Author Topic: A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.  (Read 2866 times)

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Offline Parak

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Offline Infinite north

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 01:59:08 »
I was expecting magnets. these are membrane boards I would imagine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membrane_keyboard

Offline Konrad

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 02:12:14 »
They're membrane keyboards, designed for special applications: industrial, POS/cashier, educational, accessibility.
 
A search at the FCCID/OET site with the FCCID clearly shown in one of the photos ("JQE SKB") leads to Unicorn Engineering, now extinct, but these (educational) IntelliTools keyboards are shown here. The bewildering variety of adapters and such allow them to be used on circa-1980 computers like Apple ][x, XT/AT, C64, and clones galore.
 
[Edit]
Assuming they still work, you could probably use them on a modern PC.  You might need PS/2 and USB adapters, since I wouldn't be confident the supplied adapters would work.
I doubt it'd be worth the effort.  Membrane keyboards are hugely resistant to the sticky fingers and spilled drinks of small children, but they generally don't age very gracefully; as the years pass, the (rubberized) plastics tend to get brittle and the contact points erode away. Besides, these ones look kinda cheap ... I wouldn't even want to use them in their intended (educational) role these days, since even cheap used keyboards would probably be "better" suited for today's children than these ancient oddballs.  They won't contain any useful salvage beyond the obsolete adapters.
« Last Edit: Fri, 27 August 2010, 02:47:12 by Konrad »

Offline itlnstln

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 07:29:40 »
Quote from: Konrad;217150
Unicorn Engineering, now extinct


Oh, reeeeally.


Offline Konrad

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 08:01:12 »
Um, yup?
 
As far as I could tell (in < 3 min, I admit) the company called Unicorn Engineering which made these keyboards no longer exists. A few companies called Unicorn Engineering appear to exist, but
1) they don't seem to have anything to do with keyboards or controllers of any type,
2) they are based in different countries (not Richmond, Canada),
3) they didn't seem to exist or market any products until more than a decade after IntelliTools disappeared ...
 
[Edit]
Though a second look (two minutes ago) found that this UE renamed itself as either/both Academic Software Inc or the IntelliTools Company, now based in Idaho. They make these (and other) keyboards for education and disabled use.
 
My bad. Trust nobody, eh?  It's good to see people who aren't spoonfeeders.

Offline itlnstln

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 08:02:13 »
Never mind.


Offline Konrad

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 08:05:52 »
That'll learn 'im.  Extinct unicorns ... pah!  Everyone knows you can still see 'em at the zoo.

Offline kriminal

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 08:58:21 »
eww..
Geekhacked Filco FKBN87M/EB modified with Brown, black and blue cherries, doubleshot keycaps
Deck KBA-BL82 with Black cherries
Cherry G84-4100LCMDK-0 Cherry ML switches
Cherry G80-8200hpdus-2 Brown cherries
IBM Lexmark 51G8572 Model M Keyboard
Geekhacked Siig Minitouch KB1948
IBM Model M Mini 1397681

Offline erricrice

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #8 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 15:43:55 »
<------

Is much confused by the lack of sequitur statements in this thread.
I\'m selling all my Shizz! Please buy it!

White ALPS: Northgate Omnikey 101-NCS(Real-Complicated)****Filco Zero FKBN87Z/EB(Fukka Simplifieds)****Siig MiniTouch(XM Simplifieds)
Black ALPS: Black Dell AT-101W(Real-Complicated)****ABS M1(Modded Black ALPS, Linear)
Buckling Spring: Model M 1391401(1988 & 1993)
Cherry Blues: DAS III Pro
Cherry Blacks: Cherry G80-11900
Cherry Browns: 3X Cherry G80-8113LRCUS-2
Cherry MY: G81-7000HPBUS-2****G81-3000LANUS-0****Modded to 20g
Rubber Dome: HHKB Lite 2 (White & Black)

Logitech G5[/FONT]
Erricrice\'s Song of the Day: Gorillaz - El Mañana
Yup, Blatantly stealing this from you Kishy, hope you don\'t mind, it\'s a great idea.

Offline clickclack

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A bunch of "how the deuce do they work" things.
« Reply #9 on: Fri, 27 August 2010, 15:57:11 »
Quote from: itlnstln;217225
Never mind.


Lawls!
862+ keyboards and counting!   R.I.P.ster          Vendor link ->Clack Factory