The coolest hardware I’ve seen for Amstrad PCW is PCW IO. PCW IO is an open source project developed by habisoft. Amstrad PCW allows you to attach a keyboard, mouse, joystick to the computer. It was a reason for preference for me, although generally only people with PCW motherboards use it. With my newly acquired Amstrad PCW, I decided to write my articles and books on Locoscript. Locoscript is user-friendly, but unfortunately it’s impossible to type fast with the PCW 8256 keyboard. for this i decided to get PCW IO to use PS2 or USB keyboard. you will also need a mouse if you are going to get symbiface and use symbos on PCW. It also provides PCW IO mouse solution. After giving you the original habisoft link, I will also share the files here. In the future, unfortunately, sites may be deleted. For this, I will also have stored the files on this site’s server.
Original PCW IO – Habisoft Link: http://www.habisoft.com/pcwwiki/doku.php?id=en:hardware:perifericos:pcw-io
Scheme, BOM, Routing Materials
Gerber file for press PCB
It provides extra features by using some unused keys on the PS/2 keyboard as follows:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Escape | PCW hardware reset |
| F2 | Save configuration |
| F4 | Load configuration |
| F6 | Adjust mouse sensitivity |
| F8 | Joystick programming mode |
| F12 | Easter egg |
| Num Lock | Enable/disable keyboard |
| Scroll lock | Enable/disable mouse |