Hi all,
I just bought and received an early ‘90s BT-7000 keyboard, the same type of keyboard that came with my first ever PC, a no name 386SX-25 with
TURBO!!! ‘Ya had to have the
TURBO!!!!! Great old time retro memories...
As a nice plug, it came from Recycled Goods, who were nice enough to check it over and have assured me that it is functional, so there’s a nice plug for a good vendor. Its this guy:
http://www.recycledgoods.com/btc-btc-7000-at-keyboard-vintage-style-with-coiled-cable-tested-good.html , Fcc ID E5X5R58TC-FT7000.
Anyway, the keyboard has a 5 pin AT connector. Is there any kind of adaptor to get this board USB compatible? Or, even PS/2 compatible, and from that USB compatible?
Also, does it take any other keycaps? I read on another old thread that the switches might actually be Cherry compatible. They certainly seem to have the same style mounting shaft visually. The board is odd in a good way, with that awesomely massive enter key, and it is color shifting, the neutral gray fading and yellowing below the function keys. I was thinking that most of the RetroBlight keyset might perchance work and look great on this if the keys are, in fact, compatible.
The action is certainly unique. Some keys feel mushy, like cheap rubber domes. Others, like the numpad enter key and the control and tab keys, actually feel and sound quite clicky, very much like my IBM Model M. I seem to recall my original board being inconsistent like this one is, as well. It was never an expensive board, so this type of odd action is to be expected, I guess. Having said this, it had a better action than the IBM Aptiva rubber dome board that eventually replaced it.
Thank you for any pointers on the adaptor and key cap fronts.
Bob
