IBM PCjr keyboards
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| File:Ibm pcjr with display.jpg | |
| Part number | 8600032 (1st generation) 6181835 (2nd generation) |
|---|---|
| Branding | IBM |
| Manufacturer | Advanced Input Devices<ref name=IrKeyboardThread/> |
| Layouts | 62-key PCjr layout |
| Keyswitches | Rubber dome |
| Interface | IR or RJ-11 cable |
| Dimensions |
341.5 × 168 × 26 mm (13.45 × 6.61 × 1.02 inches) (IR keyboard)<ref name=TechnicalRef/> |
| Weight | 616 g (22 ounces) w/o batteries (IR keyboard) |
| Years of production | 1984 - 1987 |
The IBM 4860 PCjr was IBM's first attempt to produce a low cost personal computer aimed at the home market. It used a low cost keyboard designed to be more suitable to the home market than the Model F keyboards of their professional computers. The PCjr is widely considered to be one of the worst keyboards ever designed, owing to its uncomfortable "Chiclet" keys, non-standard layout (it was one of the first, if not the first, PC keyboards to use a Fn shift), unreliable IR link, and hardware limitations in the PCjr itself that prevented PC-style type-ahead from working properly. It's considered to be one of the main reasons why the PCjr was a commercial disaster.
A later "enhanced" version switched the "Chiclet" keys with more standard shaped keys. The internals of both revisions seem to be the same, and the layouts are also the same.
IBM PCjr[edit | edit source]
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Top -
Rear label -
Side Profile -
Top of PCB with rubber dome mat
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Bottom of PCB
References[edit | edit source]
<references> <ref name=TechnicalRef>Personal Computer PCjr Hardware Reference Library: Technical Reference — Appendix D: Cordless Keyboard (archive.org)</ref> <ref name=IrKeyboardThread>Deskthority.net - IR PC keyboards: IBM and Quadram</ref> </references>
