Great/Interesting Finds

[//gainsborough]

Model F Bigfoot for $50 BIN OBO

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Model-Keybo ... Swa~BYVWrm

[dokyun]

Inexpensive Alps numpad with free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mechanical-Keyb ... Sw2xRYTe5n

[Tuntematon]

damn this is a nice deal for nice caps and green alps - dirty as all hell, but nothing that can't be undone.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Z-150-Vi ... SwnHZYVNga

This is a DT user as well - maybe he'll sell it to one of you guys for cheaper if he feels like revealing himself =P

edit: as a side note, if anyone has the AT version of the z-150 with green alps and is looking to sell it...PM me =)

Revised. I added another Z-150 junker to the listing. Flash sale: PM now and get them for $50 USD + shipping

[mike52787]

damn this is a nice deal for nice caps and green alps - dirty as all hell, but nothing that can't be undone.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Z-150-Vi ... SwnHZYVNga

This is a DT user as well - maybe he'll sell it to one of you guys for cheaper if he feels like revealing himself =P

edit: as a side note, if anyone has the AT version of the z-150 with green alps and is looking to sell it...PM me =)

Revised. I added another Z-150 junker to the listing. Flash sale: PM now and get them for $50 USD + shipping

if shipping wasnt gonna be so expensive, I would be all over this.

[Chyros]

damn this is a nice deal for nice caps and green alps - dirty as all hell, but nothing that can't be undone.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Z-150-Vi ... SwnHZYVNga

This is a DT user as well - maybe he'll sell it to one of you guys for cheaper if he feels like revealing himself =P

edit: as a side note, if anyone has the AT version of the z-150 with green alps and is looking to sell it...PM me =)

Revised. I added another Z-150 junker to the listing. Flash sale: PM now and get them for $50 USD + shipping

if shipping wasnt gonna be so expensive, I would be all over this.

Note that the switches look pretty vile, not sure they'd feel great D: .

[mike52787]

Revised. I added another Z-150 junker to the listing. Flash sale: PM now and get them for $50 USD + shipping

if shipping wasnt gonna be so expensive, I would be all over this.

Note that the switches look pretty vile, not sure they'd feel great D: .

Im sure a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner would do them wonders.

[Harshmallow]

damn this is a nice deal for nice caps and green alps - dirty as all hell, but nothing that can't be undone.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zenith-Z-150-Vi ... SwnHZYVNga

This is a DT user as well - maybe he'll sell it to one of you guys for cheaper if he feels like revealing himself =P

edit: as a side note, if anyone has the AT version of the z-150 with green alps and is looking to sell it...PM me =)

Revised. I added another Z-150 junker to the listing. Flash sale: PM now and get them for $50 USD + shipping

I think you and I are probably going to deal with each other again in the future. You often have interesting keyboards on sale and at fair prices. I just got the Chicony 5181 and it's exactly as described - looks like it was hardly used. It's nice having someone in Canada shipping these vintage gems. Anyway, I left you some good feedback on Ebay. I can already say with confidence that SMK blues destroy Cherry MX Blues...not that I thought there would be much of a contest anyway.

[XMIT]

You'll save 10% by selling through the forums. You can either manifest that as more profit or pass on the savings to the buyer. Paypal will still provide buyer protections. But, since we have this nice community, I don't much see the need for paying eBay a finder's fee. Do you?

[Tuntematon]

I think you and I are probably going to deal with each other again in the future. You often have interesting keyboards on sale and at fair prices. I just got the Chicony 5181 and it's exactly as described - looks like it was hardly used. It's nice having someone in Canada shipping these vintage gems. Anyway, I left you some good feedback on Ebay. I can already say with confidence that SMK blues destroy Cherry MX Blues...not that I thought there would be much of a contest anyway.

I'm glad you like it! No doubt about it, SMK is a beauty, one of my favourites. And it's always nice to sell to Canadians since the vintage keyboard market up here is almost non-existent. Fortunately for me, I live close to the border, so I have full access to the U.S. market.

You'll save 10% by selling through the forums. You can either manifest that as more profit or pass on the savings to the buyer. Paypal will still provide buyer protections. But, since we have this nice community, I don't much see the need for paying eBay a finder's fee. Do you?

I've been using a multi-platform approach to this point. I've done a few sales here and a bunch on /r/mechmarket, which I like because it's always bustling and has a lot of eager buyers. I hate paying eBay fees but the exposure is great and I like the interface, plus it's nice to have the use of a hassle-free payment system. I always feel better bypassing the middle man and selling direct to the buyer though! I should start selling here more. Overall, DT is my favourite forum.

[Norman_]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the omnikey that was posted a few days ago was confirmed to be blue alps

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152349979815?ul_noapp=true

[Ir0n]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the omnikey that was posted a few days ago was confirmed to be blue alps

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152349979815?ul_noapp=true

Maaan..I wish I could bid on that..one day I'm going to grab one of these blue alps boards.
What do blue alps boards usually go for?...the cheaper ones.. :S

[lancre]

I think 104 loose blue alps switches in good condition would go for over 100 GBP. That Omnikey seems cheap at the moment. It seems like it's had a fair amount of use, though.

[marinedalek]

I was tempted to get these, but I do already have one that I may be able to refurbish so if anyone else is interested...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222322061611

They're buckling springs, albeit an odd non-IBM implementation. In these the switch plate sits vertically in the slot and rotates through 90 degrees to hit the membrane when the spring buckles.

