SFF S370 Motherboard + WORKING!! IR Keyboard $30 @ Package2You

[mindless1]

Originally posted by: alm99
mindless could you post some pictures of what you did?

Sure, but it might be a bit hard to see the hookup in the picture since it was just a crude setup to facilitate faster pin-swapping. Mouse cord is purple and keyboard is grey. (Note to self - put dust cover on scanner while remodeling workbench).

See this diagram which better illustrates, matches the wire coloring of the above pic. However, that color scheme could easily be wrong for any other keyboard/mouse cord, especially having red wire as a ground.

 

[PAckage2Youtech]

Greetings Mindless1...

Before posting these motherboards on our web site, I took one of these boards home to get an idea of what it could do and specifically to determine the setup and operation of this wireless keyboard. First, I used a USB keyboard since I didn't seem to be getting a response from the IR keyboard. Later I found that the operating system has to be up and running before it will recognize the IR keyboard. In my case, I'm running Win 2k Pro. Be sure the BIOS is not set to halt on all keyboard errors.
I've done a little research on this particular board and found that there is another board similar to this one which has audio and a parallel printer port. Although the jumpers for audio (according to the manual) are missing on the board, it appears as though one experienced in soldering and board circuitry could solder an audio connection on the board. An alternative would be USB audio or the PCI slot.
Although this board has some limitations, it has proved to be very stable. Once I figured out the IR keyboard setup, it was really easy to configure. If you have any questions, let me know. Any email from Package 2 You customers will be answered within 24 hours.

Package2You

Tech Support


Email me

 

[alm99]

Originally posted by: PAckage2Youtech
Greetings Mindless1...

Before posting these motherboards on our web site, I took one of these boards home to get an idea of what it could do and specifically to determine the setup and operation of this wireless keyboard. First, I used a USB keyboard since I didn't seem to be getting a response from the IR keyboard. Later I found that the operating system has to be up and running before it will recognize the IR keyboard. In my case, I'm running Win 2k Pro. Be sure the BIOS is not set to halt on all keyboard errors.
I've done a little research on this particular board and found that there is another board similar to this one which has audio and a parallel printer port. Although the jumpers for audio (according to the manual) are missing on the board, it appears as though one experienced in soldering and board circuitry could solder an audio connection on the board. An alternative would be USB audio or the PCI slot.
Although this board has some limitations, it has proved to be very stable. Once I figured out the IR keyboard setup, it was really easy to configure. If you have any questions, let me know. Any email from Package 2 You customers will be answered within 24 hours.

Package2You

Tech Support


Email me

How the did you get the keyboard up and running, give specifics please, where did you plug the ir cable in on the mb?

EDIT: How did you configure the BIOS for the IR keyboard, did windows automatically recognize it? Could you give a detailed instruction on how you did it?

 

[MamBo]

Pictures of connected keyboard would be good too !

 

[sativen]

I was told they were running WinXP to get this working...... are we getting mixed information here?
His post has less information than we already know. It seems like he just wanted people over here to quit ranting about them or something.

 

[PAckage2Youtech]

Greetings Mindless1...

I was handed this project before we ever ordered these boards, so I know for a fact that they do work. The hardest part of the setup was figuring out the setup of the IR keyboard and exactly where I needed to connect it. I have not tested or used this on any other O/S other than Win 2k Pro, so I don't know what results you'd get from any of the others. Win 2k Pro recognized the IR module without error and installed drivers. I wasn't successful with any support from the manufacturer, so I had to basically figure this out through trial and error. Luckily I didn't fry anything on the board through this process. The IR module is a bit bulky, but it is functional. The ribbon cable connector is strangely configured and from what I can gather, appears to be jumpered inside. I'll get my notes and the other info together and post it here for all to see hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow. We were closed yesterday, so we're running about a half a day behind on support issues.
I am the Technical Support Services Manager here at P2U, managing 3 techs among many other things, so please keep in mind that I am extremely busy. If you email me and you are a Package 2 You customer, please include your invoice order number in the email. I don't mind helping others, but this is a job, so I have to keep things in perspective.

