IBM PCjr keyboards
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| Part number | 8600032 (1st generation) 6181835 (2nd generation) |
|---|---|
| Branding | IBM |
| Manufacturer | Advanced Input Devices[1] |
| Layouts | 62-key PCjr layout |
| Keyswitches | Rubber dome |
| Interface | IR or RJ-11 cable |
| Dimensions |
341.5 × 168 × 26 mm (13.45 × 6.61 × 1.02 inches) (IR keyboard)[2] |
| Weight | 616 g (22 ounces) w/o batteries (IR keyboard) |
| Years of production | 1984 - 1987 |
The IBM 4860 PCjr was IBM's first attempt to produce a low cost personal computer aimed at the home market. It used a low cost keyboard designed to be more suitable to the home market than the Model F keyboards of their professional computers. The PCjr is widely considered to be one of the worst keyboards ever designed, owing to its uncomfortable "Chiclet" keys, non-standard layout (it was one of the first, if not the first, PC keyboards to use a Fn shift), unreliable IR link, and hardware limitations in the PCjr itself that prevented PC-style type-ahead from working properly. It's considered to be one of the main reasons why the PCjr was a commercial disaster.
A later "enhanced" version switched the "Chiclet" keys with more standard shaped keys. The internals of both revisions seem to be the same, and the layouts are also the same.
IBM PCjr
Top
Rear label
Side Profile
- IBM-PCjr-top.jpg
Top of PCB with rubber dome mat
- IBM-PCjr-bottom.jpg
Bottom of PCB
References
- ↑ Deskthority.net - IR PC keyboards: IBM and Quadram
- ↑ Personal Computer PCjr Hardware Reference Library: Technical Reference — Appendix D: Cordless Keyboard (archive.org)
