Keyrah V2
Note: Keyrah V2 has been superseded by Keyrah V3
Keyrah V2 lets you use keyboards and joysticks of classic computers on the USB port of a modern PC, Mac or Raspberry Pi. It is the successor to the popular Keyrah interface.
Before installing Keyrah V2 in the case of a C64, VIC-20 or C-16, please remove the mainboard of the old computer. Use the screws of the mainboard to mount Keyrah V2. Older "breadbox“ models of the C64 and the VIC-20 also have a metal bracket on the side of the mainboard that should be mounted on Keyrah V2.
For mounting inside an Amiga case, you should use double-sided duct tape or Velcro® tape. Both can be found in the DIY-store of your choice. Keyrah's mounting holes are aligned for installation in a Commodore 8-bit computer, and cannot be used in an Amiga without drilling new holes.
Keyrah V2 should not be used without a case. If you want to use it outside a case anyway, you should at least protect the solder side (bottom) of the board from short circuit.
Connect the keyboard to the corresponding connector of Keyrah V2 and set the jumper to the layout you intend to use. The correct jumper setting is printed directly on Keyrah V2. Do not remove the jumper group next to the key map jumper!
Contents |
Manual
- Media:Keyrah_V2_manual_bilingual.pdf (english / deutsch)
LED connection
The power LED of a C64, VIC-20 or C16 should be connected to the 3-pin header right above the C64 keyboard. It will show the switch position: For position „down“ (emulator-layout), the LED will be on. If your computer has a thin (black) connector for the LED, you can also flip the connector around and the power LED will show the NumLock status.
The A1200 LED connector shares the middle pin of the C64 LED connector. The Power-LED will show the switch position: on = numeric keypad mapped into main keyboard block and multimedia keys in main keyboard activated.
The Floppy-LED shows scroll lock status (labelled „F.Disk“ on A1200) and the H.Disk-LED shows numlock status (labelled „Disk“ on A600). Never connect power to the A600 LED connector!
The caps LED which is embedded into the caps lock key of the A1200 and A600 keyboards will act exactly like the caps lock LED of a normal keyboard.
Please note that all LEDs of all keyboards that are connected to the host computer will light up at the same time. There is only one caps lock status, only one NumLock status and one Scroll lock status, and they're all equal for all keyboards. If you press caps lock on one keyboard, it will be shown equally on all keyboards at the same time.
Switch settings
For 8-bit keyboards, the switch chooses between two key mappings: „down“ for emulators like Vice (C64) and Yape (plus/4, C16, C116), and the „middle“ position for everyday use. The emulator mapping is as easy as it can get: Every keypress will cause the exact thing that you'd expect the original machine to do when you press that key. For everyday use, the exact key mapping is described further down.
The third non-latching switch position „up“ will send the ACPI-sleep signal to the computer. To make sure that you really want to execute this, you must hold this position for at least one second.
Joystick mapping
| Joystick | Switch Middle Position (normal) | Switch Down Position (emu) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port 1 | up | cursor up | Numpad 9 |
| down | cursor down | Numpad 3 | |
| left | cursor left | Numpad 7 | |
| right | cursor right | Numpad 1 | |
| fire | space | Numpad 0 | |
| Port 2 | up | Numpad 8 | Numpad 8 |
| down | Numpad 2 | Numpad 2 | |
| left | Numpad 4 | Numpad 4 | |
| right | Numpad 6 | Numpad 6 | |
| fire | Numpad 5 | Numpad 5 | |
C64 key mapping
| C64-key | US layout | Deutsches Layout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch up (normal) | Switch down (emu) | Switch up (normal) | Switch down (emu) | |
| Z | Z | Z | Y | Y |
| Y | Y | Y | Z | Z |
| C= (Commodore key) | left ALT | CTRL | ALT links | Strg |
| CTRL | CTRL | TAB | Strg | TAB |
| RUN/STOP | TAB | Escape | TAB | Escape |
| RESTORE | ` and ~ (*) | Page up | < und > (*) | Bild hoch |
| Inst/del | Backspace | Backspace | Rückschritt | Rückschritt |
| @ | \ and | (*) | [ and { | Ü (*) | Ü |
| : / [ | [ and { (*) | ; and : | Ö (*) | Ö |
| ; / ] | ] and } (*) | ' and " | Ä (*) | Ä |
| + | = and + (*) | - and _ | ß und ? (*) | ß und ? |
| - | - and _ (*) | = and + | ^ und ° (*) | ´ und ` |
| * | ; and : (*) | ] and } | + und * (*) | + und * |
| = | ' and " (*) | \ and | | # und ' (*) | # und ' |
| , / < | , and < | , and < | , und ; | , und ; |
| . / > | . and > | . and > | . und : | . und : |
| arrow left | ESC | ` and ~ | ESC | ^ und ° |
| pound | page up | insert | Bild hoch | Einfügen |
| arrow up | page down | delete | Bild runter | Entfernen |
| CLR/HOME | home | home | Pos 1 | Pos 1 |
| / ? | / and ? | / and ? | - und _ | - und _ |
| F3 | insert | F3 | Einfügen | F3 |
| F5 | delete forward | F5 | Entfernen | F5 |
