Keyboard Terminology & BTC 6100

I'm looking for an 88-key keyboard, wired, with the kind of keys that come on a regular el-cheapo keyboard. Not the flat-one
like on a laptop. I want the keys to be the same size and spacing as on a regular old fashioned keyboard, too.

Some sites give specs; others don't say anything about the keyboard mechanism, size, spacing. I'm confused by some terms.
When I look at the pictures, they all look like regular keys.

I'm looking at the BTC 6100, which might fit my purposes.

Can someone explain what these terms mean:

flat keys -- I presume this is like on a laptop.
membrane I presume this is like on a laptop
key pitch -- ____________________ (is this the size of the key?)
scissors -- _____________________
keycaps -- _____________________

Thanks for helping me.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LadyDungeness@Fish.Net wrote:
> I'm looking for an 88-key keyboard, wired, with the kind of keys that come on a regular el-cheapo keyboard. Not the flat-one
> like on a laptop. I want the keys to be the same size and spacing as on a regular old fashioned keyboard, too.
>
> Some sites give specs; others don't say anything about the keyboard mechanism, size, spacing. I'm confused by some terms.
> When I look at the pictures, they all look like regular keys.
>
> I'm looking at the BTC 6100, which might fit my purposes.
>
> Can someone explain what these terms mean:
>
> flat keys -- I presume this is like on a laptop.
> membrane I presume this is like on a laptop
> key pitch -- ____________________ (is this the size of the key?)
> scissors -- _____________________
> keycaps -- _____________________
>
> Thanks for helping me.
>
>
> Lady Dungeness
> Crabby, but Great Legs!
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scissor part, is explained in the PDF. It is the mechanism
underneath the key.

http://www.btc.com.tw/pdf/6100.pdf

The design does look flat. Some keyboards are dished, with the rows of
keys being at different heights. But the 6100 looks to be flat.

The width of that keyboard is 333mm or 33.3cm or roughly 13.1". The row
of numeric keys appears to have room for 16 keys across. 333/16 is
approximately 20mm pitch plus the bezel around the outside of the keyboard.

The keyboard I'm typing on, a pretty conventional one, has about that pitch (0.75").
The key surface would be smaller than the pitch, leaving a gap between one
key and the next. If the pitch is too tight, then people with "fat fingers"
have trouble pressing just one key at a time.

The keycap is the plastic part on the top. My current keyboard has the
"2-shot moulding" feature mentioned here. There are no signs of wear on the
keyboard lettering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keycap

There is at least one USENET groups that specializes in keyboards, but
the last time I visited there, the traffic level was pretty low. I know
there are some people out there, who know all sorts of stuff about
keyboard design, but finding those people on demand might not be that
easy.

Paul

Thanks Paul. I've also learned that the old keyboards that were so sturdy and noisy were made with buckling spring
mechanical parts for the keys. And that Cherry Corp. makes the highest quality keyboards around. And that other high
quality keyboards use Cherry's mechanisms. Some are clicky and some are silent -- depends on the mechanism.

I'll keep looking.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:50:18 -0500, Paul <nospam@needed.com> wrote:

>LadyDungeness@Fish.Net wrote:
>> I'm looking for an 88-key keyboard, wired, with the kind of keys that come on a regular el-cheapo keyboard. Not the flat-one
>> like on a laptop. I want the keys to be the same size and spacing as on a regular old fashioned keyboard, too.
>>
>> Some sites give specs; others don't say anything about the keyboard mechanism, size, spacing. I'm confused by some terms.
>> When I look at the pictures, they all look like regular keys.
>>
>> I'm looking at the BTC 6100, which might fit my purposes.
>>
>> Can someone explain what these terms mean:
>>
>> flat keys -- I presume this is like on a laptop.
>> membrane I presume this is like on a laptop
>> key pitch -- ____________________ (is this the size of the key?)
>> scissors -- _____________________
>> keycaps -- _____________________
>>
>> Thanks for helping me.
>>
>>
>> Lady Dungeness
>> Crabby, but Great Legs!
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>The scissor part, is explained in the PDF. It is the mechanism
>underneath the key.
>
>http://www.btc.com.tw/pdf/6100.pdf
>
>The design does look flat. Some keyboards are dished, with the rows of
>keys being at different heights. But the 6100 looks to be flat.
>
>The width of that keyboard is 333mm or 33.3cm or roughly 13.1". The row
>of numeric keys appears to have room for 16 keys across. 333/16 is
>approximately 20mm pitch plus the bezel around the outside of the keyboard.
>
>The keyboard I'm typing on, a pretty conventional one, has about that pitch (0.75").
>The key surface would be smaller than the pitch, leaving a gap between one
>key and the next. If the pitch is too tight, then people with "fat fingers"
>have trouble pressing just one key at a time.
>
>The keycap is the plastic part on the top. My current keyboard has the
>"2-shot moulding" feature mentioned here. There are no signs of wear on the
>keyboard lettering.
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keycap
>
>There is at least one USENET groups that specializes in keyboards, but
>the last time I visited there, the traffic level was pretty low. I know
>there are some people out there, who know all sorts of stuff about
>keyboard design, but finding those people on demand might not be that
>easy.
>
> Paul