Powerstation KEA OpenVMS PS/2 Keyboard

urbancamo · 20 Mar 2013, 20:45

Picked this up a few years ago new in box. Designed for use with KEA terminal software for Windows.

Would be interested to know more about the sliders.

Daniel Beardsmore · 21 Mar 2013, 00:01

Mitsumi mechanical switches

Typically they took Mitsumi mount keycaps (square peg, as above), but those are the Cherry MX variant. The switches are reported to be fragile, which figures as they're really quite tiny.

Ascaii · 21 Mar 2013, 00:10

lemon flavored cherry mitsumi switches. I had identical ones on a quantel video editing keypad. My board is with Haata, he has more info.

Daniel Beardsmore · 21 Mar 2013, 01:44

[wiki]Mitsumi mechanical switch[/wiki] — I've merged in my MX-mount page, as I had created a new page without realising that one already existed for the same switch.

"Mitsumi mechanical switch" is a terrible name, because they made several mechanical switches. Maybe "Mitsumi compact mechanical", not sure, as there's a larger version of the switch that uses the same lateral spring mechanism (which is not used in MouseFan's, which I guess is the linear version?) and I don't know quite how they should be classified.

I'll leave this to HaaTa — I know very little of Mitsumi.

urbancamo · 22 Mar 2013, 12:55

So are you saying that I could use those keycaps on any keyboard with cherry switches? That would be interesting...

Daniel Beardsmore · 22 Mar 2013, 12:58

Should be able to, yes.

7bit · 22 Mar 2013, 14:13

The Mitsumi variant of the G80-1306

Daniel Beardsmore · 22 Mar 2013, 14:19

I knew I recognised that layout from somewhere.

So, how can you have Mitsumi switches in a board with a Cherry model number?

7bit · 22 Mar 2013, 14:24

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:So, how can you have Mitsumi switches in a board with a Cherry model number?

Code: Select all

THIS="Powerstation KEA OpenVMS PS/2 Keyboard"
OTHER="Cherry G80-1306"

echo $THIS is (layoutwise) a Mitsumi variant of $OTHER.
echo $OTHER is (layoutwise) a Cherry variant of $THIS.

Daniel Beardsmore · 22 Mar 2013, 14:46

I'll wait for a non-retarded answer from a sane person.

7bit · 22 Mar 2013, 15:18

Lowerring non-retard level to minimum:

The keyboard in the pictures comes with Mitsumi switches.

The keyboard in the wiki (G80-1306) comes with good old Cherry blacks.

Key caps on both are labelled the same way (more or less)
Layout is the same.

=> $THIS is the Mitsumi variant of $OTHER.

rodtang · 22 Mar 2013, 15:31

7bit wrote:Lowerring non-retard level to minimum:

The keyboard in the pictures comes with Mitsumi switches.

The keyboard in the wiki (G80-1306) comes with good old Cherry blacks.

Key caps on both are labelled the same way (more or less)
Layout is the same.

=> $THIS is the Mitsumi variant of $OTHER.

Or you know... It's just another DEC LK201 clone, this one (opposed to most others) even copied all the spacings pretty much exactly.

Daniel Beardsmore · 22 Mar 2013, 15:35

I don't know what Cherry article numbers represent. Maybe all that Cherry made was the PCB and switches, but not the case — would that warrant a Cherry G80 number?

However, I didn't realise that the Alps and NMB versions of the AppleDesign Keyboard are not quite the same. They have similar cases, but they're not identical! Maybe the Mitsumi version was made by another OEM who took the same CAD drawings and made a similar case. (I'm not sure honestly why the two AppleDesign Keyboard variants are different — surely both Alps and NMB could make the same mould from the same CAD drawings?)

7bit · 22 Mar 2013, 15:45

rodtang wrote:
7bit wrote:Lowerring non-retard level to minimum:

The keyboard in the pictures comes with Mitsumi switches.

The keyboard in the wiki (G80-1306) comes with good old Cherry blacks.

Key caps on both are labelled the same way (more or less)
Layout is the same.

=> $THIS is the Mitsumi variant of $OTHER.
Or you know... It's just another DEC LK201 clone, this one (opposed to most others) even copied all the spacings pretty much exactly.

Yeah.

This should be added to the wiki article about $THIS keyboard.
== See also ==
[[DEC LK201]]
[[Cherry G80-1306]]

It is like with IBM 3270 emulator keyboards and Cherry G80-2550 etc.

Daniel Beardsmore · 22 Mar 2013, 23:47

rodtang wrote:Or you know... It's just another DEC LK201 clone, this one (opposed to most others) even copied all the spacings pretty much exactly.

Ah, right, that is more likely to be where I recognise the layout from :-)

rodtang · 22 Mar 2013, 23:50

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:Ah, right, that is more likely to be where I recognise the layout from

Or the Wyse 'boards with the same layout.

Daniel Beardsmore · 22 Mar 2013, 23:58

rodtang wrote:
Daniel Beardsmore wrote:Ah, right, that is more likely to be where I recognise the layout from :-)
Or the Wyse 'boards with the same layout.

I don't know of one. But the question came up in IRC (?) recently of who had inverse-T first, so that's probably why I saw the DEC before. The snaggletooth layout is quite charming.

urbancamo · 23 Mar 2013, 15:22

Some info on the inverse T http://www.wickensonline.co.uk/retro/ha ... ssues.html
Internal pictures of the LK201: http://www.wickensonline.co.uk/public-g ... index.html

buzzking00 · 23 May 2016, 03:32

Trying to figure out dip switch settings, any chance you have the manual for the keyboard?

urbancamo · 25 May 2016, 22:22

buzzking00 wrote: ↑Trying to figure out dip switch settings, any chance you have the manual for the keyboard?

Wow, this topic has been quiet for a while. You know what I think I do have a manual for it.
Of course the more difficult question to answer is 'where is it'?

Let me have a think... if I have it I'll scan it for you (and anyone else interested).

Regards, Mark.

urbancamo · 24 Sep 2016, 11:45

I'm going through a load of stuff at the moment, so chances are I will happen across the manual within the next few weeks