IDENTIFY THE KEYBOARD thread

[keycap]

Looks like blue alps! I have the same discoloration in the stems as you do:
IMG_0264.jpeg

They look rather like Monterey Alps Switches to me.

Monterey switches have a perfectly rectangular stem and it's quite thinner in comparison. Those are SKCM Blue.

[TNT]

https://ifdesign.com/en/winner-ranking/ ... 5504/11452

https://www.computerwoche.de/article/28 ... emens.html

Thanks! Probably this switch, according to DT: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=14663&p=330697&hil ... em#p330697

[Abb0]

Hello everyone,

I found this keyboard alone without a console/computer. Does anyone know what it is? Thank you

keyboard.jpg (583.38 KiB) Viewed 7925 times

[nac5605]

Does anyone know what this is, or at least what switches it uses? To me it looks to be some variant of F/Fs or domes.

The keyboard has no ID or serial number on the outside, and the seller has no idea what it is besides the obvious Harris manufacturer.

[The Keyboard Oracle]

The Harris Challenger Information Display System.

harris.jpg (289.39 KiB) Viewed 7640 times

Datapro_C25_Harris.pdf

(4.92 MiB) Downloaded 277 times

Page 25.

[OleVoip]

https://ifdesign.com/en/winner-ranking/ ... 5504/11452

https://www.computerwoche.de/article/28 ... emens.html

Thanks! Probably this switch, according to DT: viewtopic.php?f=33&t=14663&p=330697&hil ... em#p330697

No, I reckon it's another Siemens switch, which Siemens used especially for text systems before the introduction of the STB family, cf. This post, type nr. 2, viewtopic.php?p=330697#p330697

[Leshe]

Just spotted this fella on Facebook marketplace, does anyone recognize the computer or if there is any way to confirm the model? I've read that kb-101s and 6010s are pretty much identical

[Findecanor]

does anyone recognize the computer or if there is any way to confirm the model?

I think the label says "CLONE" in red letters with the N and E being a ligature.
The text below that is harder to see, but I read it as "TUENG PC".

The thing to look for is an IBM PC clone case that has the label in the exact same position and size. Apparently, that variety is not too common.

[Polecat]

"Turbo PC". Generic term, probably just meant the motherboard had a 6 MHz or 8MHz mode, instead of the base 4,77. Might not be branded at all. Many XT clones were built from generic parts, either by the dealer or owner.

Keyboard could be a KB-102A or KB-102AS, or 6012 (all Alps), or a 6312 or 6512 (Acer slider-over-something). Upper cases were interchangeable. Need to see the label.

edited to correct 101A/101AS to 102A/102AS

does anyone recognize the computer or if there is any way to confirm the model?

I think the label says "CLONE" in red letters with the N and E being a ligature.
The text below that is harder to see, but I read it as "TUENG PC".

The thing to look for is an IBM PC clone case that has the label in the exact same position and size. Apparently, that variety is not too common.

[keycap]

Label says Clone Turbo PC. At least they're pretty straight forward with admitting they're a clone! But yes, one of many PC XT clones of the time. Acer has nothing to do with it, just happened to find its way to being paired with this system. As always, if it can come with blue alps, don't be surprised if it actually has white alps.

[Dan]

Anyone knows what kind of switches the Triumph Adler Twen 180 plus typewriter uses? Found it at a thrift store, but i couldn't look underneath the caps to see for myself... They felt nice when pushed, linear mechanical, but i'm not sure what exactly.

[Findecanor]

Anyone knows what kind of switches the Triumph Adler Twen 180 plus typewriter uses? Found it at a thrift store, but i couldn't look underneath the caps to see for myself... They felt nice when pushed, linear mechanical, but i'm not sure what exactly.

There is a list in the Wiki, where it is listed as having "membrane switches", based on a conversation with a German distributor of TA typewriters.
I suppose that could be some kind of spring-over-membrane switch: different types were common on mechanical typewriters.

AFAIK, Triumph-Adler typewriters with Cherry switches and grey keys had Cherry-profile keycaps, which this doesn't.

[AndyJ]

Label says Clone Turbo PC. At least they're pretty straight forward with admitting they're a clone!

