311 Comments

1. Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into this adapter. Finally got my hands on one. Your work is so unique, and incredibly useful/fun.

2. Has the existing stock of boards been updated to 1.2? I was hoping to get one, and to hook it up to my Apple A1243 keyboard, if possible.

3. Yes, v1.2 is shipping now for new orders.

4. Just got my retro USB last week. Real dumb question, but others may ask as well: using this with a IIGS, how to emulate Open Apple-Control-Esc and Open Apple-Control-Reset? Figure I must be missing something obvious.

   Thanks for making awesome products for my beloved Apple IIs!

5. Reset = the power key, with the options described above
   Open Apple = the Command key (or Windows key on Windows-centric keyboards). Older ADB keyboards used to have both the open apple and the command cloverleaf icons on the same key, like this example: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Apple_Macintosh_ADB_Keyboard.jpg

6. Thanks for the info! I am using a nice wireless keyboard/mouse combo with the Wombat which are approximately the same dimensions of the IIGS originals: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XHY8J7M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

   They work great, just one more dumb question: 1) Which key is mapped to the Option key?

   Thanks again!

7. If you have Windows-style keyboard, alt = option and windows key = command. It works the same as when using a Windows-style keyboard on a modern iMac or MacBook.

8. Hello,

   I’m enjoying my USB Wombat greatly. Thanks for making this available! I’m loving the scroll wheel -> arrow keys mapping on the latest FW.

   First, a note: I’ve had mixed luck with PS2->USB adapters. I have an older PS2 KVM that I’m using along with the USB Wombat. On my 1.1 board (with the added capacitor, although that didn’t make a difference) 2 out of 4 USB->PS2 adapters I found worked, while the other two did not. The nonfunctional ones work fine on a PC, but on the Wombat board the mouse and keyboard receive power (apparently) but nothing comes through.

   I ordered a functioning one from Amazon with the name “SANOXY USB to PS/2 Adapter.” I would list the functioning USB IDs, but another adapter I ordered (quite different looking, I should add) has the same USB ID and strings but does not work.

   Second, a request: would it be possible to alter the mapping between Alt and Windows keys on a PC keyboard so that it feels like a Mac keyboard?

   Thanks!

9. Are you going PS2 -> KVM -> PS2 -> Adapter -> USB -> Wombat -> ADB -> Macintosh? Wow!!

   I hope to provide user-defined key remapping in the future, as other people have requested something similar. The current mapping for alt/windows matches Apple’s own USB keyboards, where “alt” and “option” are printed on the same key, and I’m following the standard they set.

10. Yup, there’s also a USB -> PS2 adapter on the mouse before the KVM, but that’s just a pin adapter as far as I know.

    Thanks for the response and thanks again for the product.

11. I am typing this on my Apple Extended Keyboard II, and the wombat works great!

    A few things though:
    1. Can we map the Power key on the ADB keyboard? Now that we have keymappings, it should be possible, but I don’t see it in the keymap generator page.

    2. Is it possible to enable right modifier keys? Is it a hardware limitation or can it be enabled?
    https://archive.org/stream/Guide_to_the_Macintosh_Family_Hardware_Second_Edition#page/n347/mode/2up says you need to set a register to enable this.

    Thanks for this great product!

12. Both are theoretically possible, but not implemented due to technical difficulties.

13. I have the wombat and it has been a true miracle worker for me. I am ordering one of these to solve the two device issue. If it works, you may wish to consider recommending them. They’re only $10

    Cute USB Mini 2-Port USB 2.0 Hub Splitter (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FJG5T4W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_u.M3zb72G7NEP

14. Do you have plans to support Macintosh JIS emulation?

15. No JIS plans at the moment, sorry. Eventually I’d like to open the firmware, so other people could pursue additions that are a bit too niche for me to justify the time required to do it myself. Specific 3rd-party trackpads, gamepads, JIS devices, maybe NeXT-specific stuff, etc.

16. Is it possible for the wombat to mount a usb flash drive using OS 9?

    • The Wombat is for HID input devices like keyboards and mice. Even if it were possible to mount external storage devices, it would be excruciatingly slow over ADB – like 1 KB per second. 🙂

17. Hello Steve! I want to give a huge “thank you!” for this magnificent piece of Hard-/Software! Finally a dream has come true: I can utilize optical mouses on my old Macs. I’m starting to put some money aside so I can get more of these for any Mac I own. 🙂 Again, thanks! Really!

18. Thanks so much for creating this little device it is amazing!

19. Steve, I have an old Summagraphic’s Bit Pad Plus digitizing pad that was originally used with my Mac Plus – way back when. Would there be any problem using the Wombat to connect that pad to a Mac Pro running OS X? (Fully understanding that the driver is going to be a whole ‘nother can of worms.)

