Kroy 190
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| Manufacturer | Kroy |
|---|---|
| Layouts | Domain specific |
| Keyswitches | Hi-Tek Series 725 |
| Keycaps | Dye-sublimated PBT |
| Interface | DB-15 Serial |
| Years of production | 1987 |
| Discontinued | Yes |
The Kroy 190 keyboard is part of the Kroy 190 Lettering System, an industrial tape label printing system from the late 80s. The system has two components, a keyboard unit and a printer. The keyboard has a character LCD to allow text to be composed and edited. The printer has interchangeable font wheels.
Contents
System description
Here is a description of the system from 1987:
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The Kroy 190 lettering system allows remote operation of its portable keyboard so that work can be done anywhere. Corrections and revisions may be made before printing and there’s a built-in memory for the storage and retrieval of often-done projects. The Kroy 190 comes with a 24-character display and utilizes a variety of type-on-type supplies. It has automatic sequencing and repeat features. Concurrent functioning allows user to type in one project while the system is printing out another. There are 35 typestyles, eight typesizes, 1500 character working memory (edit buffer) and 6000 character nonvolatile memory. |
Hi-Tek keyboard
The keyboard unit incorporates 3 PCBs:
- Keyboard PCB - Hi-Tek P/N 113104/5 Rev A
- Display PCB - Kroy P/N 1845300 Rev C
- Microcomputer PCB - Kroy P/N 1845100 Rev B
The keyboard uses a custom 725 series NMB/Hi-Tek PCB using the standard Mitsubishi M5L8408 microcontroller. A 0.060" steel plate supports the switches and mounts the keyboard to the metal lower half of the case. The upper case half is molded from very thick ABS plastic. The lower case half is galvanized steel sheet metal. The exterior of the lower half is painted black.
Layout
The Kroy 190 uses a standard QWERTY layout for the alphas, but uses non standard modifiers. On the right hand side of the keyboard is a 4×4 orthogonal block of custom function keys supporting management of label projects and control of the printer. The alphas are side-printed with alternate symbols which can be accessed using the pink "SYMBL SHIFT" key. A 9u spacebar is used.
Switches
The Kroy 190 uses NMB/Hi-Tek "Space Invaders" switches.
Location Color Type Eye(s) Space bar (9u) White Linear One All other keys Yellow Linear Two
Z80 microcomputer
The label text processing and printer control are handled by a single board microcomputer using a Z80A microprocessor. The microcomputer uses the following major components:
Part # Manufacturer Description Z80ACPU SGS-Ates CPU Z80ACTC SGS-Ates Counter/Timer D4364C-15L NEC CMOS SRAM 8K*8 bit 1913000 Rev E KROY 28 pin EEPROM
Gallery
Front view
Rear view
Rear label
Rear ports - DB-15 serial and DC power
Front view without keycaps
Switches close up
Internal view
CPU system board with Z80A processor
Left side of main group
Right side of main group
Function pad
Left side printing
Right side printing
Function pad side printing
PCB front view
PCB rear view
PCB serial number
PCB part number
PCB misc labeling
