General Possible Found part COLLAR STUDS

[Ord Mantell]

As usual RafalFett has eagle eyes. Seems to me all the keys on the ROTJ display with red underneath the paint are the second key style, which is interesting. Definitely the sides are less sloped and the corners are rounded and remain that way from top to bottom, no pinch at the bottom like the non-red ones.

red key on left, non-red royal key style on right

the red ones also seem a bit smaller:

I wonder if these 2nd key types were replacements after ESB filmed or if maybe they were originally used on the touring suits and then got mixed in later?

hard to tell... touring suit pic:

 

[Neo Fett]

I contacted Litton Royal over the phone. Luckily they are still intact as a company and the costumer service rep was able to give me some useful info. First, they made several models starting in the early 1970's and well into the early 80's. The following models would have been available in 1978:
242PD
228PD
244PD
248PD
248PD II
248PD III

These other models are worth taking a look at. They might all have the same key style. As these were manufactured over time, the model numbers did not change, though internal parts might have, meaning the key style could very well be different among units made at different times. For example, my unit was likely assembled in early to mid 1979, based on the date codes on the board chips. Now, the bad news is you can't tell what year a unit was made by any external markings. You have to open it up and look at the board to get an idea, though chip date codes don't give a manufacturing date of the unit, they give only an aproximation based on the date of the chip. I think for our purposes it would be great if anyone could find a unit with '77 or '78 dated chips and have a look at it's keys to see if they are different at all.

if you open it up you should see these chips on the board. The Sharp seems to have a YWW code, or could be YMM:
View attachment 214070

I bought two calculators (242PD), one came in today. My chip says "Sharp 904" however I see an inspector sticker on the bottom of the keyboard board that says "197662" with the inspectors name, perhaps that could be an inspection date? Feb 6th 1976?

 

[Ord Mantell]

"197662" with the inspectors name, perhaps that could be an inspection date? Feb 6th 1976?

very nice. It's certainly tempting to read that number as a date with '1976' in there, but the inspector sticker on mine has the number 274390. We can rule that out as a date code. It's safe to say these models were probably around in 1978. This is as close as it's ever been to a good candidate, and if there is a better match for the shape than the Royal, this find has probably sent someone beating further down that path. Final confirmation probably won't ever come without some insider info on the original keycaps, though.

 

[Neo Fett]

very nice. It's certainly tempting to read that number as a date with '1976' in there, but the inspector sticker on mine has the number 274390. We can rule that out as a date code. It's safe to say these models were probably around in 1978. This is as close as it's ever been to a good candidate, and if there is a better match for the shape than the Royal, this find has probably sent someone beating further down that path. Final confirmation probably won't ever come without some insider info on the original keycaps, though.

Dang, figured the code would be too good to be true if it were a date. One of these models/variations has to be it; they are just so close!

 

[sutt_hero_rotj]

very nice. It's certainly tempting to read that number as a date with '1976' in there, but the inspector sticker on mine has the number 274390. We can rule that out as a date code. It's safe to say these models were probably around in 1978. This is as close as it's ever been to a good candidate, and if there is a better match for the shape than the Royal, this find has probably sent someone beating further down that path. Final confirmation probably won't ever come without some insider info on the original keycaps, though.

Agreed

 

[KaanE]

The red ones seen on the RotJ costumes could be some red rubber copies used for stunts on RotJ.

 

[Neo Fett]

My second one came in today, chip says 909 this time. Everything still looks the same (which is what I was expecting). Only bought two because after I bought one another popped up really cheap and how can I say no to that?

 

[Neo Fett]

For what it's worth an M5 screw fits beautifully into the key. Very snug and easily screws on and off.

 

[BudaFett]

I need to grab some M5 screws and get these keys on my build.

 

[Neo Fett]

If anyone needs it: VTG Litton Royal Digital Adding Machine Calculator Model242 PD (570) WORKS | eBay

 

[BudaFett]

Don't buy it just to display the calculator...don't buy it just to display...

 

[Neo Fett]

Just for the sake of documenting here are a bunch of pictures of the entire calculator taken apart. Perhaps there is another hidden treasure in here for a different costume/prop. Next task is to completely disassemble the part that actually prints the numbers. A lot going on in there.

 

[B0B4F3TT]

Just for the sake of documenting here are a bunch of pictures of the entire calculator taken apart. Perhaps there is another hidden treasure in here for a different costume/prop. Next task is to completely disassemble the part that actually prints the numbers. A lot going on in there.

It's very plausible that the prop makers would use more than just a couple of the keys. There is certainly a few interesting Star Wars looking parts inside the machine