Micro Switch keyboard 1978

[mr_a500]

I just got this Micro Switch hall effect keyboard (NOS), apparently made in 1978, judging by the four digit code "7819". (19th week of 1978?)

Micro Switch 1978.JPG

Micro Switch PCB.JPG

I've seen the weird key symbols before, on teleprinters/teletypes. Here is a British Telecom teleprinter with nearly the exact colour scheme (thought slightly different layout):



LEDs are embedded in many of the keycaps with wires that plug into the switch.

9B3B switch.JPG

The main block of keys are mostly 1B3B switches. The non-LED "Auto Dial" key is a 1B3C switch - slightly firmer.

1B3B 1B3C switches.JPG

Shift keys are 1B3A switches, which are slightly lighter than 1B3B. The Return key is a 1B1B, with a 3A1D switch to stabilize. (felt on top)

1B1B 1B3A switches.JPG

The "Run" key is a 9B3C. Strangely, the "Just" key, which has no LED, uses a 9B3B LED switch and LED-style keycap. (spot to fit LED, but no window)

9B3B 9B3C switches.JPG

The feel of this keyboard is fairly smooth linear, but not "the best". My Victor 9000 Keytronic foam & foil and some vintage "T" ALPS are smoother.

[Muirium]

Might just need a bit of lube. Even Hall Effect wears a bit!

[mr_a500]

There's no wear. This keyboard is unused. It feels the same as my Bud keypad (which was also unused) - smooth, but not as smooth as the other keyboards I mentioned. I needed a second hall effect keyboard to confirm my opinion.

[dorkvader]

Heh, I saw this. I'm glad a community member got it.

It's got the pretty uncommon backlit keys for dual magnet switches. Also the awesome shiny keycaps.

I notice that row of led switches are part number 9b3b and 9b3c

vintage keytronic foam and foil are very smooth: smoother than hall effect if well cared for. I have some on my wang KB.

[Muirium]

Wear was the wrong word then, I thought they'd need lube even if sealed in their factory box for all these years. But that's just my guesswork, as you can tell.

Care to define these vintage Keytronic foam & foil keyboards for us? Now I hear my quest isn't over for the linear grail! I'm wondering when vintage ends and the meh begins.

[HaaTa]

Nice!

Please update the wiki page with all the switch variants http://deskthority.net/wiki/Honeywell_H ... own_Models

Every once in a while a new digit shows up.

[mr_a500]

Heh, I saw this. I'm glad a community member got it.

I had to snag it quickly before that dreaded b***a got it. He seems to go after all the unusual old keyboards out there. Between him and HaaTa, they're sucking up all the good keyboards, like this space monster in Star Trek:

Wear was the wrong word then, I thought they'd need lube even if sealed in their factory box for all these years. But that's just my guesswork, as you can tell.

Care to define these vintage Keytronic foam & foil keyboards for us? Now I hear my quest isn't over for the linear grail! I'm wondering when vintage ends and the meh begins.

It's tricky because you need to find a good condition older version with light springs. Find a NOS first version Victor 9000. Yeah, good luck with that. At least it's easier to find than my "linear holy grail":

[mr_a500]

Nice!

Please update the wiki page with all the switch variants http://deskthority.net/wiki/Honeywell_H ... own_Models

Every once in a while a new digit shows up.

I tried to edit the Wiki, but I can't log in. The "about" says "sign in with your forum account", but when I try to log in it keeps saying "You have not specified a valid username."

Apparently, I'm an "invalid"... just like in Gattaca.

[facetsesame]

Wow, that's stunning. All the swirly traces and beautiful caps. And modular connectors too, should you ever interface to it... I wonder if it was intended for the very same teleprinter - which I'd guess may not have been built by BT themselves.

...Incidentally, do you happen to have the SP ABS colour ring? I know they don't carry a complete set of gloss moulds for SA family, but still...

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I tried to edit the Wiki, but I can't log in. The "about" says "sign in with your forum account", but when I try to log in it keeps saying "You have not specified a valid username."

Hm … you are not in the userlist. It looks like I can make you an account, though whether I should do that or leave it to webwit, I don't know.

[webwit]

Try it. Weird, I don't think an underscore is an illegal character in mediawiki user names? Incompatibilities between phpbb and mediawiki user name conventions are the only known problem.

