Offical term for the clicker relay?

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snuci
Vintage computer guy

27 Jan 2016, 00:18

I acquired a Memorex keyboard with Key Tronic foam and foil switches and within the case was a relay that I assume is used for making a clicky sound? What exactly is that called? I thought it was pretty odd for a Key Tronic keyboard so I wanted to do some searching around to see if there are any other examples of this.

Here's a pic to illustrate:
Memorex Key Tronic - relay?
Memorex Key Tronic - relay?
Memorex Key Tronic - relay.jpg (357.44 KiB) Viewed 1249 times

Matt_

27 Jan 2016, 00:46

A solenoid?

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snuci
Vintage computer guy

27 Jan 2016, 00:53

Matt_ wrote: A solenoid?
That's it! Thank you. I read about them in other keyboards but didn't really pay much attention. Now I know what it's called.

I found the word "relay" in the Wiki on the Force page as noted below but knew there was another word for it. The page states:
Many tactile switches also emit an audible click during actuation; such switches are referred to as "clicky", with "tactile" generally referring to a switch that has a tactile force curve but no audible feedback upon actuation. There are also keyboards that produce audible feedback for linear switches, using a relay or small speaker.
Thanks again. Now, to see if there are many others like this.

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Chyros

27 Jan 2016, 01:19

It's a click solenoid. Some IBM beam spring keyboards famously have them, although I guess it's not easy to get them running. Does it run on the Key Tronic?

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snuci
Vintage computer guy

27 Jan 2016, 01:54

I'm not sure if it runs. It's a terminal keyboard with a 25 pin connector. I don't think it's parallel or serial so unless I find the matching terminal, I don't think I will ever see it run. I suppose I could add some voltage to see if it clicks but I'm not sure how to do that.

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