20. A digitizing pad probably won’t work, sorry. The Wombat can translate standard mouse and keyboard events from ADB to USB, but doesn’t know about other devices like tablets, joysticks, dongles, etc.

21. Drats! Well another piece of ancient technology that’ll gather even more dust. But many thanks for your rapid and honest reply.

22. Hi Steve. Would this connect an Apple Extended Keyboard M0115 to a PC with little to no issue?

23. Yes, with the Wombat you could connect the AEK to any modern USB computer.

24. Thanks to your magical Wombat, I am typing this on a completely cherry AEK II. It was owned by a film production studio in Hollywood. Someone splashed coffee on the lower right corner. This resulted in the Num-pad \’.\’ key becoming unresponsive and the \’Enter\’ key sticking. The incident must have occurred when it was relatively new because they put it back in the plastic bag it shipped in and stuck it in a storage closet in the original cardboard box. After all this, it sat marked \”SURPLUS\” for an emergency, I guess, for like 20-26 years. I was able to completely disassemble it, washed the coffee off the keys with some sudsy dawn and disassembled the two ALPS switches, cleaning the guts.

    The end result of all this was a cosmetically perfect, un-yellowed AEK II. There is not a stain or mark on this thing and it now works absolutely perfectly. The cream ALPS switches feel crisp and new!

    Thank you! Typing on this takes me back to my second Mac, a IIci, back in 1990.

25. Got my wireless keyboard with built in trackpad working on my IIgs! Trackpad is a bit slow on the Logitech K400 I tried so I’m going to test some other keyboards as well to see if there is any difference. Thank you!

26. Would this work with ADB joysticks such as the Gravis MouseStick II?

27. Nope, sorry – it’s designed for keyboards and mice. See some of the comments above yours for more discussion of this.

28. I have a question. I would like to hook up a keyboard from a Macintosh II Classic to this device and then run the USB cable to a raspberry pi 3 I just wanted to know if this is doable or not? Thank you for your time.

    • You might need to use a powered USB hub with the RPi, because I think it can’t source as much current to USB devices as a normal computer can. Other than that it should work.

29. Okay that’s no problem at all 🙂 I looked at some other options this one looks the easiest and it looks the cleanest too. You really made my day. I’ll be placing an order in a few weeks. And I’ve shown my cousin your site and he’s likes some of your products for his old Mac equipment too! Thanks.

30. Can not get the Wombat to work fully in the ADB to USB mode. Mouse pointer moves and selects.Keyboard has no response other than B light on Wombat flashing twice on keystroke. Any suggestions?

31. I’ve got a rev 1.0 ‘Wombat’ and it seems a little flakey. I’ve updated its firmware to the latest and sometimes it just decides to crash; the light that usually flickers when USB input is detected just stops. Unplugging my USB hub and waiting for a few seconds before reconnecting it gets it going again. The weird thing is sometimes it’s really “crash happy” and others it’s rock solid for quite a while.

    Any ideas on getting it stable (tried different hubs, peripherals and such) or modifications that are required?

32. Please use the “contact” link at upper-right for support email, if you have specific customer support issues. The web page comments aren’t monitored regularly and are more intended for general-interest feature-related inquiries.

    @Al Unfortunately I’m not sure what more to suggest. If this is with your OS 9 machine, maybe it’s an OS configuration issue there? The hardware is covered by a 1-year warranty – use the contact link to get in touch if you suspect a hardware problem and want to do a product return. @Sarah could be power glitches, you might try running with a standby 5V power supply connected to CON2, if your ADB power supply is questionable.

33. Hi! I have an old Power Macintosh G3 Tower and keyboard that work well on Mac O.S. 8.6– but the ADB Mouse no longer does. The trackballs (I have three ADB mice and switch them out frequently now) stick, even with daily cleaning of the inner wheels and mousepads. So I’d like to connect an optical USB mouse (like the Macally ICEMini I use on my MacMini) to the G3 so that I can continue to operate the vintage versions of PageMaker 6, Poser 4, and Photoshop 5 that I use for personal creative projects. I’m willing to purchase the Wombat, case, and spare ADB cable if that setup will work. Please– PLEASE– reply and let me know if this is solution I need or if you know of another. Respectfully, Peter (Dr Zik).

34. Yes, that’s handled by the USB-to-ADB feature described above. Check out the video for a demonstration. You don’t necessarily need the case or cable accessories, but they make it more convenient to use the Wombat.

