deskthority

Some pictures
I got the srceen as well, and it evens boots up! I want to connect it to my PC in the near future

Some additional links:
http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=421
and pictures:
http://www.hpmuseum.net/exhibit.php?hwimg=421

Looks awesome, love the keycaps.
The switches look like they function similar to the praying hands on NMB Space Invaders - do they work in the same way?

Yerp, vintage NMB linear switches.

Whoa, seriously? There is an "AIDS" key on there, top center! Well, the terminals were apparently made about the same year that HIV was discovered, but anyway.

Small ass enter.

no kidding - are you referring to the one next to the spacebar?

Too bad. That's not a very good switch - too stiff and scratchy. I wonder if the HP 2640 has the same switch. I wanted to get a 2640 keyboard, but won't bother if it has those switches.

I don't like the keycap shape. It reminds me of the Apple IIc.

Parak wrote:Yerp, vintage NMB linear switches.

Are you sure those are NMB switches? That was a common switch found on many 70's terminal keyboards and some early 80's home computers. That would mean that NMB was very successful back in the 70's. I didn't think NMB got popular until they developed the space invader switch in the mid-80's.

002 wrote:Looks awesome, love the keycaps.
The switches look like they function similar to the praying hands on NMB Space Invaders - do they work in the same way?

Yes, if the white plastic part gets pressed down the two metal leafs move together.

002 wrote::lol: no kidding - are you referring to the one next to the spacebar?

That or the return key's spindly and pointless side.

mr_a500 wrote:Are you sure those are NMB switches?

That is a really good question. It's given as fact on the wiki, on the basis of HaaTa's research (see reference on the page), but I don't remember whether I have ever seen proof of it. NMB do not respond to e-mails. NMB Hi-Tek could have copied an existing design.

Then you have the Fluke Y1700 with a very different switch that uses the same type of contact mechanism. I've asked Fluke, and they were going to see if anyone still remembered, but no reply since.

So just to add some of my additional research.
I now refer to the them as Stackpole switches.

I'm on my phone so I can't research very well, but I've seen at least 1 PCB with these switches with the Stackpole name on it.

Here's the switch on a TI-99/4A:
(there's also a nicer ALPS version of the TI-99/4A)



The "clampers" are slightly different and there's green in there, but otherwise it looks identical.

Here's a nice little animation (by theshadow27) of the switch on a 1978 Heathkit H89 keyboard:



My DEC VT100 has the same switches and I've also seen it on Hazeltine terminals. Unfortunately, none of these keyboards have labels identifying who made this switch.

The HP9800, as well as the LK101 keyboard of the DEC VT100 (and variants thereof) used the same switches.

It's interesting that they appear to be formed from one large mould, with all the switches being one single plastic construction.

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:
Then you have the Fluke Y1700 with a very different switch that uses the same type of contact mechanism. I've asked Fluke, and they were going to see if anyone still remembered, but no reply since.

Anyone know if the Fluke keyboard can be made to work with a modern PC? I see in the provided link that the poster (is that Mousefan?) mentioned re-programming the EEPROM to make it work under Windows, not sure if anyone has tried this or any alternate method.

Apologies for the off-topic post! I hadn't seen the Fluke keyboard mentioned anywhere before.

That's from Sandy's website. This is MouseFan's.

I have a fluke keyboard. Remind me once I get back to California in August/September, and I'll probe mine to see if I can add a module to my converter.

And perhaps see if I can program the eeprom. Though I prefer to leave the keyboards in stock condition if possible (well if it has a shitty protocol, then whatever ).

HaaTa wrote:I have a fluke keyboard. Remind me once I get back to California in August/September, and I'll probe mine to see if I can add a module to my converter.

And perhaps see if I can program the eeprom. Though I prefer to leave the keyboards in stock condition if possible (well if it has a shitty protocol, then whatever ).

I'll set myself a reminder, to send you a reminder.

They look pretty cool, I'd be tempted to buy one if it could be made to work with a Windows PC. The über-thick keycaps and dished tops look delectable.

Just a nudge — any chance of seeing the PCB of the HP 2382A terminal keyboard? I'm trying to determine what the pre-dovetail Hi-Tek switches looked like, as there's an 11 year gap in filing date between the patent for the "praying hands" switch, and for the dovetail modular assembly used in the HP 9816 keyboard.

The keyboard above has the "waffle frame" design presently only associated with Stackpole, though the [wiki]Perkin-Elmer 3700 keyboard[/wiki] keyboard has a combination of waffle frame blocks, Hi-Tek–branded 4-way dovetail add-on modules, and a Hi-Tek–branded non-dovetail custom core module with flat-topped (non-waffle-frame) switches.

From what I can tell, the mould system is itself modular, with a full keyboard mould being made out of single-key moulds, hence the lines between the switches within the mouldings. I know nothing about moulding so I'm unclear whether that would even work, or whether the single switches are thermally bonded after manufacture (i.e. it may not actually be manufactured as a single moulding).

There you go: If you need one of the pictures in a higher resolution, just let me know.

Thanks. Curses, the PCB is HP-branded. It looks like HP designed their own keyboard circuitry and just bought in the switch moulding and keycaps from someone else.

Interesting that it's got a serial number though — that's also present on HaaTa's Toptronics (Hi-Tek–branded) keyboard, but (so far as I can tell) not his CASI (Stackpole-style) keyboard. Similar styles of number imprinting are also present on Kurk's Perkin-Elmer keyboard, with most banks of switches confirmed as Hi-Tek.

Tasty food for thought.