Hi everyone, I recently picked up a near mint WP-2 to complement my NEC PC8201A. Whilst researching the former, I came across an interesting article on "electronic typewriters". This mentioned some different AlphaSmart models, including the Dana. This had a pretty neat way of transferring text, which emulated a keyboard.
You just plug the Dana into virtually any PC/Mac/etc and the Dana appears to the PC as a standard USB HID keyboard. Now you just fire up your text editor of choice and click send on the Dana. Voila - the text is transferred! OK, not the most efficient way of transferring a file, but very universal and saves having to use any special software on the PC. I then did some Google searching and found an RS232 to USB HID keyboard adaptor cable on eBay. Took about 2 weeks to arrive from China, but I am pleased to say it works with both machines (no real surprise there). You need a null modem (swap Rx and Tx lines) and don't extend the RS232 too far, otherwise the adapter won't work (that threw me for a while). Might help a few people out there who want a painless way to transfer text files from Kyocera clones and similar devices (like the WP-2). Regards, Alastair
