Univac 1710 Keyboard

HaaTa · 26 Nov 2013, 03:06

To commemorate the 3rd Annual Deskthority Awards, I'm going to completely take over the Photos & Videos column on the frontpage

Yet another interesting Univac find this year. This one, while not as cool as this one, is still absurd and interesting in it's own right.
The Univac 1710 Keyboard was for a Univac punch card...puncher?...you get what I mean

. Has a solenoid clicker, and two 6 line relays that look to push separate keypresses (not confirmed). As well as being the first Microswitch keyboard with actual microswitches!

There are two types of switches, one is just a pulsed switch that just pulses the line. These are used on all the standard alphabetical keys.
The other type is a sustained switch, which behaves as usual. These are used on the modifiers and function keys.

The switches are clicky, stupid tall, and pretty wobbly due to the casing over the microswitch. The pins of the microswitches are really hard to desolder. And the PCB is the thickest I have ever seen...

The connector...also crazy.

nourathar · 26 Nov 2013, 08:28

beautiful jugendstil pcb !
thanks for this, I was wondering whether it had the same switches as the one you posted before..

Matias · 26 Nov 2013, 10:19

Really nice caps...

Muirium · 26 Nov 2013, 13:48

Goodness, aren't they!

For a peek inside Univac, America's first computer company, I recommend the classic documentary The Machine that Changed the World:

Shortly after the war ended, ENIAC's creators founded the first commercial computer company, the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation in 1946. The early history of the company's funding and progress is told through interviews and personal home videos. They underestimated the cost and time to build UNIVAC I, their new computer for the US Census Bureau, quickly sending the company into financial trouble. Meanwhile, in London, the J. Lyons and Co. food empire teamed up with the EDSAC developers at Cambridge to build LEO, their own computer to manage inventory and payroll. It was a huge success, inspiring Lyons to start building computers for other companies.

The Eckert-Mauchly company was in trouble, with several high-profile Defense Department contracts withdrawn because of a mistaken belief that John Mauchly had Communist ties. After several attempts to save the company, the company was sold to Remington-Rand in 1950. The company, then focused on electric razors and business machines, gave UNIVAC its television debut by tabulating live returns during the 1952 presidential election. To CBS's amazement, it accurately predicted an Eisenhower landslide with only 1% of the vote. UNIVAC soon made appearances in movies and cartoons, leading to more business.

http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_tha ... he_future/

Daniel Beardsmore · 26 Nov 2013, 22:21

OK, now that's funny — real microswitches inside the switches!

Jmneuv · 27 Nov 2013, 01:34

univac makes me giggle.. the name and then those tv tube shaped caps

mr_a500 · 27 Nov 2013, 18:46

Muirium wrote:Goodness, aren't they!

For a peek inside Univac, America's first computer company, I recommend the classic documentary The Machine that Changed the World:
...
http://waxy.org/2008/06/the_machine_tha ... he_future/

Thanks for the link. I watched that whole thing. Fascinating. (...and like Spock, I raised one eyebrow when I said "fascinating")

Muirium · 27 Nov 2013, 19:43

The whole series is pretty good. A ~1990 perspective of computing past and future. They knew the Internet was coming, but couldn't see it working without artificial intelligence and old school virtual reality. Treadmills and all!

mr_a500 · 05 Dec 2014, 20:34

I've finally gotten "in touch with the future":

In touch.JPG

mr_a500 · 05 Dec 2014, 21:12

So this is what the future looks like...

Univac 1701 s.JPG

It's a 1701 - a verifying punch, while HaaTa's is a 1710, verifying interpreting punch. That means I won't ever be able to interpret. Damn. Oh well, interpreting is overrated.

Supposedly this is NOS. It looks new and there is a protective tape over the space bar. (causing more harm than protection - in the last 4 decades, the glue has become petrified)

The switches in this are linear, not clicky. I'll post more detail when I get a chance.

mr_a500 · 05 Dec 2014, 21:46

Yes, mine is definitely different construction. The switches are black and look like hall effect (but not confirmed):

Micro Switch.JPG

Micro Switch 1.JPG

Oh God damn it - made 11th week of 1974. I was hoping this would be my first computer keyboard older than me. It's not even close. This is my second oldest keyboard.

Daniel Beardsmore · 05 Dec 2014, 22:09

Those switches look familiar, but I don't recall where I saw them now.

HaaTa · 05 Dec 2014, 22:18

I believe those are Honeywell switches. The PCB looks right, likely the dual magnet hall effect.

I saw it on ebay that surplus place and thought it was just going to be more microswitches (which are meh to type on, but clicky). Glad you picked it up

mr_a500 · 05 Dec 2014, 22:22

I didn't get it from eBay. I got it from a surplus store.

