Hirose Cherry switches and the Xerox 1109
Posted: 07 Jun 2014, 19:37
I found this tab from way back — MouseFan's Sord M243EX keyboard page (someone here may have pointed me at it; I forget now):
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/M243EX.htm
MouseFan suggests that the "HCP" written on the switches stands for "Hirose Cherry Precision", the full name of Hirose Cherry AKA Cherry Japan.
Right now, we have:
1) Tradition
[wiki]Hirose Cherry MX Orange[/wiki] — standard key switch, linear
[wiki]Hirose Cherry MX Clear[/wiki] — space bar switch, linear
2) Sord M243EX
The switch in the Sord M243EX appears to be Hirose Cherry mount and appears to be clear, but used for a whole keyboard. Linear again. Same switch as Hirose Cherry MX Clear, above?
3) Xerox 1109 Type 2 Lisp workstation keyboard
[wiki]Cherry MX Linear White[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Pale Yellow[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Grey Green[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Lock[/wiki]
MX Linear White looks clear to me, not white (though MX White switches have been both colours), and all but MX Lock quite clearly have smaller keystems:
[wiki]Xerox Star low-profile keyboard[/wiki]
Most of the photos aren't quite sharp enough to be 100% confident that it's the Hirose Cherry mount, but it certainly looks to be that way. Also, kps's Xerox keyboard was made in Japan, which ties in with it having Hirose switches.
Since the main keyboard switch appears to be white/clear, the switches are presumably the same as those in the Sord M243EX.
What's interesting is that the Xerox keyboard also has the same "HCP" branding on most switches as in the Sord, and the same HCP/Cherry mix and match.
It's hard to be sure, but MouseFan seems to think late 1984/early 1985 for that Sord, i.e. very early in the Cherry MX lifetime, exactly as with the Xerox.
Questions
1. Is it likely that the same switch was used for the normal keys in one keyboard, and space bar in another? In other words, should I merge Cherry MX Linear White into Hirose Cherry MX Clear?
2. Are we happy that "HCP" means "Hirose Cherry Precision"? If so, then the remaining two HCP switches should be renamed, giving us as follows:
[wiki]Cherry MX Linear White[/wiki] ⇒ [wiki]Hirose Cherry MX Clear[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Pale Yellow[/wiki] → Hirose Cherry MX Pale Yellow
[wiki]Cherry MX Grey Green[/wiki] → Hirose Cherry MX Grey Green
Thoughts?
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/M243EX.htm
MouseFan suggests that the "HCP" written on the switches stands for "Hirose Cherry Precision", the full name of Hirose Cherry AKA Cherry Japan.
Right now, we have:
1) Tradition
[wiki]Hirose Cherry MX Orange[/wiki] — standard key switch, linear
[wiki]Hirose Cherry MX Clear[/wiki] — space bar switch, linear
2) Sord M243EX
The switch in the Sord M243EX appears to be Hirose Cherry mount and appears to be clear, but used for a whole keyboard. Linear again. Same switch as Hirose Cherry MX Clear, above?
3) Xerox 1109 Type 2 Lisp workstation keyboard
[wiki]Cherry MX Linear White[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Pale Yellow[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Grey Green[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Lock[/wiki]
MX Linear White looks clear to me, not white (though MX White switches have been both colours), and all but MX Lock quite clearly have smaller keystems:
[wiki]Xerox Star low-profile keyboard[/wiki]
Most of the photos aren't quite sharp enough to be 100% confident that it's the Hirose Cherry mount, but it certainly looks to be that way. Also, kps's Xerox keyboard was made in Japan, which ties in with it having Hirose switches.
Since the main keyboard switch appears to be white/clear, the switches are presumably the same as those in the Sord M243EX.
What's interesting is that the Xerox keyboard also has the same "HCP" branding on most switches as in the Sord, and the same HCP/Cherry mix and match.
It's hard to be sure, but MouseFan seems to think late 1984/early 1985 for that Sord, i.e. very early in the Cherry MX lifetime, exactly as with the Xerox.
Questions
1. Is it likely that the same switch was used for the normal keys in one keyboard, and space bar in another? In other words, should I merge Cherry MX Linear White into Hirose Cherry MX Clear?
2. Are we happy that "HCP" means "Hirose Cherry Precision"? If so, then the remaining two HCP switches should be renamed, giving us as follows:
[wiki]Cherry MX Linear White[/wiki] ⇒ [wiki]Hirose Cherry MX Clear[/wiki]
[wiki]Cherry MX Pale Yellow[/wiki] → Hirose Cherry MX Pale Yellow
[wiki]Cherry MX Grey Green[/wiki] → Hirose Cherry MX Grey Green
Thoughts?