deskthority

clarification/reasoning:

Get a good quality AEK - even if you find a great one NIB it shouldn't cost anywhere near an F122. Most of the decent ones are around $150-ish. Some beaters are $50 - $100 range, and some of those may have good quality switches but more of a lottery. it would probably be ...

apple AEK II or if you can stand a little louder but better sound/feel, AEK I

I have two F122's, two F AT's, one F XT, and one F 77
I have two Model M's (1990 1391401 and a 1990 SSK)

From light to heavy:
F77->(F XT, F122)->F AT->Model M

As I've said in other threads, my favorite is the F AT. It's heavier but extremely satisfying with an amazing sound. However I am using an ...

Thank you! As you know, I bought one from the same seller and will be using this tutorial to repair the spacebar on mine also.

So, I personally think an F122 is the way to go also. For example, earlier this month I had purchased an F122 over ebay in pretty bad shape.





When it arrived, i found out it's one of the F122's with a PVC case (similar to a model m) so it doesn't have any issues with paint chips. After taking ...

i like the feel of the F AT spacebar... It's heavy but it didn't take long to get used to.

do it here's mine.

vincent wrote: 12 Jun 2021, 19:09 In the r/watches server, some punk straight up said my watch is too big on me. First of all, that’s just rude. Why did he feel the need to even say that?

People say my F122 is too big for me, but it's the last thing they get to say.

fwiw i have no issues with my f77 spacebar

Also, I wouldn't say F's are that much more smoother than M's. The trick to getting a smooth M is to use single-piece caps such as most Model F caps, later Model M caps, and Unicomp caps. All of which are much smoother in M barrels than the M two-piece caps...... IN MY EXPERIENCE.

Also, I'd like to ...

yeah who's shitting on M's? I love my Model M's.

Ahh, I see. My bad.

Looks like that barrel plate probably has a lot of rust on it. The rest looks pretty good. It's hard to kill these things, and they are pretty easy to open up if you have some pliers.

Getting them back together is also pretty easy if you use the floss method on the spacebar or ...

over here, model f xt's sell for $100-$130 all the time. I did a quick sold listing search for "ibm (xt,83) keyboard"



I circled a relevant bit that you might be interested in.

Couldn't you get a US one for $100-$130 with not too much searching and import it for a lot cheaper?

also that badge is scratched up.

are you directly connecting ps/2 to a ps/2 connector on the computer or are you going ps/2 to usb? if ps/2 to usb you may need an active converter instead of a cheaper passive one.

Damn, I see I have a ways to go.

I want an Unsaver with the matching external numpad, however that seems unlikely...
Would settle for an F107

The black and white keycaps on that Red F77 are particularly nice. I assume you used the leftover keycaps on your AT?
Very tasteful!

Extra points for the Star Wars reference too :lol:


Thanks, yes. Got the M13 caps from Unicomp back when they were selling them - they told me I bought their last ...

I've been collecting model f's over the last year, and here are some overhead comparision shots I've made. I find these useful for comparing the relative size and features of the various F's, so I figured i'd post them here and maybe someone will get some use out of them.

Model F 122 Painted ABS ...

I really think the F AT is heavier than the other F's

Both of my F ATs feel almost as heavy as a model m, but have a significantly crisper tactile event than an M.
My F XT and F 122s feel significantly lighter than my F ATs but are also quite crisp.
My F 77 is the lightest feeling of the bunch, but ...

i prefer the key feel of the F AT also. it is heavier than an F XT though, and in my experience a lot of people in this hobby prefer light clickies.

i also prefer the sound of the F AT.

no alt keys in their proper place can be annoying but people get used to the AT layout. There is always the alt ...

maybe i should sell my 5000 QWERTY Beamships NOS...

nah... markets not ripe yet.

Probably not the only thing assembled incorrectly. It seems obvious the wire hooks are not inserted into the stab posts on the spacebar.

My guess is this was a botched attempt to lighten the spacebar. There could be physical damage to the wire or stab posts on the spacebar which would be very ...

oh one other thing that comes up; people claim the UK model F's have shittier foam - something to think about... nomatter what you get, you *may* need to open it up to fix the foam issue.

i'm not in the UK so this is all second hand info to me.

i agree, opening F AT cases is terrifying, and I too feel like i'm about to break it every single time.

The XT is built tougher. it's among the most well constructed keyboards out there.

the spacebar could be a bit more than a simple project if its stab inserts that hold the wire have broken off. it will be very difficult sourcing a new spacebar for cheap. it's not a common issue but something you should be aware of.

also, just FYI, thats not its original box. Here's the original ...

any spacebar issue will be a more involved process to repair on an F XT or AT because those spacebars have an internal stabilizer wire that you have to take apart the barrel assembly to get too.

Yes I agree it looks odd, good eye.

btw that is an F XT not an F AT I thought you said you wanted.

F ...

dcopellino wrote: 02 Jun 2021, 16:11 PSX_20210602_154951.jpg

this is really gorgeous

Here's my F AT. It got a little banged up by FedEx and has some paint chips (lower left). Also the F AT badge is a bit scratched.

Anyway, I ansi modded mine and turned the numpad into a 20key so i would have more options for layouts. Soarers converter is nice for changing layouts. Opening the ...