New find: Facit A3400 Keyboard
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- DT Pro Member: -
Hello, I recently came across this keyboard at a client site. It was attached to a Facit monitor that I didn't look at very closely, I will do next week when I visit again. It's a terminal keyboard similar to a VT220 keyboard, with MX Blacks and a Linear Grey for the space bar. Judging from the date codes on the chips it's likely made in 1991?
An interesting detail is that the F and J keys have an extra deep cylindrical well instead of having nubs, something I have not encountered before.
Does anyone have more information on this particular keyboard?
Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/WkCZG
An interesting detail is that the F and J keys have an extra deep cylindrical well instead of having nubs, something I have not encountered before.
Does anyone have more information on this particular keyboard?
Pictures: http://imgur.com/a/WkCZG
- Broadmonkey
- Fancy Rank
- Location: Denmark
- Main keyboard: Whitefox
- Main mouse: Zowie FK2
- Favorite switch: MX Black
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Nice find, I don't think I have seen a Cherry made keyboard like that before, also first time in a long time I have seen someone write "double shot injection molded caps" instead of just ds or double shots
The F and J keys are typical for how Cherry made their homing keys, they where always scooped on their double shot and dye sub keycaps. Some of their (earlier?) lasered was also with scooped J and H keys although I believe they have completely ditched it now.
It's a very weird layout with both Å and Ü beside each other. Where did you pick it up?
The F and J keys are typical for how Cherry made their homing keys, they where always scooped on their double shot and dye sub keycaps. Some of their (earlier?) lasered was also with scooped J and H keys although I believe they have completely ditched it now.
It's a very weird layout with both Å and Ü beside each other. Where did you pick it up?
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Yes it is weird to see a Ü key there. The keyboard is Swedish, it was previously used by a Swedish customs office. Ü is not a letter used in the Swedish language so I don't know why they felt the need to have a key for that.Broadmonkey wrote:Nice find, I don't think I have seen a Cherry made keyboard like that before, also first time in a long time I have seen someone write "double shot injection molded caps" instead of just ds or double shots
The F and J keys are typical for how Cherry made their homing keys, they where always scooped on their double shot and dye sub keycaps. Some of their (earlier?) lasered was also with scooped J and H keys although I believe they have completely ditched it now.
It's a very weird layout with both Å and Ü beside each other. Where did you pick it up?
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- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- DT Pro Member: 0011
I have seen Ü keys on at least one other Swedish keyboard before. While it is not used in the Swedish language, Swedes with German descent with German names spelled and pronounced in the German way are not that uncommon.Ozric wrote:Ü is not a letter used in the Swedish language so I don't know why they felt the need to have a key for that.
Edit a long time later:
Note that Ü and É match the positions of the regular dead-keys for the diacritic marks " and ' and that the keys also have the other diacritic marks common on those keys.
After having seen this setup many more times, I think that the letters might be just demonstration of what the dead-keys could be used for.
Last edited by Findecanor on 09 Jan 2019, 02:51, edited 1 time in total.
- Broadmonkey
- Fancy Rank
- Location: Denmark
- Main keyboard: Whitefox
- Main mouse: Zowie FK2
- Favorite switch: MX Black
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Makes sense putting it on a customs keyboard then.
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- Location: USA
- Main keyboard: KBC Poker MX Red
- Main mouse: Logitech MX Revolution
- Favorite switch: MX Red
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Very cool find. I am jealous!
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After sitting in storage for a couple of years, the terminal is now at my office and is fully working after swapping out a leaking capacitor in the power supply.
Here is it connected to a Cisco ASA5505:
I would hazard a guess that this is the only Facit A3400 terminal in use today.
Here is it connected to a Cisco ASA5505:
I would hazard a guess that this is the only Facit A3400 terminal in use today.
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- Location: Finland
- Favorite switch: NEC blue oval
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This feature is present at least on the Commodore PC5/PC10 keyboard's caps, see here: wiki/File:G80_0530_ger_web.jpg
I had one of these for quite some time before I noticed the F/J profiles were different. But to be fair, I didn't use board too much. Anyway, I remember spotting this feature on some other board as well after this, so I'm sure it's not entirely uncommon.
Last edited by ollir on 08 Oct 2021, 08:27, edited 1 time in total.
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
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It's a feature present across the vast majority of keyboards that Cherry manufactured with doubleshot and dyesub keycaps (G80/G81 series, which were often OEM'd for other companies like Commodore and Facit). There are a small number of exceptions, and their more modern lasered boards usually have bar indicators instead.ollir wrote: ↑07 Oct 2021, 14:36This feature is present at least on the Commodore PC5/PC10 keyboard's caps, see here: wiki/File:G80_0530_ger_web.jpg
I had one of these for quite some time before I noticed the F/J profiles were different. But to be fair, it didn't use board too much. Anyway, I remember spotting this feature on some other board as well after this, so I'm sure it's not entirely uncommon.
- kbdfr
- The Tiproman
- Location: Berlin, Germany
- Main keyboard: Tipro MID-QM-128A + two Tipro matrix modules
- Main mouse: Contour Rollermouse Pro
- Favorite switch: Cherry black
- DT Pro Member: 0010
I was tempted to laugh about Cherry F and J keys with a deep cylindrical well being "not entirely uncommon",
but then I remembered how little I know about other keyboard brands and decided to laugh at myself instead.
I’ll nevertheless dare to correct photekq, who is the ultimate Cherry Picker after all, and replace "the vast majority of" with "virtually all"
but then I remembered how little I know about other keyboard brands and decided to laugh at myself instead.
I’ll nevertheless dare to correct photekq, who is the ultimate Cherry Picker after all, and replace "the vast majority of" with "virtually all"
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
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Good catch there! Virtually all is definitely more correct.kbdfr wrote: ↑07 Oct 2021, 14:53I was tempted to laugh about Cherry F and J keys with a deep cylindrical well being "not entirely uncommon",
but then I remembered how little I know about other keyboard brands and decided to laugh at myself instead.
I’ll nevertheless dare to correct photekq, who is the ultimate Cherry Picker after all, and replace "the vast majority of" with "virtually all"
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- Location: Finland
- Favorite switch: NEC blue oval
- DT Pro Member: -
I was guessing it might be a Cherry thing but wasn't intrigued enough to go and investigate further.
Oh, and I wouldn't have minded a little laughter; it's a nice rock that I'm living under where noise from outside doesn't get too loud :p
- kbdfr
- The Tiproman
- Location: Berlin, Germany
- Main keyboard: Tipro MID-QM-128A + two Tipro matrix modules
- Main mouse: Contour Rollermouse Pro
- Favorite switch: Cherry black
- DT Pro Member: 0010