Here’s a typing demo that I recorded of a Televideo DEC-style keyboard - a nice space invaders board that I got NOS about a month ago. Unfortunately, I don’t have a really good recording setup, so the only visuals besides a still image are my hands typing on the keyboard.
Here are a few links to how a lot of these Televideo keyboards were found in Germany (and later sold in a GB), where I got mine, and the converter that I bought to use it on my computer!
Where I bought the keyboard(AVAILABILITY LIMITED!!!)
I also posted this mini-review in the pinned comment, but if you’re allergic to YouTube I’ll happily post it here too:
The Televideo DEC-style keyboard is a pretty nice vintage terminal keyboard with nice Hi-Tek Series 725 switches (commonly known as ‘Space Invaders’ or ‘Angry Bear’ switches due to the shape of the slider).
The layout feels vaguely familiar to the modern keyboard layout that the Model M popularized. It has a navigation cluster that has an inverted T shape for the arrow keys that was popularized BY the DEC layout, a separate numpad, and multiple Alt keys - although the edges of the alphanumeric block is more jagged than modern layouts. Also, we got two backspace keys (with different symbols), and 20 F keys with F15 and F16 being labelled “Help” and “Do”, respectively. Also; why argue over the placement of Caps Lock and Ctrl when they can be in the same ballpark?
As for the switches, they feel very nice and smooth, albeit a little stiff. I’m not the biggest fan of linear switches, but I’ve definitely grown accustomed to them! They ARE frightening to work with, though; wire keycap pullers run the risk of pulling the SLIDERS along with the keycap, which can damage the contacts. Plus, they are known for being somewhat sensitive to dirt and dust from what I’ve heard. Thankfully, this board is new-old stock, so I can avoid that debate entirely.
This keyboard apparently uses some sort of proprietary terminal protocol, that I heard doesn’t even work with Soarer’s converters. It was very hard to find concrete documentation online on what converters WOULD work with this keyboard, only that it worked with TMK/QMK firmware; let alone information on premade converters. I took a gamble, bought a Tinkerboy QMK/VIA/VIAL converter off of eBay - and IT WORKED!!! I’m so happy it did, because this keyboard is pretty fun to type on, and I’m happy that it works on a modern computer!