Sanyo MBC-2000 / 3000 keyboard

[seebart]

This is the keyboard for this Sanyo MBC-2000 / 3000 computer.

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Another one found by guk and bought by me. I knew pretty much what to expect from this, but I am pleasently suprised. I do not know how old this is and cannot find a reference as yet. The case consists of top and bottom parts both made of sturdy metal.The PCB sits on a metal plate inside the metal case. It´s a heavy keyboard! You can see the sticker on the PCB. The other side reads a serial too and the word "Buhinmen". I´d like to know what "Handamen" and "Buhinmen" mean. It´s got nothing to do with noodels that´s for sure. The switch is clicky, feels like it needs lubing for sure. The keycaps are what makes this awesome for me. The colors remind me of my childhood, it´s a little Star Trekish. I´ve never seen caps like this, I mean the inside of the caps, a kind of "insert mold". The connector has asian symbols on it. I cannot see a controller or any chips on the PCB!

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[pcaro]

Pretty keycaps!

[guk]

Great pictures as always, Seebart! Found this: * BUHIN is Parts * BUHINMEN is Parts side
http://park10.wakwak.com/~jpspace/key/k ... m77av.html
The keycaps are pretty indeed, as is the pcb.

[seebart]

Pretty keycaps!

thanks, too bad they won`t fit on anything else!

Great pictures as always, Seebart! Found this: * BUHIN is Parts * BUHINMEN is Parts side
http://park10.wakwak.com/~jpspace/key/k ... m77av.html
The keycaps are pretty indeed, as is the pcb.

good link, "parts side" eh? I`ve seen keyboards with more parts on that side though.Doesn't even have a controller!

[copter]

Very nice! Those caps remind me too from childhood, but maybe more about Japanese cartoons than Star Trek.

[Muirium]

You got a nice one here, Seebart. Great caps, a metal case, vintage clicky switches *and* no weird old controller to get in the way of adapting it for USB. I wish I was as lucky with the Honeywell! The matrix is exposed and ready to put straight into a Teensy. I wouldn't count on too much rollover though: I can't see diodes on the PCB, but maybe they're on the other side.

[seebart]

yup this one is "Teensy worthy" for sure!

[Muirium]

Looks like 32 pins. You'll need a Teensy++ for sure. None of that Pro Micro fluff!



I suspect the cloners do something to pit against the ++ as well, actually. But if you need the real deal, I have some…

[copter]

Looking at the PCB's 4 soldering points per switch. it might indicate that diode is on the other side.

[Muirium]

Yeah, I hope that's the case. But sometimes you'll find bridging wires installed instead. MX switches have a little slot for that. And several switch types have more than 2 pins anyway.

Speaking of which, I'm useless at (unusual) switch recognition. But here's the closest looking kind I can find on the wiki. Drumroll…



Alps Integrated Dome! I don't think it's really those, though. I've got some, and they're as clicky as Topre: not at all. They do have multiple contacts on the bottom:



Notably, that keyboard has no ICs on the PCB either. But apparently SIX contacts per switch!

[seebart]

That switch looks very similar Mu! I'll have to take another look at it!

[guk]

Or check this out: http://deskthority.net/photos-f62/fujit ... t6503.html

[Muirium]

Promising! Especially as it's Fujitsu. But (from the wiki) supposedly the only clicky version is the 3rd generation, which has a different mount. As HaaTa said, cruciform mounts were very common in the late 70s. Before MX came along to own them!

[seebart]

ahhh there we have it! Very good find guk. That's the little brother of mine with the same looking switch! Same Fujitsu series keyboard no question.

[idollar]

This is indeed a very nice keyboard

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Notably, that keyboard has no ICs on the PCB either. But apparently SIX contacts per switch!

Six contacts? They all have four legs. The clusters of six are deceptive: you're seeing the diodes in between switches.

