Date : Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:57:46 +0100
From : bbcmailinglist@... (Ian Wolstenholme)
Subject: Easter Disaster
At this very moment, I have the Compact keyboard on top of Master 128
Station 114 (my new replacement for dead Station 112), so I can easily
compare the two.
The only difference really is that the "@" key has given way to the new
"code" button on the Compact, and the "@" symbol is obtained with
SHIFT-zero.
The keytops have been slightly redesigned on the Compact, they are
a slightly different shape and the font used is very slightly different,
but I'm not sure really why Acorn would have gone to the trouble of doing
this.
The connector to the motherboard is different; two old pictures here
illustrate the above:
http://www.BeebMaster.co.uk/Compact14.html
http://www.BeebMaster.co.uk/Compact19.html
Best wishes,
Ian
----- Original Message -----
From: Alex Taylor [mailto:zeem.uk@...]
To: bbc-micro@...
Sent: Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:14:17 +0100
Subject: Re: [BBC-Micro] Easter Disaster
2009/4/18 Andy Ford <acorn@...>:
>
> The keyboards are different in that a B has a single connection of about
> 17 pins and the Master has two sets of 15, I am going from memory here
> so those numbers may not be 100% correct.
There's a place on the Master PCB for a pin header which isn't
normally fitted. It's just below the keyboard connector and connects
to many of the same PCB traces. I never noticed it before, until
someone on the list briefly mentioned its existence, and something
about its use for connecting up a Model B keyboard.
> As for length, I'd (guess) you could get away with 30cm (possibly less)
> without issues. You can use something like an old IDE cable if you
> needed a length of suitable cable though, saves buying a (possibly)
> expensive ribbon cable.
I did once use a standard IDE cable when testing a load of hardware on
a Model B. It meant I could run the machine with the keyboard out of
the way of the ROMs, so I could test a bunch of them without having to
move the keyboard out of the way between each operation. I've killed a
Model B before when doing such a thing loosened the solder joints on
the keyboard's connector, which after time broke the motherboard.
> I do have a spare complete Master Compact keyboard in my spares,
> although I am not sure if that would fit a Master or not
> I doubt it due to the extra keys, untested
> though (no Compact to test it with)
Don't the Master and the Compact have the same keyboard? I've only
ever seen one Compact in the flesh, that was for sale many years ago
in a computer shop and I couldn't afford it at the time.
--
Alex Taylor
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