I've read all about how bad it is to plug or unplug ADB devices while the mac is running, and also found software that resets the ADB bus, so if you have plugged or unplugged something it will work normally (if it hasn't been damaged already)
Is there any way the ADB bus can be reset by hardware (like installing a push-button somewhere), or any way that would allow me to plug and unplug keyboard and mice safely?
is the only off-the-shelf solution of which I know.
However, I'm thinking you could wire up a DPDT switch to do what you want, switching the power and its attendant ground open (don't think you'd need or want to switch the data circuit.)
Maybe one of our more knowledgable members can suggest a specific circuit . . . for instance would there be any need to add any sort of 'surge' protection inline, like a capacitor or something?
I've hot-swapped ADB stuff on everything from PB1xx to B+W and have never blow'd up anything. :coolmac:
YMMV of course.
I'm curious as to why you'd want to bother with a HW solution? And on which Mac(s) are you doing this swapping? Thing is, in Macs newer than say the II series I think you're pretty safe. Apple upgraded the ADB circuit to handle live disconnects, even though they still said to not do it. PowerBooks are the exception IIRC, they seem more prone to ADB failure than are desktops.
And even if you do have a HW solution, you'll probably need to reset the ADB bus anyway after adding or removing a device, else the system may be a bit wonky. Maybe you could write a simple AppleScript to do the reset with one click, though I dunno if ADB Parser has a AS lib or not, don't have it with me just now so can't check.
dan k