Subject: REVIEW: NorthGate OmniKey Ultra
From: comp.sys.amiga.reviews Moderator <[email-masked]>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

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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
<[email-masked]>. -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.

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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, <UP>, PAGE UP, <LEFT>, OMNI, <RIGHT>, END,  <DOWN> 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.]