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Fialka
  
Keyboard Switch array
The Fialka keyboard is a rather complex mechanical structure. When pressing a key, one of the 30 switches of the switch array are engaged. The switch array is located behind the keyboard and is part of the drum assembly. The drawing below shows the switch array when seen from the front of the machine. All switches are mounted onto an axle and have one central contact (on top) that can be moved between two static contacts (normally-open and normally-closed).

A switch can be engaged by the keyboard, by pushing a metal arm to one of the circular pads at the bottom. As you can see in this drawing, the switches are arranged in the order of Fialka's own alphabet, which is same as the letter order at the circumference of the cipher wheels.


The normally-closed contacts are all connected to the Diode Matrix that acts as a 30-to-5 encoder. The normally-open contacts are connected to the input of the card reader. Please note that, although all contacts of the Switch Array are arranged in the order of the alphabet, they are connected in a scrambled manner to the input terminals of the card reader.

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© Crypto Museum. Created: Wednesday 27 August 2008. Last changed: Thursday, 07 January 2021 - 11:46 CET.
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