[Muirium]

Aye. I was too subtle with my distinction between contacts and legs! Two contacts of every cluster of six on that board do indeed belong to a diode. Which suggests that even seeing 4 contacts per switch on a PCB is no guarantee there are diodes installed. Some switches just like to have a lot of legs.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Mitsumi miniature mechanical has six legs:

Mitsumi miniature mechanical -- circuit diagram.png (1.68 KiB) Viewed 10154 times

PCB-mount switches tend to have either fixing pins (e.g. MX, ML) or extra legs (e.g. KLT, SKFL, SKEx) with the latter being more common.

Integrated diodes are comparatively rare, but a few switches support them, including MX and Marquardt Two Finger.

There's a challenge for someone: illustrate all the PCB arrangements for all the switches out there.

[copter]

4 contacts is not the key to know is there diodes or not, but above in the picture PCB routing suggests that there are diodes, when looking how the wiring has been done on the bottom layer.

[seebart]

when I was cleaning the keyboard yesterday I kept noticing how sharp the tips of the sliders are, I almost cut myself once or twice. Just now when I took another look real close you can see that the very top of the slider has a really small fine metal tip in the center, you can see it in these pictures. Also notice the "F" marking on the switch housing.

Also the top of the cross on the slider is not flat like the Alps integrated dome in our wiki. Yet on the Fujitsu
Leaf Spring Switch wiki page the illustration of the 1st Gen. switch does have some sort of a tiny tip on the slider!

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[HaaTa]

Ugh, yep. I've cut myself a few times on these switches. Those little razor blades...

Most definitely a 1st Gen Fujitsu Leaf Spring. The connector may be a bit tricky to find fcn-365p032-ag, but I actually think you still might be able to get some. At least your keyboard doesn't have a controller. Mine just has this really shitty 1KRO ASCII out protocol that really isn't worth converting.

Also, can you check to see if any of the keycaps are doubleshot-engraved?

[seebart]

hey thanks for the feedback, now we`re getting somewhere! The following keycaps are engraved:

Tab´s next to spacebar
grey CR
grey ENT
orange CE
orange INS DEL
orange BS _
the top navigational arrow

I find it odd that only a few seemingly random doubleshots are engraved! Any idea why? Yeah I´m lucky with this not having a controller in the way, this is worth getting a Teensy++.

haha I should have read our wiki more carefully, the answer is there:

Used a cross slider with part of the leaf spring mechanism embedded into the slider, and visible at the tip of the tip of the cross.[1]

[HaaTa]

Basically, the doubleshot engraved keys are cheaper to make because you only have to mold one type of keycap, then engrave whatever letters you want into it.

[Touch_It]

Wow. I really like the looks of that board. I would love to take it into work to use and see the reactions it got >

[Muirium]

You're sure these are *clicky* switches? HaaTa's are damn nice linears…

[seebart]

see next post, thank you guk!

[guk]

You're sure these are *clicky* switches? HaaTa's are damn nice linears…

you tell me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCjIHxe ... e=youtu.be

I cannot embed videos here I don`t know why!

"qCjIHxeVchw"
I think you might have to make an addition to the wiki regarding those switches. :p

[Muirium]

Indeed. Clickety click! I'm guessing these must feel pretty damn good, as the click mechanism sounds nice and sharp, and Fujitsu Leaf Springs are already some of the very best linears out there. You mentioned lube?

What's that in the foreground? Pretty funky pattern for a keyboard case! (I'm guessing it's something you put beside the keyboard to prop the camera on…)

Typing videos remind me that I need more training (especially on a non-QWERTY layout) before I'm confident enough to show my style. Like you, I under-use most my fingers. Gotta improve, damnit!

[seebart]

they feel nice, short travel and snappy click. And loud for that matter! Yes, this is one case where a lube job is in order, I`m sure of it. I need to research lube variants and see what I need to get. Right again, that pattern belongs to a metal box I used to lean the phone against, ignore it.

[Muirium]

Nice. Looking at the layout, it should be quite useable with some creative mod placement. And vitally, given those harebrained vertically stacked arrow keys, the HHKB Fn key is present:



I wonder what to do with all those function keys!