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geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: microsoft windows on Thu, 06 August 2009, 07:52:56

Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: microsoft windows on Thu, 06 August 2009, 07:52:56
I ran across an old AT-style 84-key keyboard made by Emerson with yellow Alps keyswitches. It's at about 30USD right now and there's been no bids on it for a few days.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-EMERSON-KEYBOARD-YELLOW-ALPS-SLIDER-F1-F10_W0QQitemZ290335662463QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item43995aa17f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: timw4mail on Thu, 06 August 2009, 11:58:33
Weird, it has the same layout as the IBM Model F.
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: itlnstln on Thu, 06 August 2009, 12:07:48
I think that the keyboard layouts from that era matches IBM's standard.  I had a Commodore Colt, and IBM XT clone, whose keyboard layout matched the XT layout for the Model F.  It was fairly short-lived as "XT" and "AT" moved from model names for IBM PCs to names for protocol standards.
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: ch_123 on Thu, 06 August 2009, 12:20:44
Quote from: timw4mail;107518
Weird, it has the same layout as the IBM Model F.


As did just about every PC-compatible board of the era.

I can't imagine those linear Alps would be all that great. Anyone used them?
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: itlnstln on Thu, 06 August 2009, 12:24:47
Quote from: ch_123;107525
As did just about every PC-compatible board of the era.
 
I can't imagine those linear Alps would be all that great. Anyone used them?

I think XsPhat has, and if I remember correctly, he said they weren't bad.  Not great, though.
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: ch_123 on Thu, 06 August 2009, 12:32:04
Oh yeah. I think I remember him getting rid of his one because it was a Zenith board that had an inbuilt speaker, and he couldnt disable it.
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: itlnstln on Thu, 06 August 2009, 12:36:22
Quote from: ch_123;107529
Oh yeah. I think I remember him getting rid of his one because it was a Zenith board that had an inbuilt speaker, and he couldnt disable it.

Yeah, that's the one.
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: microsoft windows on Thu, 06 August 2009, 12:41:12
When I first got my Model M, I looked for a speaker since at the time I didn't know too much about them. That's why I took it apart the first time.
Title: Old Emerson AT keyboard with Yellow Alps
Post by: ch_123 on Thu, 06 August 2009, 14:18:31
This was a beep speaker that sounded every time you pressed a key. IBM had ones in their terminal and Unix workstation keyboards which fulfilled the same job as an integrated beep speaker in a modern PC.