Hey all, I was browsing some auction sites today and came across an absolutely TINY DOS PC - like, I'm talking around 2 and a half 3.5" floppy drives wide, and maybe 1 and a half deep. It must be the smallest DOS PC I've ever seen and I want it so badly, but the seller has it ridiculously priced and refuses to come down enough (in fact, after some back and forth, he put the price up by $60... )
Anyway, this got me thinking about small form-factor AT and PS/2 mechnical keyboards that would match its size, and I can't really think of many. You guys have the most knowledge about keyboards so I thought it was worth asking!
I know that Filco made some small ones like the Ortek series and Monterey K110, but was anybody else making mechnical keyboards that small? Was it even possible for them to be much smaller than that in the 90's? Probably yes, but I'm guessing it wasn't "in style" so to speak.
What's the smallest ever mechanical AT or PS/2 keyboard?
- DeChief
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Main keyboard: IBM Model M SSK (JIS ISO)
- Favorite switch: ALPS Buckling Spring (Sega TeraDrive)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
With a description like that, you might want to show us a pic so we know what you’re talking about!
Off the top of my head, there wasn’t anything (mechanical) smaller than the K110 back then, but I know I’m good at forgetting the perfectly obvious so I quite expect someone to point that out.
Layouts wise, 60% was certainly a thing, before the 90s. For instance, 1984’s finest:
And of course, at least as old as that:
{My Kishsaver is dated 1984 internally, and it’s a late one.)
But the Apple M0110 and the IBM 4704 are both fairly bulky, even with their commendably compact layouts. Pretty sure my K110 bests both of them in pure size terms, coming in a little bigger than the HHKB. (And neither of them were AT, naturally.)
Off the top of my head, there wasn’t anything (mechanical) smaller than the K110 back then, but I know I’m good at forgetting the perfectly obvious so I quite expect someone to point that out.
Layouts wise, 60% was certainly a thing, before the 90s. For instance, 1984’s finest:
And of course, at least as old as that:
{My Kishsaver is dated 1984 internally, and it’s a late one.)
But the Apple M0110 and the IBM 4704 are both fairly bulky, even with their commendably compact layouts. Pretty sure my K110 bests both of them in pure size terms, coming in a little bigger than the HHKB. (And neither of them were AT, naturally.)
- DeChief
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Main keyboard: IBM Model M SSK (JIS ISO)
- Favorite switch: ALPS Buckling Spring (Sega TeraDrive)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
I was going to show the PC, but I don't want somebody else to buy one at his silly price He's selling 3 of them and according to some others I spoke to, the listing has been up in some form or another since 2016! As soon as he sells 1, there's no chance he'll lower the price, so I'd rather not risk it.Muirium wrote: ↑With a description like that, you might want to show us a pic so we know what you’re talking about!
Off the top of my head, there wasn’t anything (mechanical) smaller than the K110 back then, but I know I’m good at forgetting the perfectly obvious so I quite expect someone to point that out.
Layouts wise, 60% was certainly a thing, before the 90s. For instance:
And of course:
But the Apple M0110 and the IBM 4704 are both fairly bulky, even with their commendably compact layouts. Pretty sure my K110 bests both of them in pure size terms, coming in a little bigger than the HHKB.
Ah yes, the IBM 4704 is very nice and quite small, but bulky as you said - and I thoroughly dislike the feeling of the M0110, not that either can easily be used with an AT connector anyway. Somehow I completely missed the 75% page on the wiki so that's probably a good start and yes, the K110 appears to be the winner so far. It's possible that the Datacomp DCK84 is slightly less deep but it's difficult to tell without both in front of me in person.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Oh, don’t forget the [wiki]Marquardt Mini[/wiki]. I’ve got one of those, too, and it beats the K110 on thickness by quite a margin. Quiet too. It’s one I’d like to Bluetooth someday.
- diseeease
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: Constantly rotating...
- Main mouse: Logitech G Pro Wireless
- Favorite switch: Linears of any kind
- DT Pro Member: -
What about the Cherry G84?
I know it was available definitely in the mid 90ies, not sure when it was introduced. But it's quite tiny and mechanical (with ML switches).
wiki/Cherry_G84-4100
I know it was available definitely in the mid 90ies, not sure when it was introduced. But it's quite tiny and mechanical (with ML switches).
wiki/Cherry_G84-4100
- stratokaster
- Location: Dublin, Ireland
- Main keyboard: Filco Minila Air
- Main mouse: Contour Unimouse WL / Apple Magic Trackpad 2
- Favorite switch: Alps SKCM Green
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
Oh, this brings back some fond memories! My first "real" PC was a tiny 16 MHz 286 computer with a whopping 4MB of RAM which I got for free from my uncle when he upgraded to a 386 PC. It was basically book-sized and everything was packed very tightly inside the case. When I opened it to desolder the old RTC battery and install a standard CR2032 battery holder, I discovered that the motherboard was made by Acer (the outside of the case was not marked at all).DeChief wrote: ↑Hey all, I was browsing some auction sites today and came across an absolutely TINY DOS PC - like, I'm talking around 2 and a half 3.5" floppy drives wide, and maybe 1 and a half deep. It must be the smallest DOS PC I've ever seen and I want it so badly
It was very fast for a 286 PC, it even ran Civilization I and Wolfenstein 3D very well.
It also came with a very sharp 9" MicroStar-branded color SVGA monitor which supported resolutions up to 800x600. I regret ever letting it go.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Civ on a small screen in the dark ages before home internet… cue the rose tinted glasses of shared nostalgia.
You could see the tides, the tides!
You could see the tides, the tides!
-
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- DT Pro Member: 0011
Smaller than Atari Portfolio or was it a desktop?DeChief wrote: ↑It must be the smallest DOS PC I've ever seen ...
- DeChief
- Location: Sydney, Australia
- Main keyboard: IBM Model M SSK (JIS ISO)
- Favorite switch: ALPS Buckling Spring (Sega TeraDrive)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
Great suggestions guys, thanks!
Ah yes, I've always liked the look of this one, but apparently it doesn't feel great to type on.diseeease wrote: ↑What about the Cherry G84?
I know it was available definitely in the mid 90ies, not sure when it was introduced. But it's quite tiny and mechanical (with ML switches).
wiki/Cherry_G84-4100
Oh wow, a 9" colour SVGA monitor?? That's insane! The smallest VGA CRT I've got at the moment is an IBM 4707 E01 which is monochrome (and according to the specs online, it also supports MCGA and CGA!), but I would kill for a 9" colour CRT. You wouldn't happen to have any pics of your monitor would you? Or maybe a model number? I did a quick search and couldn't find it.stratokaster wrote: ↑Oh, this brings back some fond memories! My first "real" PC was a tiny 16 MHz 286 computer with a whopping 4MB of RAM which I got for free from my uncle when he upgraded to a 386 PC. It was basically book-sized and everything was packed very tightly inside the case. When I opened it to desolder the old RTC battery and install a standard CR2032 battery holder, I discovered that the motherboard was made by Acer (the outside of the case was not marked at all).
It was very fast for a 286 PC, it even ran Civilization I and Wolfenstein 3D very well.
It also came with a very sharp 9" MicroStar-branded color SVGA monitor which supported resolutions up to 800x600. I regret ever letting it go.
It's a desktop, and it's difficult to tell but it may only be slightly wider than a Portfolio and around the same thickness - definitely deeper though.Findecanor wrote: ↑Smaller than Atari Portfolio or was it a desktop?