deskthority

Hi, today I got a Numpad from Olivetti and found that it uses a mechanical switch, that I never saw before...
Could you help me find out more about it?

Here are the photos: (look big but are small in filesize =)

They look like a toasters. How does the keyboard and key caps look?

Looks like some strange ALPS clone.

mitsumi?
PS. it helps to post keyboard model, manufacturer, pics,...

Yep

7bit wrote:They look like a toasters. How does the keyboard and key caps look?

One cap is on the photo.
It is an olivetti numpad and on the PCB and inside the case there is a mitsumi label.
I will post a full picture when the caps are clean in about 30min.

30 mins are over! Where are the pictures!!!


ps: Please scale the pictures a bit so they are easier to see...

Photos added (with small filesize)

Tarkoon wrote:Photos added (with small filesize)

Much, much better!!!

Nice numpad!

The color of the photos is a little bit off - the stems are more yellow than white.

Do the switches have "ミツミ" (Mitsumi) stamped on the metal part?

it seems the thread on geekhack with my replies was deleted...
These are indeed mitsumi switches, I am guessing they are tactile, but non clicky. I have encountered that shade of mitsumi in a quantel video console. I have also had salmon-red mitsumi(tactile, non clicky) and teal mitsumi switches (tactile, clicky). All boards are with Haata in the States...I think he has disassembled them so he can give more info on them.

It is indeed tactile without click.
I will look again for the "ミツミ" on the switches when I come home from work, but when I inspected the switches the first time, I didn't see any manufacturer signs on the switches... Ok, in this language it looks like some scratches! ^^

What is really interesting about this numpad:
There is NO controller in it and it has a nine pin plug...

which means there's gotta be some controller chip on there- 9pins for +-17 buttons; good luck without some controller or multiplexer at least.

off wrote:which means there's gotta be some controller chip on there

Or just a regular 5x4 or 6x3 matrix.

5x4 would match.

woody wrote:

off wrote:which means there's gotta be some controller chip on there

Or just a regular 5x4 or 6x3 matrix.

Shoot. Ofcourse.

I decided that this Numpad belongs in the hands of one of the switch collectors and not in mine.
So if someone is interested to add this switch to his collection, I'll sell this Numpad for cheap.
So, what do you think about 15€ incl. worldwide shipping?

And gone!

Ascaii wrote:it seems the thread on geekhack with my replies was deleted...

A lot of threads on geekhack get deleted these days. Kinda random.