TG3 Data911 Backlit Keyboard w/ Touchpad

[REVENGE]

This is a short take, pictorial review of the Data911 rebranded police keyboard built by TG3 Electronics, featuring 82 plate mounted Cherry Black key switches, individual red backlight LEDs, 2 piece dye sublimated and glued key caps, a rubber dome splash guard, and a backlit Synaptics touchpad.

From its natural habitat in a Californian police squad car, this board came to me in surprisingly good condition.


You can tell by the lack of wear on the spacebar that this board hasn't seen many hours in the field.


Metal back cover with 4 central screw holes for the mounting plate assembly, which has been removed. 9 screws on the outer edge secure the cover to the casing.


Made by TG3, sold as a Data911 MDS2000 Mobile Data System.


Nice soldering, though there is a lot of flux residue.


TG3 branded PCB.


Controller area with touchpad ribbon cable. Be careful not to rip the top chassis from the PCB before you disconnect the cables.


Good ol' Cypress controller. This particular example is PS/2.


Omron microswitches for the mouse buttons.


This is the rubber dome splash guard sheet. With the sheet in place, switch activation force increases dramatically and tactility is present, causing the Cherry Blacks to feel like super heavy, snappy rubber domes.


Don't worry, this one is by far on the cleaner end of the spectrum.


Don't judge a keyboard by its splash guard!


Shiny.


Red LEDs make for appropriate, practical backlights as they tend not to interfere with your night vision.


A genuine Synaptics touchpad in every board!


Overall, this is a well-built, high quality keyboard made to withstand harsh working environments. But don't take my word for it, police departments across the country have purchased hundreds, if not thousands of these boards for use within their squad cars. But like the venerable Crown Vic inside which it's spent its past life, this TG3 is a bit bulky and hard to handle. For one thing, it was never designed to be used on a desktop, so its shell is extra "thick" without any angle adjusters. Coupled with the touchpad sticking out in the front, typing can be uncomfortable depending on your setup. Personally, I also feel unnatural typing on flat key caps, but at least key feel is excellent with the splash guard removed. The layout is a little quirky, but usable given its compactness. Overall, while its quality is undoubtedly outstanding, usability issues prevent this TG3 from being a winner for many people.

[sordna]

Nice review and pics, thanks! Where do you get so many interesting keyboards?

[REVENGE]

Nice review and pics, thanks! Were do you get so many interesting keyboards?

A plethora of different sources, many of which are local to me. I won these TG3s at an auction.

[heedpantsnow]

Great review!  I have one as well (mine was WAY dirtier!).  I think the Data911's are very well suited for their intended usage, and very ill suited for any other.  The thickness is extreme, the flat topography is annoying, and the backlight somewhat inconsistent with caps on.  However, for patrol car work and entering in names, tag numbers, and porn URL's, it works fantastically.

[CeeSA]

what do you think about the touchboard and the "mouse" buttons?

[REVENGE]

what do you think about the touchboard and the "mouse" buttons?

Using my PS/2 to USB adapter, it is smooth and decently sensitive, but the physical area is small. The buttons feel good - less tactile than my plastic mouse buttons because the keys themselves are like rubber domes. The entire area is basically sealed as well, and there are LEDs below both mouse buttons and the touchpad to provide some illumination.

[the_buff]

what do you think about the touchboard and the "mouse" buttons?

I'm not sure what others touch pads are like, but mine is perfectly smooth and after any extended use the friction on your finger is brutal.  A little texture to keep your finger from sticking when it starts to sweat goes a long way.  The mouse buttons work well, surprisingly responsive I thought.

[mtl]

Just got one of these keyboards from REVENGE.  A few quick impressions:

• The splash guard is interesting. The combination of a linear MX with rubber dome gives the keyboard a Topre-like feel. Keys are too hard to press with blacks, but the effect may work really well with reds. The rubber dome provides tactility, and the Cherry switch doesn't need bottoming out to register, which is similar to how a Topre switch works.
• Splash guard cleans up really easy. However, one key (FN, thankfully) stuck to the membrane and tore off part of the rubber dome when removing the cap.  May be due to age, or maybe a sticky fluid was spilled on it at some point.
• The metal plate does not fit the Deck 83 keyboard.  The problem is the PCB is about 1 cm too long on the top edge.  Looks like there's a decent amount of electronics on this part, so it's not as simple as trimming off excess PCB.  It may fit a TG3 BL82 keyboard, though.