Yes... there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Package 2 You

Tech Support

Email Me

 

[mindless1]

PAckage2Youtech, if you can help eveyone get their IR keyboards working that's great, but one thing I have to wonder is, what about all the folks who bought these outside of the Anandtech forums? I can't imagine that someone else receiving the same parts would know how to get this working, and there is no mention on the product page of a Win2K requirement or any other setup help. It might be better for Package2You to host these documents, link to them from the product page, and just let us know when this is all in place.

Actually, I'd be extremely surprised if these need Win2K... I can't imagine any company making a multimedia product like this IR keyboard, and ONLY targeting it for Win2K of all OS, plus it seemed odd to me that an IR keyboard would need OS support at all, due to the basic necessity in having a functional keyboard to install the OS. Since the manufacturer only provides Win9x driver AFAICT, it "should" work on Win9x, the age of the product would also suggest Win9x was the original target OS.

It seems a lot more likely that these motherboards were configured for an OEM legacy-free system using USB keyboard and mouse, not the IR keyboard.

Personally I'd rather use PS/2 ports than an IR port, but it's still puzzling to me why the PS/2 ports I added aren't working... any ideas?

 

[fxsts]

PAckage2Youtech is not really helping much other than saying that it worked for him when he tried. What we need to know is HOW it worked out. And he has no mention of that.

From what I can tell so far, it does not work straight out by connecting the 14 pin connector somewhere on the board to get the IrDA to work. Then, they generated and sent out the diagram to plug it to the IR header, and it seemed to be a total B.S.

Let's see what he is going to come up with. In a meantime, I sent an email to ECS asking about the exact pin assignments of the JHD1.

 

[alm99]

Once again, tell us how you did it, where you connected the cable to. Please stop beating around the bush.

 

[TechDreamer]

Package2you -

You go through the trouble of figuring out the IR before you ordered these boards and then you don't post the info? Are we supposed to be mind readers? I also want to know why people at your company have been giving out conflicting and false info, where the heck were you? You say your the one in charge of this stuff? You say you have to gather up your notes? This sounds like comments from a guy working out of his dorm room. I understand that you guys are a surplus type outfit, but you need to back up your claims that the IR works with support.

 

[fxsts]

Package2you,

Also, I think that you are not supposed to link your website to advertise it here.

 

[MamBo]

PPL,

don't jump on conclusions so fast, let's see what Package2you will came with.

 

[inCreek]

Can someone who is using this MB with the Netvista case, shed some light on how they connected the case connectors. I managed to connect the power, but would like to know how to utilize the two lights available on the case. How can I modify the connecter to match the Pin layout on the MB.

Thanks for any help.

InCreek

 

[mindless1]

Package2You is starting to revise their Product Page, no "new" info added yet,

We will be posting the diagram of where the plugin for the IR transceiver is located, hopefully by Monday. However, this is actually shown in your Owners Manual.

 

[diggum]

the method in the owners manual does NOT work. The emails from them so far have not been right.

I'll be curious to see what's posted monday. if it's the same drawing they've been emailing everyone, I'll be mighty unhappy.

 

[mindless1]

Now that I think about it, after some of us have received email with the same IR header pictured, I am wondering if they actually have two different versions of this receiver, and one version did have the 5-pin IR header hookup. Looking back at one of Package2Youtech's posts where he wrote "The ribbon cable connector is strangely configured and from what I can gather, appears to be jumpered inside" is further confusion since the receiver/cabling I received has nothing that looks at all like "jumpering inside".

 

[fxsts]

Originally posted by: inCreek
Can someone who is using this MB with the Netvista case, shed some light on how they connected the case connectors. I managed to connect the power, but would like to know how to utilize the two lights available on the case. How can I modify the connecter to match the Pin layout on the MB.

