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Author Topic: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?  (Read 1753 times)

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Offline heretherebackagain

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Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« on: Mon, 14 November 2016, 22:21:36 »
I've found a retro looking keyboard online which looks pretty similar to some of the old IBM buckling spring stuff, and I was wondering if anyone could see if it has any value (not a membrane). Thanks.
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Offline Altis

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Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 14 November 2016, 23:19:50 »
Would you be able to post a photo of the label on the back?

Also, if you can describe the feel and sound when you press a key... or better yet, pull a keycap off and post a photo of the switch underneath.

That should make it much easier to figure out what it is.
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Offline Findecanor

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Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 14 November 2016, 23:20:13 »
It looks just like any regular keyboard from the late '90s. It is about as generic-looking as you can get. It is likely to be a rubber-dome keyboard.
The only thing that sets it apart are that the LED windows are a bit high up. I think I might have seen that before but I am not sure.

IBM's Model M keyboards have different edges, a prominent IBM logo and did not have Windows keys (AFAIK). I think all buckling spring keyboards with Windows keys were made by Unicomp - in which case you would see Unicomp's logo there instead.
The IBM Model M2 has very narrow edges and also a prominent IBM logo.

If this is a keyboard you found on eBay or other auction site: Be aware that many sellers on eBay use the term "clicky" in a very wide sense ... so don't be fooled by that.
A serious seller should always post a photo of the label on the back of the keyboard. There should be the name of the manufacturer, model number or at least a FCC ID. With the last one, you could look up the manufacturer and model on-line.

BTW: "Membrane" refers to the contact mechanism in the bottom of many rubber dome keyboards. A membrane keyboard is not necessarily a rubber dome keyboard or vice versa. Rubber domes could be moulded in sheets, be separate inside or even glued to a membrane but rubber domes could also be backed by a printed circuit-board.
« Last Edit: Mon, 14 November 2016, 23:33:39 by Findecanor »
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Offline opensecret

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Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 15 November 2016, 00:19:27 »
The layout, with the big backwards L-shaped enter key (which used to be very common) and tiny backspace key (a bad idea that wasn't so common) eliminates some possibilities (Dell, IBM, Northgate, etc.)  Chicony sometimes made boards with a similar layout.  It could have Alps switches but you'd have to pull a keycap to know.
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Offline Findecanor

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Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 15 November 2016, 00:25:03 »
Chicony can be ruled out because their right Control and Menu keys are together as wide as the right Shift.
That goes for both their mechanical and their rubber dome keyboards.
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Offline Tangtawan

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  • Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 15 November 2016, 13:51:35 »
FYI, IBM Model M is also a membrane keyboard. It utilizes buckling spring over membrane mechanism.
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Offline menuhin

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Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 15 November 2016, 14:09:33 »
Looks like a Key Tronic to me, a nice rubber-dome model with a bad-ass enter key.
https://keyboards.keytronic.com/home/products/specs/kt800p1.htm
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Offline davkol

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Re: Can anyone ID this retro keyboard?
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 15 November 2016, 16:58:02 »
OP posted the FCC ID elsewhere. It was something like J2S104DAW, i.e., the company was Siam United Hi Tech Ltd.
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