Apple Keyboard (M0116): Difference between revisions

| image        = [[File:Apple (Standard) Keyboard M0116.jpg|250px]]

| manufacturer = Apple Computer, Inc. (Alps Electric)

| release date = 1987 (with the [[Macintosh II]] and [[Macintosh SE]])

| compatible  = All ADB-equipped Macs, Apple IIGS

| predecessor  = Apple M0110A

| successor    = [[Apple Extended Keyboard II|Apple Keyboard II]]

The '''Apple Keyboard''', usually called the '''Apple Standard Keyboard''' to distinguish it from the several other products Apple has called "Apple Keyboard", is a plate-mounted Alps SKCM keyboard introduced in 1987 with the [[Macintosh II]] and [[Macintosh SE]].<ref name="dt">"Apple Standard Keyboard", [https://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Standard_Keyboard Deskthority wiki]. Part numbers M0116 and M0118; FCC ID BCG6LWM0117 where present; Alps SKCM Orange, Alps SKCM Salmon and (on some Arabic models) Alps SKCM White main switches with an Alps SKCL Lock for Caps Lock; plate mount; dye-sublimated PBT keycaps except the ABS space bar, legends bottom-left in italic Univers Condensed Thin; years of production 1987–1990; price $129 USD (1987); two bidirectional ADB ports and a detachable coiled cable; the backwards-L Return key and the Control key left of 'A'; the M0117 serial-number suffix; an Arabic M0118 with SKCM White switches; all known M0118s made in Ireland or the USA; the power button as a sideways-mounted Alps switch; and a controller IC dated 8718 on an apparently 1987 example. '''Community wiki, cited as a secondary source''', photograph-backed; where it marks a claim as uncited that is said here.</ref> Neither machine shipped with a keyboard: the buyer chose between this one and the larger, dearer [[Apple Keyboard|Apple Extended Keyboard]].<ref name="dt" /> Deskthority gives the production span as '''1987–1990''' and the 1987 price as '''US$129'''.<ref name="dt" />

Its direct predecessor is the '''Apple M0110A''', the keyboard of the [[Macintosh Plus]] — not the [[Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard]], which was a contemporary Apple II product rather than an ancestor.<ref name="dt" />

The layout is identical to that of the [[Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard]] for the [[Apple IIGS]].<ref name="dt" /> Two features make it the end of a line:

* It is the '''last Macintosh keyboard with a backwards-L-shaped Return key''', following the M0110A.<ref name="dt" />

* It is the '''only Macintosh keyboard with the Control key to the left of "A"''', the Apple II position.<ref name="dt" />

Both were dropped on the Apple Keyboard II.

The M0118 is the ISO variant: a narrow Return key, and '''Caps Lock and Control in their more usual positions''' rather than the M0116's. All known M0118s were made in Ireland or the USA.<ref name="dt" /> Keyboards of both model numbers were sold with legends for many languages and regions.<ref name="dt" />

=== M0117 ===

There is no known M0117 keyboard, but the model number exists in two places: the '''FCC ID is BCG6LWM0117''', and every spotted serial number ends in "M0117".<ref name="dt" /> That suggests an M0117 was planned or certified; it is not evidence that one shipped, and this page does not claim one did.

== Switches ==

Main keys use '''Alps SKCM Orange''' or '''Alps SKCM Salmon'''; Caps Lock uses an '''Alps SKCL Lock''' latching switch.<ref name="dt" /> Deskthority dates SKCM Orange to about 1987–1991, with Salmon following it, and lists the M0116/M0118 among the keyboards that mostly use Orange.<ref name="orange">"Alps SKCM Orange", [https://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCM_Orange Deskthority wiki]. Tactile switch in the Alps SKCL/SKCM series, metal-leaf sensing, Alps keycap mount, plate mount; introduced ca. 1987 and discontinued ca. 1991; supersedes Alps SKCM Cream and precedes Alps SKCM Salmon; listed as fitted to most Apple Standard Keyboards (M0116, M0118), most Apple Extended Keyboards (M0115), some Apple Desktop Bus Keyboards made in Japan, some Apple IIc keyboards and some Macintosh Portable keyboards. Alps published no actuation-force or lifetime figure that Deskthority reproduces.</ref>

'''Alps published no actuation force, pre-travel or rated lifetime that any source consulted here reproduces.''' Figures of "70 g ± 10 g", "2.0 mm pre-travel", "3.5 mm total travel" and "10 million actuations" circulate widely for these switches; none could be traced to Alps and none are stated here. What can be said is that both are tactile, non-clicking, metal-leaf switches, and that the difference in feel between Orange and Salmon is small enough that enthusiasts disagree about how much of it is age and contamination.<ref name="orange" />

An Arabic M0118 has been recorded with '''Alps SKCM White''' switches.<ref name="dt" />

The '''power button is a sideways-mounted Alps switch''', not a separate mechanism.<ref name="dt" />

== Keycaps ==

Dye-sublimated '''PBT''', except the space bar, which is '''ABS'''. Legends sit in the bottom-left corner in italic '''Univers Condensed Thin'''.<ref name="dt" /> The practical consequence is the usual one for this era: the space bar yellows at a different rate from every other key, and no amount of [[Retrobrite|retrobriting]] will make the two match perfectly.

== Ports and Cable ==

The keyboard has '''two bidirectional ADB ports'''. Either can be the upstream connection to the computer or a further ADB device; the other normally takes the mouse. Deskthority describes the convention plainly: right-handers use the right port for the mouse and left-handers the left, and the keyboard cable goes in whichever is left over.<ref name="dt" />

'''The cable is detachable''' and plugs into either ADB port — it is an ordinary 4-pin mini-DIN ADB lead, which is why a failed cable on this keyboard is a five-minute fix rather than a soldering job.<ref name="dt" />

== ADB Behaviour ==

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

== See Also ==

* [[Apple Keyboard|Apple Extended Keyboard]]

* [[Apple Extended Keyboard II]]