IBM 5155 Model F Keyboard
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- DT Pro Member: -
I picked up an IBM 5155 "Portable" Personal Computer at Goodwill the other day. The machine itself doesn't seem to work, but really I just wanted the keyboard, so no problem there.
The keyboard:
A little dingy, but not too bad…
Opening the case:
There are three little tabs holding the darker beige cover to the main case. All three are at the top of the board with one on the left, center and right. The plastic is fragile!!!
With the case open and the caps off…I hadn’t figured out how to get the spacebar off yet.
The guts of the keyboard are held to the case by those two brass screws, one on each side.
Spacebar stabilizer hooks from underneath
Don’t do what I did – I couldn’t see any stabilizer, so I just pulled and eventually one side of the spacebar popped free. I easily could have snapped the plastic that hooks onto the stabilizer, luckily I didn’t. The only way to get to the stabilizer and unhook it from the spacebar is to separate the backplate and the barrel frame…
Here you can see a hint of the PCB through the stabilizer guide hole. When you look under the spacebar all you see are three plastic barrels, one in the middle (the actual buckling spring) and one on each side for the stabilizer.
Construction:
I’ve read that this keyboard does not have a metal plate inside of it. This confuses me since the whole thing appears to be made of metal! The keyboard is a sandwich of two metal plates, the backplate and a top plate. They both are made with the same curve so they spoon together perfectly. The backplate is a solid piece of metal, no holes through it (for rivets) like in a typical Model M. The PCB is curved and attached to the backplate with 2 large metal brads.
Backplate and PCB:
Grounding wire is attached to the PCB
Back – grounding screw goes through the PCB and attaches to the backplate
Heavy duty cable connector!
The top plate is both a solid black backdrop for the keycaps and also the frame that holds the barrels for the switches. The top plate has hooked tabs that interlock with the backplate to hold everything together.
Hooked tabs, 5 per side, hold the two plates tightly together:
One tab folded over to “lock” the plates together:
I had to bend this back to slide the 2 plates apart.
There is a foam mat between the top plate and the barrels/buckling springs. I’m guessing this helps with noise reduction and vibration. It is also sticky on both sides. I think this may help prevent dust etc from working between the plates. Everything was very clean in here…
Removed backplate and PCB:
Here you can see the stabilizer, under the top plate and completely unreachable without taking the whole keyboard apart!
Metal frame for the barrels before cleaning.
There was a match-head in the keyboard…
Cleaning the caps:
Laundry detergent and warm water. The water turned an ugly shade of brown almost instantly!
A beautiful clean keyboard!
The plastic and textures have held up amazingly well. With it clean it looks almost brand new!
“Portable” Personal Computer!!! I love it!
Next Steps:
Figure out how to use Soarer’s Converter and get this board back in circulation!
The keyboard:
A little dingy, but not too bad…
Opening the case:
There are three little tabs holding the darker beige cover to the main case. All three are at the top of the board with one on the left, center and right. The plastic is fragile!!!
With the case open and the caps off…I hadn’t figured out how to get the spacebar off yet.
The guts of the keyboard are held to the case by those two brass screws, one on each side.
Spacebar stabilizer hooks from underneath
Don’t do what I did – I couldn’t see any stabilizer, so I just pulled and eventually one side of the spacebar popped free. I easily could have snapped the plastic that hooks onto the stabilizer, luckily I didn’t. The only way to get to the stabilizer and unhook it from the spacebar is to separate the backplate and the barrel frame…
Here you can see a hint of the PCB through the stabilizer guide hole. When you look under the spacebar all you see are three plastic barrels, one in the middle (the actual buckling spring) and one on each side for the stabilizer.
Construction:
I’ve read that this keyboard does not have a metal plate inside of it. This confuses me since the whole thing appears to be made of metal! The keyboard is a sandwich of two metal plates, the backplate and a top plate. They both are made with the same curve so they spoon together perfectly. The backplate is a solid piece of metal, no holes through it (for rivets) like in a typical Model M. The PCB is curved and attached to the backplate with 2 large metal brads.
