I took on the project of a keyboard adapter for this RetroChallenge because I’m a bit pressed for time, and I though that this was simple enough that I could whip it together from stuff in my junk box.

First, I need a microcontroller that has HID built-in, to simplify the process of emulating a PC keyboard over USB.  Digging around in my collection, I found a few Teensy 3.0 Arduino clones that I got from a Kickstarter a few years ago.  These offer HID, and a quick test sketch proved it.

Ahh, but this micro controller is 3.3v only. The Atari XEGS keyboard has a couple of 4051 ICs inside, and operates off of 5v. More digging, and I find an Adafruit 8-channel logic level converter.

I’ll post my reverse engineering findings soon, but I’ve determined that I need 6 output lines to scan the keyboard, and two input lines to return the results (1 for control, shift, and break; and the second for the rest of the keys). This 8-port device should be fine.

However, after wiring it up, I wasn’t getting anything. Hooking up a logic analyzer showed that the outputs were all over the place. After some head-scratching, I determined that the fancy auto-direction-detect of this level converter was getting confused by the voltage levels and pull-ups/pulldowns that were in the keyboard.

Back to the drawing board. I don’t need anything with auto direction detection – each of my signals is unidirectional. Some 74AHCT125 ICs should give me the level shifting I need, but I don’t have any here. So my once-easy project is now waiting for parts to arrive.