AT&T 56k 460 ACW keyboard review (AT&T magnetic separation switches)

[@toufusoup]

Thomas' colossal wang now a standard in measurement when looking at the length of vintage keyboards.

[@jamarijulius1778]

a trick: watch movies at flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching lots of of movies these days.

[@allanzayden2200]

@Jamari Julius yup, I have been watching on flixzone} for years myself =)

[@jayfaraday1176]

What in the goddamn ass?

[@chickenpower5732]

@@jayfaraday1176 They are bots, both accounts are made a day apart from each other , have default profile pictures, and commented on what seems to be to me at least probably on the same day or a day apart. Of course I am assuming that you are referring to that.

[@CrazyTechReviews]

HAHA!

[@LightTheMars]

Had to upvote this for 1:25 alone ;)

[@Dcent_K]

Yes we had to.

[@wreckervilla]

Those switches are quite a simple design, I'm surprised there aren't modern variants that use the force of magnets to act as the tactile element, I'd love to try them

[@LegendaryGauntlet]

I would definitely welcome this kind of design, it's so superior to the cherry slider style we have now...

[@marka.200]

Good thing this is designed for a terminal instead of a computer from the era. Waving a floppy disk near this keyboard might not have a happy ending.

[@olik136]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hJ-Vg2qYft93qsU turns out it is way harder to damage a diskette with a magnet than we all thought

[@raulsaavedra709]

@@olik136 And paradoxically, it was (still is) way easier to damage CDs than typically thought. Scratches (if not too deep) on the reading side can always be eliminated by resurfacing the disk. But the metallic reflective layer where the data is stored in a CD is pretty much right next to the label side. Any little damage on the label side can therefore quite easily be unrecoverable and catastrophic. DVDs are quite a lot better than CDs in this respect because the metallic data layer is between equally thick plastic (polycarbonate) layers, so right in the middle of the disk's thickness: www.kcwebvisions.com/AboutComputers/lessons/lesson6/lesson6-7.htm PS. Blurays on the other hand have their data layer very close to the reading surface, but it is protected by a specially tough ultra thin layer of an anti-scratch resistant material. So significantly less vulnerable to damage than any CD

[@rich1051414]

@@olik136 You know what is even easier to damage than we thought? The strip on credit cards.

[@nasanierulastname2997]

@@rich1051414 That's hilarious because that means it can get damaged during normal use

[@atomicskull6405]

@@raulsaavedra709 The engineers thought of that proper CDs are supposed to have the reflective layer sandwiched between two layers of polycarbonate but manufacturer found they could eliminate the upper layer to reduce costs.

[@marcusrauch4223]

8:51 "plus twelve weird commands in the left" ehm, Thomas, there are just ten Command-keys there.

[@Vaasref]

See, that is why he needs the calculator module on the FK 9000.

[@Chyrosran22]

derp

[@yanguYT]

@@Chyrosran22 oof

[@Chevrium]

I'd love to see a modern reinvention of these types of switches in newer boards. This design of contactless magnetic clicker is something that Wooting and those guys who are doing clicky hall effect boards could really benefit from giving a good look at. I never imagined I'd say this about a board that uses foam and foil, but these are way ahead of their time.

[@farstox4656]

Always interesting to see old keyboards made for specific companies or terminals.

[@ringsystemmusic]

$ may have denoted that it was a US spec keyboard and used a $ key as opposed to a £ or € key, as well as ISO v ANSI spec enter.

[@Cebrilung]

You're such a cheeky bugger, I love it :D

[@Boyetto-san]

Fascinating find, that keyboard. It also just clicked (pun intended) on me what you originally meant by contactless tactility, and that is kind of an eye opener. That would also appear to explain why buckling springs are smooth and unlike other switches in having its tactile and clicky mechanism be free of any rubbing. We otherwise take it for granted that tactility is generated by having the slider rub against an interposing protrusion of some sort on its way down, whether that be a notch, a tactile leaf, or a click bar, so I find this genuinely interesting. I do wonder if buckling rubber sleeves would also count as contactless tactility.

