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Datanetics

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Overview

Datanetics Corporation (/ˌdeɪtəˈnɛtɪks/), later ITT Datanetics Corporation following the acquisition by ITT, was a keyboard manufacturer from California, founded in 1967 by Richard “Dick” Gerlach. Datanetics is currently the oldest-known manufacturer of full-travel membrane keyboards, having introduced their batch-fabricated array keyboards in 1967.

Customers of Datanetics included Monroe, Burroughs France, HP, Apple, NCR, Perkin-Elmer, Beckman, Hugin, Texas Instruments and Sycor.

Much of the research into Datanetics was made possible through information and parts supplied by co-founder Meryl Miller.

Michael Muller from Germany (sadly now deceased) served as the company’s design engineer from 1970 onwards and was responsible for their discrete switch types. Around 1979, he left Datanetics to set up The Keyboard Company as a dedicated keyboard manufacturer for Apple, bought by Apple a few years later.

Organisation

Products

Switches

Other

See also