How feasible is it to acquire an AT&T 56k 460 ACW for daily use?

[Johnbo]

Hello all! First post here.

I started working from home earlier this year, which opened up a whole new world of keyboard opportunity for me since noise was no longer a concern. I love super tactile, clicky switches. I went from an MX Blue board before all of this, to discovering the world beyond Cherry and now using a board with Kailh Box Navies for my home computer and a Unicomp PC122 for my work computer.

As I've quickly fallen deeper and deeper into this hobby, I have of course been watching a lot of Chryos' amazing reviews. I saw his review of the AT&T 56k 460 ACW and knew I had to try it, so I ordered the magsep switch testers from orihalcon on ebay and love them as much as I thought I would, which brings me to this post.

Normally my google-fu is pretty strong, but despite all of my research, I just keep getting led back to the same few topics, all discussing Chryos' review. I cannot find any of these for sale, past or present, anywhere, other than DT user Backpropagated that said he had a few for sale a few months ago. Backpropagated, if you read this, do you still have any of them?

Would you all mind helping me with a few questions I have?

1 - Pricing. I couldn't find any previously sold listings for these for some comps. I'm certainly not looking to cheap out, and willing to pay a fair price for a working board, but at the same time I don't have endless funds and can't justify tons of money for this, so I'd just like to get a ballpark estimate to see if it's worth pursuing.

2 - Using with a modern PC. In Chryos' review he used a converter made by someone named Ben. If I do manage to snag one of these boards, is it possible to get in contact with this person to get a converter for myself?

I'd appreciate any help I can get, as information on this keyboard is pretty sparse!

[Engicoder]

Hi,

1) I can't help you that much on prices. I had a few that were somewhat dirty that I sold for about $50 not including shipping. I am not sure what any others have sold for, but I imagine a clean example would go for quite a bit more.
2) I am this Ben person so I can help you with the converter should you find one. You can make one using a Teensy or a Pro Micro and the appropriate wiring. The QMK based source code for the converter is here: https://github.com/engicoder/qmk_converters.

Feel free to message me with any questions.

Ben

[fls81]

Hello all! First post here.

I started working from home earlier this year, which opened up a whole new world of keyboard opportunity for me since noise was no longer a concern. I love super tactile, clicky switches. I went from an MX Blue board before all of this, to discovering the world beyond Cherry and now using a board with Kailh Box Navies for my home computer and a Unicomp PC122 for my work computer.

As I've quickly fallen deeper and deeper into this hobby, I have of course been watching a lot of Chryos' amazing reviews. I saw his review of the AT&T 56k 460 ACW and knew I had to try it, so I ordered the magsep switch testers from orihalcon on ebay and love them as much as I thought I would, which brings me to this post.

Normally my google-fu is pretty strong, but despite all of my research, I just keep getting led back to the same few topics, all discussing Chryos' review. I cannot find any of these for sale, past or present, anywhere, other than DT user Backpropagated that said he had a few for sale a few months ago. Backpropagated, if you read this, do you still have any of them?

Would you all mind helping me with a few questions I have?

1 - Pricing. I couldn't find any previously sold listings for these for some comps. I'm certainly not looking to cheap out, and willing to pay a fair price for a working board, but at the same time I don't have endless funds and can't justify tons of money for this, so I'd just like to get a ballpark estimate to see if it's worth pursuing.

2 - Using with a modern PC. In Chryos' review he used a converter made by someone named Ben. If I do manage to snag one of these boards, is it possible to get in contact with this person to get a converter for myself?

I'd appreciate any help I can get, as information on this keyboard is pretty sparse!

Well I can help fill in a few gaps, perhaps.

If you are willing to deal with a different layout, the 56K 430 ACZ also uses magsep switches, and it seems a little less rare (on eBay at least), with at least two sold in the past year or so. I managed to pick up one of those in April for around $130, the previous one sold around $75 if I remember correctly. Sadly eBay has purged its sale history since then, so I don't have any information before that.

Spoiler:

The other alternative is the one that XMIT came across in an older thread on deskthority about the switches:viewtopic.php?t=19512
That one, the 56K 420 ADA I have never seen come across eBay in the year or so I've been watching the AT&T vintage keyboard listings.

Spoiler:

Regarding the 56K 460 ACW, last one I saw was attached to a terminal for around $200; that was back in June of 2019. No sign of it since that I've seen. This all only counts for US eBay though, so other sites/classifieds/recycling centers may be more forthcoming.

2) I am this Ben person so I can help you with the converter should you find one. You can make one using a Teensy or a Pro Micro and the appropriate wiring. The QMK based source code for the converter is here: https://github.com/engicoder/qmk_converters.

Wish I had known about this earlier before I tried to use CommonSense on mine! Well, off the shelf you come then...

[Johnbo]

That's some good info and a fantastic resource, thank you for sharing, Ben!

If you are willing to deal with a different layout, the 56K 430 ACZ also uses magsep switches, and it seems a little less rare (on eBay at least), with at least two sold in the past year or so. I managed to pick up one of those in April for around $130, the previous one sold around $75 if I remember correctly. Sadly eBay has purged its sale history since then, so I don't have any information before that.

What a fascinating layout! I think the 122 layout is preferred, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for those as well, as that might be fun to use in its own way. I figured there had to be more boards that used these switches, I just was having trouble finding them. Also, that explains why I was unable to find any previous listing for magsep boards for research. Thanks!

[ayehavgunne]

I'm in the same boat. I have 2 of the switch testers and I've been looking for one of these boards for a while.

One switch tester doesn't have the foam in it and is much clickier and louder and I like it a lot more. I'm wondering what other people prefer or if they have tried it like that.

[Johnbo]

Finally found a 56k 430 ACZ! The switches are super dirty and scratchy, so I'll need to do a deep clean before I really form an opinion about them.

It needs quite a bit of TLC, but I'm so glad to finally have this in my collection!

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