Unknown Radioshack Keyboard

[Trent]

I was roaming around some local thrift shop and I came upon two of these radioshack keyboards:






I had a picture of the keys, but that must have been accidentally deleted. They had spring right underneath them, don't know what kind that would be. They were $3 a piece, $6 total. They did not have the mechanical key feel, and I definitely didn't have anything old enough to need to use them, so I did not buy them.

Should I go back and purchase them? Does anyone here want them? I am out of town from where I originally found them, but if need be I can probably have someone at home purchase them.

Trent

[webwit]

Get it for the keycaps. The switches are probably old 70ties linear garbage.

[Trent]

I am out of town, but luckily a friend is going to go back to the store and purchase them for me. I found them on Sunday, so I doubt that they'll be gone. Horray!

[nathanscribe]

Hmm, something about that keyboard rings a bell... maybe my memory's playing up, but I seem to remember seeing one before. Will have a dig when I get home.

[kbdfr]

Reminds me of a Grundig keyboard I bought quite a time ago and immediately dumped.
No function, rubber domes, pad printed flat keycaps.
The photo looks much better than the keyboard itself did:

[Icarium]

You never know, might be hall effect switches or something fancy..

[nathanscribe]

Found it! I knew I knew it! The Atari 1200XL:



I don't know what links, if any, Radio Shack/Tandy had with Atari, but I'm intrigued.

[Trent]

Well, the friend managed to find them, and purchase them for me

I'll post pics when they get shipped to my current location.

[kaen]

uggghhh, beautiful keycaps

[ripster]

Radio Shack. You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.

[itlnstln]

Radio Shack. You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers.

That's the biggest line of bullshit I have ever heard. They probably couldn't give you directions to the store if you asked them.

[ripster]

The answer is always, "What Cell Phone contract you want"?

[itlnstln]

They might have answers, but they're always the wrong ones.

[ripster]

There is a strong possibility that this keyboard will have Mitsumis.

It's stuff like this that make me such an expert.

I'd check the Geekhack Wiki but it's currently slower to resolve than Lindsay Lohan's probation.

[Trent]

So I got the keyboard in the mail, they seem to be linear switches. I took all of the keycaps off of one keyboard. The other I am holding off on, the museum I volunteer at actually has an old Atari 1200XL that I will so be refurbishing, if the keyboard is shot I'll give them mine.

It looks like these keycaps would work a-ok with cherry switches?

uggghhh, beautiful keycaps

I probably won't need the second keyboard for the museum, please PM me if you would be interested in some kind of trade. I don't have any keyboards that can take these keys so we may be able to do business

[webwit]

It won't fit Cherry because the plastic around the cross is too wide. The slider won't go down.
Don't we get to see the Mitsumis?

[JBert]

I'm not sure they will work without modification. Sure, they might fit, but you might not be able to press the switch.

You press the stem partially into the switch, which means that the round part needs some clearance around it.

[webwit]

Top middle cap is an example which doesn't fit. Bottom left for ugly fix. The Atari keycaps have an even thicker area around the cross.

[Trent]

Ah ok, well, I'll have to get a cherry board to test the caps and the probable modifications I'll need to make. I don't mind the ugly underside as long as the caps would fit well and look good.