Backplate and PCB:
Grounding wire is attached to the PCB
Back – grounding screw goes through the PCB and attaches to the backplate
Heavy duty cable connector!
The top plate is both a solid black backdrop for the keycaps and also the frame that holds the barrels for the switches. The top plate has hooked tabs that interlock with the backplate to hold everything together.
Hooked tabs, 5 per side, hold the two plates tightly together:
One tab folded over to “lock” the plates together:
I had to bend this back to slide the 2 plates apart.
There is a foam mat between the top plate and the barrels/buckling springs. I’m guessing this helps with noise reduction and vibration. It is also sticky on both sides. I think this may help prevent dust etc from working between the plates. Everything was very clean in here…
Removed backplate and PCB:
Here you can see the stabilizer, under the top plate and completely unreachable without taking the whole keyboard apart!
Metal frame for the barrels before cleaning.
There was a match-head in the keyboard…
Cleaning the caps:
Laundry detergent and warm water. The water turned an ugly shade of brown almost instantly!
A beautiful clean keyboard!
The plastic and textures have held up amazingly well. With it clean it looks almost brand new!
“Portable” Personal Computer!!! I love it!
Next Steps:
Figure out how to use Soarer’s Converter and get this board back in circulation!
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Nice work. What does the other end of the cable look like? Soarer's Converter will handle XT/AT, but if it's something funny like the Kishsaver, it will need the replacement controller that's under development.
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- DT Pro Member: -
I just got my Teensy in the mail today and I'm making an adapter for the 5155. I'm using this:
The Teensy fits inside it and the pins fit through the Teensy holes quite nicely - no soldering required. (though I don't know if I'll be able to push it back in the case when connected - the wires are a bit stiff)
I just need to remap some keys with Soarer's code and load the Teensy.
The Teensy fits inside it and the pins fit through the Teensy holes quite nicely - no soldering required. (though I don't know if I'll be able to push it back in the case when connected - the wires are a bit stiff)
I just need to remap some keys with Soarer's code and load the Teensy.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
So it's XT or what?
My Kishsaver is 4 pin, too, on a wire just like that. But the only luck I've had running a converter is Hasu's experimental one, which has issues with repeating keys. The replacement controller will be the real answer for that one.
My Kishsaver is 4 pin, too, on a wire just like that. But the only luck I've had running a converter is Hasu's experimental one, which has issues with repeating keys. The replacement controller will be the real answer for that one.
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- DT Pro Member: -
Yes, mine looks to be the same as mr_a500. What is that adapter you are using?
I don't have a picture handy, but it looks like a telephone jack, but with 6 wires. The funny thing is, only 4 of the wires are used. If you look at the "Heavy duty cable connector" pic you can clearly see there are only 4 wires that actually connect to the circuit.
I've successfully gotten hasu's firmware working, but I haven't really delved into Soarer's converter yet. I know hasu's firmware doesn't support the capacitive keyboards...
I don't have a picture handy, but it looks like a telephone jack, but with 6 wires. The funny thing is, only 4 of the wires are used. If you look at the "Heavy duty cable connector" pic you can clearly see there are only 4 wires that actually connect to the circuit.
I've successfully gotten hasu's firmware working, but I haven't really delved into Soarer's converter yet. I know hasu's firmware doesn't support the capacitive keyboards...
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- DT Pro Member: -
I got the adapter here:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/190983996689
The 5155 is XT. Yes, I too noticed the strangeness of using a 6 pin connector when only 4 pins are used.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/190983996689
The 5155 is XT. Yes, I too noticed the strangeness of using a 6 pin connector when only 4 pins are used.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Then you are good to go with Soarer's converter. Just hook the four cables up to the right pins on the Teensy and load the .hex file and you're started.
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- DT Pro Member: -
Is there an idiot's guide on using Soarer's Converter? I'm reading the forum thread but I'm afraid I'm missing something. I have the v1.12 downloaded but can't make much sense of the files...