[@Chyrosran22]

Hmmm, a difficult case, but I'd say no. The sleeves tend to rub against themselves on the way down.

[@devjock]

Dayum, I want one. That is cool. In fact, how bad an idea would it be to rig up something with a 500 pack of cheap aliexpress neodymium ring magnets, some hardware store washers, a teensy 3.5, and a few meters of solid core cat5 cable, etc.. This is revolutionary man, why haven't more people made keebs like this? Thanks for the exposure! I know what my next keeb related project is gonna be!

[@_mm512_load_ps]

great review, didn't even know AT&T made keyboards!

[@tristan6509]

I mean, AT&T is originally a telegram company so they used to make keyboards back in the old days

[@kaeden7570]

Yeah AT&T was forced to split up by the US government because they were entering too many industries lmao

[@LermaBean]

@@kaeden7570 That's how we got Verizon, no cap

[@kaeden7570]

Eric Lerma yeah I know lol

[@karellen00]

Maybe in the future we'll be able to see something like that for keyboards with optical registering of keypress (such as the wooting keyboard). Not having to deal with contacts simplifies the design, and also neodymium magnets could be used in place of ferrite to make them smaller. Too bad that we'll only see this if it can coexist with RGB crap...

[@SoulcatcherLucario]

_Thank you for pronoucing Illinois correctly. There are natives of IL who can't even do that._

[@tamasmasable]

THIS COMMENT WAS MADE BY ILLINOIS GANG

[@griffin3964]

@@tamasmasable I'm even from Skokie, which he also pronounced right.

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

Please tell me how to pronounce it correctly so that I can avoid doing that

[@SoulcatcherLucario]

@@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart [ɪlənɔɪː] in the ipa, or "ill-uh-noy" in a rough english form

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

@@SoulcatcherLucario Thank you, in that case I'll pronounce it "I-lie-no-is"

[@vine00]

That's neat, I had this exact idea years ago without knowing these existed.

[@questionmarkquestionmarkques]

you deserve more subscribers. i would recommend you to my friends but they're console peasants edit: looking back on this comment and god i regret it

[@0M9H4X_Neckbeard]

You can play games with a keyboard on the Xbox One

[@SonicBoone56]

@Loredan exactly lol

[@questionmarkquestionmarkques]

@Loredan oh right

[@questionmarkquestionmarkques]

@@0M9H4X_Neckbeard that doesnt make it a pc, that just gives you a different gamepad

[@0M9H4X_Neckbeard]

@@questionmarkquestionmarkques ??? did I say it makes it a PC ???

[@mattcrowley8993]

You should review the AT&T buckling springs next.

[@yanguYT]

it's basically just like IBM

[@XalphYT]

Matt Crowley Your wish has come true: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHvNfIBpm7CMqLM

[@KW283]

I really love the way you review keyboards, keep it up!

[@jclendinen623]

omg this sounds perfect, pure asmr

[@tamasmasable]

Great video as always, my guy. Will you do a review of a Dell SK-8135?

[@azurabayta133]

I'd love to see you do a video on one of AT&T's buckling spring keyboards!

[@yanguYT]

same lol

[@lucidmoses]

Oh Binding, my familiar foe. This one was sounding so good up until the binding warning. Lost all desire to try what was sounding like an excellent switch. Time to start a Kickstarter and see if one can be designed without the binding problem.

[@9uuuu]

1:22 why must you do this

[@vrius3335]

Wow, what an amazing sound.

[@mohmmd86]

Big pp

[@moneyfu5989]

This man's voice is ASMR by itself

[@Neightr0]

I'm kind of surprised to see that there isn't a review for AT&T Buckling Springs on the channel yet. I would love to see one!

