Great/Interesting Finds

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Myoth

15 Sep 2017, 20:54

huh, this looks really rare, could you get it and post pictures of it, I'm sure some members would really love this keyboard, me included...

or maybe proxy it ?

edit : nvm it's £400 lol
Last edited by Myoth on 15 Sep 2017, 21:09, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
III

15 Sep 2017, 21:09

It says worldwide shipping. You'd have to figure out how to navigate the site though

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Myoth

15 Sep 2017, 21:10

III wrote: It says worldwide shipping. You'd have to figure out how to navigate the site though
Nevermind, it's way too expensive for me lol

hansichen

16 Sep 2017, 03:47

One of them already sold on ebay for like 800€

Spectre

16 Sep 2017, 04:44

Belfong wrote:
//gainsborough wrote: NIB unbranded minitouch with monterey blue switches

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-keyboard-old ... 2749.l2649

It's $35 OBO - I offered $14 and it was accepted. I think somoene else got it for $10. If you've ever wanted to try monterey blue switches, this is your opportunity!
So are they all Monterey switches? I have also got one but I think it will be one-two months before I can get my hands on one and I am curious of they are all the same switches.
I just received mine, im pretty sure they are Monterey switches.
wiki/Monterey_K110
Edit: Sorry about the weird color, my lighting is pretty poor
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Last edited by Spectre on 16 Sep 2017, 04:48, edited 1 time in total.

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Gnohio

16 Sep 2017, 04:45

Belfong wrote:
//gainsborough wrote: NIB unbranded minitouch with monterey blue switches

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PC-keyboard-old ... 2749.l2649

It's $35 OBO - I offered $14 and it was accepted. I think somoene else got it for $10. If you've ever wanted to try monterey blue switches, this is your opportunity!
So are they all Monterey switches? I have also got one but I think it will be one-two months before I can get my hands on one and I am curious of they are all the same switches.
Can confirm Monterey switches, and they feel excellent. :D Also the build quality feels pretty good too. Nice and sturdy with no flex and probably has a metal backplate. It is also held together with six(6) screws. Also, here is the wiki page on it: wiki/Monterey_K110
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User avatar
Myoth

16 Sep 2017, 12:38

Gnohio wrote: Can confirm Monterey switches, and they feel excellent. :D Also the build quality feels pretty good too. Nice and sturdy with no flex and probably has a metal backplate. It is also held together with six(6) screws. Also, here is the wiki page on it: wiki/Monterey_K110
IMG_0140.JPG
IMG_0139.JPG
IMG_0138.JPG
Damn, they look so nice, I would get those if it was available in the EU, plus there is a blank key, so maybe ISO is possible .... :oops:

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Gnohio

16 Sep 2017, 12:59

Myoth wrote:
Gnohio wrote: Can confirm Monterey switches, and they feel excellent. :D Also the build quality feels pretty good too. Nice and sturdy with no flex and probably has a metal backplate. It is also held together with six(6) screws. Also, here is the wiki page on it: wiki/Monterey_K110
IMG_0140.JPG
IMG_0139.JPG
IMG_0138.JPG
Damn, they look so nice, I would get those if it was available in the EU, plus there is a blank key, so maybe ISO is possible .... :oops:

The blank key either puts out a < and > when shifted with a soarers or a \ and | when shifted with raw ps2. Not sure if that could be changed in the onboard programming but maybe it could be done with a soarers?

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Myoth

16 Sep 2017, 14:09

<> ? that's for most ISO boards, and \| is for ISO-UK ... I mean that sounds a lot like a key put there twice to be used as an extra ISO key if wanted ...

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Sangdrax

16 Sep 2017, 15:34

I like mine a lot. The switches do have to be broken in a bit though. I've had to really whack on some of them to register or kick loose and had a couple keys like control stick a bit. It's getting better as I use it more. At first, it wouldn't even keep up with my typing. Lots of skipped letters in words. Might need to open it up and see if it needs any capacitors swapped out. And reflow the switches to the board while I'm at it. I think T and I have a cold joint.

Build quality is way better than I was expecting though. Very heavy for the size. The metal switchplate was a big surprise.

Anybody ever lube these things before? I've been thinking about it and I have all the necessary stuff laying around to get it done today.

Edit: Nevermind. Didn't realize until I opened it up that you have to desolder the switches to lube them. I did it anyway with the escape key just to see the difference and it's mostly just a little smoother and quieter and you can hear the ping more from the spring.

Went ahead and reflowed all the switches and swapped the 10uf cap with a higher voltage rated spare I had laying around. That was what was causing the previous problems. Everything working peachy now.
Last edited by Sangdrax on 17 Sep 2017, 05:42, edited 2 times in total.

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balotz

16 Sep 2017, 15:53


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JP!

16 Sep 2017, 18:14

Interesting early IBM electronic typewriter. Too rich for my blood, but still neat and would be fun to convert to work with a modern system.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Control ... SwHqRZvUU1
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thegoldenmandenis

16 Sep 2017, 20:27

JP! wrote: Interesting early IBM electronic typewriter. Too rich for my blood, but still neat and would be fun to convert to work with a modern system.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Control ... SwHqRZvUU1
typewriter.jpg
Converting this for use as a keyboard would be a very complex task. IBM electric typewriters are purely mechanical, the only electrical component is a motor to power the mechanism.

thegoldenmandenis

16 Sep 2017, 20:31

In "interesting finds" news, here is a CanTech buckling spring keyboard, although it's quite overpriced because these are not really very nice to use: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172868164387

User avatar
OldIsNew

16 Sep 2017, 23:55

JP! wrote: Interesting early IBM electronic typewriter. Too rich for my blood, but still neat and would be fun to convert to work with a modern system.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Control ... SwHqRZvUU1

It is cool looking but it appears to be the internals of an IBM Model B typewriter - why not jut buy an intact Model B - I've seen them from time to time on ebay in the $150 - 200 range. $1299 seems way out of line.

