Keyboard/Monitor/Mouse AND Speaker switch???

[Danny Hoskins]

Hey all,

Scoping around ebay for a switch that allows both my computers to share
all the external hardware (the printer is shared on the network)...I can
find switches for keyboard/mouse/monitor but none include speaker pass
throughs. I post here because this even sounds like it might be an easy
thing for a beginning electronics hobbiest to build/make. If anyone
knows where I can find one or where I might even find a schematic for
such a thing please let me know...I'd like to take care of this ASAP.

D

 

[Fred Aspect]

Hey all,

Scoping around ebay for a switch that allows both my computers to share
all the external hardware (the printer is shared on the network)...I can
find switches for keyboard/mouse/monitor but none include speaker pass
throughs. I post here because this even sounds like it might be an easy
thing for a beginning electronics hobbiest to build/make. If anyone
knows where I can find one or where I might even find a schematic for
such a thing please let me know...I'd like to take care of this ASAP.

D

Hi there,

I did have one, and I think it was by Airlink. But I didn't bother
wiring up the speaker and mike pass-throughs as the sound quality was
severely deteriorated by the thing. So my advice would be to watch for
that if you find a cheap solution.

Fred.

 

[aleX]

Hi there,

I did have one, and I think it was by Airlink. But I didn't bother
wiring up the speaker and mike pass-throughs as the sound quality was
severely deteriorated by the thing. So my advice would be to watch for
that if you find a cheap solution.

Fred.

I just saw the OP in another group. Good to know i'm not alone in
getting a poor sound from my audio KVM, I've long thought it might just
have been a faulty unit I bought. Yes, I got the impression they used
cable that impeded the signal, cheap cable that's too thick for the job.
Only way to use it is to run it through amplified speakers, and as you
say it distorts when this is done. Maybe there are more expensive KVM's
that handle audio better.

 

[Sodium]

Fred Aspect wrote:
I just saw the OP in another group. Good to know i'm not alone in
getting a poor sound from my audio KVM, I've long thought it might just
have been a faulty unit I bought. Yes, I got the impression they used
cable that impeded the signal, cheap cable that's too thick for the job.
Only way to use it is to run it through amplified speakers, and as you
say it distorts when this is done. Maybe there are more expensive KVM's
that handle audio better.

I don't have a KVM with audio but I have a Viewsonic NS which is an external
TV tuner that uses audio pass through, even this expensive piece of kit
degrades my audio quality. Lukily I have an MP3 player aux hookup on my
Klipsch speakers so I can just hookup the NS output to that when I need to
use it and don't have to use their POS passthrough.

 

[aleX]

I don't have a KVM with audio but I have a Viewsonic NS which is an external
TV tuner that uses audio pass through, even this expensive piece of kit
degrades my audio quality. Lukily I have an MP3 player aux hookup on my
Klipsch speakers so I can just hookup the NS output to that when I need to
use it and don't have to use their POS passthrough.

I wonder why manufacturers skimp on audio cables in these devices, I
mean I've got throwaway walkman headphones which sound way better than
my KVM. It would cost next to nothing to put a more suitable wire in
these things. Maybe no-one's ever complained

 

[Fred Aspect]

I wonder why manufacturers skimp on audio cables in these devices, I
mean I've got throwaway walkman headphones which sound way better than
my KVM. It would cost next to nothing to put a more suitable wire in
these things. Maybe no-one's ever complained

Yes, seems odd. Could this have something to do with the switch mechanism?

Fred.

 

[aleX]

aleX wrote:


Yes, seems odd. Could this have something to do with the switch mechanism?

Fred.

Good point, I'd never considered that.
Possibly the cable is fine for the purpose but the signal gets degraded
going through the 'switch' component. I'd have a look in mine, but it's
a sealed moulded-plastic unit. If it's a mechanical switch I can see the
signal degrading through a large metal component, if it's a circuitboard
'switch' maybe there's still enough resistance there to degrade the
signal. Possibly for the price level they have to compromise quality.