Weird "TurboStar" (made by?)

User avatar
paperWasp

14 Mar 2021, 12:08

I bought this keyboard more than 20 years ago for use with an experimental PC. Has anybody seen anything like this?
Maybe it's just a cheapo rubber dome thing but the key feel is not so bad - light, soft and only very slightly tactile. It's still reliable and quiet! (Compared to clacky IBM KB-8926 which was my primary keyboard back then, it's absolutely silent! :lol: )
Never managed to get that Fn key working, probably a driver was needed.

Here's some pictures.
So does anybody know who was behind this make?
Do you thing it should be added to the List of all keyboard?.
Thanks.

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User avatar
Wodan
ISO Advocate

16 Mar 2021, 16:07

Let's not sugar coat it bro ... it's a turd.
Love the sublegends but a turd's a turd.

micmil

27 Apr 2021, 02:44

On an actually constructive note, there's a very similar model on eBay right now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303907322235?e ... SwKyxgZ1-S

There are instructions on the box for what the Fn key does. Any of them work on yours? :D

User avatar
Redmaus
Gotta start somewhere

27 Apr 2021, 05:50

This reminds me of some NIB Wyse boards I got from Computer Reset. Beautiful dyesub keycaps, sturdy case, and perfect WKL layout.

Sadly, rubberdome :cry:

lee4hmz

17 Jun 2022, 03:13

Usually when I see "made in Thailand" on a rubber-dome board of that vintage, I would think NMB (since practically all of their rubber-dome boards were made there), but this one seems unusually cheap.

Findecanor

17 Jun 2022, 09:37

Does the keyboard have a purple 5-pin mini-DIN plug, or is that an adaptor? Either way, that's the first time I've seen that.

Colouring the plugs is a convention that was introduced with the PS/2 connector to differentiate between otherwise identical keyboard and mouse plugs.

User avatar
Muirium
µ

17 Jun 2022, 14:48

Findecanor wrote:
17 Jun 2022, 09:37
Colouring the plugs is a convention that was introduced with the PS/2 connector to differentiate between otherwise identical keyboard and mouse plugs.
Here's the spec: Microsoft and Intel came up with it, some years after IBM brought PS/2 to the PC.

That's why IBM SDL cables for Model Ms (certainly my SSKs) are free from those tacky pastel colours: they pre-date the rather unbecoming palette of the spec.

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