Muirium · 05 Dec 2014, 22:23

Thief! Put it back and apologise to them, and explain how much they lost out vs. putting it on ebay.

seebart · 17 Jan 2015, 17:45

I've finally gotten "in touch with the future":

very impressive mr_a500!

The switches are black and look like hall effect (but not confirmed):

well all I can say is that those metal leafs holding the housings in place look exactly like those on my MICRO SWITCH SW-10591. I`d like to see some more pictures if possible.

jacobolus · 18 Jan 2015, 10:18

What do the -11 and +12 keys do?

mr_a500 · 21 Jan 2015, 21:14

jacobolus wrote: ↑What do the -11 and +12 keys do?

I had no idea, so I looked it up. Apparently, the +12 is "Field Definition" "Punch in every column of a field, except the first (left)" and -11 is "Start Automatic Skip" "Punch in first (left) column of field(s) to skip". I'm not sure if I'm right though. I missed the punch card era. I started programming with the futuristic high technology of magnetic tape.

snuci · 21 Oct 2015, 14:00

I did manage to find a Univac 1701 keyboard assembly on eBay in the last week or two. Still waiting for it to arrive and am curious what key switches are in it. I'll post when it arrives. This is one of two keyboards that I have that I can't really use but it's definitely historical. Who can pass on that?

mr_a500 · 21 Oct 2015, 14:02

You can still get these new (NOS), by the way.

http://www.surplussales.com/computeracc ... oards.html

snuci · 21 Oct 2015, 14:05

Very cool but I actually prefer it used for the historical value. I know it probably doesn't make sense but that's the way I like 'em. It was also a little less expensive even with the crazy shipping to us in Canada.

mr_a500 · 21 Oct 2015, 14:12

Shipping to Canada has gone insane. When I first started getting keyboards shipped from the US, it was around $20. Now it's up to around $70.

I still don't know why Americans get free shipping all over the damn place (even big heavy things), but it costs $25 to ship a tiny adapter in a bubble wrap envelope in Canada.

Engicoder · 21 Oct 2015, 14:15

Blame all the idiots who support out security theater infrastructure.

snuci · 21 Oct 2015, 14:22

As a collector of heavy computers, it's part of the hobby for me so I'm very used to the high cost of shipping. The Univac 1701 was US$40 so it wasn't too bad. I expect it to be on the heavy side. Here's the auction for reference.

mr_a500 · 21 Oct 2015, 14:28

Nice. You got it pretty cheap. It looks like it'll be a later model like mine rather than the older clicky one HaaTa has. We'll see.

snuci · 21 Oct 2015, 14:41

I was pretty shocked that I got it for that much. I would expect it's like yours but I am hoping for the older key switches. You can't lose either way.

terrycherry · 22 Oct 2015, 09:05

I surprised that this keyboard have the other different variant of micro switch!

snuci · 27 Oct 2015, 00:26

My Univac 1701 Keypunch keyboard came in and I had a chance to open it up. As I was hoping, inside were the older Micro Switch key switches like Haata's 1710 shown above. The date stamped on the keyboard connector interface cards was November 30, 1970. It is my earliest keyboard!

It has some damage to some of the key caps but this goes to show that they are double shots because the scratches show the symbols go all the way through. I do

I made a post at http://vintagecomputer.ca/univac-1701-k ... -keyboard/ with more pictures but here's a few below:

: Univac 1701 - keyboard; Univac 1701 - keyboard.jpg (299.03 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - internal keyboard circuit board top; Univac 1701 - internal keyboard circuit board top.jpg (311.27 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - internal keyboard circuit board; Univac 1701 - internal keyboard circuit board.jpg (365.08 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - internal Micro Switch key switches; Univac 1701 - internal Micro Switch switches.jpg (262.98 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - internal key switch model 1PB877; Univac 1701 - internal key switch model 1PB877.jpg (227.97 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - key caps with some damage; Univac 1701 - key caps with some damage.jpg (186.27 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - key caps double shot proof; Univac 1701 - key caps double shot proof.jpg (304.11 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

: Univac 1701 - dated November 30 1970; Univac 1701 - dated November 30 1970.jpg (232.41 KiB) Viewed 10711 times

mr_a500 · 27 Oct 2015, 18:26

Ah, so it is the older style switch. Is it as HaaTa says, "meh" to type on? It's nice to have the older rarer switch, but the new one is definitely an improvement. Pity about the keycap scratches.

What about case material? Is it plastic or metal? It looked like the old ones had metal cases.

snuci · 27 Oct 2015, 21:37

mr_a500 wrote: ↑Ah, so it is the older style switch. Is it as HaaTa says, "meh" to type on?

I've been corrupted by my IBM Model M and have been a long time user (who rejoined the Model M club recently) so nothing is good enough for me anymore.

mr_a500 wrote: ↑What about case material? Is it plastic or metal? It looked like the old ones had metal cases.

It is plastic. Metal would have made it heavier than it already is