IDENTIFY THE KEYBOARD thread

[hellothere]

Cherry mount. Windows keys. I'd say that it's probably MX switches. It'd be nice to see the bottom case and stickers.

That's a really small spacebar.

[coolrainbow20]

keyboard.jpeg

Is this from Ricardo? I saw it too. You're from Switzerland too, right?
What a coincidence.

Also the keyboard comes with additional keycaps, wich is already super weird.

[iuuang]

[deleted]

[schwi]

Came across this listing in Zanesville, Ohio (I swear the most interesting things always show up in the most irrelevant places) and I was really intrigued by the ITW Cortron keyboard on top. The seller refuses to ship, immediately hitting me with "No," so if you're interested in buying and not from the area, you're going to have to do some extreme bribing probably. (I would, but I don't have the money)

The large size and keycaps are quite striking, so it'd be awesome if there was any more information on it.Like switches, or what it was sold with. Can't find anything myself with searching, but I'm not too great. I'd be really intrigued to see some more up close photos, if even possible.

[aleza84]

Hey I know the keyboard model (model m, Spanish layout) and here's the picture.




My question is since I want to use it usb, what's the best way?

What would you recommend?

[an_achronism]

Hey I know the keyboard model (model m, Spanish layout)

(...)

My question is since I want to use it usb, what's the best way?

What would you recommend?

That's a terminal one so you'll want to make or buy a converter; now-absent-but-once-active user Soarer wrote code you can stick on a cheap microcontroller mod board e.g. Teensy / Pro Micro with Amtel chip. Orihalcon sells what appear to be very high quality pre-built converters on US eBay but I'm sure there are other sellers making them as well (I'd probably do it myself if Orihalcon wasn't already making really good ones, but it seems a wee bit pointless).

Alternatively, sell it to me . I really like the terminal models with the ISO layout (you get an extra num pad key compared to the PC models). I mostly see terminal ones with ANSI Enter, which basically ruins them for me, hahah.

[Brot]

keyboard.jpeg

Is this from Ricardo? I saw it too. You're from Switzerland too, right?
What a coincidence.

Also the keyboard comes with additional keycaps, wich is already super weird.

Yes it's the one from Ricardo If you decide to buy it, I would be really interested to hear more about it, but I think I won't buy it. I just realized that it is declared as a Microsoft keyboard, but I don't think I have ever seen such a keyboard by Microsoft.

[Muirium]

Looks pretty oddball! I like the cute little spacebar. The overall style of the thing looks a bit like an Acer keyboard to me.

[John Doe]

Came across this listing in Zanesville, Ohio (I swear the most interesting things always show up in the most irrelevant places) and I was really intrigued by the ITW Cortron keyboard on top. The seller refuses to ship, immediately hitting me with "No," so if you're interested in buying and not from the area, you're going to have to do some extreme bribing probably. (I would, but I don't have the money)

The large size and keycaps are quite striking, so it'd be awesome if there was any more information on it.Like switches, or what it was sold with. Can't find anything myself with searching, but I'm not too great. I'd be really intrigued to see some more up close photos, if even possible.

Worth doing something to buy, the metal back case and the layout throw confidence its cool, no idea what it is tho.

[4_404]

Came across this listing in Zanesville, Ohio.

As per the label, this would appear to have ITW magnetic valve. The caps look like they match the low profile version, as do the part numbers. It would appear (https://telcontar.net/KBK/ITW/) that part numbers starting in 25 use tactile low profile switches, so my guess is this uses those.

Also interesting is the resemblance to the 125 key IBM 5556 boards wiki/IBM_Multistation_Keyboards. This seems to a pretty unique shape, so maybe they were made as a clone of these, although it seems unlikely that ITW would produce American clones of a Japanese only system.

[schwi]

Worth doing something to buy, the metal back case and the layout throw confidence its cool, no idea what it is tho.

i'll try. thanks for the advice.

As per the label, this would appear to have ITW magnetic valve. The caps look like they match the low profile version, as do the part numbers. It would appear (https://telcontar.net/KBK/ITW/) that part numbers starting in 25 use tactile low profile switches, so my guess is this uses those.

Also interesting is the resemblance to the 125 key IBM 5556 boards wiki/IBM_Multistation_Keyboards. This seems to a pretty unique shape, so maybe they were made as a clone of these, although it seems unlikely that ITW would produce American clones of a Japanese only system.

awesome advice! thank you.
and yeah, the ridge above the numpad/nav cluster is pretty notable. not sure how common of a feature that is, though.

[ZeFritz]

Preh Commander AK PC-I 5122 90301-000/0002
Any idea of protocol and switches of this one?

[Lalaland124]

viewtopic.php?t=5700&start=2280

They got mentioned there

[aleza84]

Hey I know the keyboard model (model m, Spanish layout)

(...)

