This is the only output this has. As for inputs we have a power cable. Nothing else.
The brains are pretty simple as well.
The case itself is pretty simple, there's a flat piece of metal on the bottom, some standoffs support the brains, brackets support the cool red sides of the case as well as the keyboard, and a bent metal top screws into the bottom plate with 6 screws. I don't know how much of this was done at home. the PCBs were probably etched non-commercially since they don't have a logo but the design could have been from a magazine for all I know and the case may or may not have been commercially available as well. There's no identification on anything other than the chip numbers and the name "Hollock" is penciled on the eprom. Other than that I have nothing to go off of so your guess is as good as mine. I have yet to determine if this outputs sound or if it is meant for relay activation. I'll hook it up to a scope or a pot and a speaker at some point and see what is going on.
Operation of the device is simple, you type and the LED blinks as the Morse is being sent. There is no buffer and so any presently sending character can be interrupted with by trying to send a new one. It has a buffer but there is no feedback for the buffer being filled that I can deduce. When the CTRL key is pressed it will disable the next code from sending, pressing CTRL and then E and then T sends only the code for T. Likewise the FCTN key disables the next two codes. The shift keys do not appear to do anything aside from block a few keys although that isn't a matrix issue and is likely an issue with the rom. When CTRL or FCTN are used to disable keypresses the shift keys are not considered and can be pressed as often as you like without unblocking anything. The space bar, despite not sending any codes does register as a keypress when CTRL or FCTN are blocking presses. ALPHA LOCK does not have any effect on anything as far as I can tell. the he "- /" key, enter key, "+=" key, "<," key and ">." key also all send codes but I am not able to parse Morse code even moderately slowly and this thing goes way too fast for me to tell what code those keys send from the LED. It's fast enough that I can hardly tell S and O apart and I for sure can't parse SOS from the LED's blinking.
Initially this thing came with a futaba keyboard but I don't particularly care for futaba when I have other better options so I swapped in one of my General Instruments SKCC modules and this thing types like a dream. I considered using an SKCC cream module but I have plenty of cream devices laying around but not a single butterscotch one. I have another GI module as a backup still but that one is down a few switches since it was damaged when I got it. I've also noticed that the stems on the alpha lock key are cracked in the same way on both of the GI SKCC modules I have. Not sure why but they should be easy enough to fix with some glue.
for anyone looking for pics of the keyboard module packaging here you go:
https://i.imgur.com/9vWaCRA.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/CPJXwqr.jpg
Since I now have a proper keyboard with these instead of loose modules I can actually comment on their feel and all that. Honestly they're indistinguishable from SKCC cream. Sound is effected by the different keycaps, and the space bar sound is different for sure on account of the weird stabilizer, but key feel is dead on for creams. This is kinda to be expected since they're not a clone or anything, they're genuine SKCC. Just like SKCC cream they're very nice although the space bar's external coil spring is a bit much for me. I have replaced it with my own spring that keeps the space bar noticeably heavier than the normal keys while not being massively heavy. They're good switches for sure but don't break the bank trying to get them when SKCC cream is way more common and feels the same.
here's a typing test: https://v3.fastupload.co/file/12280
and a mirror that takes longer to upload to but has proper licensing and whatnot : https://freesound.org/people/zrrion_the ... ds/613304/
IMO it sounds great. The massive ping is wonderful. Don't know if that's a special property of the case or if this is something that these switches are just good at. The bottom of the case has green felt stuck to the bottom and so there is no gap of any kind between the desk and the board, which I'm sure contributes positively to the sound.
On the ti99/4a the front legends actually do mean something but on this they do not correlate to any known functionality. I still haven't sussed out what the FCTN key does though so it is possible the front legends have something to do with that. I doubt this is the case but who knows.
