geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Interest Checks => Topic started by: SP_Will on Thu, 17 April 2025, 16:52:17
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DSS Microcomputer: A Digital Renaissance from the Archives of Yesteryear
Ah, the BBC Microcomputer! While we never had the pleasure of housing the actual machines in our Custer workshop, fate delivered unto us something perhaps more precious—the original brass legend inserts, discovered during what I call an "archaeological dig" through our vast archives. Like finding hieroglyphs that unlock an ancient language, these brass treasures emerged from a forgotten filing cabinet, nestled between color swatches from the Great Beige Era and several prototype molds from when DSA was merely a twinkle in our designer's eye. This DSS Microcomputer set marries these recovered artifacts with our modern manufacturing artistry, allowing us to recreate that iconic British computing aesthetic with obsessive precision.
We've color-matched the distinctive red, olive and black scheme through seventeen iterations (testing under three different lighting conditions, as is tradition), ensuring that typing on these caps will transport you back to the days when BASIC was the lingua franca of computing enthusiasts. Each doubleshot legend is created through a dance of machines and human hands—our vintage brass inserts guided by artisans who remember when keycaps arrived in manila envelopes and group buys were conducted via mail order forms. The result is a set that honors computing heritage while delivering the unique DSS profile experience: that Goldilocks zone between SA's towering presence and DSA's low-profile humility.
(https://i.imgur.com/rYZ6SiO.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/joCYSni.png)
Pricing and Availability TBD.
Vendors TBD (please reach out to us if you're interested)
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Saved for later
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GLWIC- I love the function row!
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Glad to see more DSS
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Extensions would need to add "\|" key to R4 to complete the correct ISO UK support.
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I've been dreaming about this ever since I discovered the hobby, can't wait for this. Great to see the original legends too.
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Looks awesome! Though as someone mentioned above, looks like the base kit is missing R4 /| key?
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Since I came across a working BBC micro in the wild today, I thought I'd post the original inspiration for this set.
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Did you consider making a key fitting in the bottom right of the alphanumeric area be olive like the Copy key in the photo?
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For those unfamiliar, the DSS sits in that beautiful location not as tall as the SA, but has more sculpting than the DSA.
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I'd like to see all words on the keys using the same font size. It looks like two or three different sizes there, and the prototype looks like it is using only one font size, though I can't be certain from the photo. Maybe use abbreviations or two lines to achieve this.
I was also going to complain about the function keys, but the original looks like that, so that's cool actually.
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For those unfamiliar, the DSS sits in that beautiful location not as tall as the SA, but has more sculpting than the DSA.
(https://i.postimg.cc/P5MFBfvk/DSS-DSA-SA-Cherry.png)
https://www.keycaps.info/stack
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Interested! :)