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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 07:08:14

Title: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 07:08:14
I didn't realise that I had any photos of my beige Dell rubber dome keyboard:

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

I rather liked this keyboard, before it died. If I remember correctly, the key action was comparatively light.

I was forever needing to pull the domes and clean them and the contacts, so we know that it had discrete domes that were not glued to the membrane. It was a single membrane design with conductive domes. Eventually I broke a trace during cleaning; at the time I had no idea what I'd done that would cause a whole load of keys to die at once, as I knew nothing about keyboards, other than that I'd just lost the only good keyboard I had.

From what I can tell, it's one of Silitek's unlabelled QuietKey keyboards. It's either a SK-1000REW or SK-8000. The pictures I'm finding of the SK-8000 show a rubber sheet, while the SK-1000 series is confirmed as having discrete domes (depending on production runs, it seems), so it looks like it's an SK-1000REW.

So, I did have a Dell QuietKey after all!

PS The missing Windows keycap is my idea of Windows lock; I cannot account for why the X keycap is upside down, though.
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Defect on Sun, 20 July 2014, 07:37:47
First thing I noticed was the upside down X before even reading your post.

I hope that doesn't become a thing...
(https://i.imgur.com/ipcX9qa.jpg)
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 07:45:47
Oh noes, what have I done …
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: thesupergeek on Sun, 20 July 2014, 13:27:37
I needed to hop on this trend.


(http://i.imgur.com/whyqC7c.png)
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: hwood34 on Sun, 20 July 2014, 13:29:14
Damnit my spacebar and alt are already flipped, isn't that enough for you people :p?
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: intelli78 on Sun, 20 July 2014, 13:32:24
I am so confused. Was there a question? Why pix of a bug?
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Xowie on Sun, 20 July 2014, 13:33:51
....
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: lkong on Sun, 20 July 2014, 13:53:16
dsa key caps user said no :cool:
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: davkol on Sun, 20 July 2014, 15:00:14
From what I can tell, it's one of Silitek's unlabelled QuietKey keyboards. It's either a SK-1000REW or SK-8000. The pictures I'm finding of the SK-8000 show a rubber sheet, while the SK-1000 series is confirmed as having discrete domes (depending on production runs, it seems), so it looks like it's an SK-1000REW.
I had an SK-1000REW (GYUR26SK) and it had a rubber sheet. SK-1000RE (GYUR10SK) didn't. I currently have an SK-8000 and I think it was made only in ANSI and with a different font without text on Shift, Backspace, etc.
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: tp4tissue on Sun, 20 July 2014, 15:01:37
that's a moth right?
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 15:33:32
I had an SK-1000REW (GYUR26SK) and it had a rubber sheet. SK-1000RE (GYUR10SK) didn't. I currently have an SK-8000 and I think it was made only in ANSI and with a different font without text on Shift, Backspace, etc.

It looks like the change to rubber sheet occurred within the production lifetime of the SK-1000REW, as both types seem to exist. Mine cannot be SK-1000RE as it had Windows keys.

It also presumes that Silitek have manufacturing capacity — it's really hard to keep track of which companies do and which do not. Silitek might be like Costar in that they don't actually make keyboards, only design them and co-ordinate other manufacturers, so it may be that this resulted in the different versions from two different factories both making them at the same time (hence the crossover with both types being made at the same time).

I am so confused. Was there a question? Why pix of a bug?

I've been wondering for ages what my old beige Dell keyboard was, as I really liked it, and it died long before I got interested in keyboards. The keyboard I replaced it with (a Cherry G83-6153LPQGB/02) was terrible and renewed my concern about keyboard quality, but it would be a few more years before I would make the breakthrough.

I've got a large collection of photos of animals, especially insects and spiders, and I was filing away a couple of photos under Lepidoptera when I found those two photos of the Dell keyboard, and since the membrane was exposed, I realised that I had a chance of figuring out what it is.

As for why I would bother with such an uninteresting moth, I have no idea. I don't even know what it is.
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: terrpn on Sun, 20 July 2014, 15:52:13
i think this is the same board, but ansi?

i had to pop mine completely apart to clean-- it was disgusting when i found it

not bad for a rb :eek:


Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 15:55:01
There's a number of QuietKey versions: at least one NMB, and several from Silitek. I can't tell which yours is off-hand.
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: fohat.digs on Sun, 20 July 2014, 16:01:48
The original good ones, made in Thailand or Malaysia or somewhere, had individual colored domes (yellow and/or orange, also both light and dark blue) affixed to a clear milky translucent sheet.

These were the really good ones, I think that the model numbers started with 45 or R or D or something like that.
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 16:05:23
You're probably thinking of the NMB RT7D5JTW version — NBM's production is in Thailand.

The NMB AppleDesign Keyboard was made the same way: discrete domes glued to the top membrane sheet.
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: terrpn on Sun, 20 July 2014, 16:12:31
right..................it's in my office at work?

can't remember the model number
Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: terrpn on Sun, 20 July 2014, 16:16:12
You're probably thinking of the NMB RT7D5JTW version — NBM's production is in Thailand.

The NMB AppleDesign Keyboard was made the same way: discrete domes glued to the top membrane sheet.

that's exactly what it is

Title: Re: Just out of curiosity
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 20 July 2014, 16:20:44
I created this page a while ago, with what I could find out:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Dell_QuietKey