Thanks for any help.

InCreek

That's an easy one. There are 6 wires combined into an 8 pin connector. Their assigments are as follow.

Black - HD LED Ground - Pin 16
Red - HD LED (+) - Pin 15
Black - Power LED Ground - Pin 6
Green - Power LED (+) - Pin 2 or 4
White - Power SW Ground - Pin 22
Green - Power SW (+) - Pin 21

You can use the 8 pin connector for Power SW and HD LED, but you need to have at least a 2 pin connector for Power LED. I just used 4 pin connector from an internal audio cable which came with one of my CD-ROMs. You can use a needle to move the wires out of the connectors and switch them around. You can also make the internal speaker work if you connect it to the motherboard [(+) to pin 1 and (-) to pin 3 ,5, or 7].

 

[fxsts]

Originally posted by: mindless1
I saw that JHD1 keyboard header. but can't find a pinout for it. I have/had other ECS motherboards that required jumpers on their AUX keyboard headers to enable use of the PS/2 ports, but these were headers with far more pins IIRC, and I've already tried quite a few jumper positions on that header....

Heh, its' one problem after another with this motherboard/keyboard. Maybe I'll just ignore the motherboard and test the IR keyboard with a (different) old junk motherboard for the time being.

Edit: Unless I shorting something, the following is the pinout for the JHD1 header. It's a direct connection to the PS/2 port, so since my PS/2 port isn't working, I don't see how the JH1 could work. Either something is missing on the motherboard, there is some BIOS or jumper settting I can't find, or perhaps I fried somehting? Motherboard still seems 100% functional otherwise, execpt that neither PS/2 mouse or keyboard work with the standard oort I soldered on. I checked continuity on the pins, none seem shorted, no broken traces noticed.



JHD1 (possible) Pinout
______
| 2 4 6 |
| 1 3 5 |
---------

Pin Function
------------
1 - clock
2 - +5V
3 - Clock
4 - Data
5 - Ground
6 - Data

mindless1,

What's your confidence level with the pin assignment, especially the +5V and Ground? I can try to connect a PS 2 keyboard or the IrDA header depending on it.

 

[alm99]

Originally posted by: mindless1
Package2You is starting to revise their Product Page, no "new" info added yet,

We will be posting the diagram of where the plugin for the IR transceiver is located, hopefully by Monday. However, this is actually shown in your Owners Manual.

Yeah, right!

 

[mindless1]

Originally posted by: fxsts
JHD1 (possible) Pinout
______
| 2 4 6 |
| 1 3 5 |
---------

Pin Function
------------
1 - clock
2 - +5V
3 - Clock
4 - Data
5 - Ground
6 - Data

mindless1,

What's your confidence level with the pin assignment, especially the +5V and Ground? I can try to connect a PS 2 keyboard or the IrDA header depending on it.[/quote]
High confidence, I double-checked and all are going directly to the PS/2 keyboard port. The 5V and ground are commmon to the PS/2 mouse port too, though oddly enough both clock and data lines are the same, neither goes to the PS/2 Mouse port.

This still makes me wonder why I can't use a normal PS/2 keyboard or mouse on my soldered-on connector. After scratching my head for a minute I ended up adding jumper pins to a couple vacant locations above the CPU socket, but haven't had a chance to see what they do.

Edit: I have now tried jumpers on those headers i added, did't observe anything different while jumpered, they do not (including when BOTH are jumpered) enable PS/2 ports.

 

[sativen]

We will be posting the diagram of where the plugin for the IR transceiver is located, hopefully by Monday. However, this is actually shown in your Owners Manual.

Well, my owner's manual sure as hell didn't show me how to connect a 20 pin ribbon cable to a 5 pin header correctly to make it work. It also didn't mention that I had to use Win2K to do it, nor did it tell me what to do when Win2K won't recognize the IR keyboard.
...... Maybe I got the wrong owner's manual.


