deskthority

Hi All,
I have always liked the way this keyboard looked. I finally picked one up on ebay, it arrived and this is what I ended up with. Doesn't look so bad, lets open her up: Okay, quite a bit of rust on this thing. It is extremely crusty and much of the insides are sticky with some sort of beverage. I cleaned the case, set it aside and got to work examining the back of the motherboard. This is stock soldering: The board has some obvious water damage that goes hand in hand with the above rust issues. The board feels slightly "expanded" in parts. Similar to wet particle board that has expanded and then dried again.
Lets de-solder the switches and see whats under there: Bag o' switches (what is the ID on these?) Like I said above the board had a "soft" feel to it. Several traces did not survive the de-solder job After a night of soaking in a de-rust solution, the switchplate is much cleaner. I stripped the rest of the paint off, hit it with a wire brush and sprayed on a quick anti-rust primer to let it sit for now. So, I can drop the switches back in at this point (two have cracked housings but I think I can epoxy them if I can't find spares). Is it worth trying to wash the board and fix the traces? Are spare boards out there for purchase? Should I learn how to do that diode job I have seen a few times on this board? I wil need to use an adapter for this board anyhow.

You can find NOS switches for this keyboard on eBay AFAIK.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/352042813543 — 1 switch for $2
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182551024463 — 10 switches for $15

The momentary switch model is SKCCAF. The model of the alternate action switch remains a mystery.

Tbh I'd just replace every switch on the keyboard with NOS ones. Even if they're salvageable, the dirty ones will doubtlessly feel like dogshit on a stick.

Chyros wrote: Even if they're salvageable, the dirty ones will doubtlessly feel like dogshit on a stick.

I dunno, that sounds like it would be nice and soft to me …

lint wrote: Hi All,
I have always liked the way this keyboard looked. I finally picked one up on ebay, it arrived and this is what I ended up with.

Considering that M0110A is not very rare I would have passed this one up. On the other hand I can respect if you enjoy this type of restoration work but it looks to be in pretty rough shape. Good luck.

Daniel Beardsmore wrote: http://www.ebay.com/itm/352042813543 — 1 switch for $2
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182551024463 — 10 switches for $15

The momentary switch model is SKCCAF. The model of the alternate action switch remains a mystery.

For that price, if you were in the USA, you could almost just buy an entire IBM NOS "Pingmaster" and harvest the switches from that instead!

There's an IBM keyboard with tall cream switches?

removed

Ah yeah, my bad, I forgot about the M0110A having the tall SKCCs.

I've never used SKCC switches so this might not apply, but it might be worth taking the switches apart and cleaning the internals, since you've already got them desoldered. If they don't feel scratchy or rough, then I wouldn't bother.

seebart wrote: Considering that M0110A is not very rare I would have passed this one up. On the other hand I can respect if you enjoy this type of restoration work but it looks to be in pretty rough shape. Good luck.

I would have passed too if they posted the internals or I saw any external signed of water damage. This was just a good old fashioned "keys all press and return. no way to test, possibly parts only" sales. I am not out much money and I think I have already gone through the bulk of the time involved. Now just trying to breathe some life back into her.

scottc wrote: Ah yeah, my bad, I forgot about the M0110A having the tall SKCCs.

I've never used SKCC switches so this might not apply, but it might be worth taking the switches apart and cleaning the internals, since you've already got them desoldered. If they don't feel scratchy or rough, then I wouldn't bother.

Thanks, I will explore doing that.

Sprayed a black gloss enamel and let it harden in the Cali sun for a few days. Metal switchplate was severely pitted but there was plenty of metal left and thankfully no mounting holes were corroded. I checked and cleaned each switch as I attached it. I have two replacement switches on order and a stack of diodes on my workbench. Ill have to learn how to do that diode job.
thanks for everyone's help so far.

lint wrote:

seebart wrote: Considering that M0110A is not very rare I would have passed this one up. On the other hand I can respect if you enjoy this type of restoration work but it looks to be in pretty rough shape. Good luck.

I would have passed too if they posted the internals or I saw any external signed of water damage. This was just a good old fashioned "keys all press and return. no way to test, possibly parts only" sales. I am not out much money and I think I have already gone through the bulk of the time involved. Now just trying to breathe some life back into her.

Yeah I understand, good work sofar!