It is hard to imagine that there was a time when having a keyboard and screen readily available was a real problem for people who wanted to experiment with computers. In the 1970s, if you wanted a terminal, you might well have built a [Don Lancaster] “TV Typewriter” and the companion “low cost keyboard.” [Artem Kalinchuk] wanted to recreate this historic keyboard and, you know what? He did! Take a look at the video below.
The first task was to create a PCB from the old artwork from Radio Electronics magazine. [Artem] did the hard work but discovered that the original board expected a very specific kind of key. So, he created a variant that takes modern MX keyboard switches, which is nice. He does sell the PCBs, but you can also find the design files on GitHub.
Not only were the TV typewriters and related projects popular, but they also inspired many similar projects and products from early computer companies.
The board is really just a holder for keys, some jumper wires, and an edge connector. You still need an ASCII encoder board, which [Artem] also recreates. That board is simple, using diodes, a few transistors, and a small number of simple ICs.
If you weren’t there, part of installing old software was writing the code needed to read and write to your terminal. No kidding. We miss [Don Lancaster]. We wonder how many TV typewriters were built, especially if you include modern recreations.
“It is hard to imagine that there was a time when having a keyboard and screen readily available was a real problem for people who wanted to experiment with computers.”
Really? Why is that so? I knew about ASCII keyboards since when I was little.
They were being mentioned in my dad’s amateur radio magazines from the 70s and 80s. There had been a lot of advertisements for them.
I mean, ASCII keyboards and ASCII character generators were common components for assembling your own glass terminal.
And the mailbox/BBS scene was very big in the 80s, or so I always thought.
Which weren’t long ago yet, by the way, just a few decades away from now.
Last but not least, the Nintendo NES from the 80s isn’t much younger but widely known, nevertheless.
About every video game fan (“gamer”) has heard about the NES.
So why are ASCII keyboards thought so much lesser being known then? 🤔
Anyway, I would like to say that the replica turned out quite good!
Well done! 🙂👍
If you were born in the mid 60’s or before then no, you generally did not know about or have access to ascii keyboards or any real computing resources. A few large offices would have Teletype model 33’s attached to something room sized. You can’t imagine how transformative the 70’s were.
I see, my bad. I think you’re right. I always forget about the diesel age from before they had electric power. :(