Cheetah 68FX1 Keyboard

Sinclair User

KEYBOARD HAS CLASS The latest add-on keyboard to hit the crowded Spectrum market is the Cheetah 68FX1 from London MicroTech Ltd, marketed by Fox Electronics Ltd. Aimed at the upper end of the market it has 65 keys, using proper switches, including 13 single key functions and a 145mm long space bar. Those are arranged as a main keyboard with a separate numeric pad and are printed in two colours, black and red. On the left is a true Shift Lock key - one press puts the lock on and the second takes it off - and two blank keys. While, in theory, you could wire those for your own needs, in practice it would be extremely difficult as the leads to the switches have been cut so short as to make them inaccessible. To the right the single key functions are Edit, Delete, Break (Caps Shift and Space), Graphics (which toggles on and off), Run (R followed by Enter), four shifted cursor keys and an extra Caps Shift. The only obvious omission is an 'E' mode key, particularly as there are not two shift keys conveniently adjacent. Fitting it entails removing the Spectrum from the original case and then mounting it on pillars on the base of the keyboard. Two ribbon cables from the new keyboards then fit into the top of the PCB and the whole assembly is screwed together. That is like most other full-sized keyboards and should not be a problem. If Interface 1 is to be fitted then the pillars are changed around and the interface sits underneath the base of the keyboard. The instructions for that are not very clear so trial and error will be needed. As the base is of metal great care should also be taken. Overall, the keyboard has a good feel to it, it is solidly built and while the keys are heavy they will probably loosen with use. The shifted cursor keys are useful for program writing or word processing and the lack of 'E' mode key could be overcome with familiarity. The price of £59.95 inc. puts it near the top of the scale but even so it is still good value. It is available by mail order from Fox Electronics Ltd, [redacted].

Personal Computer News

Features 4/5

Documentation 3/5

Performance 3/5

Overall Value 3/5

John Lettice 3/5

CHEETAH CHOICE The latest add-on keyboard for the Spectrum has the feel of a professional about it, although praise for the Cheetah might be somewhat muted because of its strange layout. John Lettice runs his fingers over the new keyboard and compares it with the Transform. PRODUCT: Cheetah 68FX1 PRICE: £59.95 MANUFACTURER: London Microtech [redacted] Spectrum keyboard that makes your machine look like its deadliest rival, provoking outraged cries of: 'Strewth, it's a Commodore' from your friends, may not immediately seem the smartest of ideas. And in a favourable light, the Cheetah 68FX1 looks a dead ringer for a mysterious new relation of the 64's. But wait before you pass by on the other side. One of the intriguing things about the Cheetah keyboard is that it could easily pass for a commercial micro, and in this sense it's leaving behind the more or less hacker-style cases we've been used to up till now. The professional look of the Cheetah is a sign that the add-on keyboard market is growing up. CONSTRUCTION The top of the case is moulded in stiff black plastic, and a metal base fits snugly into this. The whole set-up is solid and robust without giving the impression, as so many Spectrum keyboards do, of being a throw-back to the 'build your own micro' days. The quality of the printing on the keytops reinforces this impression - the legends are clear and easy to read and gentle scraping with a fingernail failed to make any impression on them, so they look to be fairly durable. The Spectrum's printed circuit board bolts onto the Cheetah's metal base, using a series of nuts, bolts and metal pillars. The review model came with eight washers to facilitate this, and no matter how I puzzled over it, the instruction sheet seemed to require 12, but it seemed to fit well together with what I had. Fitting Interface 1 was more of a problem. The instructions tell you to take off the base of Interface 1 then 'marry Interface 1 to 28 position slot of Cheetah'. Having done this, I found I couldn't get the arrangement to fit properly inside the case, and anyway the screw holes seemed to be in the wrong position, so I gave up, noting along the way that there didn't seem to be any provision for a ribbon cable to the Microdrive anyway. Fortunately, the Spectrum PCB fits well to the back of the Cheetah, so you can still use Interface 1 externally, although it spoils the typing angle. You certainly can't get the power supply inside the case, but trying to fit one can all too often be a bed of nails, so this is no bad thing. KEYBOARD The keys are laid out in two sections - the main keyboard and a 15 key numeric pad. The feel of the keys is good, but the space bar has just a little too much of a rattle and, in my view, the layout is weird. The basic Spectrum layout is used, but at the bottom right of the main section there are four extra cursor keys, an extra shift, and a RUN key. I don't see the utility of the latter at all as, although single-key entry may be a useful addition to other micros, it's a bit pointless considering the Spectrum already has it. The end result of the additions is that the symbol shift is lost among the rest of the keys (you keep hitting the extra shift instead) and the Enter key is displaced up to the second top row. There's and extra graphics shift key next to Enter, and at the top right are Edit, Delete and Break keys. Delete is useful, but Edit is limited by being mixed up in the body of the keys again, and considering Break duplicates the space bar, it's probably the most useless key ever to grace a keyboard. Apart that is from the three blank keys on the Cheetah we reviewed. I could find no role for these, and imagine they're to be used for later amendments. Considering the fact that a couple of extra keys have been added, it's puzzling that the Cheetah doesn't have separate punctuation keys. With the addition of these it would be a reasonable option for word processing, but without them its scope is severely limited. VERDICT The basic concept of the Cheetah is good, but the execution lets it down badly. Some keys have been added for no good reason, while the keys that could have made it a good buy have been omitted. Of course there are other cases around that it outclasses, but it's expensive, and in its chosen price bracket it's competing against the Transform model. Sure the Cheetah makes the Transform look unwieldy, but the latter does have the extra punctuation keys, and the layout is considerably more sensible. Similarly, although the Transform's insides have something of a Heath Robinson aspect to them when filled with PCB, Interface 1 and power pack, at least there's no question that you can get them all in! Having said that, the Cheetah is certainly of a quality to allow it to take its place among the great extension keyboards of our time, and with the caveat that wiring in too many extra keys to a Spectrum can cause considerable problems, rearranging layouts and wiring up different keys is only a minor expense for keyboard manufacturers. So if I'm right about layout problems' it would seem likely that the Cheetah will be amended and will be a more worthwhile buy.