Retro events

[MacDeath]

Yep, just change the Rom into a properly burned EPROM, and re-write upon the keys...
This may be a nice occasion to craft yourself a multiEprom cartridge actually.

(I hope my travel to españa will enable me to craft one too there, as there are specialists there.)

Perhaps canibalize the keyboard' keypad from a 6128, hadn't checked if those are exactly the same parts/compatible, but it seems Amstrad just re-used the same ones...

Seems the Amstrad Plus wasn't released for German setting/market ?

Yet I'm not really sure a British qwerty setting would be that great for a German user.

English seems to lack the accent on letters stuff, while French despite lacking perhaps the ïüöä...can give you ùàéè thay may be sort of ersatz.

yet it's up to you to see what suit you better of course.

[OCT]

What makes a French, Spanish or English keyboard are the charset and keymap stored in the Firmware ROM. From the CPC/Plus point of view, the keyboard is just a bunch of contact switches, it doesn't matter what is printed on the keys.

So, same keyboard membrane for all versions then. Do the keys come loose (to change A for Q, Z for W etc.) without breaking them on the Plus range? (Barely possible on some old-gen models...)

[MacDeath]

On the CPC 6128 I remember I could separate the mechanical keyboard pad from the membrane and from a metal plate.

Just have to be carefull when unclipping : plastic clips from the Mechanical part, passing through the membrane and clipped into the metal "plate".

Like a sandwich.

I did that to remove dust.

so if the Plus actually has the same part, this may even be compatible with the CPC6128 old range concerning the mechanical part.

[ukmarkh]

Would a 464 UK QWERTY Keyboard unit work if I stuck it into a 6128 Plus AZERTY model. i.e. would it now work as a UK model? 

[MacDeath]

er...
the 464 ? which one ?

If it is a CPC464 (old) it wouldn't fit on a 6128Plus, just look at pictures of those, completely different layout.

Also it is the Rom that set the UK, French or spanish Keys setting.

[ukmarkh]

Yep... I'm talking about the 464 plus. If i put the uk keyboard InTo an azerty 6128 plus, Wouldn't it just be a case of then plugging in a uk based cart. 

[Apollo]

I did this with mine and worked flawless.
First I got a 6128+ from France but the keyboard  made my fingers cramp
Later I ordered from UK a Catridge with Parados 1.1 and english layout, plugged into my 6128+ and voilá I got english layout with a french keyboard.
The next step was that I got a cheap 464+ from the UK, removed the keyboard and plugged it into my 6128+.
So now I have a 6128+ with english keyboard and english layout and parados and a 464+ with french keyboard and english layout. But the later is just there to be in my collection.
 
But I must admit that I was not shy to expend a good amount of money as the sending cost often more then the computer itself. (damn you mail companies!) 

[ukmarkh]

Cheers Apollo... now I know this works, I'll have a go myself this weekend.

[MacDeath]

Why not simply re-write the keys ?

[Gryzor]

Why not simply re-write the keys ?

You mean blow a new ROM? Not everyone has the facilities I guess...

[Executioner]

The next step was that I got a cheap 464+ from the UK, removed the keyboard and plugged it into my 6128+.

Hi Apollo, I've got a French 6128+ with ParaDOS cart I bought off eBay (amusing since I wrote it ), not I just need a cheap or dead 464+ or 6128+ to get the keyboard. Anyone know where I can find one?

Cheers,
Richard

[Gryzor]

Cheap Plus? Hmmmmm...

[MacDeath]

By re-write the keys i mean to rewrite on the keys...
you scratch the letters/symbol and overwrite another one on the key...you know , IRL, not in software... just got to find the proper ink/paint ?

Or simply displace some of them (letters)
Dismantle the keyboard, there must be a way to remove each key...gently, and put them in different layout. of course this would just work for letters, but it's a beginning...

Or, well...why not simply trying to use an AZERTY indeed.
After all, i managed to use a QWZERTY when younger. it helped me a bit, when a game/programm doesn't really process in AZERTY, i'm happy i know a bit the QWERTY...

Also : are the mechanical parts compatible with cpc6128 ? mmm it sems this is not the case...the keys are designed slightly differently, leaning a bit more on the PLUS.

cheap or dead 464+ or 6128+ to get the keyboard.
In QWERTY ?
would be even simpler to just get a working one.
It's a fact : most PLUS are AZERTY...
a QWERTY one (or spanish) would be rarer, so not "cheap"...
And most dead PLUS must have ended in the garbage...sadly.



All right, I'm going to España tonite...

Fiestas é cervezas é Amstradas!