Aside from the guy in Italy, the remaining applications I still have to support are all wire-wrapped.

They guy in Italy can wire the circuit only AFTER I tell him what the pinout is. The problem with fit is in the packaging, and not necessarily on a PCB. This thing is not likely to become a PCB any time soon until I find a currently available component with which to do this job. It's come up quite frequently, as parallel output keyboards have become scarce and/or costly.

A fully functional PC/AT keyboard is available nearly any time I need one at the local thrift store, which I routinely visit while looking for interesting knick-knacks, pieces of furniture, or odd kitchen appliances I want to try before buying a new one. They typically cost about $3. In the unlikely event I'll have to provide nultiples, where thrift-store stock would be inappropriate, new PS/2 keyboards aren't expensive either.

What's important is to be able to support the function over the long term. Whereas a couple of distributors (Future, Arrow) claim to have the old 'J1A, they don't have stock. Freescale claims it's still available but not recommended for new designs, I doubt this will continue to be the case. For that reason, I'll be looking for a current-generation component that fits the form and supply voltage of the existing applications that I have to support.

RE