N3150B - How to connect a keyboard internally

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   Hi,
I just acquired a N3150B Mini-ITX mainboard to replace a VIA EPIA LN10000EG board in an embedded PC.

Replacing the VIA EPIA with the ASROCK board worked fine, but I am "missing" a connector on the N3150B that has been connected on the EPIA board. On the EPIA borad, there were jumpers that connected the external PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard to the board's PS/2 controller. One could remove the jumpers for KB_CLK and KB_DATA and connect a keyboard internally. In case of my embedded solution, it was the front panel display with a number of keys that connected to the PS/2 controller this way.

Now the question: Can I connect a keyboard internally on my new N3150B board? Where could I connect KB_CLK and KB_DATA wires to? Can I solder the wires somewhere directly to the motherboard?

Thanks!

Markus

P.S. "Missing" keyboard connector aside, the N3150B is so much better than the old EPIA board: way faster, way cooler :-)

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mv038856 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jun 2015 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote mv038856 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: N3150B - How to connect a keyboard internally Posted: 30 Jun 2015 at 10:54pm
	Hi, I just acquired a N3150B Mini-ITX mainboard to replace a VIA EPIA LN10000EG board in an embedded PC. Replacing the VIA EPIA with the ASROCK board worked fine, but I am "missing" a connector on the N3150B that has been connected on the EPIA board. On the EPIA borad, there were jumpers that connected the external PS/2 ports for mouse and keyboard to the board's PS/2 controller. One could remove the jumpers for KB_CLK and KB_DATA and connect a keyboard internally. In case of my embedded solution, it was the front panel display with a number of keys that connected to the PS/2 controller this way. Now the question: Can I connect a keyboard internally on my new N3150B board? Where could I connect KB_CLK and KB_DATA wires to? Can I solder the wires somewhere directly to the motherboard? Thanks! Markus P.S. "Missing" keyboard connector aside, the N3150B is so much better than the old EPIA board: way faster, way cooler :-)

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 24653	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jun 2015 at 11:16pm
	The board does not appear to have an internal PS2 port header, the easiest thing to do would be to make a connection that routes through 1 of the PS2 ports on the IO panel. Maybe cut the cord of an old PS2 keyboard and hook up the KB_CLK and KB_DATA wires to that then route it back into the case to keep it tidy. Soldering to the board itself would void warranty but if that isn't important to you I guess you could solder the wires directly to the PS2 keyboard header from the under side of the board. Just look up the PS2 connection schematic to see what pins to solder to. Would the device not work on a USB header? I am not overly familiar with what you are trying to do here so that is the best advice I can give, welcome to the forums

mv038856 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jun 2015 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote mv038856 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jun 2015 at 11:33pm
	Hi Xaltar, thanks for the immediate reply! The "external connection" certainly is an option and before I destroy my board, I probably will go down that road. But looking at the N3150B's PCB, the board appears to be prepared to sport a number of additional sockets that are not present on the N3150B though. Some of them are very close to the PS/2 ports. So I was wondering if one of those might be the one I am looking for. But one would need "insider knowledge" or detailed info on the board layout to be sure what those unsoldered sockets would be used for. Thanks again! Markus

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 24653	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jul 2015 at 12:09am
	I noticed that too but I am afraid I have no clue as to their purpose. Looking at the other Braswell boards it shares the same board design as the N3050B-ITX but that does not have those headers utilized either. I still remember what the PS2 header looks like and it looks like there are 2 headers that could be suitable but I would hazard a guess that they are not and even if they were they likely lack the circuitry to be operable. If you want to solder to the board I think your best bet would be to solder directly to the PS2 pins from the IO panel's PS2 ports. Edited by Xaltar - 01 Jul 2015 at 12:16am

mv038856 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jun 2015 Location: Germany Status: Offline Points: 5	Post Options Post Reply Quote mv038856 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jul 2015 at 12:50am
	I had another close look at the picture of the board and I think those unsoldered sockets are rather for connecting an internal LCD/TFT screen. There is also the empty LVDS Socket and there are connector labels that appear to belong to no connector but could relate to the empty sockets. The labels are PNL_PWR1 which could mean panel power or BLT_PWR1 which could mean back light power and so on... So soldering from below the PS/2 socket or the external solution are the clear favorites. I think I will try the external solution first to see if it yields the desired results. If it does and if it does not look too bad, i will jst leave it that way. If it looks terrible, I will investigate the soldering solution... Thanks again for your advice! Markus