NeXT documentation is scattered across the corners of the web, much of it on personal sites and forum threads from the early 2000s that risk going dark. This page collects the references I’ve actually used while working on NeXTstation Color and related machines.
Hardware Reference
- NeXT Color 13W3 Video Pinout — Pin-by-pin breakdown of the 13W3 video connector on the NeXTstation Color, including the active-low power-on signal that lets you boot the machine without a keyboard.
- Obsolete Computer Museum: NeXTstation Color — Identification photos, specs, and parts notes for the color CPU.
- ADB vs. non-ADB NeXT Keyboards — Forum thread that explains the split between the proprietary NeXT keyboard protocol and the later ADB-based machines.
Keyboard and Mouse Protocol
- NeXT Keyboard Protocol Reverse-Engineering Notes — Wire-level protocol documentation. The starting point if you’re building a NeXT-keyboard-to-USB adapter or trying to drive a NeXT keyboard from anything else.
- USB NeXT Keyboard with Arduino Micro (Adafruit) — Adafruit’s working build of a NeXT-to-USB adapter, with schematics and code.
- Keyboard-to-Display and Display-to-Keyboard Pinouts (Adafruit) — The mini-DIN pinouts for the original CRT-MegaPixel-keyboard loop that the SoundBox later replaced.
- kbdbabel: Every Keyboard Socket Pinout in the World — Not NeXT-specific, but a comprehensive cross-reference for identifying mystery keyboard connectors that comes up surprisingly often.
Cabling
- NeXT Color Y-Cable to VGA — My own wiring diagram for the Y-cable that splits 13W3 video to VGA and DB19 keyboard/mouse to the SoundBox. Includes the pinouts for all three connector ends.
- Asterontech’s NeXT Y-Cable build notes — An alternative community reference for the same cable.
Vendors
- Blackhole Inc. NeXT Parts on eBay — One of the better current sources for NeXT parts — boards, cables, peripherals, and the occasional working SoundBox.