Keyboard

A photograph of the VIC-20 computer's keyboard as seen on the initial Japanese production run. These keyboards are also known as "PET" style keyboard because of their feel and appearance.

The keyboards used in VIC-20 computers were manufactured for Commodore by Matsushita Corporation of Japan. Those used on the very first VIC-20s were flat-topped and identical in shape that of Commodore's PET computer (however, on the VIC-20 the PET's number pad was replaced by four wide function keys). The keyboards on later VIC-20s were manufactured with slightly concave tops. The concavity of the “F” and “J” keys was slightly more prominent to provide tactile feedback for touch-typists seeking the “home” position.

The VIC-20's keyboard largely conforms to the QWERTY standard, however it differs from modern computer keyboards in several aspects:

• There is no ESCAPE key, although a left pointing arrow in the upper left corner of the keyboard can be made to function this way.
• There is no cursor "T" pad. Instead, there are two cursor control keys. One for UP/DOWN and another for LEFT/RIGHT. Pressing a key with or without the SHIFT key held down toggles each cursor key's function.
• There are no ALT keys.
• A Commodore logo key (also called the "CBM" or "Chickenhead" key) enables special functions when depressed simultaneously with other keys. Some of these functions are: toggle Upper/Lower case characters and enable PETSCII graphics).
• A RUN/STOP key on the VIC-20 can be used to start and stop the execution of BASIC programs.

There are several variations of the VIC-20's basic keyboard:

• English standard version.
• Japanese version (seen on VIC-1001) with Katana characters and Yen currency symbol.
• Scandinavian keyboard (with Scandinavian letters).

The VIC-20 keyboard is electronically and physically compatible with those used in the Commodore 16 and Commodore 64 model computers. Internally, the keyboard uses graphite carbon coated, spring loaded plungers under each key. When a key is depressed, the plunger touches metal contacts on a printed circuit board thereby sending a signal to the CPU. Keyboard input/output is controlled by one of the VIC-20's VIA and CIA chips. If one of these chips are bad, keyboard problems (such as every other key not responding) will manifest themselves.

The VIC-20 keyboard has all of the PETSCII graphics characters printed onto the front face of each of the keys (the side facing the user). Holding down either the COMMODORE or SHIFT key while pressing a PETSCII graphic key will cause that symbol to appear on-screen.

Over the manufacturing lifespan of the VIC-20, three different fonts were used to print the letters and symbols on the key-tops:

• Earliest VIC-20 keyboards used the Microgramma Extended font which was also used on PET computer keyboards.
• Second generation keyboards used the Eurostile font which was less-bold, but still square in shape.
• Third generation keyboards used a tall, thin font similar to Helvetica Narrow. This font also was used for the first Commodore 64 (breadbox style) computers.

The "PET" style keyboard used on the VIC-1001 and early VIC-20s featured the Microgramma Extended font. They key-tops are almost flat and very square shaped.

The second VIC-20 keyboard used a square, but thinner font. The corners of the key-tops show slight rounding.

The final keyboard used featured a font similar to Helvetica Narrow. The key-top corners were very rounded had a pronounced concavity.

The early "PET" style keyboard was much lower in profile as compared with the two later VIC-20 keyboards.

"PET" style keyboard as seen from the side. Note the low profile, especially in the top number row.

Side profile of the later "Eurostile" & "Helvetica Narrow" keyboards. Note the much taller profile of the keys in the top and bottom rows.

Most of the VIC-20's keys were moulded in dark-brown plastic, with the function keys being a lighter brown. It does seem apparent that some extremely early Commodore 64 computers were shipped with VIC-20 coloured function keys. As well, some very late production production VIC-20s may have been shipped with Commodore 64 grey coloured function keys.

Most VIC-20s were produced with brownish/mustard coloured function keys. Depicted are those from a first generation VIC-20 keyboard (square letters).

At the very end of the VIC-20's production life, Commodore shipped some VIC-20s with the grey function keys of the Commodore 64 (as shown above).