Just accidentally won a Model M on Ebay!

grasshopper · 20 Nov 2011, 19:35

OK, strictly speaking it wasn't an accident. What happened was that I was browsing Ebay to see how much Model Ms are currently going for because I'm considering selling (or trading) an old ANSI model that I own. I came across an auction for a white label model M with only 10 minutes to go (link). So I decided to put in a lowball speculative snipe just for the hell of it. To my surprise I won on my maximum bid by just 10p!

fossala · 20 Nov 2011, 19:48

It's not in very good condition.
EDIT: I'm a lil' drunk I meant to say congrats.

grasshopper · 20 Nov 2011, 20:11

fossala wrote:It's not in very good condition.

Yeah, that's the main thing that concerns me. The seller only provided a small blurred photo of the keyboard which is generally not a good sign. And the lead looks a mess which is also not a good sign.

But still, he claims it's in working order and in my experience even the dirtiest model Ms generally clean up very well. So I'm hoping my gamble will have paid off. Time will tell.

Matuka · 20 Nov 2011, 20:12

lmao. nice snipe. :]

fossala · 20 Nov 2011, 20:28

You are missing the Esc Key top. I have a spare I can send you.

Soarer · 20 Nov 2011, 20:29

As long as it's not a rubber dome

grasshopper · 20 Nov 2011, 20:38

fossala wrote:You are missing the Esc Key top. I have a spare I can send you.

Thanks. I'll bear that in mind.

grasshopper · 20 Nov 2011, 20:40

Soarer wrote:As long as it's not a rubber dome

Yeah that did occur to me. However, I think the rubber dome Models are only Blue Label. But I could be wrong.

grasshopper · 24 Nov 2011, 22:38

It arrived yesterday and I'm pleased to say that overall it's not too shabby.

I'll start with the bad news. The ESC Keycap was missing and the numpad enter key was permanently depressed. I think possibly the stabiliser had come out of position. I managed to prise the key up and I reseated the stabiliser. It now works but it's not as crisp as the other keys. I'm not sure whether the problem is dirt, a damaged spring, or whether the stabiliser has become slightly bent. I suspect the latter. Does anyone know where to get a metal stabiliser for an early Model M? The other issue is that the feet don't snap firmly into position as they would on a newer board. I'm not sure whether that can be fixed.

The good news is that all the other keys and keycaps are fine and there are only very minor blemishes on the case. Not bad for a keyboard made in 1988. Once I've cleaned it I believe it will look almost brand new.

Soarer · 25 Nov 2011, 00:27

To figure out if it's spring or stabilizer, have you tried fitting a 1-unit key in place of the keypad enter?

Otherwise, sounds pretty good - they tend to clean up well

grasshopper · 28 Nov 2011, 12:04

Soarer wrote:To figure out if it's spring or stabilizer, have you tried fitting a 1-unit key in place of the keypad enter?

No need. It turned out to be an easy fix. I removed the switch and noticed that the stabiliser was very slightly bent in the middle. I was tempted to try and straighten it out using some pliers. But a little voice in the back of my head was telling me that that probably wasn't a good idea. So instead, I prised off the large plus key above enter for comparison purposes, and noticed that its stabiliser also had a small bend in the middle but facing the opposite direction. You can probably guess where this is going.

I removed the stabiliser from the key, rotated it 180 degrees, and then re-attached it to the key. I put the key back on the keyboard and now it works perfectly.