Overall, some nice parts for $15 shipped.  Thanks REVENGE!

[REVENGE]

Just got one of these keyboards from REVENGE.  A few quick impressions:

• The splash guard is interesting. The combination of a linear MX with rubber dome gives the keyboard a Topre-like feel. Keys are too hard to press with blacks, but the effect may work really well with reds. The rubber dome provides tactility, and the Cherry switch doesn't need bottoming out to register, which is similar to how a Topre switch works.
• Splash guard cleans up really easy. However, one key (FN, thankfully) stuck to the membrane and tore off part of the rubber dome when removing the cap.  May be due to age, or maybe a sticky fluid was spilled on it at some point.
• The metal plate does not fit the Deck 83 keyboard.  The problem is the PCB is about 1 cm too long on the top edge.  Looks like there's a decent amount of electronics on this part, so it's not as simple as trimming off excess PCB.  It may fit a TG3 BL82 keyboard, though.

Overall, some nice parts for $15 shipped.  Thanks REVENGE!

I'm glad you like it mtl, and nobody thus far has tried this keyboard with low-force springs and the splash guard in place.

[sordna]

Here's my TG3, I put some KBC Poker keycaps on it, illustrating the different key profiles... the TG3's are all flat, the Poker's make up the usual curve across the rows. Last photo has backlighting on at full intensity, showing the Poker keycaps' translucency.

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24741[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24742[/ATTACH] [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 24744[/ATTACH]

[heedpantsnow]

Here's my TG3, I put some KBC Poker keycaps on it, illustrating the different key profiles... the TG3's are all flat, the Poker's make up the usual curve across the rows. Last photo has backlighting on at full intensity, showing the Poker keycaps' translucency.

*snip*

wow, that's got to be one of the best ideas I've seen all day!  I'm gonna try it too!

[sordna]

Actually, a better idea would be to get some keycaps from WASDkeyboards.com, I think white engraved keycaps should glow quite nicely!

[sordna]

I figured out a way to do scrolling with the touchpad on the TG3 under Linux:
To see the name of connected input devices, do: xinput list
Mine (USB) was listed as: "TG3 Electronics TG3 Electronics BLT Keyboard"
You cannot do 2-finger or edge scrolling, but holding down the right button you can scroll, with this little script:

Code: [Select]

DEVICE="pointer:TG3 Electronics TG3 Electronics BLT Keyboard"
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Middle Button Emulation" 8 1
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Wheel Emulation" 8 1
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Wheel Emulation Button" 8 3
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Wheel Emulation Axes" 8 6 7 4 5

Above snippet also sets up middle button emulation (press the 2 mouse buttons together to produce a middle click), as well as ability for vertical AND horizontal scrolling while holding down the right button.

EDIT: What a great board this is after removing the splash membrane, I wonder if any cops do this mod :-)

[xmrxkrazy]

Here's my TG3, I put some KBC Poker keycaps on it, illustrating the different key profiles... the TG3's are all flat, the Poker's make up the usual curve across the rows. Last photo has backlighting on at full intensity, showing the Poker keycaps' translucency.

wow. I didn't notice how translucent the keys were until you pointed them out. shined a light through my keys and "saw the light" lol.

[REVENGE]

Wow, ABS Poker keys look REALLY nice on a backlit board! Nice find!

[Half-Saint]

Actually TG3 w/ touchpad is ideal for HTPC use in the living room, if you don't have or need a wireless keyboard!

[dippingriz]

I figured out a way to do scrolling with the touchpad on the TG3 under Linux:
To see the name of connected input devices, do: xinput list
Mine (USB) was listed as: "TG3 Electronics TG3 Electronics BLT Keyboard"
You cannot do 2-finger or edge scrolling, but holding down the right button you can scroll, with this little script:

Code: [Select]

DEVICE="pointer:TG3 Electronics TG3 Electronics BLT Keyboard"
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Middle Button Emulation" 8 1
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Wheel Emulation" 8 1
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Wheel Emulation Button" 8 3
xinput set-int-prop "$DEVICE" "Evdev Wheel Emulation Axes" 8 6 7 4 5

Above snippet also sets up middle button emulation (press the 2 mouse buttons together to produce a middle click), as well as ability for vertical AND horizontal scrolling while holding down the right button.