My question is since I want to use it usb, what's the best way?

What would you recommend?

That's a terminal one so you'll want to make or buy a converter; now-absent-but-once-active user Soarer wrote code you can stick on a cheap microcontroller mod board e.g. Teensy / Pro Micro with Amtel chip. Orihalcon sells what appear to be very high quality pre-built converters on US eBay but I'm sure there are other sellers making them as well (I'd probably do it myself if Orihalcon wasn't already making really good ones, but it seems a wee bit pointless).

Alternatively, sell it to me . I really like the terminal models with the ISO layout (you get an extra num pad key compared to the PC models). I mostly see terminal ones with ANSI Enter, which basically ruins them for me, hahah.

Thanks I had some doubts if it was terminal or not, actually I'd love to sell it....if I found a other one hahahah (will DM if I find another).

I will buy a soarers converter. Thanks again

[schwi]

Worth doing something to buy, the metal back case and the layout throw confidence its cool, no idea what it is tho.

I ended up offering the guy double + shipping costs. he declined... you'll probably have to pay him in several bars of gold to get him to ship. he'd be getting paid quite a bit extra just to throw it in a box and send it off, but what do i know. :shrug:

[4_404]

ITT XTRA branded Acer KB-101 with what looks like foam and foil switches? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184841209192.
Appears to be the same thing as this (from here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33343.4):

06 ITT XTRA.JPG (243.47 KiB) Viewed 6412 times

I am aware of Multitech foam and foil, and the link between Multitech and Acer, but these appear to be something else. Anyone seen them before?

[Polecat]

ITT XTRA branded Acer KB-101 with what looks like foam and foil switches? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184841209192.
Appears to be the same thing as this (from here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33343.4):06 ITT XTRA.JPG
I am aware of Multitech foam and foil, and the link between Multitech and Acer, but these appear to be something else. Anyone seen them before?

Interesting. I have an ITT version of the 6311 listed as "dome/membrane", but the one on the left in that ebay listing has the slider mechanism missing on one key, and you can see the PC board half-circles which would suggest foam and foil. The Multitech foam and foil (e.g. Franklin) has the same half-circles, but the slider mechanisms on those have different (MX) stems. I'm thinking this is a different version of Multitech foam and foil.

[4_404]

ITT XTRA branded Acer KB-101 with what looks like foam and foil switches? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184841209192.
Appears to be the same thing as this (from here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33343.4):06 ITT XTRA.JPG
I am aware of Multitech foam and foil, and the link between Multitech and Acer, but these appear to be something else. Anyone seen them before?

Interesting. I have an ITT version of the 6311 listed as "dome/membrane", but the one on the left in that ebay listing has the slider mechanism missing on one key, and you can see the PC board half-circles which would suggest foam and foil. The Multitech foam and foil (e.g. Franklin) has the same half-circles, but the slider mechanisms on those have different (MX) stems. I'm thinking this is a different version of Multitech foam and foil.

A dome 6311 would be strange, I thought those were guaranteed to be Acer switches. The right board is also missing the escape switch - these switches must not be secure very well.

s-l1600 (1).jpg (200.55 KiB) Viewed 6372 times

There is also no A (KB-101 vs KB-101A) on the end of the FCC ID/model number on these boards. This FCC ID (GQ87EEKB-101) was registered in 1987-09-16 and appears to be one of Acer's earliest registered products, earlier than the KB-101A (GQ87EEKB-101A, 1988-01-06). This seems to indicate that this foam and foil (probably) version is the original KB-101, before the Alps version was introduced. Maybe a descendant of the Multitech/Franklin version, although if that were the case, I'm not sure why they would change the keycap mount so drastically. The caps on these KB-101s have the same fairly distinctive legends as all of Acer's later boards up until the 6511, so it's a pretty safe bet these caps (and hence likely the switches as well) were made by Acer themselves (I don't think Acer used other OEMs?).

s-l1600.jpg (169.17 KiB) Viewed 6372 times

Also of note, an FCC ID for a KB-101B was registered on the same date as the KB-101. I've never seen one of these though.

[Polecat]

ITT XTRA branded Acer KB-101 with what looks like foam and foil switches? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184841209192.
Appears to be the same thing as this (from here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33343.4):06 ITT XTRA.JPG
I am aware of Multitech foam and foil, and the link between Multitech and Acer, but these appear to be something else. Anyone seen them before?

Interesting. I have an ITT version of the 6311 listed as "dome/membrane", but the one on the left in that ebay listing has the slider mechanism missing on one key, and you can see the PC board half-circles which would suggest foam and foil. The Multitech foam and foil (e.g. Franklin) has the same half-circles, but the slider mechanisms on those have different (MX) stems. I'm thinking this is a different version of Multitech foam and foil.

