Neat ebay items...
8 messages · 2003-07-16 → 2003-08-13 · Yahoo Group era · View archive on archive.org
Participants: Louis Florit, joe schmoe, Keith Watson, keithwatson, Jarek Adamski, kanjjde
Attachments in thread: 1 (see the archive.org item)
Preserved from the Timex/Sinclair 2068 Yahoo Group (2001–2019), which is no longer online. Text reproduced from the archive.org archive; email addresses masked.
Messages
1. Neat ebay items...
Louis Florit · Wed, 16 Jul 2003 13:06
Here's an item currently on ebay that's a little off the norm for the
usual TS items:
---
Custom Timex Sinclair External Keyboard (Who made this?)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item'41771995&category47
This is a custom kit includes an altered Timex Sinclair carrying case and
a prewired keyboard. It's a simple installation, but soldering skills and
a little work are required. To complete the installation, you would
simply open the case of your Timex Sinclair computer (TS-1000, TS-1500, or
ZX-81) and solder 13 wires to the membrane keyboard ribbon connectors on
the motherboard per the supplied instructions (thanks to SYNC magazine).
This keyboard will also work on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 16K and 48K
models, the ones with the same 40 key chicklet style rubber keyboard.
The exact same installation procedure applies, as documented in the
January/February 1984 issue of SYNC, Volume 4, Number 1.
---
ZX Spectrum Emu Cartridge for TS2068
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item'42562877&categoryA93
I'm continued to be amazed at the variety and shapes of these carts.
---
That's all for this week, folks.
L
2. Re: [ts2068] Neat ebay items...
Keith Watson · Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:30 · 📎 1: file
Don't know if attached pictures are allowed here but here goes.
The keyboard in the eBay site looks the same as the one I put into my Timex back in 1987. However, mine wasn't a kit. The keyboard was bought at Radio Shack. It came from an English computer called the Oric, I think. The Timex case required a lot of modification and so did the bottom side of the keyboard. Some of the keys are auto-shifting by using diodes. Anyway, after using it, I would never go back to using the Timex chiclet keyboard.
Keith Watson
----- Original Message -----
From: Louis Florit <[email]>
To: Timex Sinclair 2068 e-group <[email]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 1:06 PM
Subject: [ts2068] Neat ebay items...
> Here's an item currently on ebay that's a little off the norm for the
> usual TS items:
>
> ---
> Custom Timex Sinclair External Keyboard (Who made this?)
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item'41771995&category47
>
> This is a custom kit includes an altered Timex Sinclair carrying case and
> a prewired keyboard. It's a simple installation, but soldering skills and
> a little work are required. To complete the installation, you would
> simply open the case of your Timex Sinclair computer (TS-1000, TS-1500, or
> ZX-81) and solder 13 wires to the membrane keyboard ribbon connectors on
> the motherboard per the supplied instructions (thanks to SYNC magazine).
>
> This keyboard will also work on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 16K and 48K
> models, the ones with the same 40 key chicklet style rubber keyboard.
>
> The exact same installation procedure applies, as documented in the
> January/February 1984 issue of SYNC, Volume 4, Number 1.
>
>
> ---
> ZX Spectrum Emu Cartridge for TS2068
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item'42562877&categoryA93
>
> I'm continued to be amazed at the variety and shapes of these carts.
>
> ---
> That's all for this week, folks.
>
> L
>
>
>
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3. Re: [ts2068] Neat ebay items...
Louis Florit · Wed, 16 Jul 2003 20:33
Hi Kieth, thanks for sharing! :)
On Wed, 16 Jul 2003, Keith Watson wrote:
> Don't know if attached pictures are allowed here but here goes.
Aparently some pictures are allowed. I think there is a message size
limit that will strip images if they're too big.
> The keyboard in the eBay site looks the same as the one I put into my
> Timex back in 1987. However, mine wasn't a kit. The keyboard was
> bought at Radio Shack. It came from an English computer called the
> Oric, I think. The Timex case required a lot of modification and so did
> the bottom side of the keyboard. Some of the keys are auto-shifting by
> using diodes. Anyway, after using it, I would never go back to using
> the Timex chiclet keyboard.
Wow, that modification looks like it would have taken quite a bit of
effort and some major hacking into the TS2068 case. Do you find the
missing glyphs to be a problem?
The person ebaying the keyboard mentioned some very specific pages out of
Sync (Jan/Feb 1984, Vol 4, Number 1). This would be useful to corroborate
and see if it is indeed the Oric's computer keyboard. I quickly googled
the Oric and it appears the keyboard matches the Oric Altos very nicely.
However, the Oric Altos seems to have been introduced in Feb of 1984,
which would coincide with the date of the instructions for Sync. Could it
be that someone else was manufacturing the keyboards?
L
4. Re: [ts2068] Neat ebay items...
keithwatson · Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:34
On Wed, 16 Jul 2003, Louis Florit wrote:
> Wow, that modification looks like it would have taken quite a bit of
> effort and some major hacking into the TS2068 case. Do you find the
> missing glyphs to be a problem?
The modification to the Timex case took about 8 hours of work over a period of a week. The soldering on the keyboard and designing the new connections took most of the time. I think I worked on the keyboard for more than 24 hours including the design preparations and actual work. I was trying to get it ready to take to the Timex computer show in Orlando, FL in 1987.
At the time I didn't need to see the glyphs on the case because I was very familiar with the Timex commands. So much so that my fingers just automatically knew the sequence of keys to touch. I can't do that now but I have Jack Dohany's Timex 2068 version of the Sinclair Keyboard program that allows you to enter the individual keys of all keywords before they are tokenized. It comes in pretty handy with my keyboard now.
Keith Watson
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5. Re: Neat ebay items...
Jarek Adamski · Thu, 17 Jul 2003 20:41
Hi!
--- In [email], Louis Florit <florit@h...> wrote:
> Custom Timex Sinclair External Keyboard (Who made this?)
BTW Would you like to buy an interface for PC Keyboard?
(Can include also convertion of PC Mouse.) I'm going to
make one.
How much should it cost?
Yarek.
6. Re: [ts2068] Neat ebay items...
joe schmoe · Sat, 19 Jul 2003 08:40
i would love to have this ..thanks for the link,
however, it would occupy the cartridge slot. There is
a modification for those with thte Larken system
whereby the chip off of that cartridge is piggybacked
on to the ROM chip on the Larken cartridge and a
little switch has to be wired and inserted into the
case to switch the O.S....so they can both occupy the
cartridge slot.......if my memory serves me
correctly..
I should pass this user group on to my timex/sinclair
guru of many years...he knows how to do all that
modification stuff. Eric Johnson...yall know him?
He used to do repair work for Timex in the early days
and had an uncle who worked in Waterbury Conn in the
Research and Design Dept of Timex.
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7. Re: [ts2068] Neat ebay items...
joe schmoe · Tue, 22 Jul 2003 20:39
The Central Florida Timex/Sinclair Users Group
sponsered that computerfest. Darrell Stec was the
president of that group. Anyone ever hear from him?
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8. Re: Neat ebay items...
kanjjde · Wed, 13 Aug 2003 02:27
Louis Florit <florit@h...> wrote:
> ---
> Custom Timex Sinclair External Keyboard (Who made this?)
>
If memory serves, I believe it was a surplus keyboard from a version
of the TI-99/4A, commonly available from Radio Shack or other places
for about $2.99.
An old TS guy.