600/800XL Keyboard variants

[WxAxNxDxExRxExR]

A 1200 XL question -- visually, all 1200 XL machines appear to have Type 1 (ALPS) keyboards... Is this really so?!

 

I am asking especially as the font on the keycaps seems slightly different and they are much shinier than on the Type 1 800 XL...

[Beeblebrox]

19 minutes ago, WxAxNxDxExRxExR said:

A 1200 XL question -- visually, all 1200 XL machines appear to have Type 1 (ALPS) keyboards... Is this really so?!

 

I am asking especially as the font on the keycaps seems slightly different and they are much shinier than on the Type 1 800 XL...

The 1200XL keyboard is unique and is a membrane/mylar pcb type made by Mitsumi. They are completely different to all other XL and XE keyboards.

 

See here: 

 

On rare occasions some 800 tank A8s come with similar type of mitsumi made keyboards, but they are subtly different to the 1200XL. (Most 800 keyboards are stackpole or hi-tek plunger mechanical types).

 

Bottom line - 1200XL keyboards are unique to 1200XLs

 

edit: check this out: https://www.nightfallcrew.com/gallery/atari-1200xl-ntsc-boxed/IMG_4117.jpg

 

https://www.nightfallcrew.com/gallery/atari-1200xl-ntsc-boxed/IMG_4114.jpg

 

common issue happens at this point on the keyboard's pcb. Fairly easily fixed as per video above by FJC. I've done this a few times on both the 1200XL's mitsumi keyboard as well as the 800's rare mitsumi keyboard.

 

 

Edited January 19 by Beeblebrox

[WxAxNxDxExRxExR]

Many thanks for your replies!

Are these interchangeable with the 800XL keyboards? I.e. could it fit an ALPS keyboard, for instance?

[Beeblebrox]

16 minutes ago, WxAxNxDxExRxExR said:

Many thanks for your replies!

Are these interchangeable with the 800XL keyboards? I.e. could it fit an ALPS keyboard, for instance?

Not 100% sure what you mean by "these", but to cover all bases:

 

All 600XL and 800XL keyboard variants can be used with the 600XL and 800XL - so the 5 x variants of 600/800XL keyboard are all interchangable with each other.

 

1200XL (as mentioned above) can only take it's own 1200XL mitsumi keyboard  - nothing else. This 1200XL keyboard will also not fit in any other Atari 8 bit.

 

The 800 can take the specific mitsumi keyboard made for it, or a stackpole plunger or hitek plunger keyboard, but nothing else. So the 800 can take 3 x 800 keyboards. But it can't accept non 800 type keyboards from the other Atari 8 bits.

 

Edit: and when it comes to the XE line:

 

All 65XE, 130XE, and 800XE keyboards are interchangabe with each other.

 

The XEGS Atari games console has it's own XEGS keyboard which is only compatible with itself.

 

Edited January 19 by Beeblebrox

[wildstar87]

The 1200XL is definitely not compatible with the other XLs, the keyboard connector is different, as well as the circuit itself.  The 600/800XL have the 4051 chips integrated on the motherboard, where as the 1200XL has these same chips integrated into the keyboard, so the signals from the keyboard connector, are both completely different electrically, as well as physically.

 

I believe that the XEGS keyboard is interchangeable with the other XE machines, but has to be removed from the actual keyboard case, which ironically is similar to the 1200XL, in that the keyboard case has the 4051 chips integrated into the case, connected to the XE style keyboard.

[Beeblebrox]

10 minutes ago, wildstar87 said:

The 1200XL is definitely not compatible with the other XLs, the keyboard connector is different, as well as the circuit itself.  The 600/800XL have the 4051 chips integrated on the motherboard, where as the 1200XL has these same chips integrated into the keyboard, so the signals from the keyboard connector, are both completely different electrically, as well as physically.

 

I believe that the XEGS keyboard is interchangeable with the other XE machines, but has to be removed from the actual keyboard case, which ironically is similar to the 1200XL, in that the keyboard case has the 4051 chips integrated into the case, connected to the XE style keyboard.

Interesting. I was pretty sure the xegs keyboard, even removed from it's casing, could not be used in the XEs. 

 

However it appears if you have the spare XE angled function key keycaps to transplant, it might actually work. 

 

Check it out from mytek's TK-II pages:

 

 

 

[flashjazzcat]

Yes: all XEGS keyboards are internally identical to the cheaper dual layer Mylar keyboard used in many 65/130XEs.

[+kheller2]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166608452500

 

That looks like type 4 but the keys look shiny and concave.  Any ideas or is it just the light?

[drpeter]

7 hours ago, kheller2 said:

That looks like type 4 but the keys look shiny and concave.

Yeah, that's a Type 4. Not all of them have rough keycaps.

[aeberbach]

I bought one from Egypt recently with a type 2 keyboard (curvy double-quote above 2, unfilled CLR/CONTROL), it's very nice. Wasn't sure about the origin but it arrived safely and very economically via DHL.

[manterola]

6 hours ago, drpeter said:

Yeah, that's a Type 4. Not all of them have rough keycaps.

Another distinct feature of this type 4 variant is the weirdness of the "/" .

I got a 600xl with that keyboard, here some pictures:

 

[leech]

I skimmed through this thread, but does anyone happen to have cataloged all the springs in use for these variant keyboards?  I have a type 2 (though the top of the keyboard under the keys appear to be white vs brown) and the previous owner glued some crappy spring into the spacebar to stabilize it.  I cut it out and put two springs in there from some other Atari related project (I think it was springs for the XE or something) and while they sort of work better than the previous thing, the spacebar is still a bit wobbly.  I ordered some other springs that looked like the ones for the 800xl keyboard, but I bet they're going to be the ones for inside the keys, not the spacebar stabilization springs.