[Muirium]

Ah, the good old Bondi Blue iMac colour craze! Nice price for 10 NIB oddball buckling spring boards with perhaps doubleshots on top. But:

Item location: Cradley Heath, United Kingdom
Postage to: Will arrange for collection only (no delivery).

[//gainsborough]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the omnikey that was posted a few days ago was confirmed to be blue alps

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152349979815?ul_noapp=true

I lost =( Here's to hoping it went to one of us - and congrats if it did!

[Harshmallow]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but the omnikey that was posted a few days ago was confirmed to be blue alps

http://www.ebay.com/itm/152349979815?ul_noapp=true

I lost =( Here's to hoping it went to one of us - and congrats if it did!

So did I, but it's for the best - I don't have that kind of money to spend on a used keyboard, especially this time of year lol. Glad I was too slow to make it to the button in the last few seconds!

[//gainsborough]

IBM F bigfoot for $30 BIN OBO!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-529 ... Sw6DtYV~~6

[lancre]

IBM F bigfoot for $30 BIN OBO!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-529 ... Sw6DtYV~~6

Gosh, that looks like it's been thrown down a chimney. Love the description - "some discoloration"...

And yet it's probably undervalued even in that condition!

[Harshmallow]

IBM F bigfoot for $30 BIN OBO!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-529 ... Sw6DtYV~~6

Gosh, that looks like it's been thrown down a chimney. Love the description - "some discoloration"...

And yet it's probably undervalued even in that condition!

It's also missing an entire foot, and the other one looks off to me, but I don't have experience with this model. I wouldn't trust it. The guy knows enough about which specific model it is, I doubt it's undervalued for the condition it's in. Who even knows what the internals might look like :S $30 plus shipping wouldn't be a huge gamble though, someone care to find out!?

[lancre]

IBM F bigfoot for $30 BIN OBO!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-529 ... Sw6DtYV~~6

Gosh, that looks like it's been thrown down a chimney. Love the description - "some discoloration"...

And yet it's probably undervalued even in that condition!

It's also missing an entire foot, and the other one looks off to me, but I don't have experience with this model. I wouldn't trust it. The guy knows enough about which specific model it is, I doubt it's undervalued for the condition it's in. Who even knows what the internals might look like :S $30 plus shipping wouldn't be a huge gamble though, someone care to find out!?

Well looks like someone just did. That was fast.

[mike52787]

I bought another one from the same seller, he was asking 50 and I offered 30. he accepted. Its in the mail today. It looks to be in better shape than that one however.

[emdude]

Well looks like someone just did. That was fast.

I got it. I offered $20 and the guy accepted. Did not even notice the foot, but I'll probably use it for parts anyway.

[Harshmallow]

Well looks like someone just did. That was fast.

I got it. I offered $20 and the guy accepted. Did not even notice the foot, but I'll probably use it for parts anyway.

Well you can't get much lower than 20 bucks, so I'd say it's a good deal regardless! Maybe you can give it a pirate-style peg leg...and call it Cap'n Bigfoot or something.

[emdude]

Well, Cindy must have a bunch of Bigfoot parts from all the ones she scrapped for the MF project so I guess I could contact her about purchasing a leg if I really wanted to replace the broken one.

[al.c]

hey,
remember my crazy dumpster find last week, that cyan omron board?
well, today i went back there to see if i can snap some pictures of the computer it originally came with.
not much in terms of model name or even brand, seems like these things were cloned all over the place by different manufacturers:

front view

Spoiler:

the lcd display was already gone

rear view with serial

Spoiler:

made in taiwan

top

Spoiler:

not very exciting, but no text anywhere else on the case

but!!

if you look closely to the right in the first image, you can see part of yet another 80s machine (an epson qx-10):

Spoiler:

connectors for monitor and.. light pen??

so i thought, hmm.. maybe..
and after some more digging i found it!

Spoiler:

i guess it really is a magic dumpster

it uses fujitsu leaf spring switches (second generation i guess):

Spoiler:

with some seriously massive keycaps:

Spoiler:

the white part is solid plastic, the cap is quite heavy

however, i haven't yet figured out how to connect this thing to my teensy, it has a strange 8-pin din connector:

Spoiler:

any advice on how to wire it up would be appreciated

[seebart]

Haha very good al.c, so are you sure that's the computer that belongs to the Cyan Omron keyboard? If your sure I can use that information for our wiki! Nice Epson too, that was your reward for going back!

[Menuhin]

...
with some seriously massive keycaps:

Spoiler:

the white part is solid plastic, the cap is quite heavy

...

Looks like some white chocolate..!

[al.c]

are you sure that's the computer that belongs to the Cyan Omron keyboard?

yup, i'm sure. if you google "lcd portable computer" you'll find lots of different versions of this machine. so far we know the highscreen branded one comes with blue cherrys, as well as the "coffee" one. i've seen a few with black cherrys as well. but no idea which particular clone comes with the omrons.
i love them btw, light, clicky but not loud, just the right amount of tactility. even better than blue alps imho, but then again my qx-201 is far from nib..

[Parak]

however, i haven't yet figured out how to connect this thing to my teensy, it has a strange 8-pin din connector:

HaaTa made some conversion code for it:

https://github.com/kiibohd/controller/t ... EpsonQX-10

[seebart]

yup, i'm sure. if you google "lcd portable computer" you'll find lots of different versions of this machine...

Everyone knows that.

So far we know the highscreen branded one comes with blue cherrys, as well as the "coffee" one. i've seen a few with black cherrys as well.

Really, so you have several sources as proof of that!?