Unitech K959 Rev 2.1

[seebart]

I was hoping for an exotic switch on this one like brown Alps but it's still nice. Unfortunatly the case label is gone. It's XT / AT switchable. I'm typing on it now, the blacks feel nice. Plate mounted, quite sturdy, no flexing. The layout is unusual, that caps lock key is really odd. I really like the compact size of the keyboard. It's got some yellowing, but I've seen worse. I wonder what those holes on the top front in the case or for. There is some white stuff (corrosion?) on the edges of the PCB. The key positions are labeled on the PCB. The plate is held in the case by four sturdy plastic clips.

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[kbdfr]

[…] I wonder what those holes on the top front in the case [are] for. […]

Same here. Have a look at the upper corners of the case and you will know

You seem to be gathering a rather large "coolection"

[seebart]

Have a look at the upper corners of the case and you will know

You seem to be gathering a rather large "coolection"

Ahh yes of course. The case. Yeah, "gathering" and "collection" are good points. "Storage" and "money spent" come to mind also. It's cool, but not that cool.

[Muirium]

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[seebart]

Haha very good Mu! Very well written. I especially like the last part. But that's gonna be one heavy cloud.

[mr_a500]

All with the reassuring knowledge that the best you've got is safe from life threatening risks like eviction by wife and burglary by Canadians. *

*This is due to the fact that the cloud storage is safely held in Canada at a secure location guarded 24 hours a day by mr_a500. These impressive services are provided free of charge.

[seebart]

Guarded by Canadian grizzlies also? Inside a mountain? My storage standards are high! Once I acquire beamspring I will need maximum storage protection.

[mr_a500]

Whatever you want - grizzlies, polar bears, Mounties, rabid beavers... we've got it all.

[zts]

seebart, this is an interesting and possibly a rare find. The missing back label is a bummer. I'd assume this is one of many instances where this company goes back and forth on how to spell its own name (Unitech or Unitek). There also seems to be a pattern (at least in the past) of Unitek consistently using two different OEMs for different switches implementations:

- Dah Yang for Cherry MX implementations, and
- Nan Tan Computer Co. (NTC) for Alps

One similar find, (Dah Yang) K954: http://www.overclock.net/t/1088740/can- ... it-to-work

Anyways, great stuff!

[gogusrl]

Nice, I got one just like yours. Haven't gotten around to taking it apart yet but it looks the same. No back label on mine either.

[zts]

^ Unitek/Unitech is definitively an interesting company to research. Not documented in DT Wiki yet.

Looking again at yours and seebart's K959s, my guess would be that the back label is not missing, but rather wasn't there to begin with. I can imagine K959 being a part of an "old style" portable computer + keyboard where the KB latches into the computer and is carried around as a case. In that instance, having a label on the KB bottom which is exposed when carried would be esthetically questionable. Anyways, just a guess.

[seebart]

Ah nice but yours is grey and not yellowed with a black cable.

[snuci]

Can one of you post a picture of the back? Let's see if I can figure out where this is from.

[snuci]

There are a couple of examples on eBay at the moment of generic portable computers with a keyboard like this.

Here are a couple of examples (I added pictures for when the pics in the auctions go away):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/262021570641

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/121794143748

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Normally these are based on copying something good or rebadging to sell to other markets. Turns out they are based off of the Dolch 286 portable computer. More info here: http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/ ... -Computer/

Here is the good one:



Hope this helps.

[gogusrl]

I'll have to look for the case but from what I remember there was no label on the back. I do have a pic of the pcb and mine is actually a Chicony.

[seebart]

I will continue my thread here since I recently got this Highscreen branded Parex Modern-I Rev.1 from Oct. 1988 which is nothing more than a OEM variation of the Unitech K959 Rev 2.1.

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Both these were part of LCD-286 portable computers like this:

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These 29-pound "portable"computers had the following hardware that makes todays smartphones look like supercomputers at a fraction of the cost:

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Both use plate mounted Cherry MX switches, this one has MX blue switches. Not exactly my favorite switch in the world, they are tolerable to me in this metal plate mounted form.

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Due to the size limitation the layout is interesting with ESC on the num-block and caps lock at the bottom right where ALT would sit. CTRL is left like on XT layout. Bigass enter and tiny backspace combo. Large left shift is a pleasure for me but quite uncommon on ISO. The spacebar is huge with 10 units.

The keycaps are flimsy with printing that I cannot identify (because I never can).

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The ergonomics of the keyboard are whack, the bottom edge is bulky even with the feet extended.

Oddly the keyboard is AT/XT switchable BUT the switch is not accessible from the outside of the keyboard case!

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[snuci]

First of all, LOVE that retro computer bag. That thing is awesome!

The white switch is a stabilzer? Is this a documented Cherry switch? Very cool in general.

[seebart]

First of all, LOVE that retro computer bag. That thing is awesome!

The white switch is a stabilzer? Is this a documented Cherry switch? Very cool in general.

Thanks, I have no idea about that MX stabilizer, we do have a seperate wiki page on stabilizers, I cannot see one like that anywhere.

wiki/Stabiliser