EDIT: What a great board this is after removing the splash membrane, I wonder if any cops do this mod :-)

Thanks so much for putting that up!  I just set my new keyboard up with xbuntu and put the code in.  Very useful.

[sordna]

Thanks so much for putting that up!  I just set my new keyboard up with xbuntu and put the code in.  Very useful.

Glad to hear it, thanks for reporting it worked for you!

[REVENGE]

Nice one sordna!

dippingriz: Glad to see you got one! Still haven't found the rest of mine.

[dippingriz]

I'm really trying to find the regular touchpadless one now.  But I'm still game for another one.  These things are pretty useful for media PCs.  Only thing I really miss on them is the win key/ super key.

Nice one sordna!

dippingriz: Glad to see you got one! Still haven't found the rest of mine.

[REVENGE]

I'm really trying to find the regular touchpadless one now.  But I'm still game for another one.  These things are pretty useful for media PCs.  Only thing I really miss on them is the win key/ super key.

Those regular ones can be had on eBay here and there for usually a bit more than the TP version.

[dippingriz]

Yeah, I'm currently bidding on one right now.

[silent-circuit]

How realistic would it be to cut this PCB and rewire / resolder to get rid of the touchpad?

From what I can gather the controller is down there on that part of the board, so that's frustrating, but possibly still doable. I'm pretty damn good with a soldering iron. Main question is if there's enough room in the casing to "fold" the cut PCB up under the board (wrapped with electrical tape or somesuch) and chop the touchpad portion of the case.

I'm going back and forth on if I should buy one of these. I'm perfectly willing to play with it and maybe break it (I'm only paying $30 shipped from 5traus -- thanks!) but I'm really tempted to just pay $60 or so shipped for a TG3 BL82 and avoid messing with it.

[REVENGE]

How realistic would it be to cut this PCB and rewire / resolder to get rid of the touchpad?

From what I can gather the controller is down there on that part of the board, so that's frustrating, but possibly still doable. I'm pretty damn good with a soldering iron. Main question is if there's enough room in the casing to "fold" the cut PCB up under the board (wrapped with electrical tape or somesuch) and chop the touchpad portion of the case.

I'm going back and forth on if I should buy one of these. I'm perfectly willing to play with it and maybe break it (I'm only paying $30 shipped from 5traus -- thanks!) but I'm really tempted to just pay $60 or so shipped for a TG3 BL82 and avoid messing with it.

Seriously, why would you want to go through the hassle with so many new BL82s in stock! You should always keep in mind how much your time is worth!

[REVENGE]

Sweet, review is visible again. Since more retired TG3-TPs are now on eBay, this review may be of interest again.

[typo]

this is like a good compromise between cherry and topre because of the rubber. people are talking about this in other threads and do not realize it exists already. I wish they would put the rubber on the deck. me, because of the thunk feel. however it makes sense because there are often spills in gaming environments.

i see that either they did save money or some other reason with the flat keys. all their products have the same keys. either they are that good or they are saving on molds. in a cop car there may be a reason for a flat profile and they just carried that over to deck. i don't know. i do really like the flat profile though so it does not matter to me.

i bet these are more expensive than deck that everyone complains about the price of. i mean new for a police department. anyways, how can some people say this is not quality built? it is built like a brick sh!t house.

oh, one more thing....any lawyers here? how can it say made in usa and have Chinese sub components inside? plus it says made by a company other than whom actually makes it. i guess they checked that out because i doubt they are stupid.

[heroinbob]

I got a couple of the TG3 Data911 backlit keyboards.
These have Vintage black switches w/ chrome springs (not bronze like other vint's)

Does anyone know where I can get info about the keycaps? 

Thank you,
Paul (HB)

[mrgoldenzombie]

Just another opinion. I like this keyboard but at the same time I don't. The board is cute and with the touch pad is make it quite interesting to use. All of them come with a rubber splash guard, I had to rip it out on the first key press. I found it too mushy but others may like it. I also hate the layout. defiantly not standard in any means. The led lights aren't a cool gaming bright led, no they are a more low powered and off red kind of color. It's hard to explain but not like a regular backlit keyboard. All in all this keyboard is neat and cool to use but not very functional unless you use this every day and you might like it