Making and using a Macintosh ADB KVM (without the “M”)

One of the problems I have on my benches is the lack of space… those old computers do take a lot of space and, having them set on a bench with all the keyboards is really messy. So, I thought that having an ADB KVM (Keyboard Video and Mouse) switch would allow me to share the same keyboard / mouse setupo with a couple (or more) Macs.

I started looking for a solution like that, without success… well, there is a solution provided by Dr Bott called Moniswitch, which basically was an ADB KVM solution. But it is a bit costly and, in my case, I really didn’t need the Video switch (mainly the ADBs, only). So, spending that much money to something I would not use in full didn’t seem right. So I started thinking on making one on my own… since this device would be mainly passive, I shoul dbe able to create one using a roteary dial of sorts… but then the gods smilled at me… I saw at eBay someone selling a Mac serial switch… yes, serial, not ADB. But I knew I could adapt it to my needs, as the ADB plug would fit a serial connector if you just get rid of a small tab in the plug.

So, £15 later, the serial switch arrived. And I modded to be used for ADB. The video showing this follows below.