[Findecanor]

What a beautiful circuit board..

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Try it. Weird, I don't think an underscore is an illegal character in mediawiki user names? Incompatibilities between phpbb and mediawiki user name conventions are the only known problem.

The MediaWiki users list seems to be much shorter than the forum user list, as though many accounts never got created, mr_a500's along with them (though I've not sat and checked). I don't know how the two packages are tied together, and whether manually creating the missing account would cause phpBB to automatically pass credentials into it.

[webwit]

It's an old mediawiki mod. I think it tries to create accounts on the fly, that is on first attempt of login. That's why the list is much shorter.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Try it. Weird, I don't think an underscore is an illegal character in mediawiki user names?

MediaWiki doesn't have any concept of underscore that I know of, since it's used interchangeably with space, possibly because %20 is unsightly.

I don't know how logging into phpBB creates a matching MediaWiki session, and what the implications are for manually creating an account afterwards. I don't know whether anything is cached in the database, or whether everything is done on the fly based on translating usernames back and forward.

In mr_a500's case, it may be that he can't ever have the two accounts linked, depending on how the mod deals with underscore <=> space translation. (In an ideal world I'd like my MediaWiki name corrected to use proper capitalisation.)

[webwit]

Easiest and proven method is to just create a safe user on phpBB (e.g. mra500) and use that to login on the wiki.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo

[webwit]

But you're welcome to write your own, improved mod.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Last time I looked at phpBB it would have been an improvement to just tip bleach into my eye sockets. Idiotic doesn't begin to cover "mods". It's a perfect representation of all that's wrong with the run-and-die scripting model of the Web, instead of using a daemon that offsets the workload of a fully-fledged object+event extension model.

[mr_a500]

...Incidentally, do you happen to have the SP ABS colour ring? I know they don't carry a complete set of gloss moulds for SA family, but still...

I just checked the SP current active colours list and they don't have a match. The closest is probably "BE". (needs to be a bit darker)

[Muirium]

It's tricky because you need to find a good condition older version with light springs. Find a NOS first version Victor 9000. Yeah, good luck with that. At least it's easier to find than my "linear holy grail":

Great ad. I'm surprised to see a keyboard manufacturer all the way back then using the same terminology we do today, and so prominently too.

[facetsesame]

I just checked the SP current active colours list and they don't have a match. The closest is probably "BE". (needs to be a bit darker)

Thanks very much for looking! BE indeed looks close though it's so hard to tell comparing chips to the screen. In any case (ah, another pun), it looks fantastic.

[Paranoid Android]

DEM CAPS!!!

[jacobolus]

I had to snag it quickly before that dreaded b***a got it. He seems to go after all the unusual old keyboards out there. Between him and HaaTa, they're sucking up all the good keyboards, like this space monster in Star Trek:

Everyone hates b***a.

HaaTa buys lots of keyboards, but then he carefully documents them all (eventually...) and brings them to meetups for everyone to try, and he patiently answers all kinds of obscure questions people have, and works on building open-source stuff.

b***a is just an evil keyboard black hole, sucking in all the cool stuff and then hiding it.

[mr_a500]

Oh yes, I appreciate HaaTa's detailed documentation, nice photos and switch dismantling. I mostly hate the fact that after he documents an awesome obscure keyboard that I then desperately want, I know that there's no way in hell I'll ever find one. (...or if I do, b***a will outbid me... the scurvy bastard)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Oh yes, I appreciate HaaTa's detailed documentation, nice photos and switch dismantling.

We should award him with a minion who follows him around putting his stuff on the wiki.

[mr_a500]

Everybody can use a good minion.

[beltet]

those caps! I cant wait for my Round5 order!

[jacobolus]

Oh yes, I appreciate HaaTa's detailed documentation, nice photos and switch dismantling. I mostly hate the fact that after he documents an awesome obscure keyboard that I then desperately want, I know that there's no way in hell I'll ever find one. (...or if I do, b***a will outbid me... the scurvy bastard)

You just need to visit California, and you can see them all!

[Daniel Beardsmore]

You just need to visit California, and you can see them all!

I don't know if California is where the Internet was invented, but a lot of the groundwork occurred there, including Ethernet. But sure, let's all fly over to California every time we need to check reference material.