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- DT Pro Member: -
And the Teensy 2.0 fits inside the body of the adapter?mr_a500 wrote:I got the adapter here:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/190983996689
The 5155 is XT. Yes, I too noticed the strangeness of using a 6 pin connector when only 4 pins are used.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
Download this:sean4star wrote:Is there an idiot's guide on using Soarer's Converter? I'm reading the forum thread but I'm afraid I'm missing something. I have the v1.12 downloaded but can't make much sense of the files...
http://www.pjrc.com/teensy/loader.html
Run it. Then hook up your Teensy via USB, press the little reset button on the board, and flash it with this file from Soarer's archive:
Soarer_at2usb_v1.12_atmega32u4.hex
Then it's on to wiring, and then you're done!
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- DT Pro Member: -
Have you figured out the proper wiring? I don't see this connector in soarer's converter docs.mr_a500 wrote:I got the adapter here:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/190983996689
The 5155 is XT. Yes, I too noticed the strangeness of using a 6 pin connector when only 4 pins are used.
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- DT Pro Member: -
sean4star wrote:Is there an idiot's guide on using Soarer's Converter? I'm reading the forum thread but I'm afraid I'm missing something. I have the v1.12 downloaded but can't make much sense of the files...
Urgh! I see what I was missing. I had downloaded all the v1.12 files, but you also need the v1.10 zip to get all the tools etc. Maybe now I can make some sense of it...
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- DT Pro Member: -
I'm going by the wiring this guy did:sean4star wrote: Have you figured out the proper wiring? I don't see this connector in soarer's converter docs.
http://www.brimstudio.org/2013/10/ibm-model-f-restore/
Hopefully he was right. I don't want to wire it wrong and fry my controller.
- Muirium
- µ
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Main keyboard: HHKB Type-S with Bluetooth by Hasu
- Main mouse: Apple Magic Mouse
- Favorite switch: Gotta Try 'Em All
- DT Pro Member: µ
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- Location: Belgium, land of Liberty Wafles and Freedom Fries
- Main keyboard: G80-3K with Clears
- Favorite switch: Capacitative BS
- DT Pro Member: 0049
Heh, I heard that's a classic way to lose an afternoon.sean4star wrote:I picked up an IBM 5155 "Portable" Personal Computer at Goodwill the other day. The machine itself doesn't seem to work, but really I just wanted the keyboard, so no problem there.
Spacebar stabilizer hooks from underneath
[unhooked spacebar pic]
Don’t do what I did – I couldn’t see any stabilizer, so I just pulled and eventually one side of the spacebar popped free. I easily could have snapped the plastic that hooks onto the stabilizer, luckily I didn’t. The only way to get to the stabilizer and unhook it from the spacebar is to separate the backplate and the barrel frame…
If you want some hints getting it back together again or want to tweak the spacebar's weight while you're at it, check my Model F (dis)assembly tips. My only gripe is that I didn't take pictures...
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- DT Pro Member: -
Is this for a Model F or a Kishaver? My 5155 only has red, white, black, and brown. No orange or yellow. Any suggestions for a safe way to test this without ruining the controller?
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- DT Pro Member: -
Found this in Soarer's converter thread:
This also matches what mr_a500 posted...
Soarer wrote:I think they vary... at least, the PC/XT colours are different to the 122-key's.
Let me know exactly which keyboards and I'll check my 'boards to see. Pics of the cable inside the keyboard would help to verify that yours matches mine!
Here's a couple of pics I had handy
Inside a PC/XT keyboard...
This also matches what mr_a500 posted...
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- Location: Classified
- Main keyboard: IBM Model F122, AEK Orange ALPS click modded
- Main mouse: Logitech Marathon Mouse
- Favorite switch: Model F Capacitive Buckling Spring
- DT Pro Member: -
Nice find. I'll have to comb my local thrift shops.sean4star wrote:I picked up an IBM 5155 "Portable" Personal Computer at Goodwill the other day. The machine itself doesn't seem to work, but really I just wanted the keyboard, so no problem there.
