Need help identifying this switch

[dgreekstallion]

Hi guys,

I was given a couple vintage keyboards [nope, not IBM] and I need help identifying one of the switches, as the other KB is just a junky old rubber dome.

Said switch is attached, thanks guys.

[pbtforever]

Looks like a fujutsu.

[dgreekstallion]

Interesting. Never heard of that switch.

[CPTBadAss]

I think pbtforever means a Fujitsu. It looks like a Fujitsu Peerless.

[yasuo]

first switch hhkb

[dgreekstallion]

I think pbtforever means a Fujitsu. It looks like a Fujitsu Peerless.

Thanks man, that looks to be what it is actually. Is this board worth my time cleaning it up, etc.?

[dorkvader]

some people really like peerless, but many don't. I would say if you like to type on it its well worth restoring.

[dgreekstallion]

some people really like peerless, but many don't. I would say if you like to type on it its well worth restoring.

Sounds good to me. It is this keyboard, apparently: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Fujitsu_FKB4700 [Fujitsu FKB4700]... Now I wonder how if it will be easy to make it work with my modern PC.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

If it's like my FKB-4700, it needs an AT to PS/2 adapter and optionally a PS/2 to USB converter.

I don't know that I reassembled mine correctly — what I find is that the stabilised keys bind terribly if you press on the stabiliser shaft end. I forget whether they started off like that. I know that bigass enter keys stabilised that way (e.g. the Apple Standard Keyboard) really suck, so it wouldn't surprise me.

[jacobolus]

I know that bigass enter keys stabilised that way (e.g. the Apple Standard Keyboard) really suck, so it wouldn't surprise me.

Really? I’ve never had any problem w/ the enter key on an Apple Standard Keyboard. It could be that if the post and/or the little plastic piece that it goes into get dirty, they might stick more. If one is sticking, I’d suggest cleaning it out and possibly adding some lubricant.

Some keyboards that use a little plastic post as part of stabilizing big enter keys and spacebars, in addition to a regular wire stabilizer [I’ve seen such on several old Alps-mount-switch keyboards] additionally have a spring around the post, to help make sure the stabilizer doesn’t get caught.

[Findecanor]

I have heard of larger keys on Fujtisu Peerless having only a second post, no stabilising wire.
They are disliked by some for this, and for the switches being stiff and somewhat inconsistent depending on how fast you press them.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I have heard of larger keys on Fujtisu Peerless having only a second post, no stabilising wire.
They are disliked by some for this, and for the switches being stiff and somewhat inconsistent depending on how fast you press them.

Exactly.

With the Apple Standard Keyboard, I'm uncertain. Looking at the wiki, the indications are that slimass enter keyboards have a stabiliser wire and a guide post, and those with skinnyass ISO enter do not have the wire, as there isn't room: those just have the guide post. Now, I had a slimass enter model from a US Geekhack member, and regardless of whether mine had a stabiliser wire (I took far too few photos of it while I had it) if you pressed the upper part of the enter key, it would bind. It was pretty nasty. My Zenith SuperSport SX keyboard had dual stabiliser wires, one horizontal and one vertical, on its bigass enter key, and the key motion was flawless. Complex thing to reassemble though!

IBM also went for the guide post approach (no wire) with the Model M (and presumably the F) but they also put a slider inside the guide shaft, and for some reason that actually works properly. Alps and Fujitsu seemed to have cheaped out on something that doesn't work.

[jacobolus]

With the Apple Standard Keyboard, I'm uncertain. Looking at the wiki, the indications are that slimass enter keyboards have a stabiliser wire and a guide post,

That’s correct. The wire runs up the vertical part of the J-shaped enter, and the post is at the left side.

and those with skinnyass ISO enter do not have the wire, as there isn't room: those just have the guide post.

Ah. I haven’t used on of those. It’s possible those don’t work as well. Yet another reason to avoid ISO enter?

Now, I had a slimass enter model from a US Geekhack member, and regardless of whether mine had a stabiliser wire (I took far too few photos of it while I had it) if you pressed the upper part of the enter key, it would bind. It was pretty nasty.

I think something else was going wrong there. I have 3 different keyboards here with J-shaped enter and that design (post + wire), including the M0116 which don’t have this problem. In particular, no matter how I press the top of the enter key, it goes down and back up just fine.

But I just noticed, this Leading Edge DC2014 board, with a similar shaped enter key [actually slightly wider on the lower side] does tend to stick if I hit the very left edge of the key. This board was dirty and beat up when I got it, so I wonder if perhaps the plastic of the post or insert is degraded, or the stabilizer wire is bent slightly out of shape, or something.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

My M0116 was in immaculate condition — looked brand new. The enter key sucked before I took it apart, and it sucked after I put it back together, not that there was ever any indication that there was anything the matter with it. Strange.

At least I have confirmation that the FKB4700 keyboard really did have this fault; it's a shame, as the switches have a nice sound and feel, but the stabilisation is terrible. I may have made it worse by cleaning it though (which it needed) — maybe it had some dry lube before that I'd washed out. I didn't clean the M0116, nor did I have any reason to.

Note that with the Apple Standard Keyboard I'm not referring to a normal ISO enter, but Apple's stupid skinny one.

[dgreekstallion]

Thanks for all the help guys!