Kayde Standard Keyboard

ZX Computing

BIG TALKER Your ZX81 can now just about sing and dance with a number of new products on the market. Our reviewers put them through their paces. My first contact with Kayde Keyboards was not favourable. The first one worked erratically; the second had the "six" key upside down... but the third works like a dream. The keyboard is full-size, lacking only a space bar to look and feel like a proper typewriter keyboard. One reason I chose the Kayde in the first place was because it has a repeat key, the one in the bottom left-hand corner. Although this repeats fairly slowly, it is a boon for filling a long print statement with a number of the same graphics character, or with spaces. The keyboard has increased my program entry time by about 400 per cent, and the vast majority of the programs in this issue were entered on my Kayde Keyboard. You need to be able to solder (a little) to connect the keyboard, and I was lucky in having someone who knew how to solder to connect mine up, as I think it would have been beyond me. To connect the keyboard you remove the screws from the underside of the ZX81 and separate the two halves, then remove the two PCB securing screws and withdraw the PCB. Next you need to remove the two keyboard ribbon cables from their sockets on the PCB, and replace the PCB in its case. The wires are then connected as shown in the comprehensive assembly instructions supplied with the keyboard. The keys are blank when supplied, but a set of stick-on letters is supplied, and these are easy to apply. The transfers are on thin, tough plastic, and seem designed to withstand a great deal of wear. Even after several weeks of heavy use, my keyboard transfers show no sign of lifting off or wearing through. All in all the keyboard is so useful I could not face the idea of going back to a ZX81 without one. The repeat key is useful for long deletions when editing, or for filling a PRINT statement with a number of the same character. The lack of quality control evident in the fact that I got two dodgy ones before a good one came along, has been pointed out to the company, who have assured me that this area of their business has been tightened up considerably. If you can solder just a little (or have a friend who you can bribe) and are sick to death of the touch-sensitive keyboard, a Kayde Keyboard will prove an asset, a boon, and a very worthwhile purchase.