[Heath] HD-8999

[Terry Perdue]

Hi Ken -

(I hope this is the way to reply to your question, as I haven't done 
that in a long time.)

I designed the HD-8999 and HD-1410 (and SA-5010), so you've reached the 
right guy!

Unfortunately, what you'd like to do would be pretty difficult. You'd 
have to rewire your curved keyboard to match the matrix in the HD-8999 
keyboard, making appropriate substitutions for the special keys, and 
then use a multi-wire cable to connect the two.

But... It turns out I also designed a keyer for AEA, the KK-1, which 
allows you to use an external keyboard, and even use a 'hotkey' to 
switch the keyboard between the keyer and your computer if you want to 
save table space. It also has the code practice modes. It was designed 
for use with the older keyboards that used a DIN connector, but I assume 
it would work with an adapter to the newer style - never tried it. You 
can also plug external paddles into it, OR use the paddle jack as an 
RS-232 interface to a computer for loading memories. I have a new unit, 
still in the box, but it's been a long time since I've used one, so I've 
forgotten a lot of the details. I think the memory size is the same as 
the HD-8999, but I'm not sure. And you'd have to build a simple RS-232 
to TTL convertor to use it with the computer. AEA offered a cable that 
had the convertor built into the DB-9 connector. There wasn't much to it 
- just a couple transistors and a few other parts.

You might find a KK-1 on ebay. I'll probably never use mine, but have 
kept it for nostalgia sake. But I might trade it for something - test 
equipment is always of interest. Let me know if you're interested.

Terry K8TP
k8tp at comcast.net