George Risk 2-103-001-A-10
- HaaTa
- Master Kiibohd Hunter
- Location: San Jose, California, USA
- Main keyboard: Depends the day
- Main mouse: CST L-TracX
- Favorite switch: Fujitsu Leaf Spring/Topre/BS/Super Alps
- DT Pro Member: 0006
- Contact:
Finally, took me a while, but managed to get one of those George Risk keyboards, complete with Magnetic Reed Switches and their "Engraved Keycaps". (It's linear)
This one was purchased no May 10, 1976 from Sargent's Distributing in Bellflower, California (and shipped to Sparantburg, South Carolina via UPS for $3.99). I know this because I'm looking at the original receipt for $57.49 (includes shipping).
Lots of goodies came with this keyboard, including an implementation manual copied from a book/magazine, a single page catalog from Sargent's Dist. Co, symbol list (for decoding each of the keys), and a huge schematic diagram copied from some hand drawn blueprints which also maps out each of the symbols to part of the matrix.
The board is very heavy, and damn is it thick. I mean, just look at the PCB...
I mean, there is nothing in there but a keyboard...
It also has probably the largest single keyswitch assembly I've ever seen (I'll try to take it apart when I get around to desoldering some switches)
Did I mention it has a weight variance in keys?
Anyways, enough talk, more pics:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1sK_ ... .26.24.jpg
Wood grain...ugh...so...tacky. Why is it even there?
Probably ripped from something much more ancient.
Ahh, that's what's the wood grain was for...to cover up the hole... (still looks tacky )
The sliders "snap" into the main housing, fairly easy to pull out, but does offer plenty of resistance so the keys don't fall out.
Built by Jim perhaps? Dunno
Homebrew AC to DC. Haven't bothered to make sure if it is functional.
The case is actually built by RCA.
Hah, couldn't find a ribbon connector I guess
- Daniel Beardsmore
- Location: Hertfordshire, England
- Main keyboard: Filco Majestouch 1 (home)/Poker II backlit (work)
- Main mouse: MS IMO 1.1
- Favorite switch: Probably not whatever I wrote here
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
Are these switches linear? I find it hard to imagine why anyone would go to that much trouble, to make such a collossal contraption, unless they had a particular force curve in mind.
And all that for only $57.49? Granted that would be a worth a lot more today.
And a mains transformer inside a keyboard?!
No wonder Alps switches became so popular ;-)
And all that for only $57.49? Granted that would be a worth a lot more today.
And a mains transformer inside a keyboard?!
No wonder Alps switches became so popular ;-)
- webwit
- Wild Duck
- Location: The Netherlands
- Main keyboard: Model F62
- Favorite switch: IBM beam spring
- DT Pro Member: 0000
- Contact:
As a rule of thumb you can qualify most 70ties keyboards before IBM came with beam spring/buckling springs as "random ass linear". I bet this one isn't an exception.
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- DT Pro Member: -
It looks like the Datapoint 3300 (1969) also used George Risk switches.
The Datapoint 3300 was the first Datapoint terminal and was later rebranded as both the DEC VT06 and HP 2600A (HP's first CRT terminal).
When I saw the font on the Datapoints, I thought, "Hey, that looks like a George Risk!" (...and I was right)
The Datapoint 3300 was the first Datapoint terminal and was later rebranded as both the DEC VT06 and HP 2600A (HP's first CRT terminal).
When I saw the font on the Datapoints, I thought, "Hey, that looks like a George Risk!" (...and I was right)
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- Location: JAPAN
- Main keyboard: Model M, dodoo dome keyboard,CherryMX numeric pad
- Main mouse: logitech Master,M705 and 3 Logitech mice
- Favorite switch: ff
- DT Pro Member: -
That's was huge for a switch...Hope it has the light-weight variant keyboard.
Awesome post.
Awesome post.
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- DT Pro Member: -
I really must learn to read more carefully. I did incredible amounts of research, noticing that this keyboard is remarkably similar to the ones in the movie Andromeda Strain, concluding (with delight) that it's an RCA Video Data Terminal, when all I had to do is read this fucking line:
Yes, it's one of these:HaaTa wrote: ↑ The case is actually built by RCA.