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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:02:16

Title: What switches is these?
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:02:16: (http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=7641&stc=1&d=1264971815)

right here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250572417810&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123)
They don't look like anything that I'm familiar with. Any insights?
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: didjamatic on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:08:52: Oooooh, those are the Ibeam's by Micro Switch, they're...
(http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/7/2/5/4/9/6/webimg/342345604_o.jpg)
Just kidding, I've never seen them. The Ibeam shape is very interesting and it looks like a very well made keyboard. The finish and construction on those 2 shots is nice.

EDIT - inserted label photo. Also, I noticed the keys look a little flat.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: microsoft windows on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:16:25: Can you show us all a picture of the whole keyboard? It seems to have an unusual layout.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: JBert on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:19:48: Looks like a weird keyboard layout though with the Esc and cursor keys stuffed in the home/insert/delete block.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:21:24: well MSwin, they're right there in the auction- but yeah, I understand, they're pretty hard to see, all tucked away down there in the middle of the page.

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=7642&stc=1&d=1264972800)

<3
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: didjamatic on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:25:31: Just did a little reading and it appears "Micro Switch (http://www.microswitch.com/index.cfm/ci_id/146513/la_id/1.htm)" was a division of Honeywell. They changed their name in 2000 to Honeywell Sensing and Control.

Since this keyboard appears to be dated 86 that seems consistent.

Auction description says Victor because that is on the cable. Here's an old Victor 9000 (http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=210)
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:29:54: Quote from: didjamatic;155158
Just did a little reading and it appears "Micro Switch (http://www.microswitch.com/index.cfm/ci_id/146513/la_id/1.htm)" was a division of Honeywell. They changed their name in 2000 to Honeywell Sensing and Control.

Since this keyboard appears to be dated 86 that seems consistent.

NICE find didja. Still, I don't see any suitable keyswitches in the microswitch gallery, or in the history. Could this be a 3rd party switch?

Also, I've heard much about Honeywell keyboards being some of the best among contemporaries, what kind of switches did they generally use?
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:32:08: Microswitch made Hall Effect switches, which were used in some 70s terminal keyboards. However, they also made rubber domes with sliders similar to the one pictured. Some of the "Spacesaver" Model F terminal keyboards have them.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: didjamatic on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:35:26: That's funny, I was just reading about them making Hall Effect keyboards. If this was a Hall effect, I'd buy it just to satisfy my curiosity.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:36:40: I seriously doubt it. Some of their Hall Effect keyboards pop up on eBay from time to time. In particular, look for old terminal keyboards with Sperry or UNIVAC branding.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: didjamatic on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:38:58: So... Who's going to buy it and report? :)
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:41:33: dang, that's cool. I'll keep an eye out for them- not that I would be able to afford it.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:42:54: Quote from: didjamatic;155170
So... Who's going to buy it and report? :)

I would, but not with those molding artifacts. That's a deal breaker right there.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:45:10: Check this out. (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=7377&highlight=Hall+Effect)

Also made by Microswitch.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: didjamatic on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:51:33: Here's another Victor, different board, similar layout. So it was probably made for Victor by Honeywell/Micro Switch.
(http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/victor.jpg)
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: didjamatic on Sun, 31 January 2010, 15:54:14: Quote from: ch_123;155176
Check this out. (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=7377&highlight=Hall+Effect)

Also made by Microswitch.

Hey, now that I see those in color, there are a couple of boards on ebay with the same switch HERE (http://cgi.ebay.com/Lot-of-2-VINTAGE-HoneyWell-122ST33S-122-Key-KeyBoards_W0QQitemZ350309903065QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item519018ead9#ht_2239wt_1021).

(http://www.cleanoutyouroffice.com/pic3/honeywell5.jpg)
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: spolia optima on Sun, 31 January 2010, 16:08:27: I hate it when rubber dome sliders masquerade as mechanical switches :mad:
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: msiegel on Sun, 31 January 2010, 16:23:51: crazy keyboard designers! the tilde is *not* a giant sine wave

(http://www.cleanoutyouroffice.com/pic3/honeywell5.jpg)
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: JBert on Sun, 31 January 2010, 16:48:40: Quote from: didjamatic;155178
Here's another Victor, different board, similar layout. So it was probably made for Victor by Honeywell/Micro Switch.
Show Image
(http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/victor.jpg)
Eh? A model F AT clone with 83 keys? They felt creative.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: microsoft windows on Sun, 31 January 2010, 18:29:11: Quote from: msiegel;155188
crazy keyboard designers! the tilde is *not* a giant sine wave

Show Image
(http://www.cleanoutyouroffice.com/pic3/honeywell5.jpg)

What kind of switches are those?
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 31 January 2010, 18:31:02: They obviously thought the SysRq key useless... Obviously they had no foresight for us Linux users...
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: microsoft windows on Sun, 31 January 2010, 18:34:03: That seems strange, as SysRq was used in MS-DOS as well.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 31 January 2010, 18:34:49: Quote from: microsoft windows;155208
What kind of switches are those?

See the thread I linked on the previous page. They're rubber domes with sliders.
Title: What switches is these?
Post by: microsoft windows on Sun, 31 January 2010, 18:35:46: How well do they feel? I've found some pretty good-feeling rubber dome slider switches in the past. Are they smooth and lightweight?