USB to PS/2 Adapter: a good idea

Posted on September 29th, 2005 in Pepper Pad.

Since I pre-ordered my Pepper, I’ve been casually browsing around looking for some kind of small, wireless, full-size-ish keyboard to use with it. Don’t get me wrong, even though my thumbs are huge, I am getting used to and quickly learning the layout of the thumb-pads, but for more serious text input I knew that something larger would be needed.

Since the Pepper has built-in Bluetooth I’ve been looking at those, but the only ones that seem to exist are either the Apple Wireless Bluetooth keyboards, which are more or less full-size, or foldable types for use with PDAs. I wouldn’t buy either without trying them out first, as I can be quite picky when it comes to keyboards — my favourite of all time is the IBM Model M. But in the meantime there’s a really quick, easy, and cheap way to hook up an external keyboard or mouse to your Pad: a USB to PS/2 keyboard/mouse adapter! These can be had in many places for around $10 to $15. They’re powered off of the USB bus, and converts any old PS/2 keyboard or mouse into a USB HID device. Sweet! I’ve got one plugged in right now with an IBM Extended Access II keyboard, works like a charm!

 

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4 replies

  1. pillowcase says:

    Added on November 9th, 2005 at 2:33 pm

    Oh snap! You dig the M too???

    I was googling for “ps/2 to bluetooth adaptor” cuz I want to make my Model M wireless… then I noticed chuma.org (i’m a newtonhead too, if you remember me)

    Anyhow. Yea rock on with the M

    If you’re on myspace, join my gang – the Model M gang. http://groups.myspace.com/ModelM

    or you can join if you just email me apicture with your model m – i put the pictures up in the group gallery

    Cheers,

    Andrew

  2. Myself says:

    Added on August 26th, 2007 at 6:59 am

    Congratulations, you’re the first hit for “ps/2 to bluetooth”! Halfbakery is the second. And in BOTH cases, it’s Model-M aficionados trying to make our prized keyboards a little more user-friendly!

    I guess it’s time to get a copy of the bluetooth spec and start programming a microcontroller…

  3. Mike H says:

    Added on January 5th, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    Heh, I have an original AT keyboard, which is similar to the model M, I want to do the same thing. Except in my case I’ll be wanting to go AT -> PS2 -> USB -> Bluetooth.

  4. bhtooefr says:

    Added on June 9th, 2008 at 4:00 pm

    Well, AT -> PS/2 is only a wiring change – note that the only difference between a PS/2 Model M and an AT Model M is the cable, and that’s replaceable.