geekhack

geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: o0002 on Sun, 08 February 2015, 08:11:02

Title: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: o0002 on Sun, 08 February 2015, 08:11:02

Hey everyone,

Need a bit of help. I've found a dell keyboard from 1989 and it looks very much like Model M but I can't find any info on it. It doesn't seem to be on the deskthority wiki under Dell keyboards. Does anybody know if it is mechanical? Here's a pic of the label on the back

[attachimg=1]

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: o0002 on Sun, 08 February 2015, 08:28:37

Here's a picture of the front:

[attachimg=1]

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: fohat.digs on Sun, 08 February 2015, 08:53:11

The keys look yellowed, which IBM keys don't do, and the font of the legends is wrong.

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: suicidal_orange on Sun, 08 February 2015, 08:58:57

Can you carefully pull off a keycap and take a closeup pic of whatever lies beneath?  Escape or left/right arrow should be easiest as you can grip opposite sides, just be careful to pull it straight up.

Someone should be able to identify the switch type from that pic :)

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 08 February 2015, 09:02:51

Key Tronic.

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: chyros on Sun, 08 February 2015, 10:34:17

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 08 February 2015, 09:02:51

Key Tronic.

Rubber dome then?

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: o0002 on Sun, 08 February 2015, 11:11:38

It definitely looks very similar to a Key Tronic. Even the lettering. Don't have access to the board so can't pull off a cap. Key Tronic are weighted rubber dome if I'm not mistaken. Not sure how that feels compared to normal rubber domes. or even what that looks like compared to normal RD.

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 08 February 2015, 11:58:32

Quote from: chyros on Sun, 08 February 2015, 10:34:17

Quote from: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 08 February 2015, 09:02:51

Key Tronic.

Rubber dome then?

I imagine so (buckling rubber sleeve actually, I assume)— I doubt it would be linear.

The giveaway is the label but the keycap typeface matches too; that keyboard is contemporary with one of the ones depicted here:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Key_Tronic_Model_F_clone_series

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 08 February 2015, 16:43:29

It seems to be a variant of the Key Tronic KB101 Professional Series:

http://www.recycledgoods.com/keytronic-kb101-professional-series-at-keyboard-kb101-yellowe.html

Ah, here we go:

http://curio.egloos.com/343122

"Rubberdome + capacitive" — tactile capacitive (buckling rubber sleeves)

There are way, way, way too many Key Tronic models …

Title: Re: Old Dell Enhanced Keyboard (from 1989)
Post by: o0002 on Sun, 08 February 2015, 17:00:34

Thanks Daniel  :thumb:

Apparently people don't really think much of Buckling Rubber Sleeves:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=20727.0