Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!tivoli!greylock!lark
From: lark@greylock.tivoli.com (Lar Kaufman)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.dec
Subject: Re: keyboard, mouse, hockey puck
Keywords: keyboard mouse schematics
Message-ID: <457@tivoli.UUCP>
Date: 7 Mar 91 19:41:07 GMT
References: <1991Mar7.001427.10581@casbah.acns.nwu.edu> <448@tivoli.UUCP> <17852@milton.u.washington.edu>
Sender: news@tivoli.UUCP
Reply-To: lark@tivoli.com (Lar Kaufman)
Organization: TIVOLI Systems, Inc.
Lines: 62

In article <1991Mar7.001427.10581@casbah.acns.nwu.edu>,
connie@sushi.psych.nwu.edu (Constance Stillinger) writes:
> In article <17852@milton.u.washington.edu>
seymour@milton.u.washington.edu (Richard Seymour) writes:
> >
> >i remember when DEC brought out the LK-201 keyboard design...
At least I like the model number of the keyboard.  Something 
charming about LK.  :-)

> >They were ** SO PROUD ** of the ergonomic studies they did...
> >(almost exact quote:) "We tested it with everybody ... we even brought
> > in the janitors and let them use it."
Regretably, most janitors are probably not touch-typists.

> 
> I'll bet "everybody" didn't include many women -- else the puck would
> have been smaller and the keyboard touch lighter...
Agreed.  Actually, I'm a big guy and I find the keyboard touch to be 
quite heavy.  It's even heavier on the other DECstation in my office, 
so I also know that the stroke pressures required varies across 
keyboards.  My guess is that there isn't an Engineering Specification 
for the spring tension in the keys, or QA doesn't test that, or the 
spec is too broad.  Possibly a heavy spring pressure is used to ensure 
that keys don't stick...

I haven't found much in the way of good news regarding alternatives, but 
I haven't given up.  So far, I've been told of a trackball that replaces 
the mouse, and that an old-style mouse (no longer available from DEC) 
should work.  I understand that the keyboard from the VT420 should fit 
and has a better keyboard layout (although that is the one keyboard 
problem that I can largely work around using xkeymap).  I don't know 
whether the VT420 keyboard has a better tactile response yet, nor do I 
know pricing or availability.  - will follow up.

Key Tronics, who makes the wonderful keyboards I use on my PCs at home, 
does not make a keyboard for the DECstation, although the engineer I 
talked to sounded interested in the problem.  I was told that if they
felt there was sufficient interest, they would examine the issue, so 
I may push that option.  I've come to appreciate DG's decision to use 
an AT-compatible keyboard on the Aviion - it gives the users lots of 
choices.

A DEC employee notified me that he was forwarding my comments to 
appropriate people for their attention.  That was nice.

I haven't had a chance to look for mouse alternatives yet, nor have 
I checked with the OEMs for either the mouse or the keyboard for 
possible alternatives.  If nothing else, maybe I can get lighter 
springs to put under the keycaps.

Does anyone happen to have information about the signal logic
and pin-outs for the keyboard and the mouse?  Is that kind of 
information in the appropriate hardware technical manuals? 
(All I have is the Ultrix docset.)

I'll summarize the results of my findings.  My thanks to those of 
you who replied.

Lar Kaufman            I would feel more optimistic about a bright future
(voice) 512-794-9070   for man if he spent less time proving that he can
(fax)   512-794-0623   outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness 
lark@tivoli.com        and respecting her seniority.  - E.B. White