Hey my first thread, so hello all.
Right im interested in obtaining a UK layout model M, but i may consider other ISO layouts
preferably i would like white label/silver label even better if its pre 90s, however i will consider lexmark (blue label) if its a decent price.

thanks in advance.

only got a german model m and the key layout is different z and u among others are in the wrong place...i will move this keyboard between PCs so dont really want to have to use software to use it even though i will remap a bit on my pc.

thanks for help though also what is the Ambra Model M?? i have not heard of it.
edit- nvm ambra is also not qwerty.

RougeRambo wrote: and the key layout is different z and u among others are in the wrong place...

QWERTY vs QWERTZ is the least problem, one of the brilliant things about the Model M is that all the 1x1 caps
have the same profile, so they can freely be moved regardless of rows !
The placement of the special national German characters and symbols vs
what you are used to from the UK-layout is probably going to annoy you .
(It annoys me, unless I don't look at the board at all,
and Danish layout is much closer to the German layout than UK is)

You can buy brand-new cap-sets from Unicomp in America https://pckeyboard.com/
for 30USD plus 20USD shipping, but that is probably over the UK customs-limit, so if the packet gets
custom-processed on arrival to the UK it could end up costing you a lot more (VAT and processing-fees) .

What is ' a reasonable price ' BTW ?
IMHO the 60-80£ used IBM M's often fetch on eBay.co.uk is not 'reasonable' in most cases ..
You can get a brand-new UK-layout Unicomp with English layout for 95£ plus UK-shipping from
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_deta ... RODUCT=907

PM'd

I also have got a IBM Model M SSK Blue Label, but I dont think you gonna pay its price : )

Peter wrote:

RougeRambo wrote: and the key layout is different z and u among others are in the wrong place...

QWERTY vs QWERTZ is the least problem, one of the brilliant things about the Model M is that all the 1x1 caps
have the same profile, so they can freely be moved regardless of rows !
The placement of the special national German characters and symbols vs
what you are used to from the UK-layout is probably going to annoy you .
(It annoys me, unless I don't look at the board at all,
and Danish layout is much closer to the German layout than UK is)

You can buy brand-new cap-sets from Unicomp in America https://pckeyboard.com/
for 30USD plus 20USD shipping, but that is probably over the UK customs-limit, so if the packet gets
custom-processed on arrival to the UK it could end up costing you a lot more (VAT and processing-fees) .

What is ' a reasonable price ' BTW ?


IMHO the 60-80£ used IBM M's often fetch on eBay.co.uk is not 'reasonable' in most cases ..
You can get a brand-new UK-layout Unicomp with English layout for 95£ plus UK-shipping from
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_deta ... RODUCT=907

thanks for your reply, very informative
quick fyi i am from channel islands so we dont pay VAT \o/ only gst of 5% on good over £200 if imported and 5% on everything locally, used to be nothing.

http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_deta ... RODUCT=908

If you're aren't paying vat, then £99 for an Endurapro sounds like a pretty good deal to me. This gets you a new model m, with trackpoint(ish)(tm), USB, UK layout - from the UK. Plus The Keyboard Company, are a nice bunch of guys.

Not quite as heavy as the really old models, and it comes with single piece keycaps.

Edit:
There's also
http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard_deta ... RODUCT=907

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IBM-Model-M-1 ... 0884448589

Expensive but new apparently.

I got slightly yellowed -90 model m 1391411 fs: http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3949/img3512yg.jpg Fully working, F2 cap missing. 30€ + shipping (20-30€ to EU)

i have sorted out a deal with mhinsch, pending payment/delivery, thanks for help all , will hopefully be more active on these forums in the coming months, im rather into my peripherals in general

Denon D2000 headphones
RAT 7 mouse
Soon to have IBM Model m ISO keyboard
Second horizontal 21" montior for irc, web browsing, coding etc.
Razer extended mouse mat.
Logitech stand alone mic.

payment complete and board sent, awaiting delivery.

the model m from mhinsch arived today as described, thanks for swift service and an accurate description i have yet to plug her in and go because my adaptors have not yet arrived, but all looks and feels amazing.

but i do have two quick questions;
1) do model m dates go: month, day, year or day, month, year
2) do you know how many key roll over this keyboard will be with both a DIN5 to ps/2 converter and a blue cube ps/2 to usb converter?

