geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: HighPlainsDrafter on Sun, 01 November 2015, 01:15:34
-
Picked up a glorious 84-key Displaywriter KB. Great feel on the letter and number keys.
However, the space bar emits a somewhat loud click/ping compared to the other keys (even though generally understood that most kb's space bars do that to a lesser extent). The space bar pings louder and higher pitched than the spacebar of a Model M and F. Is that normal for a Displaywriter's space bar? Anything that can easily be done to dampen it a little? (without major surgery). Any point in pulling it off and re-seeding it?
Any tips appreciated, though I can live with it if that's just the way it is.
-
I was going to let someone more familiar with that keyboard respond, but until then you can always remove the space bar and check that the stabiliser bar is still properly attached, the spring (if there is one) is in place and so on.
Sometimes that is all it takes.
-
Thanks for the tip. A key puller couldn't budge the space bar, but a lever / wedge brought it part way up, but not disconnecting. The amount of force needing to pull it further seems alarming so I chickened out from trying further to fully disconnect the space bar.
I wondered whether there were any online videos showing anyone typing on their own display writer, to see how their space bar sounds. The following vid around the 22 second mark makes me suspect the sound I hear on mine is by design and not a sign of anything detached.
And a matter of getting used to unless I do some mod to dampen it.
-
ugh, the long nails of the guy in that video totally messed with me
anyway, i want that keyboard too! :o
did you get yours working on a modern PC?
-
I knew the words 'Display Writer' sounded familiar--there's an old DOS program by that name made by IBM. I wonder what the connection is?