Help identifying IBM keyboard

[plainnash]

Hi all,

I've been a long time lurker on here and bought a Keycool 87 with Cherry Blues around a year back to scratch the mechanical itch. Since then I've been lusting after both a small custom (Work to start soon, I've got to finish finals first), and a mechanical IBM, just to further annoy the other half!
I've found a few on eBay, but this one confuses me as I can't find any details on it anywhere:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310951909396? ... 1423.l2649

Any help you can give would be excellent, thanks in advance.

[scottc]

That looks like a Model M2 keyboard. It's like Model M, except much flimsier and less well-made. It uses the same mechanism (buckling spring), so it feels quite good (though not as nice as a real M).

This one looks like it has a connector for a terminal, but if you can get a replacement PS2 cable it will work out-of-the-box.

That said, I have one and don't enjoy it. I'd recommend spending a little extra and getting a real Model M.

[plainnash]

Thanks for the quick reply scottc, I've done a bit more reading around about the M2 and I think I'll probably avoid it based on this and your advice. Cheers!

Edit: At the risk of messing up again, is this a Model M? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261481782573? ... 1423.l2649

[scottc]

No problem!

Yep, that's a Model M, though it looks like a terminal model which doesn't natively work on PCs (hint: you can tell from its connector - it looks like an RJ10/RJ11 like a phone line) so you'd need to create an active converter for it. For maximum ease of setup, you want one with a PS2 port.

For £35, you could probably almost get a normal M. My suggestion would be to ditch eBay and just look around the forums. Model Ms are pretty common around here, and not too difficult to get a hold of.

[plainnash]

Good point, I'm just about to finish up an Electronic Engineering degree so making a converter shouldn't be a huge deal, but why waste the money if I can get a normal Model M for cheaper right?
I do have my eye on a 1394324 terminal board at some point as well, so I'll be making a converter for that eventually.

Off down the rabbit hole I go, anyone know where the bottom is?

[scottc]

Well good news: with an EE degree, hopefully soldering 5 wires to a Teensy shouldn't be such a big deal (or I worry about how you got it).

The bottom of the hole... I have no idea. I found myself interested in Model Ms about two years ago, and now I have two normal Ms (one broken, one converted from a terminal board with a controller swap), an SSK, Model F, and M2... and those are just my IBM boards, not counting Cherry or ALPS or other bits.

By the way, if you're making an IBM Terminal converter anyway, maybe you should get the terminal boards: the converter makes them programmable, so with it they're actually more useful than normal Ms and some even have really cool legends!

[Muirium]

My one and only full size Model M is one of those funky legended RJ45 terminal models:

http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8 ... t6407.html

Since I use Apple gear (no PS/2 ports past or present) I have to convert to USB anyway. And as I've a bunch of old IBMs of different types, I built myself a multi-socket converter. That's one way to get the most out of a Teensy, and open up your options on all kinds of classic boards.



Three sockets: PS/2, XT/AT, and RJ45 Terminal. All programmable! Just don't use more than one at a time; which is what the switch is for.

[plainnash]

Decisions decisions... I've ordered a few of those Teensy replacements which urbancamo mentioned in that thread, so when they arrive I'll make a converter for sure.
I might just close my wanted thread in the marketplace and go the whole hog with a 122 key terminal board. I've put an offer in for one on eBay which I don't mind paying. 24 function keys? Decadence!

[Muirium]

122 key Model Ms promise more in looks than they deliver in practice. Mine is only 2KRO, which gets right in the way of some of my day to day key combinations. The Model F 122 keys are much better, with no rollover limits.

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Rollover,_b ... and_others

[plainnash]

Hmm, I hadn't thought about that, but with the abundance of spare keys (Especially the bank on the right) it should be easy enough to map them to commonly used combinations right?

[Muirium]

Yes, every key on the 122 is available for arbitrary macro programming on Soarer's converter.

I'm so used to my 60%s that the idea of one key for everything doesn't fly for me. But others love their battleships!

[plainnash]

Don't get me wrong, this will be one of many new boards, so a few quirks in it are just fine!
I've been watching the threads in the Workshop with great interest and I'm planning a small 60% or 40% just as soon as these exams are out of the way. For me, there's a huge satisfaction in building things as well as using them, the magic's definitely in tinkering around.

[Hypersphere]

Don't get me wrong, this will be one of many new boards, so a few quirks in it are just fine!
I've been watching the threads in the Workshop with great interest and I'm planning a small 60% or 40% just as soon as these exams are out of the way. For me, there's a huge satisfaction in building things as well as using them, the magic's definitely in tinkering around.

It is indeed great fun. I'm typing this on an IBM XT keyboard connected to my Mac Pro, and an email just popped up from eBay notifying me that a 122-key Model F is on its way. I look forward to the challenge of getting that aircraft carrier operational! Muirium and many others on this Forum have provided a great deal of inspiration, knowledge, and good humor along the way. Enjoy!