Great/Interesting Finds

[Muirium]

Does anyone know, what switch type this uses? http://www.ebay.de/itm/SIGMA-EKB-100-AL ... 0998315940
Probably rubber dome.

What a layout!



Space is such an overrated character…

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I'm more worried that it seems to require the shift key to type lowercase …

Really hard to say — it looks old enough to be mechanical, but I have a bad feeling about it.

[Muirium]

Hmm…

https://www.manualsdrive.com/document_o ... 82p5q7FtE4

Supposedly has the manual. Could be scammy, though.

[shreebles]

Really hard to say — it looks old enough to be mechanical, but I have a bad feeling about it.

I really doubt it. Sigma was a company that I remember for cheap office supplies - calculators and the like. I wouldn't think that they have ever produced mechanical keyboards.

[Halvar]

I agree with shreebles there. Sigma is a trade brand of Metro group if I'm not mistaken, and I would not link them to higher quality accessoires. On the other hand, I also didn't know that they made cash registers at all. Still I would be very surprised if this was mechanical. The cheap on-off switch and the way they handled the LEDs don't speak for a high end design either.

Also, if this was mechanical, there would have to be a PCB angled to the case bottom under the keys, and a second one parallel to the case bottom under the LEDs and on-off switch.

[Sayso]

I don't know if it is the same Sigma but if it is the same brand they do (or rebrand) keyboards :

http://www.2ememain.be/informatique-jeu ... 87276.html

[Muirium]

Too… many… Sigmas…

My favourite is the lens company. They make some of the finest glass you can stick on your Canon or Nikon besides those two themselves. And I prefer Sigma's industrial design to either.

http://www.sigmaphoto.com

[shreebles]

I don't know if it is the same Sigma but if it is the same brand they do (or rebrand) keyboards :

http://www.2ememain.be/informatique-jeu ... 87276.html

That might actually be the same company, of the Metro group. The "TÜV Rheinland" logo suggests that these were sold in Germany.




Anyone seen these?

http://www.dsi-keyboards.com/mechanical ... oards.aspx

Apparently, the 52$ Alps keyboard has clicky Alps, though Newegg reviews suggest a mediocre quality.

The 99$ MX Red Board can be fitted with a modular Numpad, but I'm not sure if you can connect it on either side. The F-keys look like a complete PITA, though.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

"Alps" abuse again … Some guys kicked up a fuss at GH — "Cherry MX clone" is now a forbidden term. Only "MX clone" is allowed. (MX what? ColdFusion MX? (I remember that) Psion 3mx? Lots of things get called "MX".)

I do however object to the abuse of "Alps" (which is a company, by the way — an "Alps" switch is like saying that "Adobe" isn't working — it's true, but not the point) — I can grudgingly accept "Alps" instead of "Alps complicated", "Alps SKBM" etc, but not to mean "has a rectangular thing sticking out the top that goes up and down."

The DSI Big Font keyboard sold at MK has corner-numbered switches, probably modern Hua-Jie, don't know if AK-CN2, AK-C5 or AK-CN2 (2), as I've only seen a photo of the switch. (Not going to have one shipped over from the US just to check which clone type it is :)

DSI themselves claim "Traditional White Alps Mechanical Switch" which possibly means Datacomp's switches, since allegedly they have Forward's tooling now, and are still making simplified Alps switches. (We saw some bad pics from a trade show recently — too poor to clearly see the details, but they seemed to be the same as what Forward made, i.e. SKBM.)

The Solidtek one, I don't know what's in that. "Advanced Alps mechanical key switches"? What's one of those?

With a lot of these dodgy keyboards, no-one buys them and hence we never see what the switches are.

[seebart]

I believe I have the "Advanced Traditional Alps Mechanical Switch"....

I also have plenty of MX´s here, but I don´t get them mixed up with anything else...

[Halvar]

Kaypro in Germany:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kaypro-4-84/2911 ... 0009.m1982

This thing does have a very nice-looking keyboard, but it should probably not be bought just for that...


Not "great", not "interesting", but your basic beige/white Cherry HAD doubleshots for Austrians, to prepare for the moment when tinnie loses his laziness ...:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kaypro-4-84/2911 ... 0009.m1982

[seebart]

WOW that´s nice Halvar. [drool]

but it should probably not be bought just for that...

right you are.

[mr_a500]

Kaypro in Germany:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kaypro-4-84/2911 ... 0009.m1982

This thing does have a very nice keyboard, but it should probably not be bought just for that...

I've never seen a German layout Kaypro. The symbols for Shift, Caps Lock and Return look a bit weird. Even weirder is that light backslash keycap.

I paid $20 and $40 (CAD) for my two Kaypros. I picked them up so I didn't have to pay shipping - which is good because they're damn heavy.

Edit: Holy crap - they only want 7 Euros for shipping?? It would cost me about $75 to ship it within Canada. (probably $200 from the US)

[beltet]

German Spectravideo:
http://www.tradera.com/item/340854/2119 ... ectravideo
I don't know what switches they have, but looks nice.