The keyboard:
A little dingy, but not too bad…
Opening the case:
There are three little tabs holding the darker beige cover to the main case. All three are at the top of the board with one on the left, center and right. The plastic is fragile!!!
With the case open and the caps off…I hadn’t figured out how to get the spacebar off yet.
The guts of the keyboard are held to the case by those two brass screws, one on each side.
Spacebar stabilizer hooks from underneath
Don’t do what I did – I couldn’t see any stabilizer, so I just pulled and eventually one side of the spacebar popped free. I easily could have snapped the plastic that hooks onto the stabilizer, luckily I didn’t. The only way to get to the stabilizer and unhook it from the spacebar is to separate the backplate and the barrel frame…
Here you can see a hint of the PCB through the stabilizer guide hole. When you look under the spacebar all you see are three plastic barrels, one in the middle (the actual buckling spring) and one on each side for the stabilizer.
Construction:
I’ve read that this keyboard does not have a metal plate inside of it. This confuses me since the whole thing appears to be made of metal! The keyboard is a sandwich of two metal plates, the backplate and a top plate. They both are made with the same curve so they spoon together perfectly. The backplate is a solid piece of metal, no holes through it (for rivets) like in a typical Model M. The PCB is curved and attached to the backplate with 2 large metal brads.
Backplate and PCB:
Grounding wire is attached to the PCB
Back – grounding screw goes through the PCB and attaches to the backplate
Heavy duty cable connector!
The top plate is both a solid black backdrop for the keycaps and also the frame that holds the barrels for the switches. The top plate has hooked tabs that interlock with the backplate to hold everything together.
Hooked tabs, 5 per side, hold the two plates tightly together:
One tab folded over to “lock” the plates together:
I had to bend this back to slide the 2 plates apart.
There is a foam mat between the top plate and the barrels/buckling springs. I’m guessing this helps with noise reduction and vibration. It is also sticky on both sides. I think this may help prevent dust etc from working between the plates. Everything was very clean in here…
Removed backplate and PCB:
Here you can see the stabilizer, under the top plate and completely unreachable without taking the whole keyboard apart!
Metal frame for the barrels before cleaning.
There was a match-head in the keyboard…
Cleaning the caps:
Laundry detergent and warm water. The water turned an ugly shade of brown almost instantly!
A beautiful clean keyboard!
The plastic and textures have held up amazingly well. With it clean it looks almost brand new!
“Portable” Personal Computer!!! I love it!
Next Steps:
Figure out how to use Soarer’s Converter and get this board back in circulation!
- facetsesame
- Mad Dasher
- Location: UK
- Main keyboard: Ducky Legend
- Main mouse: CST L-Trac
- Favorite switch: MX red for linear, white for click
- DT Pro Member: 0092
So that's how the shop date works... Great pics!sean4star wrote:
- facetsesame
- Mad Dasher
- Location: UK
- Main keyboard: Ducky Legend
- Main mouse: CST L-Trac
- Favorite switch: MX red for linear, white for click
- DT Pro Member: 0092
I was thinking 5.29.84 => 4829, but perhaps not.
- Hypersphere
- Location: USA
- Main keyboard: Silenced & Lubed HHKB (Black)
- Main mouse: Logitech G403
- Favorite switch: Topre 45/55g Silenced; Various Alps; IBM Model F
- DT Pro Member: 0038
I've taken apart a few XTs, and thus far I have found the date written in marker on the back of the front piece of the case in typical US fashion. For example, 10/1/84, to mean October 1, 1984 instead of 10 January 1984.facetsesame wrote:I was thinking 5.29.84 => 4829, but perhaps not.
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- Main keyboard: 1388032
- Main mouse: Logitech 610 L/H
- Favorite switch: buckling spring
- DT Pro Member: -
Has anyone been able to cypher out the 'shop date' code yet. I thought it was the Julian date but that doesn't appear to be the case since the last 3 digits exceed 365 on some of them. Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to that 4 digit number on the internal metal plate labels. I know someone out there has cracked the code