A dome 6311 would be strange, I thought those were guaranteed to be Acer switches. The right board is also missing the escape switch - these switches must not be secure very well.

There is also no A (KB-101 vs KB-101A) on the end of the FCC ID/model number on these boards. This FCC ID (GQ87EEKB-101) was registered in 1987-09-16 and appears to be one of Acer's earliest registered products, earlier than the KB-101A (GQ87EEKB-101A, 1988-01-06). This seems to indicate that this foam and foil (probably) version is the original KB-101, before the Alps version was introduced. Maybe a descendant of the Multitech/Franklin version, although if that were the case, I'm not sure why they would change the keycap mount so drastically. The caps on these KB-101s have the same fairly distinctive legends as all of Acer's later boards up until the 6511, so it's a pretty safe bet these caps (and hence likely the switches as well) were made by Acer themselves (I don't think Acer used other OEMs?).
Also of note, an FCC ID for a KB-101B was registered on the same date as the KB-101. I've never seen one of these though.

I hadn't heard of a KB-101 or KB-101B before, but that doesn't mean much. Something was twitching in my memory, and it was the old post here where Chyros identified an ITT I posted in an Acer-style case as "Mitsumi hybrid", which apparently looked similar to Keytronic (split stems like the ones here?). Not sure if that was a final answer though.

viewtopic.php?f=66&t=5700&p=433497

The "Multitech foam and foil" slider mechanisms that came in my Franklin (a rebadged Multitech KB-084) snap into the plate from above. The PC board is secured to the plate and sliders by self tapping screws that thread into a few of the slider frames from the bottom. They all have the holes, but the majority of them have no screws, and can be snapped out from above without opening the keyboard, which would agree with the ITT ones seen here. The Multitech foam and foil mechanisms in the Franklin used springs instead of rubber domes, but that could have been changed along the way.

[4_404]

I hadn't heard of a KB-101 or KB-101B before, but that doesn't mean much. Something was twitching in my memory, and it was the old post here where Chyros identified an ITT I posted in an Acer-style case as "Mitsumi hybrid", which apparently looked similar to Keytronic (split stems like the ones here?). Not sure if that was a final answer though.

I thought these were a Mitsumi hybrid at first as well actually. From a distance, the mount looks like the round post with 'Mitsumi' square hole mount. The holes aren't quite square though, and none of the Mitsumi hybrids had clip in switches like that - never mind the capacitive looking PCB. I think the oval shaped prong mount from the other board on Geekhack matches pretty well.

The "Multitech foam and foil" slider mechanisms that came in my Franklin (a rebadged Multitech KB-084) snap into the plate from above. The PC board is secured to the plate and sliders by self tapping screws that thread into a few of the slider frames from the bottom. They all have the holes, but the majority of them have no screws, and can be snapped out from above without opening the keyboard, which would agree with the ITT ones seen here. The Multitech foam and foil mechanisms in the Franklin used springs instead of rubber domes, but that could have been changed along the way.

This sounds a lot like Keytronic and most of the other foam and foil switches out there for that matter. I guess most of them were clones of of whoever did the first one. Due to the missing caps, we don't really know whether this one had buckling rubber sleeves (tactile) or coil springs (linear), but my guess would be tactile based on the other board, and all of Acer's boards being tactile/clicky. From the photos on Geekhack, it looks like the rubber sleeves are in a single sheet, rather than individual like most of the other switches using this method for tactility. I would guess at this stage that these are based on the Multitech design, and that the variation is simply an evolution, or a change required to make the switches tactile - the Multitech switches appear to have quite wide sliders, maybe they had to reduce the slider diameter to get the rubber sleeves to work as desired.

[Polecat]

I hadn't heard of a KB-101 or KB-101B before, but that doesn't mean much. Something was twitching in my memory, and it was the old post here where Chyros identified an ITT I posted in an Acer-style case as "Mitsumi hybrid", which apparently looked similar to Keytronic (split stems like the ones here?). Not sure if that was a final answer though.

I thought these were a Mitsumi hybrid at first as well actually. From a distance, the mount looks like the round post with 'Mitsumi' square hole mount. The holes aren't quite square though, and none of the Mitsumi hybrids had clip in switches like that - never mind the capacitive looking PCB. I think the oval shaped prong mount from the other board on Geekhack matches pretty well.

The "Multitech foam and foil" slider mechanisms that came in my Franklin (a rebadged Multitech KB-084) snap into the plate from above. The PC board is secured to the plate and sliders by self tapping screws that thread into a few of the slider frames from the bottom. They all have the holes, but the majority of them have no screws, and can be snapped out from above without opening the keyboard, which would agree with the ITT ones seen here. The Multitech foam and foil mechanisms in the Franklin used springs instead of rubber domes, but that could have been changed along the way.

