When I saw this person building a Raspberry Pi inside a vintage Apple Keyboard, I thought it could be a comfortable way to play Apple II games on a TV. More important, I happen to have an Apple Extended Keyboard II just waiting for such an experiment…

• Mac Compatible Usb Keyboards
• Old Mac Keyboard To Usb

Remap Keyboard lets you modify your macOS keyboard layout by changing the behavior of each key to work like another. You can apply mapping to all your keyboards or just the selected keyboard (e.g. Only the built-in keyboard on your MacBook or an USB keyboard). Share your keyboard with multiple computers. ShareMouse offers you keyboard sharing with multiple computers. The software works like a Network KVM but without the monitor sharing. Two Computers and one Keyboard. ShareMouse allows you to operate two computers with one keyboard and saves you from buying a USB switch or keyboard switch.

My winter holiday plans did not include going outside, so I wanted to build it with parts I already had. But the hack uses an Arduino Pro Micro (with a little help of the TMK Keyboard Firmware Collection) as a converter between ADB (the interface used by the Apple IIGS and older Macs) and the familiar USB, and I only had a regular Arduino (actually, a Leonardo-compatible clone).

I wasn’t sure that would do the job, so before tearing the keyboard apart, I decided that my first experiment would be an attempt to connect it to my computer.

To connect the Arduino to the keyboard, I could have cannibalized an S-Video MiniDIN-4 cable, since ADB uses the same connector. But I ended up using breadboard jumper wires, because they can be easily plugged on the Arduino and inserted straight into the ADB jack holes.

The TMK ADB-USB wiring instructions suggest a pull-up resistor. /allow-app-to-connect-on-mac.html. I used a 6K8Ω (the first one I found within the recommended range) and a mini-breadboard to organize the connections. Here is how I wired it:

I wasn’t sure which (if any) of the .hex files on the binary/ folder would work, so I built my own. You can download it here, or build (on a Mac with Homebrew) with:

At this point, edit the Makefile, changing MCU to atmega32u4 and TARGET to adb_usb_leonardo (or any name you want), then:

Now you should have a binary (adb_usb_leonardo.hex). To install it on the Arduino, use this command (pushing the RESET button on the board right before you hit ENTER):

Mac Compatible Usb Keyboards

The device (cu.usbmodemFD121) may be a bit different for you (you can check the right name with the Arduino IDE). You will know it worked when you get a few progress bars, then something like avrdude: 20528 bytes of flash verified. At that point, the computer should “see” your Arduino as a USB keyboard.

Old Mac Keyboard To Usb

It took me some time to figure out the build and install, but the hardware part worked without a hitch. With due apologies for the narration (I was pretty tired), you can see it in action here: