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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: DamienG on Mon, 04 February 2013, 03:06:05

Title: HP keyboards - forgotten?
Post by: DamienG on Mon, 04 February 2013, 03:06:05

Back in 1990 I got to use a HP Vectra for quite some time. It had a lovely keyboard but it seems there is very little information around about it. That's surprising given how many different models of PC and Workstation seem to have the same keyboard.

I've been trying to figure out if it had switches or not. I found this picture which shows one of the keys missing - it looks like it may have had springs given what has happened to the Escape key - http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/accession/102642037

It was very nice to type on - if it was rubber dome then it was a good one. The other cool thing about this keyboard is the natty purple legends, three shades of grey and the unusual blanks around the arrow keys.

Update: Another pic at http://www.hpmuseum.net/images/VectraQS16Swithscreen-35.jpg shows the very unusual numeric keypad caps. They have a little ledge and seem to be profiled so they are more horizontal despite the keyboard angle.

[)amien

Title: Re: HP keyboards - forgotten?
Post by: Leslieann on Mon, 04 February 2013, 03:22:29

Based on a Google search for part numbers and images, it's rubber dome

There are some good domes, IBM made some. Still not as good as mechanical, but some are a giant leap compared to today's $3 rubber dome keyboards.

Title: Re: HP keyboards - forgotten?
Post by: DamienG on Mon, 04 February 2013, 11:22:34

Hmm, looks like it may well be rubber dome - found somebody selling this one that has a keycap removed close-up.

http://www.recycledgoods.com/zoom.aspx?productID=16540

Interesting key profiles though.

[)amien

Title: Re: HP keyboards - forgotten?
Post by: rootwyrm on Mon, 04 February 2013, 14:50:02

I typed on more than a few of these. Ironically, not on the low end junkboxes. No, these shipped with PA-RISC. It is most definitely rubber dome, and hands down, one of the best rubber domes that has ever existed.

Title: Re: HP keyboards - forgotten?
Post by: rknize on Mon, 04 February 2013, 15:02:35

I have vague memories of typing on one of these and liking them.  At the time I was only familiar with Model M's as being the standard by which I tended to judge other keyboards.  IBM's own rubber dome version of the M also comes to mind as having a nice feel.  We had those all over the computer labs back in the day at school.

Title: Re: HP keyboards - forgotten?
Post by: polpo on Mon, 04 February 2013, 15:52:18

I also loved these keyboards. The key profiles were really unique, especially on the number pad. For a while I had an HP-150 which had the same type of keys but in a different layout: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/computinghistory/hp150.jpg