AT&T KBD 305B

larryniven

01 Mar 2016, 23:10

I believe this is the one appeared on ebay a while ago. A friend of mine got it. He didn't know what to do with it, because the 6p6c to PS/2 cable is missing. He ended up swapping a working model M with me.

Seems like I will need to solder a 6p6c to PS/2 on my own like the Dolch PAC keyboard.

The pitch of the click sound is significantly lower than a normal M. Other than that there is really not much of a difference.

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snuci
Vintage computer guy

01 Mar 2016, 23:14

So it's a buckling spring keyboard like a Model M?

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seebart
Offtopicthority Instigator

01 Mar 2016, 23:41

Nice, looks to be in superb condition for it's age. I have seen these before, but never this nice.

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Redmaus
Gotta start somewhere

02 Mar 2016, 00:17

Need a typing demonstration please :D

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Touch_It

02 Mar 2016, 06:04

Redmaus wrote: Need a typing demonstration please :D
Yep. I'd love to hear the sound difference between this and a normal M.

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XMIT
[ XMIT ]

02 Mar 2016, 07:12

It's got an ABS spacebar. Or, at least, mine does.

larryniven

02 Mar 2016, 07:29

Redmaus wrote: Need a typing demonstration please :D
I tried a few random keys (all bottomed out) followed by a few click on the spacebar at the end.

https://soundcloud.com/larryniven/ibm-model-m

https://soundcloud.com/larryniven/att-kbd-305b

The standard M feels crisp, while the AT&T one feels dampened. But the more I listen to it, the less the significance I can tell. Maybe somebody should do a FFT on the wave forms ;)

I have to admit there is significant variance among keys as well.

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Mikelittoris

02 Mar 2016, 08:11

larryniven wrote: The pitch of the click sound is significantly lower than a normal M. Other than that there is really not much of a difference.
Except for the font which seems to be slightly tilted. ;)

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beltet

02 Mar 2016, 10:31

Mikelittoris wrote:
larryniven wrote: The pitch of the click sound is significantly lower than a normal M. Other than that there is really not much of a difference.
Except for the font which seems to be slightly tilted. ;)
And that the bottom row legends is centered instead of aligned to the left.
Cool board!

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Mikelittoris

02 Mar 2016, 15:16

beltet wrote:
Mikelittoris wrote:
larryniven wrote: The pitch of the click sound is significantly lower than a normal M. Other than that there is really not much of a difference.
Except for the font which seems to be slightly tilted. ;)
And that the bottom row legends is centered instead of aligned to the left.
Cool board!
And another thing, the whole case is different. Looking from the side it got that banana shape like a Dell AT101 and not the usual wedge shape :o . Cool board indeed!

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E3E

06 Mar 2016, 08:33

Reminds me a lot of the AEK keyboards actually.

Closer to the AEK II I believe?

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Love the look of that AT&T though.

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Chyros

06 Mar 2016, 12:31

Nah the AEKII has a wave shape, this one's more of a curve, like the AEK.

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E3E

06 Mar 2016, 16:03

If someone stopped the rear end of that AEK II from being such a slouch, it'd look just like it! :lol:

Also, I remember this board on eBay a while back too. I was somewhat tempted to buy it, but i didn't figure it was anything special. How interesting! A weird sort of buckling spring model. I wonder what its history is.

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Mattr567

08 Mar 2016, 04:13

E3E wrote: If someone stopped the rear end of that AEK II from being such a slouch, it'd look just like it! :lol:

Also, I remember this board on eBay a while back too. I was somewhat tempted to buy it, but i didn't figure it was anything special. How interesting! A weird sort of buckling spring model. I wonder what its history is.
I saw it too :lol: and knew what it was, but wasn't super interested. Def is a interesting board though.

terrycherry

23 Jul 2016, 06:01

I brought my AT&T KBD 305(FCCID AS593MK305) with black barrel plate. Hope the buckling spring is not the same as model M.
Last edited by terrycherry on 25 Jul 2016, 06:03, edited 1 time in total.

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ohaimark
Kingpin

23 Jul 2016, 06:54

I have one:

photos-f62/at-t-305b-industrial-txmit-t ... hilit=305b

It's pretty similar to the Model M. I measured lighter press force (60-70g as opposed to the OG M's 65-75g); it also seems slightly smoother (plastic differences?). XMIT also noticed the reduced switch weight in his AT&T 305.

You'll be pleased by how thick the inner backplate is. The typing experience surpasses that of a Model M.

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