LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Ant <fineales@ozemail.com.au>
  To  : <ilox@airnet.com.au>
  Date: 13 Jul 2003 13:32:34 +0930

Re: [to] Any old lonely laptops out there?

On Sun, 2003-07-13 at 12:40, Ian Loxton wrote:
> Our SNNN project is looking for somebody willing to donate an old 
> laptop that can take a 5pin keyboard plug. This would allow me to run 
> our barcode wand (CipherLab) and run a small database to keep track of 
> our stock. Regrettably running the barcoder through a PS2 converter 
> just doesn't work for reasons beyond my limited knowledge.

Unfortunatly I have no spare laptop lying around, but I cant see why
this wouldnt work with a PS/2 adapter. AFAIK the pins are 100%
compatable, just in a different size plug.

AT: <http://www.hardwarebook.net/connector/userinput/keyboardpc5.html>;
PS/2: <http://www.hardwarebook.net/connector/userinput/keyboardpc6.html>;

There is 1 Extra pin on the PS/2, but its not connected (or is used for
the mouse?). Whats more all keyboard pins are required for the keyboard
to work, so none can be missed in the adaptor. Are you sure your barcode
scanner is OK? Maybe the laptop requires a real keyboard to be plugged
through the external keyboard connector to provide some extra
initialisation and turn it on? If you have no luck obtaining a laptop
with an AT keyboard connector, I think you should be able to make it
work on a PS/2 port with an adapter with a little experimentation. Have
you tryed other PCs with the adapter or other adapters just to prove if
the problem lies at the machine, the adapter or the barcode scanner
itself? Is it some wierd laptop that needs the PS/2 connector to be
enabled in the bios?

Ant

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