Project: The Ultimate PS/2 Adapter

[skurk]

Allright, this is my first electronics project for the Amiga.  I'm going to use this thread as a project/status thread so those interested can follow the progress.

[size=16]WHAT IS IT?[/size]
My first project, an ambitious one if I may say, is a PC mouse adapter.  "But skurk," you say, "those already exist!"  Yes they do, but this is going to be the ULTIMATE one: PS/2 and USB* inputs, and a DB9 for joystick passthrough.  No switches or buttons, everything will be autosensed and mastered by a PIC16F84 microcontroller.
[size=10]*) PS/2 compatible USB mice only.[/size]

[size=16]BUDGET AND STUFF[/size]
To make things a bit more exciting, this will be on a tight budget: The unit, assembled and ready-to-use, should cost no more than US$15.  When (or if) I'm finished, everything will be released under the GNU General Public License.



[size=16]PLANS[/size]
I'll breadboard a typical PS/2 adapter first, then work my way to introducing the USB and DB9F later.  I have a job, a girlfriend and a kid to take care of too, so don't expect this to be completed tomorrow. :-)

[adonay]

Interesting project will keep us updated with pictures and stuff will love to see the end result .

Good luck bandit  :-D

[ChaosLord]

so don't expect this to be completed tomorrow.

No problemo amigo.  We give you till day after tomorrow.  :-D

p.s. I want 3 of them!

[Darrin]

Good luck with the project.  My poor old Amiga mice are definately starting to show their age.  I really need to invest in a transparent PC mouse to Amiga adapter.

One question, why is it that Amiga mice seem to last for decades while PC mice like to clap out after a couple of years?

[AJCopland]

Good luck! Its great to see so many people getting into the electronics side of things.

Andy

[amiga4001]

I would like to have one once you got it working.
Try to keep it as low profile as possible and offcourse tiny.
Why keep ps/2 and usb and not just usb input?
Ps/2 mouses are rare these days me think.
Thinking almost everyone is using a adapter nowadays.
Price under teh 20 euro ex postage would be quite acceptable.

[tokyoracer]

I would be very intrested.

@Amiga4001, theres plenty of PS/2's about! You just need to look in PC shop bargain bins. :lol:

[leirbag28]

@skurk


 I want one!

THis project is SO IMPORTANT!  want to know why?  such a thing does not exist on the Amiga.............I for one don't undertsand it, but anyway  the reason its important is:

You can use USB mice without a Subway!  thats SUPER important because if you want a wireless mice these days, they are all USB.....so if you can plug a USB mouse into a PS/2 port that attaches to the Amiga regualr mouse port, you are good to go right from bootup time.  I hope it will work with Wireless USB mice?  Thats thee most important thing.


I want one!  Make sure you only make ONE color! Black! it matches with everything....and make it low profile.


Good luck!   Thanks for doing this.

[skurk]

Thanks for all the thumbs up, everyone!

@leirbag:  I doubt it will work with modern USB mice, sorry.  They depend on various drivers, and I obviously cannot implement them all.  If the USB mouse works on a PS/2 port (using an adapter) then it will work on this unit as well.

@others: I haven't really thought much about appearance yet, but if it ever gets on a PCB, it'll be small, slim and compact.  I hate huge, boxy dongles.

Anyway, day 1 is over, and this is as far as I got.  Not that an image says too much, but you can see it's connected to the Amiga:



Yes, it looks ugly and a bit of a mess, but it actually does something:  it reports left and right mouse button events.  No movements are "translated" yet, I might get to that tomorrow.  No drivers are required on the Amiga side.

[adolescent]

Great project!

One thing to test is if the joystick passthru works with CD32 pads.  The passthrough on my RAMA (port 2) doesn't, and the joy/mouse switches I've tried don't support more than a button (or two maybe).

 

[ChaosLord]

Don't forget to test for Middle Mouse Button events.

[da9000]

Great project Skurk! I'll be looking forward to your progress reports.

Don't forget: it MUST have a 6502 on it!!!! :pppppppp

[mrmkl]

Hello. Are you aware of a problem with POT-inputs of the joy/mouseport? I made some PCBs for the GPL'd "ps2m" project.

To gain low price, you might want to check which version of PIC to use. PIC16F627A is about 1 euro at digi-key (25 quantity.) 14-pin PIC16F505 is cheaper. The PIC16F54 is maybe the lowest price, but it has not got an internal oscillator.

[Phantom]

Good luck with your project. It's really a good one. :-)

[AMC258]

Only one request:  Make sure it fits in an A2000 mouse port.  The Punchinello (which converts M$ serial mice to Amiga) doesn't really fit unless you grind it down.

Also, I found one other problem with the Punchinello.  It's rigid and sticks out the front of the 2000PT (Polish Tower aka A2000D turned on it's side) so far that if you walk by the 2000 too close you break it off.
A solution would be to have the Amiga mouse port connector on a cable instead of directly on the dongle.