a year ago, but I haven't seen any in a
long time.  There were also interfaces that would take standard IBM
keyboards (serial) and convert them to apple pinouts, but I haven't
seen those in a while either.  They were selling for about $65 last
summer...


--Tak

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