500+ photos of my IBM Keyboards

[Ellipse]

Someone recently requested to use some of my IBM keyboard photos for their web site, with attribution.

To share this collection all in one place with everyone, below is my album of 500+ photos of my IBM keyboard collection, available on Flickr in full resolution.

Please note that almost all of these keyboards are no longer in my collection so I have nothing available for sale any more.

Many were taken with Nikon DSLR cameras. IBM Model M, IBM Model F, and IBM beam spring keyboards, including NOS keyboards, NOS IBM XT keyboard interior only, 1390131 retail packaging including power cord for the chassis and booklets, M13, Industrial SSK, 101-key Model M 1390401, 4704 F50 / F77 / F107, 1392980, F122, F104 Unsaver, terminal, and many others. The files are not named by keyboard model, alas.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/modelfkey ... 0297401122

[John Doe]

Noice sharing, thanks.

[sefixmm]

That's insane

[webwit]

Freak!

[AnnoyedWalrus]

So. Many. Industrial SSKs
Why are you doing this to me, Ellipse?

[orihalcon]

Very nice collection indeed!

Still kind of kicking myself for not buying the original F77 you had on ebay for $2k well before we'd ever seen a keyboard sell for anything close to that price, and now I'm sure you'd get offers for multiples of that

If I had to off the top of my head name the few form factors/variants that are in this realm of rarity of some of the other things you have pictured there, I'd say these are among the few M/F models that you may not have had over the course of your collecting history:

Erase-Ease M13 - the one with the split spacebar (Not sure why so few were made or survived? Seems at least 560 were made as this one has a SN in the mid 500's) viewtopic.php?t=16802

Unsaver Numpad - Saw Damonskv posted about finally finding one here sometime maybe last year, viewtopic.php?f=62&t=25074

Model F Displaywriter - These definitely can be found, but I think they may have only been standard in Europe and maybe Australia viewtopic.php?t=13658

[paperWasp]

Nice shots and collection indeed!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/modelfkey ... 297401122/

Who on earth uses that 789 UIO JKL M numeric keypad...? That's weird!

[Ellipse]

orihalcon I was not aware of the first link in your list up to now - very interesting! I thought only some IBM typewriters with buckling spring keyboards had that short space bar key. I have come across the others over the years. Another interesting model (have not seen in person though) is the IBM 1393915 model f/m hybrid 49 key keyboard. Also the M15 has a rare separate numpad too that I have seen in photos.

paperWasp that is an interesting num pad design on the terminal Model M SSK's.

[orihalcon]

Ah yes, the IBM 1393915. I kind of refer to those as the M49/M50 and am not sure what they really went to originally. Most of the ones that I've seen or handled had "property of IBM" stickers on them, so they may have been used more internally for something? Someone found some sort of original documentation with one that suggested that they could have been used for the 4700 series, but doesn't exactly make sense, since they used PS/2 protocol which I don't think the 4700's had. Maybe a 4700 emulator perhaps? I know I've seen F122 cables that almost look like they covert the 240 degree 5 pin DIN to what the 4700 series had, so who knows haha!

viewtopic.php?t=22177

The one pictured in the wiki, which I think was originally owned/sold by clickykeyboards.com is one I'm sure I'll never see one in person, but is one of the coolest IMHO.

wiki/IBM_50_Key_Keyboard


Agree, all it would take to make those into a true model F is a reproduction of the model F50 Capsense PCB and some model F flippers. I have verified that they do indeed use the exact same internals otherwise of the F50. The Unsaver numpad also uses the same internals as the OS2 Screen Reader Keypad and even has the holes in the barrel plates for the extra keys seen in the Unsaver variant. I think there were some internal pics of the unsaver numpad somewhere, but the link alludes me for now, but sure this would have been by Damonskv who has the only known one, though others have been pictured in museum pictures and vintage photos:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=104046.0

The brother bucking spring numpads released in Japan are pretty cool too, but I think they only work with the brother buckling spring SSK's (5576-003) even though they have standard PS/2 connectors on them :/

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93510.0

wiki/IBM_Screen_Reader/2_keypad