Triumph Adler mysteries

[intelli78]

There are some TA mysteries I'm hoping to solve...everybody loves a good mystery and I think I have exhausted Google so I'm putting them up for discussion here:

- This board: http://i.imgur.com/YPDPLGc.jpg
Looks like a G81-1000 Adler w/ old Cherry MY, but old forum posts and some say it's not actually TA but a "German police" keyboard.

Anyone know more about it? Who owns it/posted that pic? Dat connector...

- The TA board shown with this Dario 286: http://i.imgur.com/qorfygr.jpg
Gray modifiers with blue legends and a TA logo on front? 
Do want! Anybody ever seen another of these?

- Anyone have any 1989 TA catalogs that would have the Dario 286 in it? I've found a lot of earlier catalogs, but none from that year or 1990.

- Sixty from DT has said, "A certain Korean hardcore collector contacted me and it turns out that the board originally indeed has sky blue keycaps! He has one in a much better conditions and it looks really pretty. I guess I have to find hydrogen peroxide after all." Anyone have pics of this unaged board or know who he's talking about? Sixty is no longer active.

- G80 HAD/927.85210.00 is the designation found on the labels of the 3000s. What does the decimal designation mean and is there anywhere to cross-reference that record to maybe find more info? Same question about the Auftr-nr (order number) here: http://i.imgur.com/nKl8oiR.jpg
Those records must be long gone... or are they? 

[heedpantsnow]

Ohhh, I love stuff like this. Mystery. Intrigue. People's grandparents fleeing Eastern Bloc over snowy mountains with only the clothes on their back and their keyboard.

[jonathanyu]

I think the grey modifiers with blue legends one is the same color as Olivetti.

[Den441]

I wish I had a friend in Germany. Then I could go there and look around for myself. Electronics recyclers, second hand shops, any place that might have old computer equipment. I doubt I would get very far just going there on my own and not knowing the lay of the land and language though. I'm hoping that maybe the TA group-buy will create another TA fanatic that happens to live in Germany. Then, they could look and ask around and see what they can find out. "The TA quest" would make for a great video!

[IvanIvanovich]

TA and Olivetti were the same company for awhile. No surprise they used some of the same stuff rebadged during that period.

[Den441]

TA and Olivetti were the same company for awhile. No surprise they used some of the same stuff rebadged during that period.

Wow, I didn't know that. That makes a whole lot of sense given the pictures I have seen of the different Olivetti and TA Cherry boards. It seems that Olivetti took over TA in 1986, so the timeline makes sense as well. Now I know why the cases and colors between the two looked so similar. They were likely the same.

[Den441]

-edit double post

[heedpantsnow]

-edit double post

Mysterious

[Dihedral]

Interesting! PostForUpdates.

[Philister]

A mystery thread will bear necro posting, I guess...

Here are photos of what I currently still own (all gathered within roughly a year from non-afficionado sellers) to clear up some of these mysteries.

Explanations:

- The (first) Olivetti board is less rare, I think. It comes with what are likely Cherry-made ABS doubleshots.
- The board with the 'TA' labelled case (I never yet got round to cleaning - wonder how nice I can make it look again, would need retrobrighting as well, though) also had black MY switches (got rid of the innards) and comes with blue on grey PBT dyesub keycaps (see selection in photo) likely not made by Cherry as they have a different profile.
- The board with the teal modifiers (originally sky blue as is still apparent when looking under the caps - wonder if retrobrighting would return them to their original colourway) came with an Olivetti computer, for what that's worth. It can now be officially classified as G81-1106HAD.