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Eurostile keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:13 am
by Bobbi
I think someone on here was looking for a eurostile keyboard VIC. This one is on eBay (boxed):

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1982-Commodore-V ... Swa~BYaZgZ

EDIT: Fixed the title - it is Eurostile, not Microgamma!

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:30 am
by orion70
I was. Thanks Bobbi, but it's not a MG keyboard. It's a "Eurostyle" one, which I appreciate design-wise, and it's quite rare too, but seems to be limited mostly to the NTSC world, so nope :).

Also, the price is low compared to the MG VICs, which often go for 200 Euros or more.

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:48 am
by eslapion
orion70 wrote:Also, the price is low compared to the MG VICs, which often go for 200 Euros or more.
In the Commodore community these are called PET style Keyboard.

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:05 am
by mrr19121970
From the keyboard, the easiest key to identify is the @ sign that is noticeably square in the microgramma keyboard

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 3:05 am
by orion70
Yep, and in the auction linked by Bobby the @ symbol is *not* square, so it's not a MG keyboard, right? Or am I missing something?

To be clear:
Microgamma = PET style (often PET, 2-prong)
e.g. auction HERE

"Eurostyle" = "square" or "large" keys (often, if not always, NTSC, 2-prong)
e.g. auction in Bobbi's link or HERE

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:32 am
by oldcomputr
I check online auctions about the VIC almost daily, and I can say that the Eurostile keyboard can be equally found in both PAL and NTSC versions. Always seen with CR boards.

Please note that it's "Eurostile", not "Eurostyle". It's the name of the font used on the keycaps, designed by Aldo Novarese, an Italian designer.

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:09 am
by orion70
Wow, thanks for the info. I never noticed the latter were CR VICs, nor did I realize their font (which in fact I find more appealing than the PET one) was created by an Italian designer. Good to know! Please, drop me a line here whenever you or other Denial friends find PAL ES keyboards in the wild, and don't want to buy them of course.

EDIT: Microgamma was also designed by Novarese!!! I confirm my aesthetic preference for Eurostile though :)

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:36 am
by Bobbi
Sorry I meant Eurostile - my bad.

Actually I found three of them on eBay yesterday! They all seem to be cost reduced models.

I wonder what the history of this particular keyboard design was. The early machines are PET-style (Microgramma) keyboards with two prong power connector. Then there are two prong machines with the later (C64 type) keyboard, and cost-reduced machines with the DIN style power connector also with C64 type keyboard. I wonder why Commodore decided to produce cost-reduced machines with a different keyboard type in the middle of this run. Maybe it was just one factory? It is interesting to speculate what was going on there.

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:39 am
by Bobbi
Also, the price is low compared to the MG VICs, which often go for 200 Euros or more.
I was so lucky to grab a PET-style VIC in mint condition (with the matching polystyrene inner box, but not the outer cardboard part) for $25 US a couple months back. Looks like it was never used really - was still in the plastic bag it shipped in!

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:59 am
by oldcomputr
orion70 wrote:Microgamma = PET style (often PET, 2-prong)
orion70 wrote:EDIT: Microgamma was also designed by Novarese!!!
I have to correct you again... I feel some VIC kind of grammar nazi now... sorry... it's Microgramma not -gamma! :-)

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 2:02 pm
by orion70
:D :oops: Guess I put such low energy in my hobby, that I can't read properly anymore.. I'm in good company though, found many "gamma"s here and there in in the bay :P

Re: Microgramma keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 2:50 am
by eslapion
I hadn't realized these typefaces were heavily used in Star Trek movies as well as 2001: A Space Odyssey until I read about them on Wikipedia.

Makes sense then Commodore would use them too as a sort of futuristic looking font.

Yet today, the futuristic typeface is mostly Stone Serif with the Italic version being very popular for corporate logos.

Old restaurant logo:
Image

Recent one:
Image

Take out variant with Stone Sans Italic:
Image

Some of you will recognize the font used on this specific sticker...
Image

Re:Eurostile keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:08 pm
by Bobbi
In the end I wound up buying it! Now I have all three keyboard styles Microgamma (PET), Eurostile and the C64 style one (does that even have a name?) I guess I still need a two prong C64-keyboard machine, but enough VICs for now!

Re: Eurostile keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:32 pm
by mrr19121970
Helvetia narrow is the C64 font name

Re: Eurostile keyboard VIC on Ebay

Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:50 am
by Bobbi
I am becoming a font nerd ;)