[Coco] Mechanical keyboard upgrades for the CoCo

[Greg Law]

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-----Original Message----- 
From: Brian Blake
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2015 3:47 PM
To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
Subject: Re: [Coco] Mechanical keyboard upgrades for the CoCo


Mark,

The Spectrum Projects and the Macrotron Professional were/are the same
keyboard. Ads can all be viewed here:
http://www.tandycoco.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=356

I've got the HJL-57, MarkData SuperPro and the Macrotron Professional
keyboard. If you want, I can send you pics of the mounting and support
hardware for each.



Brian


On 8/28/2015 2:47 PM, Mark J. Blair wrote:
> I'm listening to episode 3 of the CoCo Crew Podcast, and my ears began 
> ringing when they talked about this keyboard project. Cool!
>
> Looking through the November, 1983 issue of Rainbow Magazine, I see five 
> keyboard upgrade advertisements:
>
> p76  $89.95 KeyTronic
> p82  $69.95 Super-Pro
> p149 $59.95 Spectrum Projects
> p231 $79.95 HJL-57
> p313 $89.95 Macrotron Premium (ALPS keyswitches)
> p313 $49.95 Macrotron Professional (no picture?)
>
> The return key placement on that Spectrum Projects keyboard is awful!
>
> Taking the HJL-57 keyboard price as a benchmark and adjusting for 
> inflation, it cost $191.56 in 2015 dollars:
>
> http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=79.95&year1=1983&year2=2015
>
> The other upgrades cost between $119.68 and $215.52 in 2015 dollars. Those 
> selling prices appear to be right in line with the construction cost I'm 
> estimating so far for a top-end, low-quantity keyboard, with a relatively 
> light markup.
>
> Here's where I am right now:
>
> * Cost of keyswitches is understood.
> * Cost of custom keycaps is understood.
> * I have a feeling for the likely PCB cost.
> * Next step is to design the sheet metal and bezel, then shop those around 
> for quotes.
>
> This weekend I need to spend some time on a Timex Sinclair 2068 project 
> that I've said I'd do, so I don't know if I'll make progress on the 
> keyboard project this weekend. But it's moving along, and it might even 
> see the light of day!
>


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