Official names for IBM 75/87/104/122 key terminal keyboards

sharktastica · 18 Oct 2023, 18:15

A few weeks ago, I was looking for layout diagrams for IBM 3270 family terminal keyboards and I saw some specific names being used to describe styles of IBM keyboards that I don't think I've seen mentioned before (at least, contemporary in keyboard communities). IBM Base Keyboard and IBM Converged Keyboard, used to contrast earlier terminal keyboards to the IBM Enhanced Keyboard (that I'm sure most are familiar with). They don't refer to a single keyboard product, but the form factor and physical layout as a combination.

See my website for an extended write-up and how it will affect my content going forward: https://sharktastica.co.uk/327X_new_names

Summary:

Base Keyboard: 75-key and 87-key layouts introduced with IBM 3276/3278/3279 (Model Bs) and reused for IBM 3104/3178 (Model Fs)
Converged Keyboard:* 104-key (aka, "unsaver") and 122-key ("battleship") layouts used with many terminals as both Model F and M keyboards
Enhanced Keyboard: 101-105-key Model M

* "Converged" is in fact a term I've heard before - the IBM 5271 Converged Keyboard, a 122-key Model F for IBM 3270 PCs. I didn't realise it extended to all 122-key (and 104) keyboards, however.

Visual summary:

: base-converged copy.jpg (983.49 KiB) Viewed 4751 times

Photo credits: myself, theMK, Ellipse @ modelfkeyboards.com

Source material:

Muirium · 18 Oct 2023, 18:43

Specifically this page spread here, from document GA23:

: ASCII Emulation Keyboard Maps - Keyboard Identification.jpg (577.57 KiB) Viewed 4732 times

GA27 then goes on to populate them for each supported national layout. Nice finds, Admiral.

Any idea what this here Kishsaver's layout was called? I think I've seen it described by IBM as a 4704 type something-or-other (searching DT isn't bringing it up), along with numeric names for its brother 4704s like the 77. I don't recall having seen the layout itself described, however.

sharktastica · 18 Oct 2023, 19:10

Muirium wrote: ↑
18 Oct 2023, 18:43
Any idea what this here Kishsaver's layout was called? I think I've seen it described by IBM as a 4704 type something-or-other (searching DT isn't bringing it up), along with numeric names for its brother 4704s like the 77. I don't recall having seen the layout itself described, however.

I'm not sure if the layout has a specific name, but I would refer to it after the keyboard's name or simply number of keys - in this case, 4704 alphameric layout or 4704 66-key layout.

50-key: Model 100, Function Keyboard
66-key: Model 200, Alphameric Keyboard
77-key: Model 300, Extended Alphameric Keyboard
107-key: Model 400, Administrative Keyboard

(For the "pingmaster", I think they're generally just called "IBM 4704 102-Key Keyboard". Documentation on those is harder to find since all pingmasters are RPQ keyboards.)

See IBM 4700 Finance Communication System Installation Planning (#GC31-2018-3) for names (start from PDF page 115). What's interesting to note is how 66-key and 77-key are depicted with IBM 3270 style layouts in it (note the vertical return keys and bottom row design).

Muirium · 19 Oct 2023, 16:11

Yes, the 4704 Model 200, that was it. The Alphameric Keyboard. I'll try to remember it's an IBM Alphameric Kishsaver.