Additional Tipro keyboards: how to avoid plugging/unplugging

[kbdfr]

If you use one or more additional Tipro keyboards, for example for different applications (a special game, CAD, programming, keyboard as a foot switch, etc.), you have to unplug and plug whenever you change to another additional keyboard or want to reprogram them.

There is a possibility to avoid that and use and reprogram any of the keyboards without changing anything to the cables.

What you will need is a data transfer switch having PS/2 sockets both for the keyboard and the mouse (they are in fact old mechanical KVM switches). They usually sell for cheap on eBay. And you will need a few male/male PS/2 cables.

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The front switch has four positions: A, B, C and D:

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There are quite a few sockets on the rear:

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Anyway, only the PS/2 sockets will be used, so let's make the others invisible :

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Selecting any of the positions of the front switch will connect
- the corresponding upper row PS/2 socket to the upper row INPUT/OUTPUT socket,
- the corresponding lower row PS/2 socket to the lower row INPUT/OUTPUT socket.
(There is no connection between the upper row and the lower row.)

First of all, connect your main keyboard to the lower row I/O socket and the upper row I/O socket to your computer (yellow lines show the connections inside the switch, if any):

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As there is no connection between the upper row and the lower row, your keyboard of course will not work yet
So using a male/male PS/2 cable, connect the upper "A" socket to the lower "A" socket. With the front switch in position "A", the keyboard is now connected to the computer. It can be used in the normal way and if it happens to be a Tipro keyboard itself, then the Tipro ChangeMe software will identify it and be able to program it:

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Now connect your first Tipro additional keyboard (depending on model, attached cable or cable connected to the 8-pin socket of the keyboard) to the upper "B" socket, and connect the lower "B" socket to the 6-pin socket of the keyboard using a male/male PS/2 cable.

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With the front switch in position "B", the additional keyboard is now connected to the computer and the main keyboard is "plugged" into the 6-pin socket of the additional keyboard. In other words, the additional keyboard now is the main keyboard and vice versa. Both are fully operational, but the interesting thing is that the ChangeMe software will now identify and program the "B" keyboard. Input for programming is done on the "usual" keyboard. No need to plug or unplug cables any more.

Same for connecting a third and fourth keyboards. All you have to do is to put the front switch in the desired position.

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[Half-Saint]

How about those DIGITUS branded switches?

[kbdfr]

Don't know about brands. I have one which is branded Manhattan and is identical to the one shown in the pics.

The important point is that the switch has to be strictly mechanical. Any electronic components could (and probably would) lead to the Tipro keyboard selected as the "primary" keyboard not being recognized by the Tipro software. It would then work, but could not be programmed - unless you unplug it and plug it directly into the computer

Mechanical switches do nothing else than what you do when plugging/unplugging: they just connect wires.