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TeleVideo TS-803(?)

C

CalculatorLab

Experienced Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
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60
Location
USA
Hello all,
Recently I found this in recycling. I spotted it's floppy drive from quite a ways away! I got it home and examined every inch of the casing. I saw that it was made by televideo, but thats about it. It has a single floppy drive, unlike the (similar looking) one in the link I'm going to post. I have a few pictures of it too. http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=1077 That's the link. Now this thing didnt come with a keyboard, and it looks like its original KB had a RJ45 jack on it? I know IBM made some model M KBs with Male RJ45 connectors but if I were to get one of those would a M-F adapter do the trick? Probably not, I'm guessing the wiring is different in the adapter as it is assumed by the manufacturer that the user would be using it for a telephone line. Or perhaps I could make a 5 pin DIN to RJ45 adapter because I have an old DIN keyboard that is just laying around. Thanks for any input, -A

IMG_20150625_145431_753[1].jpgIMG_20150625_145502_889[1].jpgIMG_20150625_145444_653[1].jpg
 
Chuck is spot on, the keyboard is a proprietary piece. Televideo made a dos (can't remember if its 8086 or 8088) version and a cp/m z80 version of this machine (I've got a dos version that I started using in'83) and the keyboards are not interchangeable. There's been a keyboard circling on eBay that is for the the 803 machines but I've not been able to tell which its for.

Tom
 
OK well I did some poking around bitsavers regarding the keyboard. According to the "service manual"

http://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/pdf/televideo/TS-803_Service_Sep83.pdf

which isn't really a service manual, the Keyboard is "rs232" at 9600 baud. The connector pin-outs are o the next to last page. As there are no schematic or circuit diagrams as we say in the UK I am a bit suspicious as to what levels are on the keyboard, and also why it has an RX data line, but a volt meter should confirm the levels...
 
Same thing here, sadly. I have the television ts-803 but missing the keyboard. I have the z80 version that it is impossible to build or hack an XT version one. If there was the 8088 version is there a solution, but no for the z80 version. Sit in a corner for years with no use.
 
Huh? The protocol with the 803 and the 970 keyboard is plain old serial TTL. You could take a PC keyboard and an Arduino and create your own. Easy peasy.
 
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