Symbolics Space Cadet keyboard review (Honeywell Hall effect 4B3E)
Why Hacker News recommends it
Linked in Lisp machine threads as the go-to video on the Space Cadet keyboard and how its switches differ from the Knight keyboard.
What it is
A review of the Symbolics Space Cadet keyboard, with its Honeywell Hall effect switches, including how it sounds and feels, and a typing demonstration. It is part of a series of vintage keyboard reviews.
Recommended by 0 HN commenters across 0 different months, 2019 to 2023.
What Hacker News said
Cites leoc · 2019-04 · on “Symbolics Lisp: Using the DEC Alpha as a Programmable Micro-Engine (1993) [pdf]”
This is more Deskthority [LINK] country I'd think. Thomas Ran has YouTube videos on the Space Cadet keyboard [this video] and several other Hall-effect specimens.
Cites cpr · 2020-03 · on “35 years ago today: the first domain name symbolics.com was registered”
As gumby says, the Space Cadet keyboards, being Microswitch Hall effect-based, were a bit spongy due to the big plastic case, but the switches themselves were dreamy. But the whole experience was still not as satisfying as the original Knight keyboards, I suspect because the Knight boards used the original, larger switches, while the Space Cadets used the smaller. Chyrosran22 on Youtube explains all this ( [LINK] and [this video] ). By the way, after 40 years of despairing over the loss of Hall effect switches (I nursed a Space Cadet Livermore Labs clone from a group buy for some years into the mid-80's), there are now two keyboards using this technology, and I'm loving the one that's actually av
Cites wantoncl · 2023-03 · on “Modern Symbolics Lisp Machine Keyboard Replica: Keymacs A620N-88”
Review of the keyboard: [LINK] And same reviewer on an original Space Cadet: [this video] NSFW language here and there.