• Combines the signals of two keyboards (2 PS2 Females)
• 3 Foot PS2 Male (keyboard-type) connector
• Manages the PS2 protocol which by itself does not allow more than 1 keyboard
• Routes host response back to the last keyboard to 'talk'
• No additional power needed .. powered by host PS2 port
• Keyboards are 'Hot-Pluggable'
• Low cost

• Systems needing multiple keyboard or keyboard devices connected simultaneously
• POS or scanner systems which must allow keyboard override when scan fails

       Smart-Y is a small module (2.6" X 1.7" X 0.8") which allows two keyboards to communicate with one PS2 host port. PS2 hardware and protocol do not allow multiple keyboards to be connected with a simple Y cable because standard keyboard clock and data signals are arranged for point-to-point (one to one) communication only. (See PS2 facts) Smart-Y provides hardware that auto-switches between keyboards as each needs to communicate with the host. The host acts as though only a single keyboard is connected. Smart-Y can be used with certain restrictions imposed by the somewhat limited PS2 protocol:

1. Only one keyboard can talk at a time -- this means that keys cannot be pressed on both keyboards simultaneously or the keys will get corrupted. There must be a minimum 'quiet' time of 10 milliseconds between a keypress on one keyboard, and a subsequent keypress on the other keyboard. This is easily satisfied if the two keyboard devices are used one at a time or alternately.
2. Since the host tracks the states of only one Caps Lock, Num Lock, and other LED keys, the LEDs can easily get out of sync with the host. If these keys are generally not used, or there are no LEDs on the 2nd keyboard device, this should not cause operational problems but must be considered for each application.