History

Every Model M keyboard uses the PS/2 keyboard protocol - the Model M is in fact the original PS/2 keyboard. Even though they all use the same protocol, there are different variants, and in order to properly interface with a Model M, it is germane to understand their history.

From computer-engineering.org:

IBM introduced a new keyboard with each of its major desktop computer models. The original IBM PC, and later the IBM XT, used what we call the "XT keyboard." These are obsolete and differ significantly from modern keyboards; the XT keyboard is not covered in this article. Next came the IBM AT system and later the IBM PS/2. They introduced the keyboards we use today, and are the topic of this article. AT keyboards and PS/2 keyboards were very similar devices, but the PS/2 device used a smaller connector and supported a few additional features. Nonetheless, it remained backward compatible with AT systems and few of the additional features ever caught on (since software also wanted to remain backward compatible.) Below is a summary of IBM's three major keyboards.

IBM PC/XT Keyboard (1981):

  • 83 keys
  • 5-pin DIN connector
  • Simple uni-directional serial protocol
  • Uses what we now refer to as scan code set 1
  • No host-to-keyboard commands
IBM AT Keyboard (1984) - Not backward compatible with XT systems.
  • 84 -101 keys
  • 5-pin DIN connector
  • Bi-directional serial protocol
  • Uses what we now refer to as scan code set 2
  • Eight host-to-keyboard commands
IBM PS/2 Keyboard (1987) - Compatible with AT systems, not compatible with XT systems.
  • 84 - 101 keys
  • 6-pin mini-DIN connector
  • Bi-direction serial protocol
  • Offers optional scan code set 3
  • 17 host-to-keyboard commands

Variants

The very first Model M's were of the AT variety; they had 101 keys and a detachable cable with a 5 pin DIN connector. The layout of this keyboard is the basis for what most people would consider to be a "standard" layout for a full size keyboard. Built for use with the IBM PC/AT (model 5170) system, the matrix scan codes ("scan code set 2") as well as the connector were compatible with the 84-key AT Model F keyboard. When IBM released its line of PS/2 computers, the Model M was updated to feature a new connector (6 pin mini-DIN) and included support for an alternate set of scan codes ("scan code set 3"), although the default was to utilize the same set of scan codes as the PC/AT.

Scan code set 3 was developed for use with IBM terminals and emulators; Model M keyboards that utilize this code set by default have either 122 or 101 keys, and are generally incompatible with Windows computers. I suspect that if you had an adapter to be able to plug one in to a PS/2 port, it may work on more robust operating system like Mac OS X or Linux. These keyboards are relatively easy to interface with due to the internal connector which is comprised of 3x2 header pins with .1" spacing.

Every Model M has a "birth certificate" on the back that tells its date of manufacture, as well as the model and part number. Wikipedia has a useful guide of Model M part numbers if you're not sure what you're looking looking at.

Digging around I discovered that basically all Model M keyboards support scan code set 3, although most (for the most part any of them with an AT or PS/2 connector) utilize code set 2 by default. The PS/2 protocol has a host-to-keyboard command for requesting a specific code set. In order to support all Model M's, upon initialization our code can request code set 3; terminal keyboards will ignore this command (they always use code set 3) while all other Model M's will honor it and we can assume that code set 3 is in use. Therefore we don't have to worry about separate key maps for the different scan codes.
Not all PS/2 keyboards will honor this host-to-keyboard command to switch codesets! In fact, I suspect that most do not. In that case this converter won't work, but it shouldn't be hard for an intrepid maker to make some small changes to the code to get it working for codeset 2!

Connectors

Since our Bluetooth keyboard is going to be wireless, we don't really care about the connectors, right? That's partially true... in our case it doesn't matter if the connector is a 6 pin mini-DIN (PS2), a 5 pin DIN (AT) or RJ45. We do however need to know how to connect our converter to the existing controller, which we can fairly easily ascertain by examining how the existing cable/connector is attached to the controller board.

A PS/2 keyboard interface has 4 lines:
  1. +5V
  2. Clock - this line is used by the keyboard to signal the timing of data being transmitted. The host relies on this signal both to send and receive data, and can inhibit the keyboard by pulling this line low
  3. Data - This line is used for bi-directional data transmission. Depending on the direction of communication, reading the state of this line on either the rising or falling edge of the clock signal provides one bit of data being transmitted.
  4. GND
We will need to connect to all four of these lines; our battery circuit will provide the input voltage and a connection to ground. Also, we will use 2 digital pins on the Arduino to bitbang the Clock and Data lines according to the protocol.

Fortunately, all of the Model M connectors you might come across are well known. A quick jaunt over to the "Connectors" page at kbdbabel.org yields the following diagrams:

hacks_kbd_connector_ibmterm.png

hacks_kbd_connector_ibm_m.png

hacks_kbd_connector_ibm3179_318x_319x.png

hacks_kbd_connector_ps2.png

All of these are connectors were actually used for different variants the Model M keyboard! You can compare the diagrams to the connector on any Model M you have to understand what each pin on does. If necessary use your multimeter to test continuity and determine where each pin connects to the controller.

The connector in the upper right is a female "SDL" connector and is the six-pin connector that a Model M's detachable cable plugs into, if it has one. If you have a keyboard with this connector, you may have desolder it first in order to complete this project; although some boards have extra solder points for these lines that you can utilize (YMMV).

Since I'm using a terminal Model M in this tutorial, and they all have a 3x2 male header with .1" spacing, we can use our female jumper wires of the same spacing to easily hook up to our circuit without soldering to the controller. Here is a pinout from a label inside a 122-key variant of the Model M, but it is valid for the 101-key version as well (thanks Soarer!):
Here is another illustration of the same information (source):

Resources

This guide was first published on May 06, 2014. It was last updated on May 06, 2014.

This page (Research) was last updated on Dec 31, 2013.

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