[@XalphYT]

Neightro Guess what? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHvNfIBpm7CMqLM

[@foooooood]

You hit your spacebar with your thumb :o

[@DerComputerist]

We managed to convert him! LOL

[@Crokto]

Sounds a lot like a plate spring switch. Fantastic design, wonder how it could be implemented with a contact or hall effect sensing mechanism. God I want one so baaad

[@karellen00]

Hall effect or magnetic reed may be a little difficult to implement into as you need a magnet for the sensing method, and one for the tactility, or one only for both functions but that can't be really optimized. But for an optical sensing method it may be comparatively easier to design!

[@Crokto]

@@karellen00 I was thinking using the magnet as the sensing mechanism. Since it's moving a large distance in a short time it shouldn't be too hard to set the actuation point somewhere in there right? I need to learn about designing hall effect circuits though

[@raulsaavedra709]

Manufacturers definitely ought to explore some alternatives like this one, very interesting indeed. From the typing demonstration after @9:55 , the space bar might be a deal breaker, however the keys sound great

[@jordanfish]

I am so ready for someone to jam some rare earth magnets into an MX housing somehow and completely change the game.

[@DthBakesh]

Really unique keyboard, it's a shame that design almost forgotten now. By the way, Thomas, can you say, if it noisier than Model F or comparable to it?

[@Chyrosran22]

no the model f is definnitely louder

[@DthBakesh]

@@Chyrosran22 Thanks. And it noisier than Model M?

[@Chyrosran22]

@@DthBakesh Dunno off the top of my head - it might be comparable.

[@SnowyNowak]

Those switches sound pretty nice tbh

[@OlympusHeavyCavalry]

LMFAO, Love your reviews, you should be up for the classic commentary awards, keep up the great work, Cheers :-)

[@sarmatiko]

Great review as always. I'm hoping to see Taiwan jet axis switches review sometimes in the future, if you have them of course.

[@helloimzepex]

This is the only foam and foil switch I know that has a coil spring or a spring in general

[@Chyrosran22]

All linear foam and foil do ;) .

[@helloimzepex]

(Internal coil spring) not external like linear

[@trash3570]

"Enough about my penis" Im fucking dead

[@Mexgadget]

Great review!

[@jakobjwdi]

"anyway, enough about my penis." I'm dying right now, no joke xD

[@snapchatsnacks3154]

This sounds cool.

[@Lachlant1984]

Considering the keyboard is made by AT&T, and considering the model number starts with 56K, and if you just saw the make and model number alone without knowing what kind of product it was, you'd think this was a modem.

[@JacobTechShit]

Cool board!

[@NamBarn2nd]

wow that sound

[@kshadehyaena]

Couldn't this design be simplified further by making the magnet and metal plate into the contacts as well?

[@atomicskull6405]

Neodymium magnets don't conduct electricity very well.

[@eagerestwolf]

You know, I’m kind of curious now. I wonder if it would be possible to invert the design so to speak, and put the magnet on the top housing of a Cherry switch and have the bottom break away and connect two contacts in the bottom of the switch housing in the standard Cherry footprint. Hysteresis would definitely still be a problem, but it might be doable.

[@Whitefang8128]

The Sign of the Dollar is a reference to Galt's Gulch.

[@kajahtaa]

Was there a review of the ATT Buckling Springs keyboard?

[@Chyrosran22]

No, that will be done at some point down the road.

[@XalphYT]

Eric True to his word, Chyrosran22 made this video just for you: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHvNfIBpm7CMqLM

[@zakofrx]

Do you have the patent no. for this keyboard/switch?

[@definitelyscrewed2295]

I just got a post notification for this now. KZbin is so fucked

[@squnxfisher9831]

I had one of those Dell "poopsheit" keyboards before my first proper keyboard

[@yanguYT]

i typed on that and it was shite

[@oofman1920]

AT&T should make keyboards agian let's just hope they are not rubber domes

[@Ensue85A]

3d print replacement key caps?

[@CryoftheProphet]

Awesome..

[@LynxCarpathica]

Awesome video, as always. New gude by chyros: How to get demonetized on KZbin.

