Got a boxed BTC 5139

[norolim]

Guys, I just got a boxed BTC 5139 with a User's Guide leaflet and all. It's not brand new and wasn't particularly clean, but because only 5 or 6 keycaps show any signs of wear, I think it wasn't used for typing. It's likely it was utilised to control some kind of a process and judging by the black dust, I found inside, and no yellowing, I would guess it might have been in a mine or a coke plant of some sort.

Anyway, the board is in very good condition and after I gave it a good bath, I could check those BTC dome with slider switches, I heard so much about. And I must say Chyros was right: they are very good, for a rubber dome solution. Very tactile and snappy, not too mushy and you don't have to bottom out to register a keystroke. Although, with such a strong tactile bump, you can't really avoid it.

If anyone is interested, here is a picture and some specifications from the User's Guide:



Production date: June 1997
Total travel: 3.5+/-0.5 mm
Pretravel: 1.0+/-0.5 mm
Operating Life: 20 million cycles
Tactile force: 60+/-20 g

[Palatino]

A nice keyboard! I also like BTC dome with sliders, and the big ass enter combined with double unit backspace is nice too. The Wyse-like black bar round the lock lights is a smart finish. The keycaps look the same as on a BTC5100C: a good rough texture. My only wish would be for darker printing of the legends. Hope you enjoy it!

[norolim]

Thanks, mate. You're right, it's a nice layout. I don't even mind the shorter right Shift that much. And the lock lights overlay is very elegant. It took me a while to find this keyboard, because I wanted one with no yellowing, no retrobrighting performed and in good condition, so that I can try those hybrid switches the way they should feel — not after they've been murdered by a decade of heavy use. I'm going to take a couple of weeks break from my Model M and enjoy this one.