History
RT-8700 is a series of full-sized keyboards manufactured by NMB in the mid-’90s. They came with the fifth generation Hi-Tek series 725 switches, which is the last generation of its type.
Unlike the 4th generation boards, these have a smaller footprint and thinner bezels. Here is the original Ad for these boards.
NMB RT-8700 series keyboard Ad
source VintKeysNMB used to market them as the “Right Touch” keyboard, and these were the alternatives of the venerable IBM Model M and Northgate Omnikey 101s, among others.
NOS NMB 8700 series keyboardAcquisition
I was lucky enough to get into the largest vintage computer keyboard group-buy in history. Inoznez used his parent’s farm to store the boards and slowly shipped them out all over the world.
Initially, I wasn’t aware of this, but I got an entry when another buyer had to drop out of the deal for some reason. I got ‘10’ boards for myself and helped proxy some more for the local keyboard enthusiasts.
My NMB keyboard haulThere were many layouts, such as German, Swedish, Norwegian, etc and I got one from each. This board is the one with a Danish layout.
Build and Features
The case is probably made of thin ABS and it’s very poorly made. The whole thing creaks a lot, even with a minor flex. The keycaps however, are made of thick PBT with dye sublimated legends.
This particular model has clicky Hi-Tek series 725 switches(black). These
switches are colloquially known as space invader switches due to their
resemblance with the 8-bit space invader arcade game characters.
Hi-Tek series 725 switchesThe switches feel a bit stiffer and aren’t as smooth as the white space invader switches I got a few weeks back.
I got 6 of these boards, and I have planned to harvest the switches and caps from one keyboard and build a custom 60% board using the PCB and Plates from the latest group buy.
Restoration
These boards didn’t need any restoration, because they are practically new. I got an active PS/2 port to USB converter, and it worked with my computer.