The terrible disappointment of the DEC VT-100

[y11971alex]

The switches are exceedingly scratchy. Several buttons have locking switches under them.

[Chyros]

Hi-Teks/Stackpoles, right? Yeah, that happens. Very stiff, as well.

[ohaimark]

Nuking them with dry PTFE lube helps. A little.

[seebart]

It's still a damn nice vintage keyboard! I see we have on in the wiki already, I'll add this one also unless you want to yourself.

[Menuhin]

At least the caps look gorgeous.

You might want to specify what you are disappointed about.

[seebart]

At least the caps look gorgeous.

You might want to specify what you are disappointed about.

The feel of the Hi-Teks/Stackpoles I believe.

[fohat]

I had a Stackpole keyboard that looked very cool, but stiff, long-throw linear switches are exactly what I do not like.

[Menuhin]

Is it why / how these high profile key caps were phased out in the first place?

[seebart]

Is it why / how these high profile key caps were phased out in the first place?

No, there was a standardization covering ergonomics of human-computer interaction.

[Menuhin]

So the (long-throw) high profile key caps lost in the competition to become the standard.

[Chyros]

An unspecified SIN standard specified that keyboards shouldn't be above a certain height, which these switches exceeded. They were succeeded by NMB Hi-Tek "Space Invaders" switches, which were specifically designed for decreased height to comply with this.

[y11971alex]

The scratchiness may have something to do with the state the switches are in; nevertheless, I can't foresee how much smoother the switches will be when cleaned, since the slider has a rather large contact area with the walls of the switch. The square protrusion from the switch is actually the mobile slider, not the switch wall. This board dates from 1980, making it one of the older keyboards that I have owned.

[seebart]

An unspecified SIN standard specified that keyboards shouldn't be above a certain height, which these switches exceeded. They were succeeded by NMB Hi-Tek "Space Invaders" switches, which were specifically designed for decreased height to comply with this.

I believe that although I have heard otherwise from other users here at DT, specifically that Germany was "responsible" for this standardization which I do not know.

[citrojohn]

An unspecified SIN standard specified that keyboards shouldn't be above a certain height, which these switches exceeded. They were succeeded by NMB Hi-Tek "Space Invaders" switches, which were specifically designed for decreased height to comply with this.

I believe that although I have heard otherwise from other users here at DT, specifically that Germany was "responsible" for this standardization which I do not know.

A while ago Signature Plastics did a "just shut up about SS profile" post, in which they mentioned a DIN standard which led to their predecessor devising DSA. Wonder if that was the same standard?

[seebart]

A while ago Signature Plastics did a "just shut up about SS profile" post, in which they mentioned a DIN standard which led to their predecessor devising DSA. Wonder if that was the same standard?

These standardization changes are documented online for sure, I don't have the links off hand. This topic has come up more than once before at DT.

[snuci]

These standardization changes are documented online for sure, I don't have the links off hand. This topic has come up more than once before at DT.

There's an excellent illustration in our very own wiki: wiki/DIN_standard

As a vintage computer collector, I think you need to put yourself back in 1980 and think, is this a good keyboard? For the era, it would have been pretty awesome. I have often thought of perhaps replacing the internal springs with lighter ones to see if that would make a big difference. With a stiff spring, the smoothness would be pronounced as the key struggles to be depressed. If you "hunt and peck" like I do, these keyboards are awesome, especially when you get the visual appeal of the variations like the word processing variant.

[seebart]

There's an excellent illustration in our very own wiki: wiki/DIN_standard

Yes that is a good illustration, unfortunately it does not give us any details on the exact process of the change.

[Hypersphere]

I still have a couple of these keyboards that are in good condition. I acquired them after seeing a fascinating post about converting the DEC VT-100 to USB:

http://hackaday.com/2013/08/13/usb-adap ... -keyboard/

This could still be a fun project, but I am not sure if I will get to it. There are Alps, Model F, and Beam Spring boards queued up waiting for restoration and conversion to USB.

[Mr.Nobody]

Still a nice pick,not good for use but surely good for show, this keyboard literally emits smell of vintage...waiting for photos

[Hypersphere]

Still a nice pick,not good for use but surely good for show, this keyboard literally emits smell of vintage...waiting for photos

Yes, I agree. Other reasons why I purchased several of these was that I found them quite attractive, and I thought it would lend an atmosphere of vintage charm to my study to have working models connected to my computers.

[snuci]

I have them because they came with the DEC Robin VT180 computer and DEC VT100 terminal I have. I did buy one a spare unit from one of those sellers just in case. The VT-100 became a standard across the industry and is a classic terminal.