KeyTronic keyboard availability in Europe
Posted: (EET/GMT+2)
I've been using KeyTronic (Key Tronic) keyboards from KeyTronicEMS for ages, and still after the years I prefer them to those bundled, cheap keyboards that come with many PCs. However, all my current KeyTronic KT-2001 (aka KT2000, KT-2000) keyboards are with the legacy PS/2 connector, so I lately decided to check what an USB connected version would cost.
Previously, it was easy to find these keyboards in Finland, but now it suddenly seemed hard. First, I noticed that no IT distributor sells these keyboards anymore here, so my second option was to contact the manufacturer EMS directly. I got a kind reply from their sales and marketing saying that the won't sell their keyboards anymore to the European Union, because of new strict electronic waste laws.
Of course, my next question was to check whether Finnish/Swedish keyboard layouts would be available for purchase from EMS. Unfortunately, they won't sell those, but there's a custom company called DataCal (AZ, USA) that would do that. DataCal takes a generic KeyTronic keyboard, and then converts it to the local 104 key keyboard that I use daily.
So the next step would be contact DataCal, and check to see what would it cost to purchase and deliver few of these gems to Finland.