Can anyone identify this old switch?

Halvar · 10 Apr 2013, 19:57

From an ebay auction:

Does anyone know these?

I don't know anything about the keyboard, no name or article number was given.

tipo33 · 11 Apr 2013, 02:20

The photo is not that good, but it looks kinda like the ALPS vintage tee mount switch. Like the Apple M0110 but in a different colour. That being said, I have never seen this keyboard, and am giving my best guess.

E TwentyNine · 11 Apr 2013, 04:36

That's one unique looking keyboard. Can you give a link to the auction?

kbdfr · 11 Apr 2013, 06:56

Game over anyway:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/151020500330
Halvar, did you buy it?

I'm happy it hadn't Cherry switches, otherwise I would have been really tempted to buy it.
Look at this other photo with the beautiful DT keycap

HaaTa · 11 Apr 2013, 06:57

Not sure of the switch, but the key caps and the stabilizers look like vintage Marquardt.

Halvar · 11 Apr 2013, 09:54

Thanks for all your help!

I bought it, don't really know why. I like the caps and their very nice & strange graphical captions, like a "lol" key and both an "xxx" and "xxx" key, and all kinds of arrows ... And I was the only bidder ...

What I'm going to do with it depends on how the switches feel I guess ...

I don't believe it is the Alps T-switch, because I don't see its "T", but I'll have a closer look when I have it.

@HaaTa: that's interesting, why do you think so? I have never seen an older Marquardt board than the ergo, and a quick Google search doesn't turn up anything either. Can I find pictures of older Marquardt boards anywhere?

Edit: typo

HaaTa · 11 Apr 2013, 15:47

The switches are not the same, but there are many similarities in the keyboards.

https://plus.google.com/photos/11384566 ... banner=pwa

Halvar · 11 Apr 2013, 16:11

Definitely, font and cap form look very similar. Thanks for posting!

Halvar · 14 Apr 2013, 23:31

I've got the board now. Thanks again, HaaTa! I'd have never found out without your posting, but after some googling it's definitely also a keyboard from an Olympia typewriter.

I don't know the exact model, but the "Olympia Standard 200" uses the same keyboard with several keys missing:
http://www.quoka.de/gewerbe-business/bu ... d-200.html

The switch is different from what HaaTa posted, but probably compatible in respect to keycaps. These are linear though and feel pretty much like a stiffer MX black.

: Marquardt vintage switch; IMG_3861 (Large).JPG (61.66 KiB) Viewed 3112 times

Made by Marquardt:

: Marquardt vintage switch; IMG_3862 (Large).JPG (69.34 KiB) Viewed 3112 times

You thought clickclacks are keycaps? THIS is a keycap:

: Olympia typewriter keycap; IMG_3867 (Large).JPG (50.98 KiB) Viewed 3112 times

A small slit for a big keycap:

: Olympia typewriter keycap; IMG_3870 (Large).JPG (53.28 KiB) Viewed 3112 times

So unfortunately, this was probably bound to happen:

: broken Marquardt vintage switch; IMG_3871 (Large).JPG (73.42 KiB) Viewed 3112 times

Nice legends:

: Olympia typewriter keycap legends; IMG_3873 (Large).JPG (84.43 KiB) Viewed 3112 times

The board itself has no controller, the connector just exposes the plain keyboard matrix (with diodes) and the caps lock LED. With a teensy I could probably get it to to work with a little effort, but I'm not sure yet if its worth it given the layout and the dull switches. And I'd need a casing, too.

Daniel Beardsmore · 15 Apr 2013, 21:53

Marquardt is starting to make more sense. It always seemed odd that they would spontaneously decide to manufacture a switch!

Also, the first picture makes more sense now — I thought it showed the keycap mount (making it different from vintage Marquardt, and more like a typical Hall effect mount) but now I can see that it's just the broken slider :)

Halvar · 15 Apr 2013, 23:05

Yep, the seller dvde (93,5%) could have mentioned it in the description ...

Or I could have been more wary ...

Anyway, a new switch I haven't seen anywhere before ... And a few decorative keycaps.

HaaTa · 15 Apr 2013, 23:36

And for those reading. I highly recommend the Marquardt switch I posted, it's the most similar feel to an IBM Beam Spring and has a very loud click.
Unfortunately, I haven't really seen too many of them around...