27 Mar
2001
27 Mar
'01
12:22 a.m.
Hmmm... Again, there's the dangerous telephone
wires, plug that in
place of properly wired apple wire for keyboard. POW! Goes the
keyboard microcontroller. That's another fatal design thanks to
apple for using telephone jacks instead of some kind of connectors.
They weren't the only manufacturer to use that type of connector for the
keyboard though. I'm not saying it was a good design, but it was a
connector that was small and readily available. The Atari ST, Amiga 1000,
Coleco Adam, and I believe the IBM 5155, as well as plenty of serial
terminals, used the same type of connector for the keyboard. My main
complaint about that connector is that it is so frail. Not everyone enjoys
cutting off the broken connector and wiring a new one back on! <g>
Jeff
27 Mar
27 Mar
1:33 a.m.
They weren't the only manufacturer to use that
type of connector for the
keyboard though. I'm not saying it was a good design, but it was a
connector that was small and readily available. The Atari ST, Amiga 1000,
Coleco Adam, and I believe the IBM 5155, as well as plenty of serial
terminals, used the same type of connector for the keyboard.
Old Sun mice use it too.
--
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-- Coffee. Delight. Border. May I see your passport please? -- Firesign Theater
9:42 a.m.
Cameron Kaiser skrev:
> They weren't the only manufacturer to use
that type of connector for
> the
> keyboard though. I'm not saying it was a good design, but it was a
> connector that was small and readily available. The Atari ST, Amiga 1000,
> Coleco Adam, and I believe the IBM 5155, as well as plenty of serial
> terminals, used the same type of connector for the keyboard.
Old Sun mice use it too.
And so do DEC LK?01 keyboards.
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5:40 a.m.
On Tue, 27 Mar 2001, Jeff Hellige wrote:
They weren't the only manufacturer to use that
type of connector
for the keyboard though. I'm not saying it was a good design, but it
was a connector that was small and readily available. The Atari ST,
Amiga 1000, Coleco Adam, and I believe the IBM 5155, as well as plenty
of serial terminals, used the same type of connector for the keyboard.
My main complaint about that connector is that it is so frail. Not
everyone enjoys cutting off the broken connector and wiring a new one
back on! <g>
It's a very simple task. Go out to your local electronics, office, or
even grocery store and buy a crimper that comes with a few of the
connectors. Cut the old connector off, strip the cable with the crimper
tool, insert the new connector on and crimp. Takes less than 10 seconds
:)
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
6:24 a.m.
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7:29 a.m.
Yes, the 5155 does have an RJ11-like keyboard
connector. It plugs into a
socket on the front of the case which is wired to a 5 pin DIN plug, which
is then plugged into the normal keyboard connector on the (XT) motherboard.
I would've thought they'd have just extended the XT connector
to the front of the machine using a similar type cable instead of
making sure that the only keyboard usable on the 5155 is that
specific one, at least without a bit of work.
One thing that many manufacturers did that Apple
didn't was make the
cable difficult to detach from the keyboard. By having it fixed at one
end, you couldn't replace it (easily) with a telephone cable.
I'm glad that all of the keyboards with that connector that I
have all are detachable. Makes replacement that much easier if
there's a problem. All of the ones I mentioned previously are
detachable at the keyboard, including my DECmate II, which I forgot
used the same type. It takes a bit more work to get the cable off
though since it runs through a little channel on the bottom of the
keyboard after it is connected.
Yes, if the locking clip catches on another cable
(cables seem to tangle
in the most amazing ways), it breaks off :-(. Horrible little connector.
Especially when you pack them into a box for movement.
Wrapping them around the keyboard lessens this somewhat but I dislike
doing that since it stretches the cable out of shape.
Jeff
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7:59 a.m.
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9:44 a.m.
Jeff Hellige skrev:
I'm glad that all of the keyboards with that
connector that I
have all are detachable. Makes replacement that much easier if
there's a problem. All of the ones I mentioned previously are
detachable at the keyboard, including my DECmate II, which I forgot
used the same type. It takes a bit more work to get the cable off
though since it runs through a little channel on the bottom of the
keyboard after it is connected.
OTOH, the A1000 cable is easily replaced with a common telephone wire, unlike
the Mac (it seems).
>Yes, if the locking clip catches on another cable
(cables seem to tangle
>in the most amazing ways), it breaks off :-(. Horrible little connector.
Especially when you pack them into a box for
movement.
Wrapping them around the keyboard lessens this somewhat but I dislike
doing that since it stretches the cable out of shape.
I still think it's quite elegant, with that satisfying click when correctly
inserted.
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11:13 a.m.
The Atari ST is an integrated machine. I guess you mean a TT.
Also the DEC Micros - Rainbow et al, with the LK201 KB.
Larry
Reply to:
lgwalker(a)look.ca
Hmmm... Again,
there's the dangerous telephone wires, plug that in
place of properly wired apple wire for keyboard. POW! Goes the
keyboard microcontroller. That's another fatal design thanks to
apple for using telephone jacks instead of some kind of connectors.
They weren't the only manufacturer to use that type of connector for the
keyboard though. I'm not saying it was a good design, but it was a
connector that was small and readily available. The Atari ST, Amiga 1000,
Coleco Adam, and I believe the IBM 5155, as well as plenty of serial
terminals, used the same type of connector for the keyboard. My main
complaint about that connector is that it is so frail. Not everyone enjoys
cutting off the broken connector and wiring a new one back on! <g>
Jeff
11:45 a.m.
The Atari ST is an integrated machine. I guess you
mean a TT.
Also the DEC Micros - Rainbow et al, with the LK201 KB.
The Mega series ST machines had seperate keyboards. I have a
MegaST 2 here. I've never had the pleasure of using either the TT or
Falcon series machines. My DECmate II uses the same LK201 keyboard,
I just forgot to include it on my list. I was at work at the time
and the other machines were the ones that came to mind immediately.
Jeff
--
Collector of Classic Microcomputers and Video Game Systems:
Home of the TRS-80 Model 2000 FAQ File
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/lakes/6757
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ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
foo＠siconic.com -
jhellige＠earthlink.net -
lgwalker＠look.ca -
optimus＠canit.se -
spectre＠stockholm.ptloma.edu