Mr.Amiga500

I think I'll disassemble one of my backup Type 4 800XLs and get some photos of this switch. I don't think I've seen it documented anywhere. From what I've heard, Stackpole is a fairly disreputable company that stole a switch design from Hi-Tek, then went around selling keyboards with this switch to Hi-Tek's customers. Hi-Tek sued them, but (inexplicably) lost.

This thread needs updating... Type 1: Alps made, using Alps SKFL switches Type 2: AWC made, using Cherry M8 open top switches Type 3: AWC made, using Cherry M8 closed top switches Type 4: Unknown - using "Hi-Tek/Stackpole-like" switches (incomplete! needs more detail!) Type 5: Mitsumi made, using "Mitsumi hybrid switches" ("rubber dome on stick") 600XL (only?) Type 2a: AWC made, using Futaba low profile switches, Type 2 keycaps Many thanks to Daniel Beardsmore for the Deskthority Wiki information!

Thanks. I'll check it out. Thanks very much for the offer. I'll contact Dave first and see what happens.

Actually, I do like the look of that PEB set vertically with blinking lights. (who wouldn't like blinking lights?) My complaint was more against people who do something like take an Amiga 500 and put it in a horrible ugly beige tower, with a beige rubber dome keyboard. I suppose your modern keyboard does match the TI, with black and metal colour scheme.

I still like to keep the important things "stock". I don't mind increased RAM or CPU accelerator, but I'd never replace original graphics & sound or convert the computer to a tower with a modern keyboard. It's just like with cars. I hate the chopped down modded look. I like it totally stock looking, but with more speed and various other better parts. My 1958 VW looks totally stock, but has a 1999 engine, dual carburetors, better brakes, etc.

I have nostalgia for vintage computers, but not really for vintage storage devices. I'll admit that I like to have at least one 5 1/4" floppy drive and a bunch of floppies for occasional remembrances, but to actually use my computers I want the fastest, most reliable media possible. To me, it doesn't matter how the data gets into the computer. What matters is that it's the original hardware using that data.

Obviously I'm not in the USA. I just searched the Stargames site and found the NanoPEB (strangely it's not listed without searching), added to cart, then when checking out got some message that there is no carrier available. Apparently, they don't deliver to Canada for some reason.

That is very odd. Are you sure it is ALPS? If so, possibly you got one that was in a very dusty environment. Dust can get into ALPS switches and make them snag or feel scratchy. (though I have dozens of ALPS keyboards and they're all fine - and my ALPS 800XL was bought new)

Another thing to look for is the keyboard type. There were at least 4 different keyboard versions of the black keyboard - ALPS, General Instruments, Hi-Tek and Stackpole. In my opinion, the ALPS and General Instruments keyboards are the best. A quick way to tell is to look at the "3" key. Rounded "3" is ALPS or General Instruments. If it's a flat-top "3", it's Hi-Tek or Stackpole.

I've been looking for a NanoPEB for a couple years. Why are these so rare? I've got SD readers for Atari, Commodore, Amiga, TRS-80, Apple... but I'm still stuck with nothing for the TI-99.

I didn't know there was a TI-99 photo thread here. Excuse the fact that it's not turned on... but I also connected it to another TV (playing TI BurgerTime):

Yes, it seems to be fixed now. Thanks! Gallery was visible to only logged in users for as long as I can remember. I posted a thread about it, requesting changes, probably back in 2010. I kept checking back for a while, but got no response. I searched for the thread today but it seems to have vanished. (but I definitely made one) Oh well, hopefully now the Gallery will get more views and comments.

OK, thanks Albert. Excuse the slightly annoyed tone of my post.

I used to leave occasional comments on other user's Gallery images, but now I found that this is no longer possible. Why? I also noticed that my repeated suggestion of making the Gallery visible to all (not just logged in users) was ignored and the suggestion thread deleted. Why? You'll notice that the Gallery viewing numbers are pretty pathetic. Making it visible to all, putting a random Gallery image on the main forum pages and having comments with notifiication should improve this. Otherwise, the Gallery is pretty damn useless.

Ah, nice clean un-yellowed 600XL - and that 1064 looks interesting too. (but why do you call it a 1065 in your original post? I had to look that up... while I was looking up "grok")

There are at least 5 known XL keyboards, and they have different keycap mounts: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/105170-600800xl-keyboard-variants/ There is a Cherry version of the XL keyboard, but it's Cherry M9. Cherry MX keycaps won't fit. (99% sure)

Well where's a bloody photo? I wouldn't even know how to "grok" an XEX. It does sound daunting. I'd try it, but I'm worried I'd hurt myself.

I like the Atari connected to my CRT TV, 34" flat square tube. It has nice contrast and most importantly, nice glowing rounded pixels. I have tried the Atari on Commodore 1084 and 1080 monitors and it looks fine there too, but it looks so much better on the TV.

Thanks! I try my best to show the beauty of the old computers and keyboards. They certainly don't make them like they used to.

I've been noticing a disturbing trend recently* - time seems to be accelerating! A year used to be a long time. Now it seems a year passes by while I'm eating a packet of peanuts. Brush my teeth - another year gone! What the hell is happening?! It's 2015?? We've gone beyond Buck Rogers' flight in 1987, somehow missed the Skynet nuclear war of 1997, passed the far future of Space 1999, and now we're in Marty McFly's alternate future (minus the 3D shark). Pretty soon we'll have to get a Blade Runner ("he say you brade runner") to kill replicants in 2019. Just last week... or was it 7 years ago... I became a member here to talk about Atari games I played the month before, in 1984. Now slx reminds us that in 40 years we'll all be dead. That's like 13 days in accelerated time. Oh man, life is short. I better hurry up and finish that game of Blue Max. *recently, meaning the last couple decades or so

What a tragedy. I'm reminded of that saying about "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory". I too had a Colour Computer (and cassette player) - because it was the cheapest, most easily available computer I could convince my parents to get. Then a year later I saw a friend's 800XL with disk drive and I was blown away. The colours! The sound! The sprites! The beautiful keyboard that didn't look melted! He had hundreds of commercial games on disk, while I had two ROM PAK games and five on tape that I had written myself. (...the CoCo lack of games did prompt me write my own, which I might not have done if I had enough games on the Atari) I ended up suffering "computer inferiority complex" that only ended the instant I bought my Amiga 500.