Enigma Research Model 9000 Business Keyboard

[1391406]

Saw this and thought it looked interesting. I looked up some info. and according to PCMag (1986) it'll work with both PC's and AT's via 180 degree 5 pin DIN. It's tactile and uses capacitive switches.

According to PCMag:

"Keyboard feel on the Enigma is very different from that on standard IBM keyboards. The Enigma uses solid-state capacitive switches with positive tactile feedback. It is much less "clicky" and requires less key depression. Unlike many third-party keyboards, the Enigma is not mushy and vague. Feedback to the operator is positive and unambiguous."

Sounds nice.

I'd love to snatch this up, but there's no room in the budget.

[jacobolus]

Looks like Key Tronic foam and foil. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Key_Tronic_foam_and_foil

At any given time there are a bunch of keyboards on ebay with those switches for much cheaper, if you want to try them. There are two types, one which is tactile with a buckling rubber sleeve, and the other which uses a big coil spring under each keycap. I believe from the description of this keyboard in an Infoworld ad (seen in google search) that this keyboard is probably the linear type.

Looking at old geekhack threads, I’ve seen these described as linear with a very hard bottom out, and also as linear with a very mushy landing. I don’t know who to believe... perhaps it depends on the condition of the foam, which is supposedly often worn out after 30 years?

[1391406]

According to this guy, the board was built by Key Tronic for Enigma Research, which is consistent with your first impression.

[jacobolus]

For example, here’s one of the buckling rubber sleeve type you could pick up for $30 shipped: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231322680537
There are probably cheaper ones than that if you go hunting.

[1391406]

A big part of what drew me to the Enigma is the vintage aesthetics. I love old terminal looking keyboards with nice, vintage key cap color schemes and layouts. Very pricey, though.

[0100010]

"#1 fan foam hand" enter key too.

[Touch_It]

"#1 fan foam hand" enter key too.

I agree with you, I think the keyboard looks amazing.  Vintage keyboards have always caught my eye.  I like being different.  With that being said that's way to pricey for me.  I always have a hard time justifiying spending much money on keyboards. (I have got multiple ones for free though, all vintage) Including a chicony KB-5151, ibm terminal m, 2 nmb black space invaders. ibm m2 and 2 dell AT101w's.

[dorkvader]

I agree with you, I think the keyboard looks amazing.  Vintage keyboards have always caught my eye.  I like being different.  With that being said that's way to pricey for me.  I always have a hard time justifiying spending much money on keyboards. (I have got multiple ones for free though, all vintage) Including a chicony KB-5151, ibm terminal m, 2 nmb black space invaders. ibm m2 and 2 dell AT101w's.

The big issue with many vintage KBs are that they feel horrible to type on. Really vintage keytronic foam&foil (like my wang kb) aren't too bad, but the newer keytronic ones are worse. Also, the foam has degraded over this time so they perform worse. Other vintage KBs used stackpole3 / vintage hitek switches which are a far cry from the spaceinvaders ones. My TI 911 video terminal KB has those and it looks awesome but it awful. (on the flip side, it appears to have NKRO, which is nice)

You've been lucky, the chicony probably has decent switches, IBM sure does, spaceinvaders are always nice, and the dell AT101w usually are good too.


For this, I probably wouldn't pay more than about $60 for it, and that's even if I had the cash to burn.

[Touch_It]

I agree with you, I think the keyboard looks amazing.  Vintage keyboards have always caught my eye.  I like being different.  With that being said that's way to pricey for me.  I always have a hard time justifiying spending much money on keyboards. (I have got multiple ones for free though, all vintage) Including a chicony KB-5151, ibm terminal m, 2 nmb black space invaders. ibm m2 and 2 dell AT101w's.

The big issue with many vintage KBs are that they feel horrible to type on. Really vintage keytronic foam&foil (like my wang kb) aren't too bad, but the newer keytronic ones are worse. Also, the foam has degraded over this time so they perform worse. Other vintage KBs used stackpole3 / vintage hitek switches which are a far cry from the spaceinvaders ones. My TI 911 video terminal KB has those and it looks awesome but it awful. (on the flip side, it appears to have NKRO, which is nice)

You've been lucky, the chicony probably has decent switches, IBM sure does, spaceinvaders are always nice, and the dell AT101w usually are good too.


For this, I probably wouldn't pay more than about $60 for it, and that's even if I had the cash to burn.

You make some good points.  The chicony has monteray blues, witch I love and use as my daily driver at home.  Sadly the keyboard is well worn.  My NMB with space invaders (have 2) came from a high school and were practically unused.  Using one as we speak at work to type on.  One dell i sold and the other is on loan to a friend who uses it at work.  My terminal IBM has a few broken rivets but shows no signs of wear.  At any rate I probably went way off topic.  I'm still a fan of the looks of the keyboard in the OP.  Shame its so expensive.  Even if it feels bad it deserves a good home on looks alone.  Some keyboards are works of art IMO.

[1391406]

I would think it's possible to replace the foam in the Enigma with foam from a good condition Key Tronic.

[dorkvader]

I would think it's possible to replace the foam in the Enigma with foam from a good condition Key Tronic.

I saw this same concept posted about by a SOL-20 enthusiast.

The main problem with this is that then you need two keytronic keyboards.

[1391406]

I would think it's possible to replace the foam in the Enigma with foam from a good condition Key Tronic.

I saw this same concept posted about by a SOL-20 enthusiast.

The main problem with this is that then you need two keytronic keyboards.

Based on a cursory search, it seems some people have made replacement pads while others have harvested them.