keyboard hack?

gamer_ian · Post by **gamer_ian** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 11:04 am

the other day i was looking at the dreamcast controller plug and it looks similar to a usb type hook up and i was wondering if any one would know how wire a pc keyboard to the dc?

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 12:24 pm

it probably is pretty close to USB, but no, I have no idea.
I probably would have a better idea if dreamcast keyboards weren't so cheap
I also believe there was a commercial adapter solution out there--but I can't remember if it took ps/2 or usb keyboards. my guess is ps/2

gamer_ian · Post by **gamer_ian** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:54 pm

i look at a game that i bought off ebay the other day and i saw that it came with one. so i guess i will just look at how that one is configured and try doing it like that.

gamer_ian · Post by **gamer_ian** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:35 pm

while i'm at it does any body know if dreamcast ever made a network adapter?

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:37 pm

it has dial-up and broad-band adapters

gamer_ian · Post by **gamer_ian** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:43 pm

when i looked i couldn't find one (i didn't look very hard though).

gamer_ian · Post by **gamer_ian** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 3:59 pm

OMG!!!!!!! I looked on ebay and the adaptor was at biding for $200!!!!!!!!!
WHO IN THERE RIGHT MINDS WOULD PAY 200 FOR A SPEICLE NETWORK ADAPTOR!!!!

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:53 pm

They are rare.

gamer_ian · Post by **gamer_ian** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:10 pm

o-well u think i could solder a pci card to it?

(not about to pay 200 for a network card)

daguuy · Post by **daguuy** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:33 pm

mine came with a dial-up modem, maybe you could get a DC with one for less than $200. then you would have an extra one to portablize

Reaperman@home · Post by **Reaperman@home** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 6:42 pm

pci? you think?
pcmcia was my guess, but what do I know

I'm sure DC Linux has access to it--what do you need it for? Most of the game servers are gone, and they only really needed dialup anyway. The web browser is nearly unusable without going to VGA--then you might as well be sitting at a PC anyway. Not to mention that it was always crashing (web browser).

there might also be a way to connect via null modem. 56k style.

Post by **Triton** » Mon Jul 18, 2005 7:57 pm

have the v2 browser and its really stable (i think i even have the 56k modem, not sure tho) not very useful but neat nonetheless

tom61 · Post by **tom61** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 10:30 pm

Reaperman@home wrote:it probably is pretty close to USB, but no, I have no idea.
I probably would have a better idea if dreamcast keyboards weren't so cheap
I also believe there was a commercial adapter solution out there--but I can't remember if it took ps/2 or usb keyboards. my guess is ps/2

The Maple Bus (what the Dreamcast uses for controllers) is simular to USB, but you're not going to be able to just match up wires. You'd need a high-speed PIC or DSP to translate the USB commands to Maple Bus.

All the comercial adapters I've come across are PS/2 to Maple Bus. Probably due to the fact that USB host is much harder to implement than the simple serial protocol that PS/2 keyboards use.

pci? you think?
pcmcia was my guess, but what do I know

It's a parallel interface. There's a home-buildable (if you have mad skills and time) IDE/ISA/PCCard interface that is usuable under NetBSD.

--Tom61 (who was thinking of getting into Dreamcast dev'ing back in the day)

EvilnessNMyVeins · Post by **EvilnessNMyVeins** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:50 pm

I asked this question not too long ago and we couldn't find anything except a way to run the 56k modem through your computer 56k to achieve close to broadband strength
http://home.elp.rr.com/terlouw/DCWinMEServer.htm
There you go

P.S. Sparkfist found the link

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:45 am

56K isn't going to get you close to broadband strength!