replacement Apple II/IIplus keyboard encoders with a twist

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replacement Apple II/IIplus keyboard encoders with a twist

Well, for those that know me, know that I like to tinker and build things when I need something. Well, I have several Apple IIplus computers and several of them had bad keyboard encoders. For those that are familiar with Apple II hardware it is a small board attached to a II or IIplus (NOT IIe) keyboard and it encodes the matrix keyboard into ASCII.

Well, after having a hard time locating any and finding out that they were very prone to static damage I decided to make a new one from a microcontroller. Actually after only about a week of spare time I have a working prototype that is pretty nice. It works like it is suppose to sending the charaters correctly and uses the REPT key as normal (I was going for authentic replacement part).

Then I got a wild idea to add my PC ps/2 keyboard code and give the option to attach a ps/2 keyboard to it as well. It works great! With this encoder you can have both keyboards attached and working simultanously. I don't have a pcb prototype yet but if there is enough interest I will make a batch. I need at least 20 people to be interested. The estimated price would be $25-30 depending on finding proper long pin posts to replace the original ones on the encoder board.

If you are interested, drop me an email at vbriel@yahoo.com and I will add you to the list. If I make the boards they will be ready by late January.

Vince