deskthority

Haven't got into the typewriters yet

Yep it's a whole other dimension. I wouldn't be into them except for, as a kid ('80s-'90s) we couldn't afford a PC. My mom found a working Underwood #5 at a garage sale ($10), it was fascinating to figure out how the mechanism worked. Later I earned some money ...

I started collecting IBM and IBM-adjacent stuff in 2022. Most of these I found "in the wild," as opposed to online and retail. (Exceptions are the Wheelwriters, both of which came from a thrift store.)

This is most of my collection (of the ones that are assembled and working). I did own a model M ...

Someone on eBay has been selling some of those alternative keycaps. I grabbed a red Total key and a solid black numpad Enter key.

Falkenroth wrote: 05 May 2025, 03:24 Very nice! Like the setup.

Thanks, it works for me. This model M also has the iridescent backplate (which adds to the "cool" factor), but overall I'm all about comfort and less about... cable management.

I acquired, later sold, a 1981 model F (XT) keyboard with green greasy stuff on the DIN5 connector. I just assumed it was put there by IBM.

As much as I like Joe/Ellipse (and I do), his reproductions are not "Model F" keyboards. IMO, the only Model F keyboards are (were) the ones made by IBM and their affiliates. To my mind, in the best case, they are "homage" keyboards, in the way a lookalike but fake Rolex wristwatch would be called a ...

Hey man when can I get unbanned from r/modelf and r/modelm?

Why does it say "added spam link removed by mod, user banned" up there? I didn't put in a link there in my original post?

For being a rubberdome, this one is special. Hands-down the best-feeling rubberdome I own. Feels amazing. (Also better than the Chicony KB-xx23-style rubberdomes).

For a while ...

Are you the gentleman who bought Deskthority?

They make surprisingly good drink holders.

https://i.imgur.com/GeY6K1V.jpeg

Didn't know these existed in this colorway until the other day, then went out in the wild and found one new in-box.

Never owned or used one of these (in any variant) until now, but I'm impressed. It's unapologetically a rubberdome, but the key feel is consistent ...

Good info, thanks! I've been looking around to ID the specific keyboard, do you think this is it?

Wait, never mind, I see Windows keys...

Can't make out the make/model of the PC and keyboard. Still, interesting to see a president taking a hands-on approach to technology.

Here's a bigger version.

Thanks, Ellipse! This is helpful.

Thanks for your comment, Hak Foo. Hopefully I won't have to hot-glue mine.

TL;DR: How to remove a press-fit model M controller and reattach it without destroying the keyboard?

I use a 2021 Unicomp Classic model M keyboard (the GE healthcare version ) with some changes: I replaced the original keyset with Lexmark replacements (normal legends), and removed the GE healthcare ...

Wondering if this keyboard is mechanical or rubber dome?

Unicomp has the button plates - they call them "frames" - in original 101-key

Those Unicomp "frames" require some modding with a Dremel or similar tool to cut off the drainage channels at the bottom? I have a Dremel and some skill, but I've never had the courage to take it to one of those barrel ...

Thank you for getting back to me. I actually do have some washers around with that exact size. However, in a box, I found an unharmed barrel plate from some kind of 1980s terminal Model M. After some drilling and cleaning, it's now sitting in the keyboard in question.

It's nice to know about the ...

Hello dcopellino and fohat, I followed the link and also, separately, Googled "space bar washer repair mod Model M keyboard" and the like. Am coming up with nothing. Could you please refer me to a resource that explains how the mod works? Thank you!

So... the hook thing (clip?) slash small-piece-of-plastic that holds one side of the space bar stabilizing wire on my Model M broke off. No idea how it happened. Worse, it went flying across the room and I can't find it. Now the space bar only works if I press it in the middle. How can I fix this ...

Could help explain why their new legal name is Unicomp GA LLC, why they moved to a new location, and why they're out-of-stock on some of the accessories they used to keep on-hand pretty much all the time.

Wondering how these compare to other IBM-branded rubberdomes, like the KB-8923? Which one would last longer with regular use?

Thanks in advance.

Cables wrapped around IBM Model Fs (whether wrapped tightly or relatively loose) have ruined many IBM Model F paint jobs...

Vintage Cherry MX black switches. Would bet the space bar is MX grey. Worth a lot just for the switches.

Ah so obvious, and yet not... if you don't know what to look for. Thank you so much Ellipse!

Thanks for the reply! I have a few other F/XTs. Each has either a date code on the large QA label on the backplate, or a date stamp on one of the case halves (or, sometimes, both). This one, however, doesn't have any of the above. It's a total mystery. (There is a stamp on the inner top case, but it ...

This was an eBay purchase . I was intrigued by the multiple QA labels. However, nowhere on this keyboard is there a date code. I'm wondering if it's possible to date this to a particular year... based on the information that is there on some of the internal labels and stamps?

Here's the keyboard ...

So I don't post much on the socials (was banned from r/modelm, which put a big damper in my enthusiasm), but today I embarked upon a project to restore the exact same 1988 IBM 1394012 ASCII Display Station Model M keyboard that ElecPlus posted here seven years ago. (As the board came to me with an ...

Hey what would it take to get unbanned on Reddit (r/modelm and r/modelf)?