Help/ Advice Installing on HP PA Risc 715/100

[Rob Blessin Black Hole]

Hello NeXT Community: I bought a couple 715/ 100 and am looking for a little help / advice. It looks like I needed an adapter box to hook up a keyboard and mouse  as well so I bought a 46084A HP-HIL Module but I'm thinking a better solution would be the A4220-62001 which is an HIL to PS/2 convertor but I'm not sure if the NeXTSTEP drivers will support this route.
Does anyone know if an HIL to PS 2 convertor is supported by NeXTSTEP 3.3?

I'm hoping someone might have the correct parts combination path in terms of which convertor box or boxes and cables  I would need to hook up either an hil keyboard , (does an HIL mouse plug into this Hil keyboard as the box I have only has a single HIL port?)
I've looked at online manuals and they don't show a diagram for an HIL setup but I'll keep searching.

So I'm guessing the easy route is to find the needle in the haystack A4220-62001 HIL to PS2 convertor if supported or have advice on if HIL keyboard and mice devices work what the cables and adapters are required to make it work.
Also if you have these HP parts for trade or sale please let me know.

Best regards Rob Blessin

[pan1k]

Rob,

They are kind of pricey online. I think there is also a guide on building one yourself. Perhaps you can get a custom one made? Check the FAQ at http://www.openpa.net/systems/hp-9000_715.html I have a HIL KB+Mouse if you are interested in a trade for some NeXT Software or something..

[Rob Blessin Black Hole]

Hello: yes I'll work a trade what are you looking for in NeXT software? does the HIL keyboard and mouse need a special module ?  I have a 46084A  HP-HIL ID module but it looks like it only has 1 port so I'm trying to figure out if I need 2 of these , one for the keyboard and one for the mouse or if the mouse plugs into the keyboard and keyboard into the module? Best regards Rob Blessin

[pan1k]

I'll take some pics of the hardware and email them to you. I think the mouse piggybacks onto the keyboard (like old adb macs).

[Rob Blessin Black Hole]

Hello:  I've taken up this NeXTSTEP HP PA project again as I lucked out and found an HP HIL to ps2  keyboard convertor  and am still trying to scavange an HP HIL keyboard and mouse as they are pricy but I may have a line on a set I can swap for some NeXT stuff, I knew I shouldn't have given those away awhile back but helped someone get there box going.

Now I'm hoping that NeXTSTEP 3.3 has a PA Risc driver that supports the hp hil to PS2 keyboard and mouse convertor I found as I have plenty of ps 2 keyboards and mice,

I'm waiting for a bundle of HIL cables to arrive to complete the loop and also have the hp hil keyboard and mouse external box as well. It baffles me why they didn't just put a standard keyboard and mouse adaptor on the motherboard as having to plug an external box in then the keyboard and mouse plug into that seems odd kind of like the NeXT soundbox lol creates an achilles heal

So I popped the hood to look underneath and it is a fairly clean and folds open easily enough , motherboard looks like she uses standard scsi 2 with an external scsi port so I'm thinking I should be able to hook up an external scsi cd and set the ID to 6 and use an internal 4Gb scsi drive , I'm guessing as there is no floppy it must boot from the cd to start the install. looks like a vga monitor connection.

I have a 22" Samsung  flatpanel , the caps are toast on the power supply board so I ordered a kit for $9 to bring it back to life , disassembled it and it looks easy enough.  I'm thinking of painting it NeXT black and attaching a nice NeXT logo as it would make a fairly cool looking NeXT Risc box so I'll have a black one and white one.

If the install doesn't fly may be I'll try a Network install , if anyone has insite on the path of least resistance to installing on hppa risc let me know , I think I can also upgrade to 4.2 although it was never official I've heard that if 3.3 is installed you can upgrade to 4.2 at any rate . hope all is well and thanks for any  advice.

Best regards Rob Blessin

[Rob Blessin Black Hole]

Hello NeXT Community: Wow when I necro my own thread 11 years later . I ordered custom cables they came in DB19 to 13W3 to VGA .

The manufacturer changed the shells on my 13W3 so a metal flange prevents the new cables from connecting securely to the color stations, painin the butt .

So in my eventually successful quest after doing research , hours of it , I was lead to an obscure reference on alibaba .

The golden data sheet upon high  mentioned grasshopper 13W3 and db25 shrouds are one in the same size.

 How difficult would it be for google to simply say some where anywhere that a 13W3 shroud is the same thing, as in the same size, as in compatible with a DB25 shrouds , no joy on WIKI  because when you search for a 13W3 Shroud good luck finding anything now even close, you wind up in TEMU hell and buy crap lol.

Oh yes Mouser and others sent me down the rabbit hole, until Alibaba Golden  light bulb tech sheet illuminated my stupidity .

Yes, They are interchangeable grasshopper also called back shell , clam shell and my case many curse words.
Don't ask me to go back and find the data sheet by the way good lord ..... it was as close to the dark retro parts web as I want to get.

Yes , I indeed proved they work because I had an old serial Mac Modem cable swapped shells in photo below, yes it works tested, replacement shrouds ordered so I don't have to send the cables back to Europe Proof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aDR2F62tvk

So you ask me ? What does it have to do with HP PA Risc ,

In my seemingly endless biblical search of the black hole for the elusive 25 pin shroud of turen,

I found many treasures ,

Including not one but 2 of the holy grail HP PA Risc HIL to PS2 Adaptors lol , sparking my memory about this bloody HP PA Risc project I started in 2012 has hope for my 2 715/100 boxes of running NeXTstep 3.3.

If the stars and NeXT HP PA Risc drivers align , we shall see , yet another project for another day as mny threads elude to trials and tribulations of installing NeXTSTEP 3.3 on HP PA Risc, tales of woe , lack of scsi floppy support , stymies one right out of the gates.

Let alone an HP HIL Keyboard and Mouse , my friend Chuck had one set listed on his website , he went down a rabbit hole looking for them 11 years ago , never found them. They now want a kings ransom for them.

On my Templar Quest, I also found new old stock non adb keyboard feet like Jurassic Dinosaur hardware stuff , it is kind of like finding 2 dozen of your missing socks .

Also 2 Corona beers stashed from my roommates , do they age like wine.

Rant concluded , I know I am not alone in these magic quests for retro computer parts , so stumbling across at least half a dozen parts as a bonus  I know I need currently when looking for something else today. It was almost like finally level up several levels in some complicated video game and gaining super power bling along the way. . Peace Out Entertainment concluded , how you wound up reading this actual thread out of all the stuff on the web well that is very cool, hope it was entertaining.  You are like  right 5 minutes of my life , I'll never get back.