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Apple Keyboard (M0116)

From RetroTechCollection
Revision as of 19:03, 23 September 2026 by Josh (talk | contribs) (Rebuild from Deskthority (photograph-backed) + Guide to the Macintosh Family Hardware ch.8. Corrected predecessor to M0110A; cable is detachable not fixed; deleted unsourced dimensions, weight, typing angle, 25/50 mA draw, switch force/travel/lifetime, Pantone 423C, plate thickness, Taiwan/Singapore/Ireland production split, quality-control and assembly narratives, ~500,000-unit production statistics and 2024 market values; replaced fabricated register-2 LED table with Apple Table 8-8)
Apple Keyboard
Apple Keyboard M0116
Manufacturer Apple Computer, Inc. (Alps Electric)
Type Computer keyboard
Discontinued 1990
Price US$129 (1987)
Interface Apple Desktop Bus
Compatible All ADB-equipped Macs, Apple IIGS
Predecessor Apple M0110A
Successor Apple Keyboard II
Model M0116 (ANSI), M0118 (ISO)

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.[1] Neither machine shipped with a keyboard: the buyer chose between this one and the larger, dearer Apple Extended Keyboard.[1] Deskthority gives the production span as 1987–1990 and the 1987 price as US$129.[1]

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.[1]

Layout

The layout is identical to that of the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard for the Apple IIGS.[1] 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.[1]
  • It is the only Macintosh keyboard with the Control key to the left of "A", the Apple II position.[1]

Both were dropped on the Apple Keyboard II.

M0118

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.[1] Keyboards of both model numbers were sold with legends for many languages and regions.[1]

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".[1] 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.[1] Deskthority dates SKCM Orange to about 1987–1991, with Salmon following it, and lists the M0116/M0118 among the keyboards that mostly use Orange.[2]

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.[2]

An Arabic M0118 has been recorded with Alps SKCM White switches.[1]

The power button is a sideways-mounted Alps switch, not a separate mechanism.[1]

Keycaps

Dye-sublimated PBT, except the space bar, which is ABS. Legends sit in the bottom-left corner in italic Univers Condensed Thin.[1] 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 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.[1]

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.[1]

ADB Behaviour

Apple's published figures for an ADB keyboard:[3]

  • Default address $02 (encoded devices).
  • Register 0 carries two key events in one 16-bit read — bit 15 key status for the first key (0 = down), bits 14–8 its 7-bit key code, bit 7 key status for the second, bits 6–0 its code.
  • Register 2 carries modifier-key status only on a Standard Keyboard: Delete, Caps Lock, Reset, Control, Shift, Option, Command, with 0 meaning down. There are no LED bits in register 2 on this keyboard; those exist only on the Extended Keyboard, which has lock LEDs to drive.
  • The power key is not an ADB message. It momentarily grounds pin 2 (POWER.ON) of the connector to pin 4, and that only does anything on Macintosh II-family machines — on other models pin 2 is not connected.

Apple documents no polling rate as such. In the idle state the ADB transceiver repeats the last Talk command every 11 ms, which is the real figure behind the "100 Hz" that circulates.[3]

Maintenance and Repair

Dead or intermittent key

  1. Test on a known-good ADB machine first. A blown ADB fuse on the computer's logic board presents exactly like a dead keyboard.
  2. Swap the detachable cable for a known-good one — the cheapest test available on this model.
  3. Remove the keycap, flood the switch with 90%+ isopropyl alcohol and actuate it repeatedly, then let it dry fully.
  4. If that fails the switch must come out. SKCM switches open at four retention tabs; the leaf contacts are the usual fault.

Caps Lock will not latch

The Caps Lock position is an Alps SKCL Lock — an alternate-action latching switch, mechanically different from its neighbours.[1] An ordinary SKCM will fit and will type, but it will not latch. Replacements come from donor boards only.

Scratchy or gritty feel

Contamination, not wear. Full cleaning means desoldering, which on a plate-mounted board means removing the plate assembly. Weigh that against the risk of lifting pads.

Nothing at all

  • Measure +5 V at pin 3 against pin 4 of the computer's ADB port.
  • Pin 1 should idle high, held up by a 470 Ω resistor on the computer's logic board.[3]
  • Keep the chain short. Apple recommends no more than three devices on one ADB port and no more than 5 m of cable, and the whole bus must stay under 500 mA.[3]

What is not a fault

  • Only two keys register at once. That is the register-0 format, not a defect.[3]
  • The power key does nothing on a Macintosh SE or a IIGS. Pin 2 is not connected on machines outside the Macintosh II family.[3]

Restoration

The case and space bar are ABS and yellow; the remaining keycaps are PBT and largely do not.[1] Treat the case and the space bar as one job and leave the PBT keycaps alone. See Retrobrite before starting.

Apple published no dimensions, weight, typing angle, power consumption or production figures for this keyboard that could be found, and none are stated here.

Modern Use

ADB-to-USB conversion is the usual route. The power key normally needs remapping, because it is a hardware line rather than a key code, and the M0116's Control-left-of-A layout usually wants remapping too. See Apple Desktop Bus for the protocol timing any converter has to meet.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 "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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "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.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Guide to the Macintosh Family Hardware, second edition, Apple Computer, Inc. / Addison-Wesley, 1990 — hosted on this wiki as File:Apple Guide to the Macintosh Family Hardware 2nd Edition 1990.pdf. Chapter 8, "Apple Desktop Bus": Table 8-1 connector signal assignments (470 Ω pull-up, POWER.ON on pin 2); Table 8-2 transceiver electrical characteristics; Table 8-4 register 0 in the Apple Standard Mouse and its note on 100 ±10 / 200 ±10 counts per inch; Tables 8-7 and 8-8 registers 0 and 2 in the Apple Standard Keyboard; Tables 8-10 and 8-11 registers 0 and 2 in the Apple Extended Keyboard and the $0002 → $0003 Device Handler ID change for right-hand Option and Control; Table 8-13 command byte syntax; Table 8-14 the full ADB timing specification; Table 8-15 device register 3; Table 8-16 device addresses; Table 8-17 reserved Device Handler IDs; the 500 mA total bus limit, the 5 m / 100 pF-per-metre cable limits, the 11 ms idle polling interval and the warning against unplugging a device while the computer is running. Chapter 9, "Floppy Disk Interfaces": Table 9-1 drive capacities, file systems and encoding; the IWM and SWIM interface ICs; internal 20-pin and external DB-19 pinouts; drive current requirements; and the PWM motor-speed line used only by 400K single-sided drives.


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