Path: news1.icaen!news.uiowa.edu!chi-news.cic.net!feeder.chicago.cic.net!arclight.uoregon.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!howland.erols.net!news.sprintlink.net!news-peer.sprintlink.net!visi.com!ns.qnis.net!not-for-mail From: Steve Jensen Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2 Subject: Re: Videx U/L-case board Date: 20 Jan 1997 07:42:36 GMT Organization: (missing) Lines: 92 Message-ID: <5bv7lc$mfs@darla.visi.com> References: <5busst$jf9@borg.svpal.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: ns.qnis.net X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 unoff BETA release 961203] Paul Creager wrote: : Ward C. Travis (travis@cluracan.org) wrote: : : I opened an Apple II+ the other day and two things surprised me... : : First, there was a board labeled "VIDEX" tacked under the keyboard; : The official name is the Videx Keyboard Enhancer. It replaces Apple's : keyboard encoder board underneath the keyboard. Besides providing true : U/L capability (with the Shift Key), it had a small (10-20 character) : buffer and supported programmable macro keys. : I had one on my ][+, until it went south. I can't remember all that much : about installation, dip switches, etc. I do remember a couple of wires : had to be run to the motherboard. One enabled true Shift key usage. The : other I can't remember. If you don't have a wire running to an IC on the : motherboard, that explains why your Shift key isn't working. It could : very well be the same spot where the "traditional" Shift key mod is made, : if that's any help. Here's 3 files I have on the 'shift key mod': II+ SHIFT KEY MOD ================= Here is the "shift key mod" for a II+. A wire should run from the second pin from the edge opposite the power supply on the connector between the keyboard and its piggy-back board (pin 24 if counting from the other end). It should go to one of the game port pins (pin 4) or to pin 1 of a nearby 74LS251 (at board location "H14"). This wire connects the SHIFT keys to the "Switch 2" input on the game port (which is infrequently used). It allows programs to sense the state of the shift key by watching the SW2 I/O location ($C062). If bit 7 is set, then the shift key is up. If bit 7 is clear, then the shift key is down. HOW TO DO A "SHIFT KEY MOD" To install the "shift key mod" on a II+ what you need to do is connect a wire from the shift key pin on the keyboard aux. circuit board (this hangs below the keyboard) to annunciator 3 on the joystick port. The shift key pin is the second pin from the right on the "piggy-back" circuit board under the keyboard. You will probably need to solder it on. Pin 4 on the joystick connector is where you stick the other end. You can just push the wire in and then probably replace the joystick (if there is one) right on top of it. In case that was unclear, 2nd from the right means as you look under the keyboard from the front, and pin 4 is the fourth pin down on the left with the notch at the top (on the joystick connector). Now, when the shift key is pressed, it sets (or clears?) AN3. Some programs look for this. However, DOS and Applesoft don't, as far as I know. APPLE II SHIFTKEY MODIFICATION ------------------------------ The one wire shiftkey mod is the oldest and simplest fix that can be made to the Apple II to get true upper and lower case operations with the shift key. Most good word processors have input routines that check the PB2 input on the game I/O port to determine if the shift key is being pressed. Some programs that have these routines are Wordstar, Write-on, Apple Pascal 1.1 and many others. Follow the steps below to install the shift key mod. parts: 1 mini-grabbette clip (Radio Shack PN 270-370) 1 15 in. piece of small guage wire 1 16 pin socket 1) Solder one end of the wire to the mini-grabbette clip. 2) Solder the other end of the wire to pin 4 of the 16 pin socket as close to the body of the socket as possible. 3) Turn the Apple II off and remove the cover. 4) Remove anything plugged into the game I/O socket. 5) Attach the mini-grabbette clip to pin 24 of the keyboard encoder connector. This connector is located inside the Apple II directly beneath the RESET key. Pin 1 is nearest the power supply and pin 25 is nearest the right edge of the Apple II. Use the grabbette clip to attach to the standoff _pin 24_ (second from the end). 6) Lead the other end of the wire with socket attached along the right edge of the motherboard and plug it into the game I/O port. Be careful to plug pin 1 to pin 1 when putting this socket in. Pin 1 of the game I/O port is towards the front of the computer. 7) Replace the cover and start using lower case characters. eof -- ____________________ | | | sjensen@qnis.net | |____________________| John H Maxwell wrote: > I purchased my ][+ in Aug. '81 and used the shift-mod to upgrade >my system. I ran a wire from the appropriate point on the keyboard >PC board to the unused connector which goes down to the main board >and ran a wire under the main system board to the PB2 connection >of the game socket. No visible wires to get in the way I did it the same way, John--thought it made a neat installation. The only potential problem arises if someone wants to use PB2 (which is where the shift key gets connected) for a joystick button. The joystick pushbutton connects PB2 to +5 when pressed, and the shift key connects it to ground when pressed. This produces annoying results when both keys are pressed simultaneously. ;-) Adding a low-value resistor (470 or so) in series fixes the problem. On my //e's, where the mod used to not be the default) and then it was) with solder pads on the main board, I made the mod safe for simultaneous pressing by bridging the pads (after cutting the "bowtie" if necessary) with a 470-ohm resistor. -michael Email: mjmahon@aol.com Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/