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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Bromono on Wed, 14 January 2015, 17:45:17

Title: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Wed, 14 January 2015, 17:45:17
http://imgur.com/WRxb8N0

The switches are weird as well. they feel mechanical but don't look mechanical...
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: heedpantsnow on Wed, 14 January 2015, 17:46:48
Cool!  Got any switch pics?
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Nover on Wed, 14 January 2015, 18:00:29
My guess wouldve been keytronic f&f, but those look mechanical enough. Now I want a switch pic too. :)
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: hwood34 on Wed, 14 January 2015, 18:10:52
Hmm, kinda cool :thumb:
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Senith on Wed, 14 January 2015, 18:20:16
Looks pretty cool :D
If you can, would also be curious for switch pics!
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Findecanor on Thu, 15 January 2015, 04:28:54
I'm guessing Fujitsu leaf spring only because of the shape of the keycaps remind me of FMTowns.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:06:47
Got some switch pics. Its weird I cant find anything Online with the model number. When I type it in it give me a full terminal.

http://imgur.com/a/raCJj
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: nubbinator on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:09:10
Looks like Futaba:  http://deskthority.net/wiki/Futaba_clicky_switch
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: CPTBadAss on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:09:32
Got some switch pics. Its weird I cant find anything Online with the model number. When I type it in it give me a full terminal.

http://imgur.com/a/raCJj

Looks like a Futaba switch (http://deskthority.net/wiki/Futaba_clicky_switch). Not sure if they're clicky, you'd have to tell us.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:10:41
Nope not clicky. Its linear. Not as heavy as blacks and not as light as reds.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: CPTBadAss on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:14:12
Nope not clicky. Its linear. Not as heavy as blacks and not as light as reds.

So I'd guess it's a linear Futaba board that came with that terminal model you found. I'm pretty sure there are other Futaba switches besides clicky. And there might not have a discrete part number for the board itself?
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:24:49
http://imgur.com/Wrk2J59
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Thu, 15 January 2015, 09:38:20
It says on the wiki

"The provisional name is a misnomer, as there is evidence of an identical-looking linear version"

Think anyone on Deskauthority would be interested?
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: heedpantsnow on Thu, 15 January 2015, 10:23:25
Neat!  I love cool old stuff.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Thu, 15 January 2015, 13:20:05
It says on the wiki

"The provisional name is a misnomer, as there is evidence of an identical-looking linear version"

You are 100% positive that every single switch is perfectly linear? Although I've found a fair amount of evidence in favour of linear Futabas, not everyone agrees with me on this, which is why I'm keen to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a linear one exists.

Normally I'd suggest you open one up for inspection, but these switches don't come apart :-) It's a shame that you didn't find a busted keyboard, as then there would be no harm in sacrificing a switch to prove 100% once and for all that the linear version exists, and what exactly is inside one of them.

And yes, then we need to rename the stupid things. jacobolus dislikes my choice of "SMK second generation", which makes me wary about using "Futaba second generation". I agree that this is a dubious choice, since we can't prove the absence of intervening or preceding product ranges; for example, HaaTa turned up some amazing old Alps switches from way back when, long before the ones we all know and love.

Unfortunately I really suck at naming things (all my switch names suck) but unless anyone out there can do any better than me at contacting Futaba for details¹, we'll need to make something up.

¹ Companies on my no-reply list include: Alps, Forward, Futaba, NMB (USA), Sejin, Mitsumi, Wong's Electronics; companies on my awkward and uncooperative list include: iRocks, MacAlly, SMK, RAFI, Ortek, Printec DS — all companies who the right person (especially Japanese, Korean and Chinese speakers!) might be able to coax more out of. I was hoping that tinnie could tackle Wong's as they're a Hong Kong company. So much we still need to learn and knowledge is being destroyed every year as more tooling and documentation is discarded, staff leave, and companies close down. Native Asian language speakers are key to this, I feel, but over at Deskthority I've failed to find anyone willing to help with anything.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Thu, 15 January 2015, 13:36:30
It says on the wiki

"The provisional name is a misnomer, as there is evidence of an identical-looking linear version"

You are 100% positive that every single switch is perfectly linear? Although I've found a fair amount of evidence in favour of linear Futabas, not everyone agrees with me on this, which is why I'm keen to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a linear one exists.

Normally I'd suggest you open one up for inspection, but these switches don't come apart :-) It's a shame that you didn't find a busted keyboard, as then there would be no harm in sacrificing a switch to prove 100% once and for all that the linear version exists, and what exactly is inside one of them.

And yes, then we need to rename the stupid things. jacobolus dislikes my choice of "SMK second generation", which makes me wary about using "Futaba second generation". I agree that this is a dubious choice, since we can't prove the absence of intervening or preceding product ranges; for example, HaaTa turned up some amazing old Alps switches from way back when, long before the ones we all know and love.

Unfortunately I really suck at naming things (all my switch names suck) but unless anyone out there can do any better than me at contacting Futaba for details¹, we'll need to make something up.

¹ Companies on my no-reply list include: Alps, Forward, Futaba, NMB (USA), Sejin, Mitsumi, Wong's Electronics; companies on my awkward and uncooperative list include: iRocks, MacAlly, SMK, RAFI, Ortek, Printec DS — all companies who the right person (especially Japanese, Korean and Chinese speakers!) might be able to coax more out of. I was hoping that tinnie could tackle Wong's as they're a Hong Kong company. So much we still need to learn and knowledge is being destroyed every year as more tooling and documentation is discarded, staff leave, and companies close down. Native Asian language speakers are key to this, I feel, but over at Deskthority I've failed to find anyone willing to help with anything.

Well I have owned keyboards with Blacks, Reds, Clears, Blues and White Alps.

Blues and White alps are definitely clicky.

These are by no means clicky, They feel like closer to reds then anything. Just not as light. I can rest my hand comfortably without the keys giving in. and provide no tactile feedback like clears. I would take a video of me typing on it. But I am no good with youtube.

None of the keys are clicky besides the caps lock, but the caps lock is one of those keys that stay down until pressed again.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: mogo on Thu, 15 January 2015, 14:20:20
You should wrap those image urls with [img] and [/img blocks, friend.

I'd be curious to try out those Futabas (assuming they are) even though I'm not a fan of linear at all. ^^
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Thu, 15 January 2015, 16:32:31
OK, so officially linear Futaba clicky switches exist.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Thu, 15 January 2015, 16:48:40
OK, so officially linear Futaba clicky switches exist.

I would say so. I'll see if anyone is interested on deskauthority. comes with the terminal to. everything works o.o

They can verify for themselves =D
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Fri, 16 January 2015, 10:58:05
So this is the whole setup. it appears to have belonged to a florist. I looks like it belongs in a museum haha.
http://IMGUR.COM/REARebU

[attach=1]
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Fri, 16 January 2015, 11:43:45
So this is the whole setup. it appears to have belonged to a florist. I looks like it belongs in a museum haha.
http://IMGUR.COM/REARebU

(Attachment Link)

Booting it up! oh gawd lets see what happens.
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: Bromono on Fri, 16 January 2015, 11:54:51
OH GAWD. WHAT DO I DO GUYS?

[attach=1]

If you get this reference, free internet points
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: bazh on Fri, 16 January 2015, 13:09:39
interesting keycaps, at first I thought they were spherical, turned out they're cylindrical
Title: Re: Found this weird keyboard from an old terminal.
Post by: heedpantsnow on Fri, 16 January 2015, 14:30:24
War Games haha great movie