![Image](https://i.imgur.com/r3n42Im.jpg)
It is a very nice looking machine, and the layout is very nice as well. Not a lot weird going on here for a machine of this sort beyond maybe the stepping that is done to avoid having to stabilize anything and the TAB key being placed on the right hand side of the alpha block. If this thing worked I imagine it would be a perfectly cromulent portable typewriter.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/wbD0XqG.jpg)
While it might not be immediately obvious, the bottom row of keys is not a full 1u tall, closer to something like 3/4u tall. this saves basically no space but on the bottom row it doesn't really matter much that the caps are a smidge short. The red of the code key is also slightly transparent and you can just barely make out the white shot through the red.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/vNnVSsk.jpg)
The previous owner taped on these little bits of paper for helping with touch typing presumably. Was kind of annoying to get off.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/yIVjwZq.jpg)
here we have a cap from an EX30 for comparison.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/c3cCXOH.jpg)
Left to right, code key, EX30 5 key, Tescomate 55 % key. Note that because of the shorter height of the code key and all other R5 keys on this machine have a stem that is slightly smaller and is not compatible with the other caps.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/NEiLYIG.jpg)
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/d3YFgRC.jpg)
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/Ja8zon0.jpg)
PCB clearly says EXD10, but this for sure isn't an EXD10. Presumably the only difference between an EXD10 and this (an EXD55 maybe? or EXD15? who knows) is the keyboard and everything else is reused between the 2 machines.
EDIT: this advertisement shows the EXD10 and the EX43 as for sale at the same time, which is weird. I was assuming that the EXD10 would be younger than the EX4* line, it is possible it was updated with a better keyboard around the same time that Silver Reed started using DIN-compliant switches in all their typewriters. This is really just speculation on my part though. The most astounding thing to me is that the chiclet keys the EXD10 used apparently didn't effect sales overmuch as I can find a lot of pictures and whatnot about that flavor of the machine but the version with a better keyboard is much harder to track down despite being just a better version of the EXD10.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/SyFVA98.jpg)
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/epkhc5C.jpg)
unfortunately no branding on the membranes so the manufacturer remains unknown. I'm honestly starting to think Silver reed made these in house and the XT board I found a while back that uses DWS switches that have roughly compatible caps was a fluke.
![Image](https://i.imgur.com/lpfdarE.jpg)
Like, the older style mitsumi latching switches (IIRC it's a mitsumi KBH switch) from a C64 has a compatible mount, and mitsumi for sure didn't make these (although the Silver Reed EP10 does use mitsumi switches funny enough) so a compatible mount doesn't necessarily mean anything. The pre-din Silver Reed dome switches are compatible with cruciform mount Alps caps but I don't think saying they were made by Alps would be reasonable and the same applies with these circle-mount switches as well.
All that aside, the machine I have doesn't work, it powers on, the print mechanism moves a bit, the machine beeps, and then nothing else happens. The keyboard is simply ignored by the machine and nothing I press does anything. So even though I'm sure this thing would be just fine to use I can't really comment on that. Maybe I can get a working EXD10 and swap this keyboard onto it eventually to see what's what. For now I can just echo what I said about these switches in the EZ43 thread, they're nice enough domes, they don't bottom out on the dome itself, but with on the slider legs so they're not mushy. I like the switches in the EX30 much better however. If this machine had the same switches as the EX30 then I would probably get it converted to USB pretty quickly. As it stands now though they're just nice domes with cool caps and a funny bottom row.