Editing
Nabu KBD-2
From Deskthority Wiki
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
{{stub}} {{TODO photo|reason=pictures with better lighting}} {{infobox dkeyboard | image name = Nabu PC.png | model = KBD-2 | fcc = N/A / Unknown | branding = Nabu | manufacturer = [[Nabu Manufacturing Corporation]] | features = | switch = [[Alps SKCC Cream]]<br>[[Alps SKCC Lock]] | layouts = | weight = | years = 1981-1984 | switch mount = [[Switch mount#Plate mount|Plate mount]] | interface = Serial RS422 (Physical DIN-6) | price = $950 CAD (1983, entire system) }} The Nabu Personal Computer "Keyboard Unit" is a keyboard made for use with the Nabu Personal Computer System. The keyboard model is KBD-2, with part number 90000180. ==Description== The keyboard was created for and bundled with the Nabu Personal Computer System. It uses a 6-pin DIN connector with serial RS422 to communicate with the PC, which enabled communication to and from the PC itself. The keyboard also features two joystick DB-9 ports for use with joysticks which were sold separately at the time. The keyboard is 2KRO with autorepeat enabled, which exponentially increases in speed over time. Special keys such as the eight key cluster to the right of the keyboard do not autorepeat, and instead send a signal when a key is depressed as well as when it is released. The normal keys consist of [[Alps SKCC Cream]] switches, while the Caps Lock has a [[Alps SKCC Lock]] switch on it. It is said that the keyboard and computer were manufactured by Samsung in South Korea, but this is yet to be fully confirmed. ==Construction== ===Case=== The keyboard consists of a top half and a bottom half, both made out of plastic. The top half of the case has a sticker on it labeled "NABU PERSONAL COMPUTER," with various function labels supposedly used in conjuction with the "SYM" key. The bottom half has a label that identifies the company and various other information such as the serial number, manufacturing date, and revision letter. The case is held together with six screws in total, with five being standard screws with washers and one countersunk screw. ===Internals=== A [[Alps SKCC Lock|SKCC Lock]] switch is present on the "CAPS" key. The [[Alps SKCC Cream|SKCC Cream]] switches are infilled with a sort of resin or glue in the switch terminal recess, supposedly to prevent dust or solder fume incursion during manufacturing. They are the black switchplate variant, likely manufactured around 1982 using IC dating. The switches are soldered to a PCB and clipped into a painted black steel plate on one side. The switch-plate assembly is then secured to the bottom half of the case with double-sided foam tape. The adhesive from the tape corrodes the steel plate over time, and the corrosion is present on NOS (new old stock) units. There are four slots for screws present on the plate; however, these are not used in the keyboard. The PCB is connected to the controller board through a ribbon cable that is soldered in. The controller on the keyboard is a Motorola MC6803P. There is a female DIN-6 connector present on the back side of the keyboard labeled "TO COMPUTER," along with two DB-9 joystick ports labeled "CONTROLLER" with a number below each port. All of the ports are soldered onto the controller board. Pins one and six are unused on the DIN-6, pins two and three for power, and pins four and five for data. The shield is connected to ground. ===Keycaps=== The [[keycap]]s are [[keycap printing|doubleshot]] [[ABS]], with a white-on-black color scheme for most of the keys. A couple of keys, namely the "PAUSE", "TVโNABU", and "GO" keys have different legend colors, being red, yellow, and dark blue respectively. The keycaps are textured on the top, while the sides are smooth. The keycap profile seems to be unique to the keyboard. The 8-key cluster on the right of the board all have the same keycap profile. ==Conversion== Currently, there are no known converters that work for this keyboard. The difficulty of creating a converter is that the controller board accepts +10V unregulated, and the baud rate is nonstandard. However, the scancodes are known, so it would be possible to create a converter with a separate power supply if need be. ==Matrix== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Row/Column !! COLUMN 1 Pin 15 !! COLUMN 2 Pin 16 !! COLUMN 3 Pin 17 !! COLUMN 4 Pin 14 !! COLUMN 5 Pin 09 !! COLUMN 6 Pin 04 !! COLUMN 7 Pin 08 !! COLUMN 8 Pin 07 !! Special Pin 10 |- | ROW A Pin 12 || YES || PAUSE || - _ || 9 ( || 7 & || 5 % || 3 # || 1 ! || |- | ROW B Pin 13 || UP || TV/NABU || = + || 0 ) || 8 * || 6 ^ || 4 $ || 2 @ || |- | ROW C Pin 03 || LEFT || DELETE || [ { || O || U || T || E || Q || |- | ROW D Pin 02 || RIGHT || ] } || P || I || || R || W || ESC || |- | ROW E Pin 01 || NO || , " || L || J || G || D || A || TAB || |- | ROW F Pin 20 || DOWN || GO <-' || ; : || K || H || F || S || Y || |- | ROW G Pin 19 || <<<< || || . > || M || N || Z || B || C || |- | ROW H Pin 18 || >>>> || SYM l+r || / ? || , < || SPACE || || V || X || |- | CAPS Pin 05 || || || || || || || || || CAPS |- | CTRL Pin 06 || || || || || || || || || CTRL |- | SHIFT Pin 11 || || || || || || || || || SHIFT l+r |} ==Gallery== Pictures of the Nabu PC keyboard. <gallery widths=250 heights=167> File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_top.jpg | Top File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_back.jpg | Bottom File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_profile.jpg | Profile File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_interfaces_on_back.jpg | Interfaces on back File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_back_of_mechanism.jpg | Keyboard mechanism back File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_top_of_keyboard_mechanism.jpg | Keyboard mechanism top File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_key_caps_removed.jpg | Keycaps removed File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_profile_with_no_key_caps.jpg | Profile with no keycaps File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_key_switches.jpg | Key switches File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_top_of_key_caps.jpg | Top of double shot keycaps File:Nabu_PC_Keyboard_underside_of_key_caps.jpg | Underside of double shot keycaps File:Nabu KBD-2 SKCC top picture.png | Top of SKCC switch File:Nabu KBD-2 SKCC bottom picture.png | Underside of SKCC switch </gallery> [[Category:Nabu keyboards]] [[Category:Keyboards with Alps SKCC switches]] [[Category:Vintage keyboards]] [[Category:List of all keyboards]]
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Deskthority Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Project:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Templates used on this page:
Template:Dbanner
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox/image
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox/row
(
edit
)
Template:Infobox dkeyboard
(
edit
)
Template:Stub
(
edit
)
Template:TODO photo
(
edit
)
Template:Theme colour
(
edit
)
Navigation menu
Page actions
Page
Discussion
Read
Edit
Edit source
History
Page actions
Page
Discussion
More
Tools
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Navigation
Main page
Deskthority forum
Support Deskthority
Search
Main categories
Guides
Keyboards
Keyboard switches
Keycaps
Keyboard modding
Pointing devices
Brands & companies
Group buys
Other topics
Wiki info & links
Recent changes
Random page
All pages
Deskthority wiki help
MediaWiki help
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Page information