Great/Interesting Finds

[//gainsborough]

omg...someone bought the JX board for 1.2k??

I feel like these JX boards are the chronicles of how gains lost his grip on reality

The relisted auction for them just ended.....



. . .

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[depletedvespene]

Troll pricing again? (let's hope that is indeed the case, although I do feel sorry for the seller if it is)

[ag36]

Brand new M15

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Options-by-IBM ... 2895696659

... at a price that even Mr. Duul would balk at.

Unlikely that Mr. Duul would say that. They used to pretty regularly go for $750-$1K used, or up to $2K with the numpad. The going rate more recently is definitely less than that, but $500 starting to me seems more than fair for NIB.

More or less a collector's item, beautiful keyboard. Anyone want to make their own split buckling spring? I do.

[orihalcon]

On those JX's, he mentions that the original winner didn't pay within 48 hours, but that doesn't really stop the original high bidder from bidding again on the relisted one, so could have been that same buyer since we don't really know how high their bid was to begin with. Looks like we see the same ~$1550 bid as last time in third place (which was the second highest bid before), then second highest was $1880, and the winner got it with one bid increment of $25 over that at $1905. Other than those three high bidders, next highest bid was $500. So now we have 2 people who think they are worth $750+ each, but after that, next highest bidder was willing to pay $250 each.

Here's to more JX's being drawn out of the woodwork by these prices! Eventually they should hit sub $500 based on how bids were looking, though still not sure how usable they are without hand wiring a matrix. Details on what protocol they use is a mystery to me.

[//gainsborough]

On those JX's, he mentions that the original winner didn't pay within 48 hours, but that doesn't really stop the original high bidder from bidding again on the relisted one, so could have been that same buyer since we don't really know how high their bid was to begin with. Looks like we see the same ~$1550 bid as last time in third place (which was the second highest bid before), then second highest was $1880, and the winner got it with one bid increment of $25 over that at $1905. Other than those three high bidders, next highest bid was $500. So now we have 2 people who think they are worth $750+ each, but after that, next highest bidder was willing to pay $250 each.

Here's to more JX's being drawn out of the woodwork by these prices! Eventually they should hit sub $500 based on how bids were looking, though still not sure how usable they are without hand wiring a matrix. Details on what protocol they use is a mystery to me.

I'm pretty sure the protocol is w/e the PC Jr. uses. I think you can even use the JX board with the PC Jr. But I base this mostly on speculation So basically, I don't know anything!

[consolation]

854014529.jpg (499.76 KiB) Viewed 6012 times

Super cool 80s keyboard/case for the speccy.

The idea is that you take the motherboard out and mount it inside the enclosure. One was found here before Looks like the caps might be modable to a cherry mount? If you wanted to replace the switches and use a teensey (et al.) to make a USB keyboard. You could probably put a whole NUC / laptop mobo in the case for a super cool AIO computer. If my list of projects "to finish" wasn't getting into double digits - I'd totally snap it up. The site is in NZ$, 100$NZ = 66$US. I can help with organising the shipping, if you're not in NZ, but pm me first ok.

[Hak Foo]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alps-Glidepoin ... SwYwNbec~B

Alps numpad with trackpoint, 15 USD delivered.

The box says "mechanical keys" and appears to mention a 10 million press lifetime... but the ad mentions 1995, so I'm expecting it's far down the cheapening curve.

[xxhellfirexx]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Alps-Glidepoin ... SwYwNbec~B

Alps numpad with trackpoint, 15 USD delivered.

The box says "mechanical keys" and appears to mention a 10 million press lifetime... but the ad mentions 1995, so I'm expecting it's far down the cheapening curve.

Looks like it uses Alps SKFS switches.
http://telcontar.net/KBK/KCref/Alps_Gli ... _keypad_0/
wiki/Alps_SKFR/SKFS_series

[ekeppel]

On those JX's, he mentions that the original winner didn't pay within 48 hours, but that doesn't really stop the original high bidder from bidding again on the relisted one, so could have been that same buyer since we don't really know how high their bid was to begin with.

That would be frustrating, I'm sure. Hopefully the seller knows how to block bidders. That's what I do myself when I get a rotten apple.

It doesn't stop them from creating a new account and bidding anyway, but I've personally never run into anyone who's gone to that effort.

Anyway, hopefully the high bidder will follow through with the seller this time. They are nice looking boards!

[Blaise170]

I'm pretty sure the protocol is w/e the PC Jr. uses. I think you can even use the JX board with the PC Jr. But I base this mostly on speculation So basically, I don't know anything!

This is correct.

[//gainsborough]

I'm pretty sure the protocol is w/e the PC Jr. uses. I think you can even use the JX board with the PC Jr. But I base this mostly on speculation So basically, I don't know anything!