I *think* I remember a company with that name advertising in Computer Shopper (the US one) back in the 1980s. That was back when not all machines were completely IBM-compatible, usually due to BIOS or minor hardware issues. Their ads promoted "clone" in relation to their IBM compatibility. Back then IBM compatibility wasn't necessarily a given; DEC, Compaq, and HP, among others, had their little quirks that caused problems with off-the-shelf commercial software.

Programmers used some *weird* hacks back in those days. I remember trying to install a word processor on my turbo AT, and the installer announced that since I was using an 84-key keyboard my machine didn't have enough cojones to run their program; installation aborted.

Funnily enough, I'm on that same keyboard typing this, more than 35 years later, on an out-of-date desktop with more horsepower than most supercomputers back then.

[Dan]

There is a list in the Wiki, where it is listed as having "membrane switches", based on a conversation with a German distributor of TA typewriters.
I suppose that could be some kind of spring-over-membrane switch: different types were common on mechanical typewriters.

AFAIK, Triumph-Adler typewriters with Cherry switches and grey keys had Cherry-profile keycaps, which this doesn't.

For some reason, the wiki isn't working for me on Chrome, only on FF. And on FF, the wiki search function doesn't work and i gave up. Thanks for the info.

[Findecanor]

There is a list in the Wiki, where it is listed as having "membrane switches", based on a conversation with a German distributor of TA typewriters.
I suppose that could be some kind of spring-over-membrane switch: different types were common on mechanical typewriters.

AFAIK, Triumph-Adler typewriters with Cherry switches and grey keys had Cherry-profile keycaps, which this doesn't.

For some reason, the wiki isn't working for me on Chrome, only on FF. And on FF, the wiki search function doesn't work and i gave up. Thanks for the info.

Yes. The site has some serious problems now... The wiki works for me in Chromium in private browsing though, except for login, edit and search ...

[wjrii]

Hey everybody. I recently won an ebay auction for 4 vintage keyboardss. One of them is a darn-near NOS Tai Hao TH-5539-3. Two are Focus models with cut cords and a few missing caps, though the calculator still works on the FK-9000. The last one is an oddity, though sadly it's probably too far gone to salvage, at least by me.

It's a Clare-Pender/General Instruments terminal board, likely for some VT100 clone based on the layout (though 14 function keys) and one of the ICs. DB9 coiled cable. Yellowed and thin ABS double-shot keycaps, with a good number of them missing and/or broken. The switches are probably some variant of Clare Foam & Foil, but here's where it gets weird. Instead of a standard coil return spring, each switch uses a pair of torsion springs. I've never seen anything like this, and I can't find anything on the wiki or Telcontar. Anybody ever seen this?

[AndyJ]

That is *deeply* weird, particularly the sculpting of the top and bottom row keycaps.

It definitely looks like some sort of terminal. I'm surprised they would use foam-and-foil switches, though. My experience with those has been very bad; it's odd they would be used in a bespoke and expensive-looking keyboard.

[wjrii]

That is *deeply* weird, particularly the sculpting of the top and bottom row keycaps.

It definitely looks like some sort of terminal. I'm surprised they would use foam-and-foil switches, though. My experience with those has been very bad; it's odd they would be used in a bespoke and expensive-looking keyboard.

One of the ICs on the PCB says "VT100" on it, and apart from the sheer number of function keys and the placement of the arrows, it's a very similar layout to other VT100 boards I saw online. The weird thing is, though, it feels pretty value engineered. The case is pretty light and only uses wide-thread plastic screws to hold it together, and the keycaps are super thin. The plate is permanently mounted to the PCB with those robust plastic rivets, and peeking between it looks like foam and foil is the only thing that will fit, especially combined with the capacitive look that the bottom of the PCB has. Those return springs have me baffled, though. It seems fiddly and complex, and none of the documentation I could find seems to match them. There are several switches with broken housings or sliders, so I might dissect one to see what I'm really dealing with. I fear this is well beyond my ability to do much with, as I top out at soldering projects with existing code, but it seemed like an interesting find.

Here is the pic from the auction:

[jensma]

Are there super dark grey switches by Cherry?
I cleaned a G80-0581 and noticed on closer inspection that the switches are not black, but dark gray. Is this a normal color deviation or a separate switch? It feels like a normal MX Black to me

pics:
https://imgur.com/a/ytP50tr