Northgate keyboards, their clones & successors

[jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

This is for those of you who have followed this topic here with
some interest.

I kept tabs on the Ebay auction mentioned here previously, for an
Ortek MCK-142 (the one with 24 extra programmable keys -- not
actually a Northgate), plus did some additional checking. Ortek
is a Taiwanese company, this model is still made and sold as a
current model, and reviews say it is a high quality product that
duplicates some of the best NG keyboard features, particularly
the key response. Former columnist Jerry Pournelle of the former
publication BYTE wrote that he slightly preferred it over the
Avant Stellar, and thought it was likely to be considerably more
durable than the Northgates.

The auction closed this morning at $72., plus $10. S/H. Not a
bad price for one in new condition, but I decided not to bid
after receiving the email I will paste in below. It is from one
of the U.S. distributors of this keyboard, which also sells it
direct online or by phone order. They sell them new, with a
warranty, for $129. plus around the same S/H expense. If I had
chosen to buy one, I probably would have bought a new one from
them, to get the return privileges in case I did not like it . .
... as well as a reliable warranty, which you can't expect when
purchasing such an item used from a private party.

Guess I will wait on renewed availability of the Avant Stellar.
(I'm assuming CVT retained the Key Swap feature . . . ?)

Jordan

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Subject: Re: MCK-142 question
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 17:47:17 -0500
From: Faliveno 
To: jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxxx

Jordan:

You and many others are trying hard to replace their Northgate keyboards.
The MCK-142 Pro is close but not an exact replacement. The "function" of
the Ctrl-Caps-Shift keys can be reassigned under Windows with a keyboard
remap program we will point you to. But it is not a hardware swap and only
works under Windows. Also, the key caps cannot be exchanged as they are
different sizes and there are no extra key caps included with the unit.

You sound like a hardcore Northgate user and I'm afraid that the MCK-142 Pro
will not live up to your expectations. I wish it wasn't so.

Sorry....

Jim Faliveno, President
Monu-Cad

----- Original Message -----
From: 
To: 
Sent: Friday, January 12, 2001 4:58 PM
Subject: MCK-142 question

> Hi,
>
> Your webpage states that the CTRL and CAPS LOCK keys "can be
> swapped under Win 95-98." But can they be swapped even if one is
> *not* a W95/8 user ? I have an old Northgate 102 that I need to
> replace. It has several *physically* swappable keys, depending
> on one's preferred key locations: you remove the keycaps with a
> tool that is included, and alter some dip-switch settings
> accordingly. I have always preferred a left side layout that
> runs as follows, Top to Bottom:
>
>  ESC
>  TAB
>  CTRL
>  SHFT
>  ALT
>
> with the CAPS LOCK right next to the SPACE Bar. (I think there
> is another substitution on the Right side, but it has been quite
> awhile, and I'd have to look it up in the manual. The NG 102
> came with a 16 page manual -- lots of detailed info, down to scan
> codes, etc..) Ideally, I would like to have the same layout
> options in a replacement.
>
> May have some other questions later.
>
> Thanks.

> Sincerely,
>
> Jordan Fox