thanks again, can confirm for trusted seller etc/

RougeRambo wrote:the model m from mhinsch arived today as described, thanks for swift service and an accurate description i have yet to plug her in and go because my adaptors have not yet arrived, but all looks and feels amazing.

but i do have two quick questions;
1) do model m dates go: month, day, year or day, month, year
2) do you know how many key roll over this keyboard will be with both a DIN5 to ps/2 converter and a blue cube ps/2 to usb converter?

thanks again, can confirm for trusted seller etc/

1. Month-Day-Year
2. Key rollover hasn't been a problem when using strictly PS/2. However, I've ran into key rollover issues using active USB converters. Certain converters work better than others, but none allow me to play games (hold down W, hold shift to begin running, un-hold shift, and now W is not working anymore and need to hit W again to walk forward).

Trent wrote:

RougeRambo wrote:the model m from mhinsch arived today as described, thanks for swift service and an accurate description i have yet to plug her in and go because my adaptors have not yet arrived, but all looks and feels amazing.

but i do have two quick questions;
1) do model m dates go: month, day, year or day, month, year
2) do you know how many key roll over this keyboard will be with both a DIN5 to ps/2 converter and a blue cube ps/2 to usb converter?

thanks again, can confirm for trusted seller etc/

1. Month-Day-Year
2. Key rollover hasn't been a problem when using strictly PS/2. However, I've ran into key rollover issues using active USB converters. Certain converters work better than others, but none allow me to play games (hold down W, hold shift to begin running, un-hold shift, and now W is not working anymore and need to hit W again to walk forward).

thankyou, i guess the only way to tell with games is too play with the board to a degree ( im using a blue cube converter btw). If it is a big issue i may just have to swap mobos with a mate, or buy a secondary keyboard.

RougeRambo wrote:

Trent wrote:

RougeRambo wrote:the model m from mhinsch arived today as described, thanks for swift service and an accurate description i have yet to plug her in and go because my adaptors have not yet arrived, but all looks and feels amazing.

but i do have two quick questions;
1) do model m dates go: month, day, year or day, month, year
2) do you know how many key roll over this keyboard will be with both a DIN5 to ps/2 converter and a blue cube ps/2 to usb converter?

thanks again, can confirm for trusted seller etc/

1. Month-Day-Year
2. Key rollover hasn't been a problem when using strictly PS/2. However, I've ran into key rollover issues using active USB converters. Certain converters work better than others, but none allow me to play games (hold down W, hold shift to begin running, un-hold shift, and now W is not working anymore and need to hit W again to walk forward).

thankyou, i guess the only way to tell with games is too play with the board to a degree ( im using a blue cube converter btw). If it is a big issue i may just have to swap mobos with a mate, or buy a secondary keyboard.

You could also check out Soarer's adapter, IIRC it supports NKRO on USB.

will have a look into soarer's now, thanks

RougeRambo wrote:quick fyi i am from channel islands so we dont pay VAT \o/ only gst of 5% on good over £200 if imported and 5% on everything locally, used to be nothing.

I'm very interested in hearing more about how that works ..
What happens when you send something to 'Mainland UK' or a EU-country ?
Postage for those Unicomp-caps is the same for 1 as for 10 sets - See where I'm going with this ?

Peter wrote:

RougeRambo wrote:quick fyi i am from channel islands so we dont pay VAT \o/ only gst of 5% on good over £200 if imported and 5% on everything locally, used to be nothing.

I'm very interested in hearing more about how that works ..
What happens when you send something to 'Mainland UK' or a EU-country ?
Postage for those Unicomp-caps is the same for 1 as for 10 sets - See where I'm going with this ?

i do indeed and have wondered about it before, technically i can order and claim VAT back then ship to anywhere in the world VAT free, as no one need know the contents of the parcel.

so if someone was inclined they could use this system to turn a profit or save money which is what a local company did untill a loop hole was closed (http://www.game.com). but it can still be done on an individual basis, so i could technically group buy and save 12.5% on orders over £200 as long as you remember to add in postage from here.

and save 17.5% on orders under £200 or i can just do 2 £199 orders and save the full 17.5%, although laws are changing over here on the limit, so could be subject to change a little bit.