Does anyone know about this weird IBM keyboard?

[berserkfan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-KEYBOARD-104-KEY-DATA-ENTRY-P-N-09F4231/111153393455?_trksid=p2045573.m2102&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D17058%26meid%3D937152022009521335%26pid%3D100034%26prg%3D7917%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D181206314850%26

This guy isn't a buckling spring, if any of you are wondering. It's a weirdo-weird. I've only seen this layout on Kishy's blog before. Any information on the switches? And layout? And usage? Let's hear it for the collective Geekhack wisdom!

[microsoft windows]

I REMEMBER WHEN ONE OF THOSE POPPED UP A FEW YEARS AGO. IF I REMEMBER RIGHT THEY HAD RUBBER DOMES IN 'EM.

[Thimplum]

That layout looks pretty cool. It's too bad that it's rubber dome...

[Tarzan]

New in box, eh?  That's pretty cool, for something made in 1990...

The lower pictures (an actual ebay ad with good pictures!  Yowza!) show some with the caps off, they do look like rubber dome sliders.  Also this descriptive text:

104-KEY Soft Touch

[berserkfan]

well, apart from the rubber dome alphs, it seems some keys look a bit like Cherrys except they are not. Wonder what they are and why you would use two types of switches on the same keyboard.

Also wonder about the keycaps. They're very weird.

[bazemk1979]

rubber dome, someone bought it and made it work with soarer.

[dorkvader]

Also wonder about the keycaps. They're very weird.

Its a normal ibm "data entry" layout. They actually made "data entry" layout keyboards for many of the models. I have a keyboard for a "model C" (model F technology) keyboard with this layout.

The rubber domes in this are by honeywell, I believe. These keyboards have been on ebay for a while.

It's a striking similarity to the "space unsaver:" 104 key model F, but you can spot the difference, as the F version has a "raised" part of the case all the way across, and does not "step down" past the 24 F keys as this does.

[ch_123]

Rubber dome for the one of the later 3270-compatible terminals.

There are 104-key Model Fs, but they are quite rare.

Its a normal ibm "data entry" layout. They actually made "data entry" layout keyboards for many of the models. I have a keyboard for a "model C" (model F technology) keyboard with this layout.

My beam spring board has the same layout as those ones.

[rootwyrm]

These are special data entry keyboards, as the name implies. The layout was designed specifically for high volume, high CPS data entry for things like transcription, order entry, etcetera. The objective being to maximize the CPS of the keyboard by altering the layout. Which is why it's so weird. There's probably a bunch of RPQ'd layouts for differing systems, since these are almost exclusively found with TwinAx setups using S/370, S/390 and AS/400 so generally CRM, order entry, etc, on homegrown (in-house developed) systems.

Did it work? Hell if I know. But that was the logic behind the design. In theory, someone doing the data entry should be able to do so without ever moving their hands from the home row. In practice I really don't know.