35. hey Steve… I ordered a Wombat on August 1 – will the device ship with 0.3.0 firmware?… thanks in advance…

36. The current lot of boards has 0.2.2 pre-installed. If you want the key remapping feature that was added in 0.3.0, you can update using the “Firmware Updates” process above.

37. Is there a way to increase the speed of the mouse movement in the Wombat? I using an Apple Desktop Bus Mouse II hooked up to my 2008 Mac Pro through an Apple Extended Keyboard and even though I have the Tracking Speed set to Fast (maximum) in the Mouse System Preferences it is still pretty slow. With my Magic Mouse I can move across the full width and height of two side by side monitors (30″ and 24″) without ever lifting my hand or the mouse off of the table, just extending my fingers. Thanks.

    • Mouse speed is adjusted through the operating system of whatever computer the Wombat is connected to. There’s no way to modify the speed on the Wombat hardware, sorry.

38. The issue was that I had both both mice connected at the same time and while the Mouse Preferences panel (which was customized for the Magic Mouse and all of its capabilities) settings affected the ADB mouse it seemed to use the same parameters (acceleration scaling, etc.) for the Magic Mouse for both mice. When I disconnected the mice and then plugged in just the ADB mouse the Mouse Preferences panel became very basic and the settings were then appropriate for the ADB mouse. The ADB mouse now works as expected. Posting this follow up in case anyone else has the same confusion.

39. I noticed an unusual issue. When I start my 2008 Mac Pro with the Wombat connected to a USB port, the CD tray ejects and the startup screen gives the “Prohibitory Symbol” (circle with slash through it) which, according to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204156 means that it can’t find a System Folder to boot from. My guess is that it thinks the Wombat is a USB thumb drive that I might be trying to boot from. If I unplug the Wombat it boots normally. Same thing happens whether I have a keyboard and/or mouse connected to the Wombat or not.

40. @Sean Manning, I have the same issue with my Mac Pro 2008. It also ejects the DVD tray but it has been doing that since I replaced the original DVD drive, so it is probably not connected.

41. @Sean Manning, just to clarify; I am also having the same boot issue with the Wombat and my Mac Pro 2008. In case that wasn\’t clear in my original post.

42. Steve,

    Will the Wombat work with a Wireless Keyboard/Trackpad Combo like the Logitech K400r for instance?

    • Wireless keyboards and mice are OK so long as they aren’t Bluetooth.

43. So this won’t work on a Mac Plus? I was about to get it to use in the printer port… it looks like an ADB port 🙁 I hate the plus keyboard!!!!

    • The Mac Plus is not ADB – it uses a totally different type of keyboard and mouse shared with the Mac 128K and 512K.

44. We are looking for an adapter to connect current USB devices (keyboard, trackball) via a KVM extender to an AT keyboard input on a legacy system.
    • Is ADB the same as PS/2?
    • Can your WOMBAT also function on an AT-keyboard input?
    • If not, do you have such a device?
    I am looking forward to your (quick) reply.

45. No, sorry. AT and PS/2 keyboards were used with 1980’s IBM computers. ADB is a completely different standard for 1980’s and 1990’s Apple keyboards and mice.

46. Hi Steve,

    As soon as I saw this, I couldn’t order it fast enough. ADB keyboards and mice are hard to find, and this will give me tons of options for what to use with my SE. Is there any kind of noticeable lag with keystrokes or mouse action by using the Wombat as a signal converter? I assume not but wanted to check.

    • There’s no perceptible delay – you can watch the videos for an example. If you measured it very accurately, the delay is probably in the 10-20 milliseconds range.

47. Just a High Five comment here…. Awesome device that let’s me use my AppleDesign computer with my work computer. Gets a lot of attention from my coworkers, especially those that have used Macs for years. THANKS

48. Sorry, That previous comment should have read: AppleDesign Keyboard

49. I have my Wombat and my AEK battleship running smoothly. Even have media keys mapped to function keys via Keyboard Maestro. Great product!

    I’m confused about the Power key, however. The description above implies that either (a) the power key on the keyboard works or (b) the blue button on the Wombat works as a substitute. I have the Wombat in ADB mode, plugged into my AEK at Con3 and the iMac at Con2. Con1 is empty. Pressing the blue button does nothing. Am I missing something?

50. The power key is for early ADB-equipped Macs like the Mac II series or Power Macs. It’s a true switch that makes an electrical connection to turn on the computer, rather than being a normal keyboard key. For the Wombat, it’s only relevant when in USB-to-ADB translation mode. USB-equipped Macs like the iMac don’t work this way and the physical power key isn’t used.