EyeTech EZ-Key Problems

[alexatkin]

Does anyone here know if the EZ-Key requires additional power connecting to its power connector?  

I got it off eBay with no instructions so its not clear if thats a power input or something else.  It doesnt seem to work as-is just plugged into the keyboard socket, in fact it crashes my A1200 during bootup.

[lopos]

No it's doesn't need an additional power connection.
Have a look on EAB there is a pic of how to connect the adapter. Linky

[alexatkin]

Damn, then theres a problem because my Amiga crashes during bootup (the AmigaDOS window dissapears and the whole screen is just light grey).  Its not a specific point either because sometimes its still booting, other times its waiting at the AmigaDOS prompt (which I use to select normal or minimal boot scripts).

Are you sure it doesnt need power?  Its the model that does NOT clamp over the CIA chip - it just plugs into the keyboard ribbon socket and has a seperate floppy-style power socket on it.  I just wasnt just if that socket was power in, power out, or just surplus to requirement.  I did just notice too it says Power with I/p underneath (implying input perhaps?).

[billt]

Which one is it? I've got a couple, I'll check if I've got an easily-found "manual" around to scan and email you if it's the right one. I've got one for A4000, my A1200 one might not be EZkey, can't remember...

[lopos]

Do you have a pic of the keyboard connector?

[alexatkin]

Ignore the wires coming out of the DIN plug, thats just a quick hack so I could plug a PS/2 keyboard in for testing.  Theres no way thats a problem because there are no shorts and it crashed the A1200 without a keyboard plugged in.

Im fairly convinced now that power I/p DOES mean power input, but id like a second opinion.

[lopos]

Yes, it needs a power connector. I think it's the same cable like the 3.5" power connector. I had one myself not so long ago.

[smiley1635]

Yeah just stick a floppy power cable on it

[alexatkin]

I doubled up the floppy power connector and it seems to have done the job.  

Its amazing the seemingly random things the Amiga does when things arent exactly right in the hardware.  Like when I had the floppy plugged in but not its power. Workbench refused to load (well not so much refused but just didnt) so I just had a blank screen with IPrefs complaining it couldnt change the settings because windows were open, but there werent any windows open.  :lol:

Now for the bad news, it seems this is one of those crap converters because I cant for the life of me get the reset combo to work or even Ctrl+C.

What good is a keyboard where Ctrl+C doesnt work?  My A1200 is now pinging my PC for the rest of eternity.  :cry:

Is it possible for anyone to flash upgrade this particular adapter to support that functionality?  Because if not I have just wasted money because for the same price I could probably have gotten a brand-new adapter from elsewhere that hopefully WASNT as dodgy.

Serves me right for bidding on this before I did my research I guess.  :angry:

[CD32Freak]

The manual for the EZKey-XS are still online at Eyetech's website: http://www.eyetech.co.uk/PRODUCT/PADTW/ezkeyxs/index.html
I know it's for the newer version, but maybe you can find some useful information :-D

[alexatkin]

Thanks, I had looked there earlier and couldnt find ANY manual.

Well, based on what they say here it looks like im out of luck:

Early A1200 keyboard adapters tried to emulate the original button pressing action af the A1200 matrix keyboard, and to do this they interfaced with an A1200 via its original 31-way ribbon cable slot. However due to technological limitations (at least within an economically acceptable price range) it was only possible (with the exception of control/modifier keys) to process one keystroke at a time. This meant that software (eg interactive games) that made use of multiple simultaneous keypresses would not work properly.

However because the EZKey-XS attaches further down the keyboard data chain it is able to process multiple key presses simultaneously. It does this by sending separate �key x is now down� and �key x is now up� codes to the Amiga so that the Amiga is able to easily maintain a full image of exact keypress status. This is the same whether a genuine Amiga serial keyboard or a PC keyboard is in use.

[alexatkin]

Does anyone have or had an EyeTech EZ-Key and know any combination that would trigger the soft reset?  Or if you have any other version of EZ-Key that might be similar, all suggestions welcome.

The problem seems to be that Ctrl does not work at all on EZ-Key which is a real pain in the arse.  It seems rather unlikely that Ctrl is unusable as I do not see why that would be any harder to translate than Alt or the Windows keys, so I suspect its just mapped differently somehow but I do not have the manual to find out exactly how.

Failing fixing that, is there any way to hardwire a soft reset button on the Amiga?  I dont particularly want to keep powering down the Amiga after games as it adds wear and tear to the electronics that is already aged enough without help.  :-D

[lopos]

Here is what I have done to overcome the missing soft reset issue wirh my DCE Keyboard connector.
Linky

[DrDekker]

Try 'Caps Lock' and the two 'Windows' keys - they're what are mapped for the soft reset for the adapter (based on Stephen Marsden's design) I made a few weeks ago.  Worth a go.

[alexatkin]

That would make sense as Caps Lock is in the same place as Ctrl on the Amiga keyboard.  Ctrl + Windows + Windows would actually be a pain to press with the left windows and Ctrl so close together.

Anyway, I will have to try it when I plug the EZ-Key back in, thanks.

Incidentally, that reset mod above - can anyone confirm thats a safe mod and wont blow up the Amiga over time?