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geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: Mental Hobbit on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:29:36

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: Mental Hobbit on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:29:36

Robotron keyboard (http://cgi.ebay.de/Tastatur-robotron-A7150-DDR_W0QQitemZ150407195764QQcmdZViewItemQQptZM%C3%A4use_Tastaturen?hash=item2304f7ac74) for an old evil East-German commie computer. My understanding is it has foil contact switches (http://www.robotrontechnik.de/html/zubehoer/tastaturen.htm#k7672) and there's probably no way to get it to communicate with a modern capitalist PC anyway. Might still be a nice collectible. Not for me though.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:39:04

Sweet.  Their website still uses frames.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: elservo on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:45:10

I always enjoyed frames.  Frames always made it easier for me to get around MST3K webrings.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: Mental Hobbit on Wed, 20 January 2010, 13:48:03

I don't think it's "their" website, to my knowledge Robotron hasn't survived '89. It's a fan site.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 20 January 2010, 14:02:10

Quote from: elservo;152359

I always enjoyed frames. Frames always made it easier for me to get around MST3K webrings.

Webrings were the best.  So was MST3K; I loved that show.  Obvously, you do, too.  I need to get some of those on DVD.  I haven't seen MST3K in, like, 10 years, or something.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: sixty on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:17:52

Made in Auerbach :eek:
Did Robotron become Cherry?

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: itlnstln on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:20:35

No.  Cherry was a US company before being sold to ZF.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: sixty on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:30:58

Quote from: itlnstln;152382

No.  Cherry was a US company before being sold to ZF.

However, Cherry has been producing switches and keyboards under the name of "Cherry Mikroschalter GmBH" since the 80s in Auerbach. The ZF Electronics deal did not happen until mid 2008.

This keyboard from Robotron also has "Robotron Elektroschaltgeräte Auerbach" on the label.

Two companies producing microswitches and keyboards in the same town? I find it very unlikely to not be related.

Ontopic
According to the page linked in the OP this is a rubberdome:

Quote

Elastomer-Tastaturen: Bei diesen Tastaturen waren die Schaltkontakte in Form versilberter Leiterbahnen auf einer Leiterplatte angeordnet. In geringem Abstand über jeder Taste befand sich ein Stempel aus leitfähigen Material (meist Leitgummi), der beim Herunterdrücken den Kontakt herstellte. Vorteil dieser Tastaturart, die auch heute bei allen PCs angewendet wird, ist der preiswerte Aufbau. Nachteilig ist die große Empfindlichkeit gegenüber Verschmutzung und Korrosion.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: Mental Hobbit on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:41:25

Sixty scared me. :suspicious:

My conclusion after a short Google search: Two Auerbachs.
Auerbach in Bavaria, which is home to Cherry/ZF Electronics.
Auerbach in Saxony, which used to host a Robotron factory.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: 42.tar.gz on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:41:28

There's more than one Auerbach (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auerbach) in Germany. Robotron was located in Auerbach/Vogtland (Saxony), Cherry in Auerbach in der Oberpfalz (Bavaria).

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: sixty on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:41:41

Quote from: webwit;152389

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/VEB_Kombinat_Robotron
Also mentions Auerbach.

Good information. Different Auerbach after all. How very confusing. I was thinking it was for them to import their keyboards from the west to begin with. This explains it, case solved.

Also, looked at the page some more: It seems that only one of the "DDR Terminals" used actual mechanical keyboards. The rest appears to be rubber domes or foil contact models.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: Mental Hobbit on Wed, 20 January 2010, 15:52:51

Strange that keys on all these boards are marked with the common english terms: Shift, Escape, Caps Lock...

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: lal on Wed, 20 January 2010, 17:43:00

Quote from: itlnstln;152357

Sweet.  Their website still uses frames.

Yeah, it's nostalgic in every way :)

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: elservo on Wed, 20 January 2010, 20:23:31

The good thing about MST3K is the jokes usually aren't dated, so the show never feels old.  You should definitely pick up the DVD set with "Hobgoblins" on it, or the one with "Space Mutiny."  Those are good episodes to pick up.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: rdjack21 on Wed, 20 January 2010, 20:33:10

The first thing I thought when I read the title of this thread was:
(http://www.tripoint.org/robo/credit1.gif)
(http://www.tripoint.org/robo/robintro.gif)
(http://www.tripoint.org/robo/robstart.gif)

I dumped way to many quarters into that game back in the day :)

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: itlnstln on Thu, 21 January 2010, 07:55:11

Quote from: elservo;152528

The good thing about MST3K is the jokes usually aren't dated, so the show never feels old. You should definitely pick up the DVD set with "Hobgoblins" on it, or the one with "Space Mutiny." Those are good episodes to pick up.

"Space Mutiny" was good.  I definitely want to pick up the set.  I'll, then, have to figure out how to get the GF to watch it.

Title: [de] Robotron
Post by: keyb_gr on Thu, 21 January 2010, 18:28:05

Quote from: Mental Hobbit;152403

Strange that keys on all these boards are marked with the common english terms: Shift, Escape, Caps Lock...

Same applied to the lettering on consumer electronics devices, actually. Maybe it was supposed to demonstrate "hey, we're up to par with the others". Reality was that things from the West were usually copied with several years of delay and had to make do with a somewhat meagre choice of semiconductor components (hardly anything fancy, mostly licensed or unlicensed copies of older or low-end ICs for example).