Hi,
>Is everyone agreed that phone cable needs modification?
If I place the two plugs of a Macintosh Plus keyboard cable next to each other (side by side) on a table, both pointing in the same direction, with both tabs up, the wires are arranged as follows:
yellow-green-red-black yellow-green-red-black
Placing the two plugs of a handset cable from one Swedish telephone the same way, results in the following:
yellow-green-red-black black-red-green-yellow
Both cables use the same type of plug (4P4C).
As shown by this simple comparison, at least these two cables are different.
See also the 'Data port' text in this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4P4C#4P4C
In the case of the Swedish telephone handset cable above, it appears as if turning one of the two plugs 180 degrees (using a crimping tool) would result in a cable that could be used for a keyboard. However, this is not a recommendation. Proceed at your own risk if you decide to carry on with any experimental modifications. I have not tested any modified cables.
You should check whether randomly chosen telephone handset cables in your country have the same wiring/colours as the one I examined.
Jim may also want to verify the wiring and colours with another Macintosh Plus keyboard cable.
Jan