This is correct.

Good to get that confirmation!!

Also a NIB FK-5001 just showed up for anyone interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-FK-5001- ... 7321!US!-1

[Chyros]

Also a NIB FK-5001 just showed up for anyone interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-FK-5001- ... 7321!US!-1

Wow, that's the first time I've seen a 5001 box Oo . Nice one, had to snag that .

[//gainsborough]

Also a NIB FK-5001 just showed up for anyone interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-FK-5001- ... 7321!US!-1

Wow, that's the first time I've seen a 5001 box Oo . Nice one, had to snag that .

I had a feeling you'd be the one to snag it =P Congrats, my dude!

[Chalba]

Very cool board

[Chyros]

Also a NIB FK-5001 just showed up for anyone interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-FK-5001- ... 7321!US!-1

Wow, that's the first time I've seen a 5001 box Oo . Nice one, had to snag that .

I had a feeling you'd be the one to snag it =P Congrats, my dude!

I'll make scans of the manual and everything for people who want them .

[digital_matthew]

Also a NIB FK-5001 just showed up for anyone interested: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-FK-5001- ... 7321!US!-1

Wow, that's the first time I've seen a 5001 box Oo . Nice one, had to snag that .

I was (sort of) thinking about snagging that board. Glad you were the one that got it

[TheMilkmen]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Wang-K ... fresh=true
just bought one for $65 looking to put some nice switches in it for later. he might be willing to go lower if you want to push him a little more.

[Bass]

Not exactly sure if this qualifies as a "Great Find", but for those of you here who do not regularly check r/mechmarket:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/com ... wotd_3562/

This guy has offered to pay an EXTREMELY handsome price for "old" (late 2000's, early 2010's) kustoms, particularly those made by OTD. Earlier in the week he offered $8000+ for a 356CL. I have heard other people say in the thread that this is what these boards are actually worth, so if that's true it puts nearly everything else we have seen posted in here lately to shame, including those JX boards of course. If anyone here has one, might be a good opportunity for you.

[701c]

Another interesting find from mechmarket.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/com ... 3_w_paypal

This guy somehow found 4 brand new unsavers. He is selling them for around $2k each. He has already sold 2 to one guy.

[Bass]

Another interesting find from mechmarket.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/com ... 3_w_paypal

This guy somehow found 4 brand new unsavers. He is selling them for around $2k each. He has already sold 2 to one guy.

Well damn, I actually really want one. Obviously, the price is sky-high ($1950+shipping) and I already have an Unsaver, but this one (pn 1386965) has some rather unique keycaps and it's NIB.

[JP!]

Another interesting find from mechmarket.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/com ... 3_w_paypal

This guy somehow found 4 brand new unsavers. He is selling them for around $2k each. He has already sold 2 to one guy.

Well damn, I actually really want one. Obviously, the price is sky-high ($1950+shipping) and I already have an Unsaver, but this one (pn 1386965) has some rather unique keycaps and it's NIB.

Yeah and there was another NIB Unsaver with the same keys I believe that sold on Mechmarket several months ago.

[701c]

Another interesting find from mechmarket.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/com ... 3_w_paypal

This guy somehow found 4 brand new unsavers. He is selling them for around $2k each. He has already sold 2 to one guy.

Well damn, I actually really want one. Obviously, the price is sky-high ($1950+shipping) and I already have an Unsaver, but this one (pn 1386965) has some rather unique keycaps and it's NIB.

Yeah and there was another NIB Unsaver with the same keys I believe that sold on Mechmarket several months ago.

Probably the same guy. He did not know the value of the keyboard at first according to his post history. His first mechmarket post was incredibly shady though. IIRC his timestamp was just a picture of a table.

[Bass]

Probably the same guy. He did not know the value of the keyboard at first according to his post history. His first mechmarket post was incredibly shady though. IIRC his timestamp was just a picture of a table.

Just checked, it is indeed the same guy. But this time has timestamps and he posted more than one for sale, so hopefully it's legit this time?

Perhaps what is also surprising is that one guy bought two from him so quickly.

[//gainsborough]

Aw dang I was hoping this wouldn’t hit DT, hahaha. I didn’t have much of a shot to begin with with but now it’s all over >_<

[JP!]

Aw dang I was hoping this wouldn’t hit DT, hahaha. I didn’t have much of a shot to begin with with but now it’s all over >_<

Ah dang. I don't think too many people would be offering above $2k for one of these though. I can't say I'd offer that much dosh for one but one converted and decked out with APL keys would be awesome.

[Bass]

Aw dang I was hoping this wouldn’t hit DT, hahaha. I didn’t have much of a shot to begin with with but now it’s all over >_<

Ah dang. I don't think too many people would be offering above $2k for one of these though. I can't say I'd offer that much dosh for one but one converted and decked out with APL keys would be awesome.

