What's the smallest ever mechanical AT or PS/2 keyboard?

[DeChief]

Hey all, I was browsing some auction sites today and came across an absolutely TINY DOS PC - like, I'm talking around 2 and a half 3.5" floppy drives wide, and maybe 1 and a half deep. It must be the smallest DOS PC I've ever seen and I want it so badly, but the seller has it ridiculously priced and refuses to come down enough (in fact, after some back and forth, he put the price up by $60... )

Anyway, this got me thinking about small form-factor AT and PS/2 mechnical keyboards that would match its size, and I can't really think of many. You guys have the most knowledge about keyboards so I thought it was worth asking!

I know that Filco made some small ones like the Ortek series and Monterey K110, but was anybody else making mechnical keyboards that small? Was it even possible for them to be much smaller than that in the 90's? Probably yes, but I'm guessing it wasn't "in style" so to speak.

[Muirium]

With a description like that, you might want to show us a pic so we know what you’re talking about!

Off the top of my head, there wasn’t anything (mechanical) smaller than the K110 back then, but I know I’m good at forgetting the perfectly obvious so I quite expect someone to point that out.

Layouts wise, 60% was certainly a thing, before the 90s. For instance, 1984’s finest:



And of course, at least as old as that:


{My Kishsaver is dated 1984 internally, and it’s a late one.)

But the Apple M0110 and the IBM 4704 are both fairly bulky, even with their commendably compact layouts. Pretty sure my K110 bests both of them in pure size terms, coming in a little bigger than the HHKB. (And neither of them were AT, naturally.)

[DeChief]

With a description like that, you might want to show us a pic so we know what you’re talking about!

Off the top of my head, there wasn’t anything (mechanical) smaller than the K110 back then, but I know I’m good at forgetting the perfectly obvious so I quite expect someone to point that out.

Layouts wise, 60% was certainly a thing, before the 90s. For instance:



And of course:



But the Apple M0110 and the IBM 4704 are both fairly bulky, even with their commendably compact layouts. Pretty sure my K110 bests both of them in pure size terms, coming in a little bigger than the HHKB.

I was going to show the PC, but I don't want somebody else to buy one at his silly price He's selling 3 of them and according to some others I spoke to, the listing has been up in some form or another since 2016! As soon as he sells 1, there's no chance he'll lower the price, so I'd rather not risk it.

Ah yes, the IBM 4704 is very nice and quite small, but bulky as you said - and I thoroughly dislike the feeling of the M0110, not that either can easily be used with an AT connector anyway. Somehow I completely missed the 75% page on the wiki so that's probably a good start and yes, the K110 appears to be the winner so far. It's possible that the Datacomp DCK84 is slightly less deep but it's difficult to tell without both in front of me in person.

[Muirium]

Oh, don’t forget the [wiki]Marquardt Mini[/wiki]. I’ve got one of those, too, and it beats the K110 on thickness by quite a margin. Quiet too. It’s one I’d like to Bluetooth someday.

[diseeease]

What about the Cherry G84?

I know it was available definitely in the mid 90ies, not sure when it was introduced. But it's quite tiny and mechanical (with ML switches).

wiki/Cherry_G84-4100

[stratokaster]

Hey all, I was browsing some auction sites today and came across an absolutely TINY DOS PC - like, I'm talking around 2 and a half 3.5" floppy drives wide, and maybe 1 and a half deep. It must be the smallest DOS PC I've ever seen and I want it so badly

Oh, this brings back some fond memories! My first "real" PC was a tiny 16 MHz 286 computer with a whopping 4MB of RAM which I got for free from my uncle when he upgraded to a 386 PC. It was basically book-sized and everything was packed very tightly inside the case. When I opened it to desolder the old RTC battery and install a standard CR2032 battery holder, I discovered that the motherboard was made by Acer (the outside of the case was not marked at all).

It was very fast for a 286 PC, it even ran Civilization I and Wolfenstein 3D very well.

It also came with a very sharp 9" MicroStar-branded color SVGA monitor which supported resolutions up to 800x600. I regret ever letting it go.

[Muirium]

Civ on a small screen in the dark ages before home internet… cue the rose tinted glasses of shared nostalgia.

You could see the tides, the tides!

[Findecanor]

It must be the smallest DOS PC I've ever seen ...

Smaller than Atari Portfolio or was it a desktop?

[DeChief]

Great suggestions guys, thanks!

What about the Cherry G84?

I know it was available definitely in the mid 90ies, not sure when it was introduced. But it's quite tiny and mechanical (with ML switches).

wiki/Cherry_G84-4100

Ah yes, I've always liked the look of this one, but apparently it doesn't feel great to type on.

Oh, this brings back some fond memories! My first "real" PC was a tiny 16 MHz 286 computer with a whopping 4MB of RAM which I got for free from my uncle when he upgraded to a 386 PC. It was basically book-sized and everything was packed very tightly inside the case. When I opened it to desolder the old RTC battery and install a standard CR2032 battery holder, I discovered that the motherboard was made by Acer (the outside of the case was not marked at all).

It was very fast for a 286 PC, it even ran Civilization I and Wolfenstein 3D very well.

It also came with a very sharp 9" MicroStar-branded color SVGA monitor which supported resolutions up to 800x600. I regret ever letting it go.

Oh wow, a 9" colour SVGA monitor?? That's insane! The smallest VGA CRT I've got at the moment is an IBM 4707 E01 which is monochrome (and according to the specs online, it also supports MCGA and CGA!), but I would kill for a 9" colour CRT. You wouldn't happen to have any pics of your monitor would you? Or maybe a model number? I did a quick search and couldn't find it.

Smaller than Atari Portfolio or was it a desktop?

It's a desktop, and it's difficult to tell but it may only be slightly wider than a Portfolio and around the same thickness - definitely deeper though.