Northgate Omnikey Ultra - T Vintage Keyboard
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:19482184 | Type: Keyboard |
| Brand: Northgate |
If you have researched vintage Northgate keyboards, you have probably heard of Bob Tibbetts. About a year ago I purchased a refurbished Ultra-T keyboard from him. I have been a Gateway AnyKey user since 1992, and the Ultra-T layout was close enough to the AnyKey that I thought I would see how I liked it. Both are what are called "battlecruiser" keyboards, with an extra set of function keys on the left and a number pad on the right.
The Northgate Ultra-T is a tr...ue "clicky"--mechanical keyswitch--keyboard. You click pressing down and hear it click again as the key comes up. I am a fast but not very accurate typist, but like a lot of old bar-band musicians I play by ear. I can hear a typo in progress. The clicky feature helps me know, without having to watch or think about it, that I completed the keystroke. After about three days with the Northgate I found that I was typing faster--really flying--and more accurately. For typing, you can't beat it.
After 27 years, however, I am still married to the Gateway AnyKey (old dogs and new tricks), which, being extensively programmable, has some advantages of its own. There's just enough difference between it and the Northgate that I would have to choose one or the other. I have two computers in the home office, and it won't work to switch back and forth between different keyboards. So, after about a week of daily use, I put the Ultra-T in storage, then procrastinated about selling it, which now, reluctantly, I am getting around to doing.
This unit has a PS/2 style plug, which is easily adapted to USB. Everything you see in the photos is included. One thing to note: The Northgate, like some other keyboards of its era, draws more power than some PS/2 ports can deliver. I found that the PS/2 ports included in my two desktop computers were too wimpy, so I attached a PS/2 to USB adapter and used a USB port instead. It worked fine.
This keyboard is a wonderful example of Northgate quality and Bob Tibbetts' restoration work.
The Northgate Ultra-T is a tr...ue "clicky"--mechanical keyswitch--keyboard. You click pressing down and hear it click again as the key comes up. I am a fast but not very accurate typist, but like a lot of old bar-band musicians I play by ear. I can hear a typo in progress. The clicky feature helps me know, without having to watch or think about it, that I completed the keystroke. After about three days with the Northgate I found that I was typing faster--really flying--and more accurately. For typing, you can't beat it.
After 27 years, however, I am still married to the Gateway AnyKey (old dogs and new tricks), which, being extensively programmable, has some advantages of its own. There's just enough difference between it and the Northgate that I would have to choose one or the other. I have two computers in the home office, and it won't work to switch back and forth between different keyboards. So, after about a week of daily use, I put the Ultra-T in storage, then procrastinated about selling it, which now, reluctantly, I am getting around to doing.
This unit has a PS/2 style plug, which is easily adapted to USB. Everything you see in the photos is included. One thing to note: The Northgate, like some other keyboards of its era, draws more power than some PS/2 ports can deliver. I found that the PS/2 ports included in my two desktop computers were too wimpy, so I attached a PS/2 to USB adapter and used a USB port instead. It worked fine.
This keyboard is a wonderful example of Northgate quality and Bob Tibbetts' restoration work.
