Questions tagged [keyboards]
For questions about the maintenance, usage, or history of retro keyboards.
143 questions
3 votes
0 answers
103 views
What keyboard switches are used for the toggle keys in the C128 DCR detachable keyboard?
The Commodore 128 keyboard has, in addition to the normal keys, three mechanical toggle switches: SHIFT LOCK, CAPS LOCK (ASCII/DIN in the German model) and 40/80 DISP. One of them broke apart on my ...
- 1,158
5 votes
2 answers
647 views
How does the capacitive sensing works on the PC / PC/XT keyboard type 2?
I am trying to replicate the IBM System/23 Datamaster keyboard using off-the shelf components. This means that I am using a 8749 instead of the 8048 and some 7400s to replace the LST/MST. For your ...
- 2,298
1 vote
0 answers
300 views
How do the keyboards of the Atari 1200 and the Adam compare to their contemporaries? [closed]
Reading reviews of the Adam, it is common to see that the keyboard is mentioned as a high point. Now most keyboards of the era were quite poor, so it's possible this is a comparison. I've also heard ...
- 22.4k
6 votes
1 answer
801 views
What were the two colored keys on a MUPID for?
The MUPID was an Austrian-made terminal for the BTX online service from the 1980s. It featured two special keys other BTX consoles did not have: a blue key labeled K, and a red key labeled R. On the ...
- 839
5 votes
0 answers
196 views
An attempt to connect Pelco CM9502 KBD keyboard to PC
I have an old CM9502 KBD keyboard which controlled the old CM9500 system. There is no CM9500 matrix system installed anymore. But its CM9502 KBD keyboard is still with me. I connected 12V and GND pins ...
- 59
16 votes
5 answers
4k views
If modern keyboards use 8-bit microcontrollers (due to low cost), what microcontrollers did keyboards for 8-bit/16-bit era of computers use?
This is something that has had me confused for a long time. I recall building a keyboard myself with quite a cheap microcontroller a year or so back. Several websites I'd checked mentioned the usage ...
- 1,067
4 votes
0 answers
319 views
What AT clones supported XT keyboards?
Recently, I was researching IBM PC keyboards and their compatibility. I found out that there are a lot of misconceptions online about them. First, there are two keyboard protocols that are not ...
- 902
9 votes
2 answers
1k views
Fake unshifts for 101-key extended keys - logic and current state?
(UPDATE[2025-04-01]: An essential part of the question had emerged due to the pilot (me) error to restore, at an instant, the option to show the real thing. Anyway, due to upvotes of the question as ...
- 1,144
8 votes
2 answers
418 views
Are there keyboards with XT/AT autodetect? How is it implemented?
Nowadays, it's common for keyboards to automatically switch to either PS/2 or USB mode depending on the port the keyboard is connected to. This way the keyboard can have either connector and use the ...
- 902
6 votes
1 answer
467 views
Reading a key in MSX without blocking?
Turbo Pascal 3.3 for MSX apparently didn't didn't have graphics, sound or other useful functions to write games, however it allows inline machine code to be injected by using the reserved word "...
- 2,298
1 vote
2 answers
266 views
keyboard KB-4501 HQK RB-2001 is not working particaly
the Keyboard work only with some button, like: ctrl+alt+delete+enter, and some other button. I have tested the din5 cable, and replace one to PS/2, but it did nothing.
- 159
5 votes
2 answers
504 views
Did any software take advantage of the C64 Restore key?
There is a lot of good information on the Commodore 64's RESTORE key in these two questions which point out that it was directly tied to the CPU's non-maskable interrupt (NMI) line. As well, it is ...
- 19.2k
5 votes
0 answers
481 views
Which computer system was in use at immigration counters at British airports in the mid-2000s?
In 2006 at Birmingham airport, they used beige keyboards with several dark red keys, yet without a separate navigation (cursor, PgUp, PgDn etc.) key section. One of the red keys (roughly at the same ...
- 839
8 votes
3 answers
589 views
Siemens 97371-132 keyboard on PS/2: How do I make the special keys emit a scancode?
I've got a Siemens 97371-132 / S26381-K99-V820 "tri-modal" keyboard, built in 1994, with PS/2 interface. Such keyboards were used both on Siemens PCs, as well as midrange machines running ...
- 839
9 votes
2 answers
2k views
Is there a symbol for the Hyper key?
I was wondering if there is a well-known symbol for the Hyper key? I found ✦ ("BLACK FOUR POINTED STAR" U+2726) used on wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard but no ...
- 191