Electronics Plus keyboard haul

[XMIT]

More photos at https://plus.google.com/photos/10439222 ... 4531610913.

I took my second trip to Electronics Plus today. Here are the good that came home with me.

1. Apple Keyboard. Small-ish, Alps Salmon tactile switches. This came home with me instead of an Apple Extended Keyboard. None left.


2. 3. Two Apple M0110A Mac Plus keyboards. As they had mutually exclusive sets of broken sliders and missing key caps I brought both home. I will make one working keyboard and gladly pass on the other to anyone looking for parts. None left.


4. Apple Extended Keyboard II. Alps White damped/silenced sliders. Nothing special but an old personal favorite that brings back lots of good memories from high school. Cindy has 5-10 more.


5. Unknown. Fujitsu Clicky 3rd generation switches. A wonderful feeling heavy metal backed keyboard. I enjoy these switches. Cindy has 2-3 more.


6. Sperry Unisys terminal keyboard, my second. Keytronics foam and foil. Cindy has about 5 more.


7. ComputerLab International terminal keyboard. Vintage Cherry White and Vintage Cherry Black. Amazing smooth feel. These will be a worthy host to my Round 5a keycaps. I will need to feed 7bot to get enough keys. I'll build it as an ISO board. Cindy has about 3-4 more, some missing key caps.


8. Texas Instruments AT ANSI keyboard. Alps white clicky switches. Cindy has I think 2-3 more, maybe missing keys.


9. Tandy TRS-80 PC keyboard. Fujitsy linear 3rd generation switches. A little scratchy but will be amazing when cleaned and lubricated. Cindy has I think 8-10 more. OMG these keycaps are hard to pull and often take the slider with them.


10. IBM Model M, Lexmark 1995 (!), silver label buckling spring. None left.


11. Acer PS2 keyboard. Alps white clicky switches in ANSI layout. Cindy has one more.


12. IBM Model M, 08 Jun 1989. Closest I've seen to 28 Jun 1989. Buckling spring. Protected by vinyl keyboard cover so in almost new condition. None left this nice though Cindy has 50-100 more Model Ms in various condition (including Dell and AT&T branded variants upstairs and also 50-100 rubber dome Ms.)


Not keyboards:

* PS2 cable for eldorange. He recently bought his first Model M which has no cable. eldorange this is a gift from me and Cindy. PM me and I'll get it sent your way.


* 3M DK-468 keycap puller. Not purchased from Cindy but from here: http://www.stanleysupplyservices.com/3m ... r/p/46-001. Nicest ring type key puller I've ever used. Made from extra durable plastic, grips keys like none other. Way better than the usual Chinese ones.

[XMIT]

The album should be shared publicly now. Whoops.

[Touch_It]

Nice! It must be an absolute blast going through all these keyboards.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

The ComputerLab International terminal keyboard — the white switches appear to be [wiki]Taiwan jet axis[/wiki], and the black switches look suspect to me too, possibly Yali.

[XMIT]

I think you are correct about the white switches. The black ones definitely say Cherry.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

The white ones are presumably linear?

[XMIT]

Yep. Linear and stiffer as well. No chance for force measurements yet.

[Redmaus]

I thought the first one was supposed to have apple orange switches. Please correct me if I am wrong, but there are only two apple keyboards like that the apple extended keyboard I and the apple extended keyboard II.

[Muirium]

Consider yourself corrected, Redmaus!

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Apple_Standard_Keyboard

Those look salmon to me. And XMIT's AEK II's are cream, as they should be.


@XMIT: Are you quite sure about the Cherry switch branding on those ComputerLab boards? I do need to get something MX to wear Round 5 here as well! But I'm not in the mood for fakes.

Also, haven't you tried a real keypuller?



I wouldn't bother with a ringpuller, they've a bad habit of scratching up caps every once in a while. I haven't harmed anything though with one of these wire fellas.

[XMIT]

Are you quite sure about the Cherry switch branding on those ComputerLab boards?

Yes. I will get good macro shots when I tear into the keyboard. The F keys seem to be something else but the main keys look and feel like vintage Blacks in addition to actually saying Cherry on the key switch casing.