| F7 | F4 | F7 | F4 | F7 |
(*) correct mapping of these keys depends on the EN/DE jumper
C128 key mapping
| C128-key | mapped key | |
|---|---|---|
| ESC | Escape | |
| TAB | TAB | |
| ALT | right Alt | |
| ASCII/DIN (*) | CAPS lock | |
| Linefeed | End | |
| 40/80 DISP (*) | End | |
| No scroll | Scroll lock | |
(*) These are locking keys on the C128 keyboard
C16 key mapping
The following table applies to C16, C116 and plus/4 keyboards:
| C16-key | US layout | Deutsches Layout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Switch up (normal) | Switch down (emu) | Switch up (normal) | Switch down (emu) | |
| Z | Z | Z | Y | Y |
| Y | Y | Y | Z | Z |
| C= (Commodore key) | left ALT | CTRL | ALT links | CTRL |
| RUN/STOP | TAB | TAB | TAB | TAB |
| CLR/HOME | home | home | < und > | home |
| Inst/del | backspace | backspace | Rückschritt | Rückschritt |
| @ | ; and : | - and _ | Ü | ß |
| : / [ | [ and { | ; | Ö | Ö |
| ; / ] | ] and } | ' and " | Ä | Ä |
| + | = and + | [ and { | + und * | Ü |
| * | ' and " | * | # und ' | * |
| / ? | / and ? | / and ? | ß und ? | - |
| , / < | , and < | , and < | , und ; | , und ; |
| . / > | . and > | . and > | . und : | . und : |
| pound | ` and ~ | delete | ^ und ° | delete |
| = | \ and | | = and + | F4 | ´ |
| F1 | page up | F1 | Bild hoch | F1 |
| F2 | page down | F2 | Bild runter | F2 |
| F3 | insert | F3 | Einfügen | F3 |
| HELP | F1 | F4 | F1 | F4 |
Since the 8-bit keyboards lack the right ALT key (sometimes labelled ALT Gr), the third meaning of some international keys can only be reached by pressing CTRL and C= (the Commodore key) at the same time with the key you want to press with the right ALT key. For example, if you want to generate the €-sign, please press and hold CTRL and the Commodore-key, then press and release the E-key, then release the two other keys. This is of course only possible if you have chosen a keyboard layout in your operating system that has the €-sign on ALT-Gr and E!
Amiga key mapping
For Amiga keyboards, the switch position „middle“ will use mostly intuitive key mapping. Since the Amiga keyboard is still lacking a few keys compared to a standard 104-key keyboard, switch setting „down“ will re-map the right part (quick cursor navigation and keypad) into the main keyboard block. In addition to that, some keys in the left half of the main keyboard are changed into multimedia keys. This altered key map will let you use an A600 keyboard as full 104-key multimedia keyboard, despite the missing numeric key pad.
The Amiga-keys become Windows-keys, and HELP sends the „insert“ key code. In switch position "down", the following keys become multimedia keys, which may have to be assigned with a driver or program that individual Computers does not provide:
| key | USB consumer page 0x0c code | function in Windows(tm) |
|---|---|---|
| T | Application launch "local machine browser" | opens "my computer" |
| E | Application launch "Email reader" | opens your default mailer |
| W | Application launch "audio player" | opens the media player |
| D | Application launch "command line processor" | opens the dialogue box "Run..." |
| F | Application launch "internet browser" | opens the internet browser |
| C | Application launch "calculator" | opens the calculator |
| Q | OOC "mute" | mutes the audio output |
| 1 | RTC "Volume increment" | increases audio volume |
| A | RTC "Volume decrement" | decreases audio volume |
| 2 | OSC "play/pause" | starts/pauses media playback |
| S | OSC "stop" | stops media playback |
| F1 | OSC "scan previous track" | changes to the previous track |
| F2 | OSC "rewind" | rewind playback |
| F3 | OSC "fast forward" | fast forward playback |
| F4 | OSC "scan next track" | changes to the next track |
In addition to these multimedia keys, switch position "down" will also map a numeric keypad into the main keyboard block of your Amiga keyboard, turning it into a full 104/105-keys keyboard:
| Amiga (US keyboard) | Amiga (deutsche Tastatur) | function in target computer |
|---|---|---|
| + / = | ´ / ` | page up |
| ] / } | + / * | page down |
| - / _ | ß / ? | home |
| [ / { | Ü | end |
| F5 | F5 | Numlock |
| / ? | - / _ | Keypad / |
| 0 | 0 | Keypad * |
| P | P | Keypad - |
| 7 | 7 | Keypad 7 |
| 8 | 8 | Keypad 8 |
| 9 | 9 | Keypad 9 |
| ; / : | Ö | Keypad + |
| U | U | Keypad 4 |
| I | I | Keypad 5 |
| O | O | Keypad 6 |
| J | J | Keypad 1 |
| K | K | Keypad 2 |
| L | L | Keypad 3 |
| M | M | Keypad 0 |
| . / > | . / : | Keypad , (comma) |
| F6 | F6 | F11 |
| F7 | F7 | F12 |
| F8 | F8 | print screen |
| F9 | F9 | scroll lock |
| F10 | F10 | pause/break |
| Return | Return | Keypad enter |
Resellers
Please shop locally. Our partners are listed in alphabetical order.
- Alinea Computer (Germany)
- Amiga Kit (UK, US)
- F.H.U.EDEN Komputery (Poland)
- GGS Data (Sweden)
- Protovision (Germany) (Retro Products only)
- Relec Software & Hardware (Switzerland)
