I have a beautiful 84-key Model F keyboard (Swedish/Finnish, hence 84 rather than 83) from a 5150/PC computer, that I cleaned up and have been using with my 5160/XT. At the moment, I'm waiting for a 286 motherboard that I bought over eBay, with an AT keyboard connector, that I'm intending to put in a 5160 case that previously housed a (dead) JUKO turbo motherboard.
What options do I have for using my XT keyboard with my new 286?
I've googled around, reading through various threads here such as this one, this one (wherein modem7 mentions the KBXT.EXE route as a possible solution) and the same issue discussed here. Most relevant discussions that I've found are several years old, however, and I was hoping that new solutions may have popped up since then.
From what I've gathered thus far, I'm looking at the following ways forward:
1. Hope that the KBXT.EXE trick (as outlined here) will work.
The backside is that, well, it might not work, and even if it does, it requires a rather inelegant jumbling around of keyboards in order to get the computer to boot properly.
2. Buy this adapter from Hagstrom Electronics and then purchase a Ps/2 to 5 din adapter.
The backsides are many: the Hagstrom adapter itself costs half as much as I paid for my Model F, even when not taking shipping and custom charges into consideration. Furthermore, the adapter seems to be sold without an enclosure/case, which will make my otherwise aestethically pleasing 5160 setup look atrocious.
3. Get my hands on this XT2AT adapter.
Seems to fit the bill quite nicely, but I cannot seem to find any online vendor that has it for sale, and I lack both the skill and the will to build it myself.
4. Cry a few tears, pack down the Model F and put it into the closet.
And instead use the AT keyboard that I already have (which I, ironically, used with an AT2XT-adapter on my 5160 before buying the Model F).
Please add your own advice, suggestions and recommendations!
What options do I have for using my XT keyboard with my new 286?
I've googled around, reading through various threads here such as this one, this one (wherein modem7 mentions the KBXT.EXE route as a possible solution) and the same issue discussed here. Most relevant discussions that I've found are several years old, however, and I was hoping that new solutions may have popped up since then.
From what I've gathered thus far, I'm looking at the following ways forward:
1. Hope that the KBXT.EXE trick (as outlined here) will work.
The backside is that, well, it might not work, and even if it does, it requires a rather inelegant jumbling around of keyboards in order to get the computer to boot properly.
2. Buy this adapter from Hagstrom Electronics and then purchase a Ps/2 to 5 din adapter.
The backsides are many: the Hagstrom adapter itself costs half as much as I paid for my Model F, even when not taking shipping and custom charges into consideration. Furthermore, the adapter seems to be sold without an enclosure/case, which will make my otherwise aestethically pleasing 5160 setup look atrocious.
3. Get my hands on this XT2AT adapter.
Seems to fit the bill quite nicely, but I cannot seem to find any online vendor that has it for sale, and I lack both the skill and the will to build it myself.
4. Cry a few tears, pack down the Model F and put it into the closet.
And instead use the AT keyboard that I already have (which I, ironically, used with an AT2XT-adapter on my 5160 before buying the Model F).
Please add your own advice, suggestions and recommendations!
Alas, too late to edit the post.