I do need to get something MX to wear Round 5 here as well! But I'm not in the mood for fakes.

Also, haven't you tried a real keypuller?

You mean like this?


Though Cindy says she managed to break even one of these. She tends to use a PCI slot cover.

I wouldn't bother with a ringpuller...

Normally I wouldn't either. This one is different. Really, try one out sometime. Somehow the plastic is softer while the whole puller is vastly stronger and stiffer. I don't know exactly what these are made out of but they are really high quality.

[photekq]

The Cherry ones are the best for 1u->2u keys. The wires are already spread, you just put it over a key then push them together.

[facetsesame]

I'm fairly sure that your number 5 there is a Data General keyboard for their later Dasher terminals, as used with their Nova minicomputers.

Your ComputerLab 122 should look stunning with Round 5a caps. I've thought about doing exactly the same myself!

[Muirium]

Dashers haunt Facet, like a Great White did for Captain Ahab.

Those ComputerLab caps: doubleshots clearly. But who made them? Are they Cherry profile?

I had one of those Cherry keypullers just like Photekq's picture, but I gave it away to someone in need of their first wire puller. The Filco style works better for me.

[seebart]

I had one of those Cherry keypullers just like Photekq's picture, but I gave it away to someone in need of their first wire puller. The Filco style works better for me.

I've always preferred the wire filco style puller over the clip in whatever form. Something like this would be nice:

filco_black_wire_key_puller_large.jpg (15.09 KiB) Viewed 6113 times

[eldorange]

Hi XMIT and Miss Cindy!!!

I am so overwhelmed and NEVER expected your SDL cable gift!!!!

XMIT I just sent a private message...Please read it....

[XMIT]

Responded to PM.

As for all of you ring style key puller haters - I hate the cheap ones just as much as all of you do. Has anyone actually tried the 3M DK-468?

[SL89]

I'd be very down for a ComputerLab 122...

And Facet, you should make a Dasher colorway for a GB, maybe 7bit can put it in with Round 6!

[seebart]

you mean this:

31VBKXxmwCL._SY355_.jpg (9.04 KiB) Viewed 6074 times

on really tight sitting caps I have slipped and in the worst case scratched the keycap with clip style key pullers. But I have never tried the 3M DK-468 itself.

[Hak Foo]

Does the TI board have two-tone caps or is it just filthy?

[XMIT]

Does the TI board have two-tone caps or is it just filthy?

Both! Definitely two tone caps though: light gray and dark gray.

[Findecanor]

Does the Acer really have Alps? Not Acer switches?

[Muirium]

Need a higher res photo to be sure, but looks genuine Alps to me. Acer switches have a smaller housing with odd corners:



Incidentally, Google+ hates me and won't me zoom either. Bastards. JPEGs are files! Let us load them.

[XMIT]

I just pulled F6 on the Acer board and the switch body definitely says "ALPS" in all caps.

[Muirium]

Thought so. Good stuff. Acer switches are nothing great, and suffer from Model M-like rollover.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Does the Acer really have Alps? Not Acer switches?

Series:

KB-101A/102A — Alps SKCM Blue
601X — Alps SKCM Blue/White (6083 is also Alps, but low-profile switches)
631X — Acer switch
651X — rubber dome

The same case designs got re-used across the different series (whether every case shape was used for every series, I don't know, though — I doubt that the skinny case was used for the 601X).

[Redmaus]

for a key puller I just use a couple bent paper clips.

[XMIT]

You mean like this?

IMAG0779.jpg (22.02 KiB) Viewed 5974 times

I made this out of two bigger paper clips and a binder clip. Works great!

[seebart]

I've seen tons of variations on the paper clip type. Cheapest solution. Who doesn't have paper clips at hand?

e8d459316494aac0e53ace1ff2ad0a3b.png (119.08 KiB) Viewed 5970 times

[Redmaus]

It would be sad to not have paper clips at your disposal.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

It looks like you're trying to eject a Macintosh diskette — I cannot help you with that!

Bad paperclip.jpg (68.46 KiB) Viewed 5948 times