This sounds a lot like Keytronic and most of the other foam and foil switches out there for that matter. I guess most of them were clones of of whoever did the first one. Due to the missing caps, we don't really know whether this one had buckling rubber sleeves (tactile) or coil springs (linear), but my guess would be tactile based on the other board, and all of Acer's boards being tactile/clicky. From the photos on Geekhack, it looks like the rubber sleeves are in a single sheet, rather than individual like most of the other switches using this method for tactility. I would guess at this stage that these are based on the Multitech design, and that the variation is simply an evolution, or a change required to make the switches tactile - the Multitech switches appear to have quite wide sliders, maybe they had to reduce the slider diameter to get the rubber sleeves to work as desired.

Here are a couple shots of the Franklin's Multitech foam and foil. These had springs, so they were linear. No branding on the slider mechanisms. They snap out from above with locking tabs (except for those with attaching screws to the PCB), so they were easily serviced.

[Jan Pospisil]

ITT XTRA branded Acer KB-101 with what looks like foam and foil switches? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184841209192.
Appears to be the same thing as this (from here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33343.4):06 ITT XTRA.JPG
I am aware of Multitech foam and foil, and the link between Multitech and Acer, but these appear to be something else. Anyone seen them before?

My first thought looking at the "hole" was my Acer KB-084c with what I think is some old version of Mitsumi KxQ, except with the rubber dome turned upside down.

https://i.imgur.com/CbTeGHH.jpeg

[4_404]

ITT XTRA branded Acer KB-101 with what looks like foam and foil switches? https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/184841209192.
Appears to be the same thing as this (from here https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33343.4):06 ITT XTRA.JPG
I am aware of Multitech foam and foil, and the link between Multitech and Acer, but these appear to be something else. Anyone seen them before?

My first thought looking at the "hole" was my Acer KB-084c with what I think is some old version of Mitsumi KxQ, except with the rubber dome turned upside down.

https://i.imgur.com/CbTeGHH.jpeg

Yeah I thought of those as well initially. I was not aware that Acer used the Mitsumi switches in their boards though, thanks. I changed my mind though, because as far as I know, Mitsumi only ever used light coloured transparent domes in their switches, no heavy dark rubber domes like Keytronic in their foam and foil switches. Also, the PCB visible beneath the missing switches does not look like a Mitsumi contact based PCB, and I'm also not aware of any Mitsumi hybrid switches which use discrete modules like this.

[MonkeyBoy]

Looks like a 122-key model F, but without the IBM logo in the top-right side. I tried to find which model F clone it could be, but i did not find any of 122-key variant.

[XMIT]

Definitely not an F122. My guess is a Memorex Telex rubber dome board.

[4_404]

Looks like a 122-key model F, but without the IBM logo in the top-right side.

Yeah looks like a Honeywell rubber dome (model number 122RX?). Lots of these are Memorex Telex branded.

[xxhellfirexx]

Looks like a 122-key model F, but without the IBM logo in the top-right side. I tried to find which model F clone it could be, but i did not find any of 122-key variant.

An easy way to see if the keyboard is any good is to look at the back. The back of this one is hollow.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164689367291

[:Dön:]

can anyone ID this board?

onigiritaroujp-img1200x900-1510212283sag2ir18408.jpg


3h left in the auction if someone wants to make the sacrifice in the name of science.

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/h290279466

those are alps cut outs for the LED's are they not. it looks somewhat similar to the epson business full keyboard. but definitely not topre underneath there, right? model reads pckb8. or do alps only have centered led cut outs. man i really wanna see what kinda switch it has.

Fujitsu Dome with slider.
I think it is.

[Bjerrk]

can anyone ID this board?

onigiritaroujp-img1200x900-1510212283sag2ir18408.jpg


3h left in the auction if someone wants to make the sacrifice in the name of science.

https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/h290279466

those are alps cut outs for the LED's are they not. it looks somewhat similar to the epson business full keyboard. but definitely not topre underneath there, right? model reads pckb8. or do alps only have centered led cut outs. man i really wanna see what kinda switch it has.

Fujitsu Dome with slider.
I think it is.

If that's the case, I wouldn't really recommend it. Among the worse dome with slider switches I've tried.

[:Dön:]

I am Japanese and familiar with Japanese keyboards. In other countries, Fujitsu some with slider are defined by one type, but not in Japan. pckb8's Fujitsu switches were probably the closest kind of those to the Topre that I'm aware of. Some Fujitsu dome with slider seem to have the feel of Topre switch, while others are just rubbery.
I can't say for sure, because I haven't actually touched it myself. It seems certain that there are several types and some are good.