Concept keyboard -> PC

[rasteri]

Does anyone know a way to link up an old acorn (either BBC or
Archimedes, I'm not sure what kind it is) Concept Keyboard to a PC? You
know, the kind of configurable keyboard that is used in schools and the
like. I understand it used to link into something called a "user port",
is this roughly (or even vaguely) equivalent to a PC serial port? The
keyboard itself has 128 keys, and has a 25-pin male D connector on the
left hand side of the back plate. I can write my own driver software
once I have it interfaced with the PC serial port, but until I have a
way to link it up then I am stuck! Would a cable going straight from the
output of the keyboard to the serial port of the PC work, or would I
have to build an interface circuit?

Thanks in advance (sorry for all the questions :)
andrew

[Rhys Evans]

in article 3A9446B5...@whoever.com, rasteri at ras...@whoever.com
wrote on 21/2/01 11:52 pm:

> Does anyone know a way to link up an old acorn (either BBC or
> Archimedes, I'm not sure what kind it is) Concept Keyboard to a PC? You
> know, the kind of configurable keyboard that is used in schools and the
> like. I understand it used to link into something called a "user port",
> is this roughly (or even vaguely) equivalent to a PC serial port? The

The user port is a parallel interface port IIRC.

Rhys

[rasteri]

Rhys Evans wrote:

If it's a parallel port then why can it read info from the acorn? I thought
parallel ports of that age were usually unidirectional.

cya
andrew

[Michael Gilbert]

In article <3A957881...@whoever.com>, rasteri

*Printer* ports in early machines were unidirectional. Printers are not
necessarily the only parallel device, nor is the printer port the only
parallel port.

Mike

--
Michael Gilbert
in his own write