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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
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:
Recent one:
Take out variant with Stone Sans Italic:
Some of you will recognize the font used on this specific sticker...
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