over on bigmessowires.com (
https://www.bigmessowires.com/2017/05/16/retro-usb-on-sale-now/), they have this device that let's you either take ADB peripherals and plug them into machines via USB, or take USB peripherals and plug them into ADB based machines...
I don't have any black hardware, and they are sold out, but this kind of thing may be interesting to people as a way to either use their NeXT ADB keyboards and mice on 'modern' machines, or use new keyboards & mice on ADB NeXTs!
I'm working on something similar for non-ADB, just one-way (USB kb/mouse to NeXT). I should have something tangible in a month or two, if it wasn't for this pesky day job taking up my time it'd be sooner!
Hello NeXT Community: Steve Chamberlain just contacted me from Big Mess of Wires as we went in on the manufacturing of the DB 19 Male adaptors . So yes his latest cool project is indeed the adb to usb adapter, he is currently out of stock but he is hand building one for me to beta test on the NeXT ADB Hardware , my cost on it was $52
So here is what Steve has to say to keep you all in the loop:
"I'm still hand-assembling these in single digit quantities. Maybe in a couple of months? I still need to do another board revision, and prepare some automated testing stuff, so I can turn it over to a 3rd-party for assembly."
This was in response to my question about a NeXT NON ADB Version , which would also be a cool project!
"
I don't know anything about the non-ADB NeXT, but TMK is a good open-source reference if you want to get an idea what's involved in building a USB-to-(something obscure) protocol converter:
https://github.com/tmk " So the coders may want to take a gander at that convertor and I know there already is a usb to NeXT non adb Keyboard arduino solution so it is a matter of reversing it! Which would be nice especially if it will fit in to one of the modified sound boxes , Brian Archer and you other guru's I'm looking at you for this solution LOL!
So here is what I'm going to do for Steve and Us all to see if we have winner winner chicken dinner on this cool Convertor!
"What would be most helpful right now is to just confirm for certain that Retro USB works on ADB NeXT hardware, and maybe get a photo or two running with a NeXT system. Also if you have any information on what fraction of NeXT machines have ADB vs non-ADB inputs, since I couldn't find this anywhere. "
If they work I'll be reselling them as well in the future!
If you want a USB to keyboard converter which plugs into the sound board that should be trivial. I suspect that most users would just buy the proper keyboard/mouse in that case since the cost savings would be minimal over the real thing. What we really need to do is replace the soundbox. I think this could be done if we neglect sound. For the adb version this is a piece of cake. We just need a voltage regulator for the 5v power and directly connect the adb signal to the proper pin. For nonadb most of the hard work is done since we have the scan code map. I'll give this a solid effort in the next few months I think.
$50 is pretty goddamn steep for a USB adapter if you ask me.
Quote from: "pentium"$50 is pretty goddamn steep for a USB adapter if you ask me.
Here it is
http://www.bigmessowires.com/retro-usb/ , I'm guessing as he finds a manufacturer the prices will come down significantly but he is hand building these , Im' guessing the extra $3 was for shipping. However running a NeXT using USB will be cool when all the adb stuff is gone.
I still have original NeXT ADB Keyboard and NeXT ADB Mice for $25 Each and I throw in the Cable and guarantee they work. I have a ton of them that don't because of keys that are stuck , cracked cases, etc, etc , they can probably be repaired for $10 to $15 each , I'll have to see if I can swap out the mitsumi switches ....
I have the Imate which do the opposite allow you to hook up an NeXT ADB Keyboard and NeXT ADB Mouse for $35 and I paid $28 for them , I used to get them for $15 and sell them for $20 , as paypal and ebay take fees and I need to eat LOL 99cent taco's for sustinance :shock:
I just got a chance to fire up the Turbo Color station last night, and, with the ADB sound box, was able to use the Retro USB adapter with a wireless keyboard/trackball combo with a USB dongle.
I didn't have any problems, except for the known limitation where his firmware does not yet handle the mouse right button click. From the Mac ADB specs he is using, the board only supports the 1-button mouse profile, but the NeXT ADB mouse might provide him the right info to support the 2nd button.
I just discovered this thread because a fellow forum user sent me a pic of his 3D printed cube case for the raspberry pi. After some more web searches I found more pics of it, and one pic I found was a NeXT keyboard to USB adapter.
I have no ADB NeXT keyboards; all of mine are original-interface keyboards.
Does anyone know of a way to adapt an original NeXT keyboard to USB? I'd LOVE to use these keyboards and mice!
Quote from: "eagle"
Does anyone know of a way to adapt an original NeXT keyboard to USB? I'd LOVE to use these keyboards and mice!
Take a look at this:
http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3186
Quote from: "timu"Quote from: "eagle"
Does anyone know of a way to adapt an original NeXT keyboard to USB? I'd LOVE to use these keyboards and mice!
Take a look at this: http://www.nextcomputers.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3186
Cool, thanks! I see a new project in my future...