[TriLUG] Power Supply for Apex KVM switch

[Jeff Tickle]

Interesting results:  When I plugged the monitor into the box, the LEDs
lit up dimly.  Plugging in a keyboard or a mouse must draw too much
power becuase they go out again, and in any case, the device is getting
a little power but I guess not enough to power the switching.

The only information for the power I have is what I put in my original
message, and I've googled all over the place for pinouts or even a
manual for it... this apparently is an old or rare model or something. 
It's an Apex Outlook EL-40LC which handles 2 PS2 ports, one VGA port,
and one 9-pin port.

However, like I said, it was a really good deal, so all I have to lose
is a cheap KVM switch that does no good without a power supply anyway! 
I have dabbled in electrical engineering type stuff before, but I'm far
from any kind of an expert, probably knowing exactly enough to fry
myself and the switch quickly.  But I love making stuff like this, so if
anyone wants to help me out with a fun little side project, and I'll
take Brian McCullogh up on his offer for the laptop power supply!  I'll
bring the toy to this month's meeting and we can have a look at it.

Thanks for the interest!

-Jeff

On Thu, 2004-04-01 at 23:54, Brian A. Henning wrote:
> Hiho,
>   DIN-5 plugs (the AT-keyboard style) are not difficult to come by.  Is
> there any indication which pins of the socket are for which voltages?
> Presumably the three positive voltages are on three of the pins, and one or
> both of the remaining two are ground..  If you have an actual pinout for
> that connector, it wouldn't be terribly difficult to either cannibalize an
> old laptop power brick (back in the days when the laptop bricks put out
> separate +5 and +12 voltages, if you can come up with one) or simply
> construct a power supply from scratch (I'm sure I'm not the only trilugger
> with electrical circuits experience).
> 
> The suggestion of parasitic power (aka. not needing the power
> supply---drawing power from the computer's ports) I know is true for Belkin
> brand devices, as I have one and have used others..  However, my instinct is
> to suspect that since it requires the two separate potentials, it's not
> going to be able to power itself from the computer's ports (only the RS-232
> port, that I know of, even sports 12v potentials, and newer forms of that
> standard operate at only 5 volts).  Worth a shot, though.
> 
> Good luck, and let me know if you would like some help with the scratchbuilt
> power supply idea.
> 
> Cheers,
> ~Brian
> 
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: trilug-bounces at trilug.org [mailto:trilug-bounces at trilug.org]On
> > Behalf Of Jeff Tickle
> > Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 7:10 PM
> > To: trilug at trilug.org
> > Subject: [TriLUG] Power Supply for Apex KVM switch
> >
> >
> > Howdy!  I'm not sure if this is a little off-topic, but it has to do
> > with KVM switching my linux boxes, so it can't be that bad.
> >
> > I must first confess to my sins... I was a stupid ebayer.  Saw a really
> > good deal on something I semi-needed (can get rid of an extra monitor
> > this way!) and purchased it late at night...  and somehow missed the
> > notice that it comes with everything but a power adapter, and that's why
> > it's so cheap.
> >
> > So I have a nice, cheap, supposedly working solid-state KVM switch with
> > nothing to power it.  I'm hoping maybe someone here can direct me to a
> > power supply for this thing...  if not the exact supply, then maybe a
> > starting place for this sort of thing?  (Google was little help.)  The
> > power connector on this device looks like the old larger round keyboard
> > plugs (AT, I guess you'd call it?).  The label on the back has this
> > helpful information:
> >
> > INPUT:
> > +5V @ 275mA
> > +12V @ 150mA
> > +5V @ 100mA
> >
> > Any help is appreciated!!
> >
> > -Jeff
> > --
> > Jeff Tickle <jtickle at jtsoft.net>
> > JTSoft.net
> >
> > --
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-- 
Jeff Tickle <jtickle at jtsoft.net>
JTSoft.net