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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: theshadow27 on Mon, 12 March 2012, 21:21:03

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Mon, 12 March 2012, 21:21:03

Found this forum on Friday :wave: have a leopold w/browns on the way... But anyway... I've had this on the shelf for a few years and thought y'all would appreciate it

Incase you aren't sure what it is, the silkscreen will clarify things. "KEYBOARD"
(http://theeshadow.com/files/kbd/heath78kbd1.jpg)

Double-shots:
(http://theeshadow.com/files/kbd/heath78kbd2.jpg)

Have more pics, can't post them apparently.

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Mon, 12 March 2012, 21:23:25

1978. Nuff said.
(http://theeshadow.com/files/kbd/heath78tn3.jpg)

They don't build 'em like they used to...
(http://theeshadow.com/files/kbd/heath78tn4.jpg)

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Mon, 12 March 2012, 21:25:00

Different design from anything I've seen on here. Sort of like a clapper:
(http://theeshadow.com/files/kbd/heath78kbd_ani2.gif)

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: Parak on Mon, 12 March 2012, 23:03:48

I saw that that switch on an ancient DEC keyboard that mr_a500 has.

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: IvanIvanovich on Mon, 12 March 2012, 23:42:29

I have a couple 'unusable' vintage keyboards in my collection. While they are nice to look at and admire the build quality, they just piss me off due to my inability to mod them... that **** is just beyond my skill level. Most of the time I don't even know WTF I am looking at with some of their designs. Way too much over engineering going on back in the day. Some of those old boards are like a Rube Goldberg device.

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: Parak on Tue, 13 March 2012, 00:36:11

Quote from: lysol;544134

Some of those old boards are like a Rube Goldberg device.

I think the INVAC Photoelectric wins in that category.

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Tue, 13 March 2012, 07:42:46

I was mostly hoping to use the caps for something cool, but it they are cut at a very funky angle (it must have been mounted near 45 degrees) and are probably unusable.

I love the font though - anywhere I can get a set of cherry MX caps like that?

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: kps on Tue, 13 March 2012, 08:36:51

The keyboard is from an H19 terminal. Those switches were very common at the time.

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Tue, 13 March 2012, 09:59:50

Hmm, it's close to Gill but I don't think that's it - the Q tail in Gill doesn't penetrate, the "V" in the "M" doesn't touch baseline, front foot on the "R" is curved rather than straight, the center arm on the "E" and "F" are even rather than staggered, caps "J" crosses baseline, etc...

It's closer to the old typewriter fonts, I've seen them referred to as exotic Gothic's ("Art Gothic", "Bulletin Gothic") which nobody has bothered making into fonts. Eg the "Remie Scout" key font is nearly identical:
(http://www.munk.org/projects/typewriters/remington-monarch-02.jpg)

And the type sample isn't bad either:
(http://www.munk.org/projects/typewriters/remingtonrandscout-typesamp.gif)

But you're saying that it would be impractical to get a set like these cut? How much are we talking... $1k, $10k, $100k?

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Tue, 13 March 2012, 10:15:51

I would even settle for something like the milspec 33558 instrumentation font:

(http://theeshadow.com/files/kbd/ms33558.jpg)

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Tue, 13 March 2012, 10:41:19

Quote from: ripster;544481

Plus, you really should see this.  It's what Signature Plastic basically offers anyway.

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?26573-Oh-Noes-Signature-Plastics-Does-Comic-Sans

I just threw up a little in my mouth. That's the type of thing that warrants internet censorship. WTF.

Are there no alternatives to "signature plastic" for manufacturing keys? Who do the keyboard manufactures use? Can't possibly all be in-house...

Title: 1978 Heath Corp Mechanical
Post by: theshadow27 on Tue, 13 March 2012, 10:51:11

Quote from: ripster;544124

My interest drops rapidly when they become pre-PC keyboards.

For a while at Geekhack collecting IBM Beam Spring keyboards and just looking at them sit there, uncommunicative and non-responsive, was considered the cool thing.

You're right; If I can't salvage the caps I'll get it running over PS2. Now what to map the "reset" key to... CTR-ALT-DEL? lol