What's this ADB dongle?

[Purdy]

I have two of these ADB dongles and I have no idea what they do. Since there are no other ports on the dongle, I'm guessing it's a form of copy protection, but does anybody know for what application? Both of the dongles are cracked open like this. The only text I can read on the plastic says Alcon.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[eric]

That's strange - looks like a devboard (eg not a production board) and has a missing USB header on the bottom. Can you read the markings on the chip? also there is some words under the cable Pro.... ?

 

[Purdy]

I lifted up the cable and found a good clue. It says Pro Micron. So it looks like it's an Arduino board very similar to the link below, but minus the USB header. (you can even see the white outline for a USB header on the PCB)

https://www.amazon.com/OSOYOO-ATmega32U4-arduino-Leonardo-ATmega328/dp/B012FOV17O

My best guess is that it was a unfinished ADB-USB adapter? The original owner is sadly deceased, but he did not appear to be a component level tinkerer. I didn't see a single soldering iron among in his workshop.

EDIT: I did a little more digging, and it's definitively an Arduino board with an ADB interface. The pullup resistor matches the config of some Arduino ADB/USB adapters . But it has no USB port. Unfinished ADB to PS/2 adapter? Is there anything else people are using Arduinos for on an ADB-era Mac?

 

[eric]

Could be some unfinished ADB project like a https://tvc-16.science/adbuino-ps2.html

 

[warmech]

Huh... Alcon. They're an optics company here in Fort Worth off of I-35W. What on earth is that thing, lol? Surely that couldn't have come from them, could it?

 

[Yoda]

It's not quite the same graphic, but I wondered the same thing.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

I think they used the plastic from an Alcon container. I agree this is a homebrew device.