On another note, I did try connecting the pins that Mindless1 said to the 6 pin connector (and after ohm-ing them, found that the two data lines are tied together, as are the two clock lines, as he stated in a previous post.) I didn't have any luck with it. Is there a setting in the bios for the aux keyboard ?

 

[fxsts]

So, if we connect THESE

PCB
Pin Confirmed Function
-----------------------
1 -None- (red wire on ribbon cable)
2 -None-
3 -None-
4 Ground - Not Neeeded for PS/2 Kbd/Mouse
5 Data Port PA3 - PS/2 Keyboard Clock
6 Data Port PA1
7 Data Port PA2 - PS/2 Keyboard Data
8 Data Port PA0
9 Power +5V
10 Ground
11 Data Port PA7 - PS/2 Mouse Clock
12 Data Port PA5
13 Data Port PA6 - PS/2 Mouse Data
14 Data Port PA4

TO THOSE


JHD1 (possible) Pinout
______
| 2 4 6 |
| 1 3 5 |
---------

Pin Function
------------
1 - clock
2 - +5V
3 - Clock
4 - Data
5 - Ground
6 - Data

it should work, shouldn't it.

But, it did not work for sativen, or did it?

Hmmmmmmmmmm........????????

 

[mindless1]

When I look at the BIOS with Modbin6 v 1.00.38 it shows PS/2 Mouse ENABLED. However, when I look at same BIOS with Modbin6 v2.00 beta, it shows an additional subsection, listing PS/2 Mouse as DISABLED. This makes me suspect that the PS/2 ports (and the JHD1 header) are disabled in the BIOS.

Edit: Now I'm less sure that Modbin6 v2beta listing of PS/2 Mouse as DISABLED is relevant, I see that same listing while looking at BIOS for a different motherboard that I'm sure has working PS/2 ports. However I still suspect a BIOS reason for nonfunctional PS/2 ports & JHD1 header (I will refer to them as one-in-the-same since they are hardwired together). On the other hand, I've begun trying a few ECS bios for different motheroboards, and so far only one "works" with this board enough to get it POSTing, but still PS/2 ports won't work.


Does anyone know where I might find a newer, non-beta version of Modbin6? It seems that the JHD1 header, being a direct connection to the PS/2 Keyboard port physical connector, is needing no enabling itself, but ALL PS/2 ports need enabled.

 

[inCreek]

Thanks fxsts for the info about how to connect to Netvista case. I have some internal CD connectors that I can use.

Regards.

Increek

 

[mindless1]

Anyone else noticed odd behavior playing MPEG on this motherboard?

Clips that should play back at 30FPS, that do play back at very very near 30FPS on any other system, play back at ~ 32.6 FPS. It's a bit like watching Alvin and the Chipmonks.

Environment: Win98SE, WMP 6.4, SIS 2.06 "Full Package" drivers, NTSC TV Output Mirrored to VGA, 640x480 and 800x600.

There are a few hidden video (display) controls, can be enabled from the following registry key, but none corrected the FPS problem: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Class\Display]

I'm wondering if it has something to do with how the SIS drivers "cheat"... that is, when the video can't play as fast as the application demands, it will only draw the frame counter, not the frame itself (for lack of a more technical way of putting it), yielding false frame counts. It does a good job of fooling some benchamark programs (ie 3DMark99 Max, haven't tried any others myself), but gives itself away when i heavily load the system, see the Media Player showing near 30FPS but the video frame isn't changing more than a couple FPS with high-res Divx clips.

Update: It seems to be a problem with the v2.06 Full Package Driver or related Settings changes, the original driver (believe it was the one on the included CD) doesn't seem to have the framerate problem, and after installing 2.06 Full Package the problem appeared, but after reverting registry back to pre-"full Package" the problem disappeared, but new driver files/version where still being used. Only other possiblity I see is a relation to the TV-Out, as that isn't working without the "Full Package" registry changes.