A few VT-320 and keyboard questions

systems_glitch systems.glitch at gmail.com
Wed Jul 31 21:25:34 CDT 2019


You can use a LK201 or the seemingly less desirable LK401 with the VT320.
There are a number of LK201s on eBay right now for reasonable prices. The
cheap ones are always going to be untested/dirty/possibly missing a key or
two.

The thing to do for MMJ converters is to get a MMJ cable and an adapter.
The 9-pin I use is a H8571-J, I don't have many of those so I can't provide
one. The 25-pin I use is H8575-A, I have a few of those so if you wanted to
buy a MMJ cable and a MMJ -> DB25F, I could sell you that combination for a
reasonable price. I have a huge spool of DEC OfficeConnect branded
Spectra-Strip flat cable, a ton of MMJ crimps, and the necessary crimp die
to make up cables of whatever length you'd like. Contact me off-list if
you're interested.

Thanks,
Jonathan

On Wed, Jul 31, 2019 at 9:33 PM Adam Thornton via cctech <
cctech at classiccmp.org> wrote:

> I just picked up a VT-320, with no keyboard.
>
> I have some questions:
>
> 1) the price on DEC keyboards, at least on eBay, is insane.  Does anyone
> have a VT-320 keyboard they’d be willing to let go cheaply?
>
> 2) …or, failing that, I found a posting of someone who’d done an
> Arduino-based key code mapper that let him use a PS/2 (or maybe it was an
> AT) keyboard as a replacement.  The link to the actual project was dead,
> though.  Anyone have schematic and source code for such a project?
>
> 3) If anyone's got a DB-9-or-25-to-MMP cable you’d sell cheap, I’d be
> happy to buy it instead or making my own.  OK, that’s not really a
> question.  There’s a blank insert where the 25-pin connector usually is;
> was that a “feature” of the B2 model?  (that’s a question but not much of
> one)
>
> …aaaaand while I’m here, another question.
>
> 4) I have a number of Apple IIs and one III that have sustained some
> keyboard damage.  Where can I get/what is the name of the little
> plus-shaped keyboard stems for those?  If I had a couple dozen that would
> be most helpful.
>
> Adam


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