[Halvar]

What the ....... ?

http://www.ebay.de/itm/rare-Sinclair-PC ... 0005.m1851

[Muirium]

Kaypro in Germany:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kaypro-4-84/2911 ... 0009.m1982

This thing does have a very nice keyboard, but it should probably not be bought just for that...

I've never seen a German layout Kaypro. The symbols for Shift, Caps Lock and Return look a bit weird. Even weirder is that light backslash keycap.

I paid $20 and $40 (CAD) for my two Kaypros. I picked them up so I didn't have to pay shipping - which is good because they're damn heavy.

Edit: Holy crap - they only want 7 Euros for shipping?? It would cost me about $75 to ship it within Canada. (probably $200 from the US)

German domestic shipping is infuriatingly cheap, speaking from over here in Britain. Wouldn't be at all surprised if shipping a Kaypro around within Britain was £20+.

You're right about the legends. I love symbolic mods, and these are eccentric, vintage ones!



Quite what the tilde is so prominent for, though…

[seebart]

Edit: Holy crap - they only want 7 Euros for shipping?? It would cost me about $75 to ship it within Canada. (probably $200 from the US)

I bet the seller did not account fot the weight. Somebody might be paying more for shipping in the end.

Halvar you are posting some nice stuff here today I must say. Respect. I have never seen that sinclair before.

[Halvar]

Quite what the tilde is so prominent for, though…

The tilde? Do you mean the white key with the french forward and backward accent. No idea why it's white, it could be because it's the only "dead key" (you press ´ and nothing happens, then you press E and get é ). Or it was just replaced at some point.

[Halvar]

I have never seen that sinclair before.

Me neither, and it looks great, but 2999 € ?

[seebart]

let me correct myself,

I have never seen such an expensive sinclair.

I wonder if the seller really thinks he is going to sell it at that price. Crazy.

Even if it´s THE rarest vinatge home computer out there.

[Muirium]

But everyone loves to play the attic lottery! At least at first.

Quite what the tilde is so prominent for, though…

The tilde? Do you mean the white key with the french forward and backward accent. No idea why it's white, it could be because it's the only "dead key" (you press ´ and nothing happens, then you press E and get é ). Or it was just replaced at some point.

Ah, a dead key, differentiating that makes sense. They're quite perplexing to the uninitiated. I've shown a few people those on OS X over the years - ¿çåñ Î häß dïàçritîçälß? - but only Apple's change to holding down an alpha key to bring up a menu actually caught on. Most folks don't care to compose!

[seebart]

Cherry G81-3000HAD / 16 - not sure if we allready had this one in here.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Tastatur-Cherry- ... 4183d950b1

Cherry G81-3081HAD / 03 Highscreen Label

http://www.ebay.de/itm/AT-Tastatur-Cher ... 4ad915f859

"Apple Macintosh Plus"

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Apple-Macintosh- ... 35d989be37

Robotron 1715 DDR Computer 1985

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Robotron-1715-mi ... 20e9199f79

[Halvar]

IBM portable -- did we have this one? Is that a Model F I wonder?

http://www.ebay.de/itm/nostalgischer-IB ... 43cc9df658

[Muirium]

I have strange, ghostly, recollections of Webwit's dentist…

[seebart]

I have strange, ghostly, recollections of Webwit's dentist…

yes of course,that´s where I saw one just like that not too long ago.

[Halvar]

Ah, yes, the dentist, I remember!

Apple II, kaputt:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Apple-II-2-Europ ... 1e8e990dd1

Just for the pictures -- cold tech looks so much better presented by a woman:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Digiales-Diary-S ... 2592940b48

I like the layout of this old Siemens laptop, especially the hat cap on Ctrl. Wonder what switches these are. The legends look kind of like Cherry, but not quite. And Cherry would never use a beta as ß.

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Altes-Siemens-LA ... 33920ac6e8

[Nuum]

IBM portable -- did we have this one? Is that a Model F I wonder?

http://www.ebay.de/itm/nostalgischer-IB ... 43cc9df658

Jep, should be a Model F, someone around here showed his one off not long ago. Let's see, if I can find the thread.

Edit: Here it is: http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/ibm ... t7644.html

[webwit]

It wasn't from a dentist from from a general practitioner. He took it during house visits.

[xwhatsit]

Wow, so APL. Very symbols.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-1389194-Vin ... 1594081750

Don't be fooled!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1980-03 ... 6016.l4276

[seebart]

Compaq MX 11800/G80-11801LPADE Cherry MX-Brown

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Compaq-MX-11800- ... 19f0e07ff5

Zowie Celeritas Cherry MX-Brown

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Zowie-Celeritas- ... 1c4362fc77

Leopold FC200R Cherry MX Black Mechanical Gaming Keyboard White

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Leopold-FC200R-C ... 2a4091230e