From: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Moderator Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Jason L. Tibbitts III Subject: REVIEW: NorthGate OmniKey Ultra Keywords: hardware, keyboard, commercial Path: karazm.math.uh.edu!amiga-reviews Distribution: world Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.hardware --text follows this line-- The Northgate OmniKey Ultra keyboard was originally designed for PC compatibles but can also work with the Amiga 2000. Northgate is a maker of clones, keyboards and clone peripherals and is a very highly rated outfit. Their warranty is one of the best in the business, their prices are good and their customer support is excellent. [This was sent to me by Charles Hill of AMReport fame. The last working address I have for him is: Charles Hill/InfoTrak <76370.3045@compuserve.com>. -JLT3] Northgate OmniKey Ultra ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My keyboard cost me a grand total of $113 and that included keycaps specific to the Amiga, a keycap puller, and UPS ground shipping. I ordered directly from Northgate as I've dealt with them before. The manual is short but concise. Unlike most clone items that work with the Amiga, the manual does NOT contain errata sheets dealing with the Amiga but rather has the Amiga information written write in. The keyboard itself is made of molded plastic, but is weighted so it won't move unless you want it to. There are 5 groups of keys which add up to 118 total keys. The keyboard layout is different from the Amiga, so it takes some getting used to. - ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | |X|X| |X|X|X|X| |X|X|X|X| |X|X|X|X| |X|X|X| |=|=|=| | | | | |X|X| |X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|111| |X|X|X| |X|X|X|X| | | |X|X| |22|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|33| |X|X|X| |X|X|X|X| | | |X|X| |44|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|3333| |X|X|X| |X|X|X|X| | | |X|X| |555|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|555|X| |X|X|X| |X|X|X|6| | | |X|X| |77|8|99|0000000000000|99|8|XX| |XX|XX| |XXX|X|6| | | | - ------------------------------------------------------------------- The two keys in the upper left are F11 & F12. These are remapped to be something else and will be dealt with later. The key group on the far left is the function keys. These work like the normal function keys on the Amiga. The Amiga 2000 has the fkeys along the top, so this takes some getting used to. The three groups of four keys each along the top are the SFkeys, 1 through 12. These keys are defined by the keyboard as either SHIFT Fx , CONTROL-Fx or ALTERNATE-Fx. This makes it easier when using macros so you don't have to reach for the modifier keys all the time. The next set of three keys (along the top) are keyboard keys (if that makes any sense). The first is labeled "COMMA/PERIOD LOCK" and when you press it, you cannot access the <, >, or ; keys without pressing it again. This helps when typing abbreviations like U.S.A. so you don't end up with U>S>A>. Believe me, this comes in handy at times. The second key in that set is the RATE SELECT key. Since this is controlled by software in the Amiga, it is remapped to something else and not used as RATE SELECT. The third key is the SF SELECT key and it allows you to choose the modifier key for the SF keys. Pressing SF SELECT then the SHIFT key make the SF keys act like shifted-function keys. Pressing ALT or CONTROL after SF SELECT makes the SF keys act like control-function or alternate-function accordingly. Pressing the ESC key after SF SELECT make the SF keys act like regular Fkeys (for those who like their function keys on top.) The SF key also lets you choose what type of keyboard layout to use: QWERTY, Dvorak Standard, Dvorak Left-Hand, or Dvorak Right-Hand. This overrides the dip-switch setting. The big group of keys in the middle are the typewriter keys. ESC is located in the upper left, and the numbers are for the following list: 1 = Backspace 2 = TAB 3 = Return 4 = Control 5 = Shift 6 = Numeric pad ENTER 7 = CAPS Lock 8 = Alternate 9 = Amiga Keys 0 = Space Bar The \| key is located below the RETURN key and directly below it is the `~ key. The next group to the right of the typewriter keys is the directional keys. The tops three are PRINT SCREEN, SCROLL LOCK and PAUSE, which are remapped since they have no function on the Amiga. The middle 6 are HOME, , PAGE UP, , OMNI, , END, and PAGE DOWN. These are the cursor control keys, and they seem to work fine except with programs that map their own cursor control keys (like CygnusED). Don't ask me what the OMNI key does, as the manual doesn't say and I can't figure it out. The bottom two of that group are HELP and DELETE. The last group is the numeric key pad. The top row is NUM LOCK, /, *, and -. The NUM LOCK is remapped since it really doesn't work on the Amiga. The rest of the keys are normal (I think). ---------- When I received the keyboard (5 days after ordering it) the cable wasn't making a good connection with the computer. I called Northgate and explained the problem and they shipped a new cable out via second day air (UPS). The new cable worked fine. No charges entailed at all. ---------- The keymaps that come with the Amiga are pretty much useless, since they don't recognize any of the special keys. All the keymap editors are just as bad, as they are for standard A2000 keyboards and don't take into account extra keys. Greg Cunningham of Baud Bandit fame came to the rescue. Greg wrote a keymap editor specifically for the Northgate and it works great. He even included the ASM source code so anyone could modify the default definitions he used. Greg's program remaps the F11 key as ESC, the F12 as CTRL-C, the PRINT SCREEN key as NUL, SCROLL LOCK as CTRL-S, PAUSE as CTRL-Q and NUM LOCK as (. The program is a must for anyone with the Ultra from Northgate. ----------- The keyboard is great, and even has a small button on back to reset the computer (like a CTRL-A-A). I would recommend the Northgate OmniKey Ultra for anyone who want to replace their keyboard on the A2000 or A2500. [NOTE: The OmniKey Ultra does not work properly with the A3000. The Ultra waits for a certain signal from the computer to start working and when you first plug it in to an A3000, everything is fine. Any warm boot thereafter will result in the OmniKey being "dead" for about three minutes. There is a "fix" out called TICK_NORTHGATE. It is about 800 bytes long and is in LZH format. The source code is included and it fools the Ultra into thinking it got its signal. This file is necessary to properly use an OmniKey Ultra with an Amiga 3000.]