REVIEWS COURTESY OF ZXSR

Lazer 62 Keyboard
Microboard International
1985
Sinclair User Issue 39, Jun 1985   page(s) 47

LAZER 62

With an estimated 1.5 million Spectrums still in rubber keyboards, and more being produced for the overseas market, add-on keyboards are still selling well. The latest to be released is the Lazer 62 from Micro Board.

The 62 stands for the number of keys, the original 40 plus an extra 22 single key functions. Other extras are proper moving keys, not a membrane as on the Spectrum Plus, a full-sized space bar and a built in on/off switch.

Those extras are not without cost, £59.95 to be precise, and one or two corners have been cut in the manufacture. Despite that, if you are careful when assembling it, it has a lot to offer in this already crowded market.

Assembly entails removing the circuit board from the Spectrum and then clipping it into the base. The top of the keyboard is made of plastic, with a suitable area to rest your hands when typing, but the base is metal and that presents the first problem.

As the keyboard is very thin, standing just over 4cm high, there is very little clearance between the PCB and the base. Although there is one strip of plastic tape as an insulator that only covers a small area and it is not totally adequate. For peace of mind on the review model I added many yards of sticky tape.

The keyboard proper is clipped above the PCB, again a tight fit, and the top of the case over that. That is problem number two. On the review model the casing fouled the keys so that some of them would not spring back after they had been pressed. A few minutes with a sharp knife cured this.

Once the keyboard is screwed together you then have to stick the legends on the keys, with 62 keys a long job. Later models should have a better fitting case and re-designed legends, the current ones being printed all in white.

Where the keyboard scores is the multitude of extra keys. Those are $#()"-+;:=,./* plus four shifted cursor keys, E mode, delete, Edit and Caps Lock. Unlike many keyboards with single key functions it will still work with programs that use Interrupt Mode 2 - such as Beta Basic.

With the availability of the Spectrum Plus upgrade - see elsewhere in Hardware World - at £20.00 the Lazer 62 represents a hefty investment, but if you want proper keys it has much to offer. The keys have a reasonable feel and a spot of grease works wonders.

Further details from Micro Board International, The School House, Station Approach, Woking, Surrey GU22 7UY. Tel: 04862 24567.


Transcript by Chris Bourne

ZX Computing Issue 21, Oct 1985   page(s) 18

At one time the most important modification for a serious Spectrum user was to replace the rubber keyboard with a "real" one. With the development of the Spectrum+ this has not been such an essential requirement, although even that keyboard has its problems.

There are several keyboards available for the Spectrum covering a wide range of styles and offering a wide choice of extra features, so what does this one offer?

The keyboard is quite large, 15" x 10" which is as wide as a BBC and nearly as long. The thing that strikes you is the thinness, 1.5" at the back, sloping away to nothing at the front. It reminds me of the BBC in the finish, cream plastic case and dark grey keys. There are 62 keys, the main selection of extra keys is bunched at the right of the keyboard and consists of '$ # ( ) " - + ; : = , . / *' plus delete, E mode and up/down arrow keys. On the left are additional Edit, Caps Lock and left/right arrow keys, A full size space bar is fitted.

Key legends are of the stick-on type and are all printed in white, the extra keys are printed in large bold form and stand out from the rest. Generally a very smart looking product.

FITTING

Whenever I have to add such a unit to a Spectrum I try to put myself in the place of an inexperienced owner and act dumb (I'm not saying anything - Cliff), and as such I think the instructions supplied would cause some concern.

The instructions are a photocopy of some typed notes accompanied by a simple, hand drawn, side view sketch of the assembled unit. Actually it is very simple to fit, and the system of fixing the PCB and key unit is unusual, this consists of a metallic baseboard with plastic poles stuck to it. The screw holes of the PCB fit over them and are held in place by a spring device at the top of them.

Here was the first problem, the instructions said 'lift keyboard from plastic mountings and fit the Spectrum PCB'. By pulling on one of the mountings I managed to break it. It was only by careful examination of the bits that I realised that the spring bit at the top had to be compressed to allow the hole to move over it. Silly me!

Slotting the PCB into position was no problem and neither was replacing the key unit although the fit is extremely tight due to the height of the casing. Screwing the bottom of the case to the top was OK, although there were more screws than I needed, and an interesting looking bit of metal and a rubber grommet remained without any explanation.

The Spectrum is connected TO an On/Off switch by a flylead and the PSU lead is plugged into a socket supplied on the back of the case.

IN USE

First of all there is a problem for Interface 1 owners. There is no way the interface unit can be fitted inside the case and, although it could be forced to fit uncomfortably underneath, the only way of satisfactorily using it was to use an extension ribbon cable.

Secondly, because of the depth of the unit it would not fit comfortably on my desk with all the other bits and pieces. A massive rearrangement of the whole system was essential.

When I actually got round to using it, the white legends did not cause the confusion I had expected, this was mainly due to the choice, position, and bold labelling of the additional keys which seen to be the ones most frequently used.

The case is well designed and is comfortable to use, the beveled front makes it convenient to rest your wrists on and the keys, though not stepped, are spaced and separated enough to make fairly fast and accurate typing possible. Unfortunately I did not like the plastic feel of the keys, and the space bar on the one supplied has a 'soggy' feel and kept sticking down.

BUT...

I wonder who will buy this keyboard. In its favour are the excellent extra keys, but against it is the fact that there are many others of similar, or better quality at about the same price. At £55.00 it is not cheap, and it is not a truly 'professional' keyboard for practical usage. I typed this article on it using Tasword II and found it reasonable but I preferred other boards that I'd used. For programming it has many advantages over the old Spectrum but is on a par with the Spectrum+ keyboard available at £20.00. Possibly I could see a use in Educational establishments where an all round sturdy unit like this could be a great advantage. I do think though, that it is a little over priced.

Micro Board International, The School House, Station Approach, Woking, GU22 7UY. £55.00.


Transcript by Chris Bourne

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