[@Qualltoxy]

Does someone know the keycap profile? The caps look super comfortable to type on :)

[@sonicase]

...even got a DUP key...nice

[@BRN781-A]

So this goes in your top 5 list for tactile/clicky keys?

[@Chyrosran22]

Nah I wouldn't go that far xD .

[@gaiustrollius9920]

I wouldn't be surprised if you started using this for your main pc at home.

[@dalriada842]

If the magnet and steel ring were switched in the design, do you think it would be suitable for a Hall effect or reed switch design? The sponge is the only bit I don't like about it.

[@atomicskull6405]

They could replace that with some sort of stiff elastomer plastic or maybe a simple springy contact.

[@yuribraga2930]

Can a cherry switch fit in these magnetic switches? Double clickyness would made a nice fidget, I think!

[@atomicskull6405]

Double tactility is what makes buckling springs so great. The switch has a muted click and tactile bump on the return as well.

[@supertoasting1011]

BASH YE FOOKIN EAD

[@XalphYT]

Andrew Dias Obviously Thomas spent quite a lot of quality time in England.

[@howardkurtus7069]

are you ever going to do something along the lines of patreon?

[@Chyrosran22]

Maybe if I get demonetised ;) .

[@Max-do1ch]

1:21

[@gabrieledoria2896]

Does anyone know the font name?

[@brettknoss486]

Is this a tactile design? I thought that magnetic reed switches are also clicky.

[@Chyrosran22]

this is clicky magnetic reed are generally linear

[@brettknoss486]

@@Chyrosran22 do you mean tactile. I'm curious if it would be feasible to incorporate this into a Hall effect, or magnetic reed, to get a smooth switch, that can be linear or non linear.

[@Hasbrowns]

I'm a noob can someone recommend me a keyboard that is good for typing and gaming?

[@Chozo_Ghost]

*whips out wallet* How much you want?

[@Crokto]

I know, right? Been looking for one since the switch teardown but they're nowhere. There was like one sold listing on eBay and a post on deskthority, and that's it.

[@Chyrosran22]

ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS

[@mhammadalloush5104]

Sooo, nine nuts and a few Chinas in Imperial?

[@stalnoj8831]

Hello, Chyrosran22 ! I want to show you a photo of the keyboard and ask yours. How to do it?

[@XalphYT]

Степан Друг You should probably ask on one of the big online keyboard websites. My recommendation would be to post your question on Deskthority.

[@jakobjwdi]

duuuuude i almost forgot about your voice

[@gaozhi2007]

Everything is fixed with lubricant.

[@greyareaRK1]

It does seem like a switch design that could be modernised, shrunk.

[@joshbritton3268]

My stupid ape brain has decided I need one of these but they're bloody impossible to find.

[@TuxmanXP]

12 keys on the left and two even invisible!

[@slightlysupernut]

you need some hand cream!!!! lovely review though

[@canonwright8397]

Would have liked to of seen a "fu** melon bashing" as part of the review. Actually, I was looking forward to it. But Im glad there was no actual head bashing (with this keyboard) because that would be bad. (I think people can still go to jail for that): At least in this country anyway. Your miles may vary.

[@goldy24t]

Before AT&T was greedy and shut down 2G.

[@darkholyPL]

Interesting board. Sounds horrible but interesting non the less.

[@chefha2245]

dude you need a strepsil

[@CommodoreFan64]

I like the sound of most keyboards, but over headphones I could not stand the sound of this one.

[@SonicBoone56]

This keyboard is gonna go up in price after this video just watch.

[@roundduckkira]

I can't even find the keyboard on Ebay. There probably wasn't too many of them in existence. I mean, I'd be nice to have this and get it working on a Linux or BSD system, or hell, OpenIndiana and laugh about how it's a keyboard from the Unix creators being used on Unix (or Unix-likes) today.

[@YognaughtAce]

wow, at&t doing something good impossible lol