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JP!

17 Sep 2017, 00:23

I am guessing the seller couldn't find much on it and it is old so they figured that it must be worth a mint.

thegoldenmandenis

17 Sep 2017, 00:29

It's a bit weird though, looking at it. Why does it have all those wires? Like I said above, these typewriters were all mechanical. Has this one been rigged up to operate as a teleprinter or something?

User avatar
snuci
Vintage computer guy

17 Sep 2017, 00:32

thegoldenmandenis wrote: It's a bit weird though, looking at it. Why does it have all those wires? Like I said above, these typewriters were all mechanical. Has this one been rigged up to operate as a teleprinter or something?
Looks a lot like my Viatron System 21 keyboard.
Last edited by snuci on 17 Sep 2017, 00:43, edited 2 times in total.

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Gnohio

17 Sep 2017, 00:42

Sangdrax wrote: I like mine a lot. The switches do have to be broken in a bit though. I've had to really whack on some of them to register or kick loose and had a couple keys like control stick a bit. It's getting better as I use it more. At first, it wouldn't even keep up with my typing. Lots of skipped letters in words. Might need to open it up and see if it needs any capacitors swapped out. And reflow the switches to the board while I'm at it. I think T and I have a cold joint.

Build quality is way better than I was expecting though. Very heavy for the size. The metal backplate was a big surprise.

Anybody ever lube these things before? I've been thinking about it and I have all the necessary stuff laying around to get it done today.

Edit: Nevermind. Didn't realize until I opened it up that you have to desolder the switches to lube them. I did it anyway with the escape key just to see the difference and it's mostly just a little smoother and quieter and you can hear the ping more from the spring.

Went ahead and reflowed all the switches and swapped the 10uf cap with a higher voltage rated spare I had laying around. That was what was causing the previous problems. Everything working peachy now.
Thats interesting because mine was very responsive and smooth out of the box, and still is. The tactile bumps are crisp and the click is nice and all keys register as fast as I type them. The only minor problem I have is a few of the keys actuating before the tactile bump or click if pressed. Its not a super big deal as it only sometimes warrants an extra letter while typing but I thought it would be worth mentioning. It only ever happens as a double type or when my fingers are passing over or near the affected key(I touch type). Half of the problem might be me because I type a little heavy-ish and the other half is probably because these switches are just a tad too light for me, but they are still very good clicky switches so far.

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Sangdrax

17 Sep 2017, 05:41

It was almost certainly the bad capacitor causing the problems. 4.7uf was fine but when I tested the 10uf, it was garbage. It wasn't dead but it was well on the way there. Basically, the thing was running out of steam in the middle of typing and causing keys to not register. I'm not a fast typist. I only go about 85wpm or so, but that was enough to see it bog down. Just luck of the draw really when you get into electrolytics this old. But hey, even if you have to swap them out it's still less than two bucks.

The keys themselves are super smooth after just a day of good use.

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depletedvespene

17 Sep 2017, 06:43

Unusual keycaps on a Model M.

A redditor posted a couple keyboards he found — the second one's keycaps caught my attention:

Image

I asked him and the keyboard is a regular 1391401. The non-alphanum keycaps, however, are not run-of-the-mill — I hadn't seen a set like this before. It stands to reason to think they may have come as a kit for keyboards intended for dual PC/terminal usage or something like that.


See https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyb ... ruck_gold/

User avatar
Myoth

17 Sep 2017, 13:25

depletedvespene wrote: Unusual keycaps on a Model M.

A redditor posted a couple keyboards he found — the second one's keycaps caught my attention:

Image

I asked him and the keyboard is a regular 1391401. The non-alphanum keycaps, however, are not run-of-the-mill — I hadn't seen a set like this before. It stands to reason to think they may have come as a kit for keyboards intended for dual PC/terminal usage or something like that.


See https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyb ... ruck_gold/
I recall already seeing some of these function keys, but on terminals ...the other ones are really wierd, so many double legends and stuff that doesn't really make sense

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Myoth

17 Sep 2017, 15:44

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Genovation- ... 0005.m1851

If I remember correctly, those are Cherry MX since those caps appear in SP's grab bags (the numbers with window caps), but I don't know for sure...

unoquepasa

18 Sep 2017, 19:42


Air_Raid

19 Sep 2017, 13:27

Found a RAFI Keyboard in the 'Bay.
Doesn't have the Hall effect switches unfortunately but looks great!
Seriously dig the non-shiny doubleshots...

http://www.ebay.de/itm/152707208352?

thegoldenmandenis

19 Sep 2017, 14:49

I've also got a Rafi keyboard for sale on eBay in the UK, slightly different model to this one. Happy to sell for less than the eBay price to someone on here.

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Myoth

19 Sep 2017, 18:22

http://www.ebay.de/itm/SIEMENS-NIXDORF- ... 0012.m1985

I don't know if this is one of the right keyboard that have Nixies, but thought I'd post here anyway.

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Myoth

19 Sep 2017, 22:23

this, here, is an awesome deal too.

EDIT : this seems to be Monterey SMK Blues
Last edited by Myoth on 22 Sep 2017, 21:31, edited 1 time in total.

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alh84001
v.001

19 Sep 2017, 22:30

That is NOT blue alps.

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mike52787
Alps Aficionado

19 Sep 2017, 23:54

Myoth wrote: this, here, is an awesome deal too.
"awesome deal" LMAO

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