I am guessing he offered him trades instead of his asking price? Can't say I'd blame you for trying. I'll admit I also tried something like that as soon as I saw that post but it wouldn't surprise me if he will prefer straight cash anyway considering that he was able to sell two already. I am kind of wondering if other people here would consider the seller's asking price to be fair. Yes, it's NIB and it's a rare variant, but it's also the same price as the APL one that sold on ebay not too long ago (which I believe was fully restored and xhwatsit converted by kuato).

[//gainsborough]

Aw dang I was hoping this wouldn’t hit DT, hahaha. I didn’t have much of a shot to begin with with but now it’s all over >_<

Ah dang. I don't think too many people would be offering above $2k for one of these though. I can't say I'd offer that much dosh for one but one converted and decked out with APL keys would be awesome.

I am guessing he offered him trades instead of his asking price? Can't say I'd blame you for trying. I'll admit I also tried something like that as soon as I saw that post but it wouldn't surprise me if he will prefer straight cash anyway considering that he was able to sell two already. I am kind of wondering if other people here would consider the seller's asking price to be fair. Yes, it's NIB and it's a rare variant, but it's also the same price as the APL one that sold on ebay not too long ago (which I believe was fully restored and xhwatsit converted by kuato).

Indeed. Trades to knock down the initial price a bit >_< Haven't heard back from the seller yet though so it's not looking good anyway, haha.

[Bass]

Well, can't believe I am saying this but I bought the Unsaver at the seller's asking price. As we all suspected he was much more interested in cash than keyboards, so he wasn't accepting trades unfortunately. This is by far the most amount of money I have spent on a single keyboard, and to be honest I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger if this wasn't a unique variant that's NIB like this one was. Yes, I know it's an insane amount and I might very well regret it should someone else discover a huge truckload of these years later but a really nice Unsaver just makes me salivate every time. I also have a few beamsprings left over from my previous hauls which I was originally keeping on hand for trades, so most likely I will try to sell at least one of those to help recoup the cost. If this weren't the case I probably wouldn't have been able to rationalize spending that much money. It probably would have made more sense to do something like this when JP! posted the link to that pair of $1.5k space cadets a little while back, but oh well.

I'll be sure to post plenty of pics once it arrives to me, as I am very interested in how well preserved it will look on the inside. I asked the seller to provide more pics of the box it came in and to my surprise it was not IBM branded:

Spoiler:

The tape on the side says "United Systems, Oklahoma City", which appears to be an IBM business partner company:

Spoiler:

Wondering if IBM made these variants of Unsavers only for a specific set of companies? In any case, I am guessing the seller got these directly from a liquidation sale from this company since he is also located in OK.

[//gainsborough]

Well, can't believe I am saying this but I bought the Unsaver at the seller's asking price. As we all suspected he was much more interested in cash than keyboards, so he wasn't accepting trades unfortunately. This is by far the most amount of money I have spent on a single keyboard, and to be honest I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger if this wasn't a unique variant that's NIB like this one was. Yes, I know it's an insane amount and I might very well regret it should someone else discover a huge truckload of these years later but a really nice Unsaver just makes me salivate every time. I also have a few beamsprings left over from my previous hauls which I was originally keeping on hand for trades, so most likely I will try to sell at least one of those to help recoup the cost. If this weren't the case I probably wouldn't have been able to rationalize spending that much money. It probably would have made more sense to do something like this when JP! posted the link to that pair of $1.5k space cadets a little while back, but oh well.

I'll be sure to post plenty of pics once it arrives to me, as I am very interested in how well preserved it will look on the inside. I asked the seller to provide more pics of the box it came in and to my surprise it was not IBM branded:

Spoiler:

The tape on the side says "United Systems, Oklahoma City", which appears to be an IBM business partner company:

Spoiler:

Wondering if IBM made these variants of Unsavers only for a specific set of companies? In any case, I am guessing the seller got these directly from a liquidation sale from this company since he is also located in OK.

Congrats, dude! I think the fact that I'm insanely jealous goes without saying - but seriously I'm happy it went to someone who will obviously cherish it!

[Bass]

Thanks! To be honest, I already have another Unsaver which I use very frequently but it isn't anywhere near as cool or immaculate as this one (although it has an xwhatsit controller and I ANSI modded it), so I might be open to trading or selling it in the future.

In the meantime I also noticed that besides the United Systems branding on the tape, the boxes say DakTech:
http://daktech.com/about-us/

This company was established in 1990 as a parts supplier for IBM, 5 years after the board was manufactured. I have no doubt that the board I am about to get is in fantastic shape but I now question if it's actually NIB.