KEY TRONIC KEYBOARDS

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SECTION 508 STANDARDS

On June 25, 2001, accessibility requirements for Federal electronic and information technology took effect under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.   This law requires that such technology be accessible according to standards developed by the Access Board.

Section 508 Standards requires that electronic computer keyboards meet the following standards, listed in bold print:

Keys shall be tactilely discernible without activating the keys.  This means that individual keys can be located and distinguished from adjacent keys by touch. 
Key Tronic keyboards meet this standard with the tactile mark on the “j” and “f” keys which permits a user to locate all other keys tactilely.   The geographic spacing of the function, numeric pad and cursor keys also make them easy to locate by touch.

Controls and keys shall be operable with one hand and the force required to activate the keys shall be 5 lbs maximum.   
Key Tronic keyboards meet this specification without any problems.   The maximum amount required on any of our keyboards is 80 grams

If key repeat is supported, the delay before repeat shall be adjustable to at least 2 seconds per character.   
By using a Key Tronic keyboard and Microsoft Windows Accessibilities Options in Windows 95, 98, NT4 and 2000, this repeat rate can be adjusted to meet the 2-second per character delay.

The status of all locking or toggle controls or keys shall be visually discernible and discernible either through touch or sound.   
Almost all Key Tronic keyboards have the status lights (also known as LED’s) in the upper right hand corner of the keyboard, which provide the visual notification of the status of the locking keys.   Also by using Microsoft windows Accessibilities Options in Windows 95, 98, NT4 and 2000, this provides a sound for each of the locking functions when used.

If you have further questions regarding the Section 508 regulations, please visit the Federal IT Accessibility web site at http://www.section508.gov/