Well just when I thought everything had been covered, and all the bugs had been safely put to bed (or wherever dead bugs go), another problem surfaced. It too was obviously something that had been in existence for quite sometime, but had somehow flown under the radar. What I'm talking about has to do with the stock Atari keyboard's CTRL, SHIFT, and BREAK keys becoming garbled. Or in other words erratic in nature.

I think the reason I didn't see this was that during the early days of TransKey development, when I more thoroughly tested under all possible criteria, this issue did not exist. But that was also before I configured the code for a sustained key press from the PS/2 keyboard side of things. Prior to doing that, I had only given PS/2 key presses a timed key press equivalent on the Atari key matrix, which at first appeared to work fine, but later I realized not under all circumstances (or with all software applications). So in a later iteration of the firmware I implemented a more Atari like key response, and had it maintain an Atari key down for as long as the PS/2 key equivalent was being held as well. This appeared to work fine at the time, but apparently I never went back and tested this with the actual Atari keyboard still connected. And it appears no one else has either, or they're just not complaining about the erratic keys on the stock Atari keyboard. Or better yet they probably don't use the stock keyboard since installing the TransKey.

So back to the problem. As best I can tell the issue was associated with the new code that was added for sustained key presses at the time, and has been around ever since. So once I realized this, it was a simple matter to look at the routine in the firmware and spot the offending line of code. It turned out to be the Pokey KR2 line handling that was the issue. This is where a held key was using a TTL based version of a PIC I/O line to communicate to the Pokey KR2 bit, irrelevant of what the mode was actually set to (float or TTL). Float is the case where one of the PIC's I/O ports mimics an open drain output, thus still allowing the Atari keyboard to work in parallel with the PS/2 keyboard. TTL mode was only suppose to get used when no internal Atari keyboard is connected, usually in the case of an XEGS, but also applies to a 1200XL. this mode can be toggled by pressing CTRL+ALT+X, with ALT+X showing the present setting (ON = TTL Mode, OFF = float).

So once the bug was discovered it was a very simple matter to correct the situation, thus restoring the stock keyboard to full functionality.

This has now been fixed in both the 'classic' version, and the new 'J' version firmware. Downloads are available HERE for the newest universal V2.7J version, and HERE for the 'classic' V2.6 version, which has now been depreciated where new hardware designs are concerned.

There's no need to update the TK-II firmware on an XEGS, or for the 1088 series machines. And there is also no need to do so even on other systems where you no longer use the stock Atari keyboard.

- Michael

Due to a long standing error that got missed, CTRL+SHIFT+Arrow keys were not rendering the correct key codes. Essentially they would just send the same code as pressing the arrow key alone, which was the equivalent to a CTRL+Arrow on a stock Atari keyboard. Basically it was missing the SHIFT aspect when combined with CTRL.

So both the TK-II Classic and the improved Universal 'J' version firmware have been corrected, and uploaded to the TK-II main page, as well as included in the XEL and XLD zipped compilation folders.

The classic version has moved from version 2.4 to 2.5, and is mainly provided to support the dual PS/2 keyboard aspect in the following products: TK-II-STEREO, TK-II-XEGS, TK-II-GS, TK-II-PB, and 1088XEL. This feature has been depreciated, and will no longer be seen in newer hardware such as the TK-II-PBJ.

The improved V2.6J version is the more universal TK-II firmware, and brings support for an AKI 'like' Console Function Key mapping, which is selectable between two modes: TK (Classic) and AKI. The AKI method is identical to what the Altirra emulator uses for the console and reset keys, thus making the transition between the two systems much easier. This mapping was adopted as the default for the 576NUC+.

To toggle between the two possible Console Key assignments, the key press combination of CTRL+ALT+E is used, with ALT+E displaying the current setting. This is non-volatile, so it will get restored to whatever the last setting was upon system power-up.

Another aspect of the V2.6J firmware that has hardware support in some of the newer TK-II boards, is the Arrow to Joystick mode, thus allowing the arrow keys to sit in for a joystick when selected. For the trigger, the Left-Windows key does the trick. Thus far there only two boards that support this: TK-II-PBJ and the ARROW2JOY-XLD adapter board for the 1088XLD. Pressing ALT+J will toggle the mode from standard arrows to joystick mode, and back again. It is a volatile setting, and will be restored to the arrow key default on a power cycle.

- Michael

The reality is that this board can only use the newest V2.5J firmware due to the lack of connection to 4 of the 6 key scan counter bits on the Pokey chip. For a better idea as to why these bits are not connected on this particular TK-II board version please check out the ARROW2JOY-XLD page for the details.

All other TK-II boards besides this one and the ARROW2JOY-XLD can use either the V2.4 or V2.5J firmware, depending upon what features you want to have. See the Manual for more info on those differences.

Edit: I just wanted to add that the PokeyMax FPGA based replacement product might not be 100% compatible with the V2.5J firmware. So until that issue is completely resolved, it would be better to stick to an original Pokey when only V2.5J firmware is a possibility. Despite what you may see elsewhere (eBay), NOS Pokey chips can still be purchased for $20 from BEST Electronics.

- Michael