deskthority

sure that’s Model M? Those typewriter keyboards are especially nice. And that "CODE" key is very cool but unfortunately its companion space bar has different barrel spacing is not compatible with conventional M/F layouts (at least that is how I remember it). What made my eyes get wide were those O-...

sell my whole keyboard collection Ebay calculates shipping at $377 to my location and that is not even all the way across the US from the West Coast. Across the pond from Oregon it would have to be a lot more. It mentions "flexible disk" and there appears to be an oblong door on the left side with ...

dellmodelm wrote: ↑

21 Jan 2023, 21:58

with PCB contacts

Capacitive? Yes, that would be the Model F.

go to one store one time and find a boatload of vintage keyboards Having been in sales for 20+ years I have been dropping into various 2nd hand stores semi-regularly for a long time, and, even years ago, it was unusual to find a good keyboard there - and exceptionally rare to find 2 at the same time.

I have several KB-8923 the ANSI version, and they have always seemed solid and consistent, just about my favorite rubber dome keyboards. Admittedly I was very surprised to see the word "Vaseline" - I have never used that and would be afraid that it is not particularly durable and it is always a noto...

darkcruix wrote: ↑

19 Jan 2023, 11:59

Just received a bunch of NOS Blue Alps.

We drool with jealousy.

I could ethically give a grieving widow pennies for her late husband's There are workarounds. You could say something like "I had one of these years ago until it finally broke. A few months ago I saw one in a 2nd hand shop for $50 but passed it up, and when I went back the next week it was gone. I ...

I scoured Goodwill, Salvation Army, secondhand components stores, random thrift shops, and couldn't find a model M Thrift stores, in the US at least, have generally not been a viable source for vintage keyboards for at least a decade or more, for a couple of reasons. First, if there is ANYBODY on t...

it's not that bad to restore and very forgiving. If go slow and take your time you're almost certain to be successful. This is certainly true. A Model F "restoration" is literally just taking it apart and putting it back together again, repairing anything that needs repair or replacement along the ...

Fantastic job.

Your thoroughness and photographic skills put my clumsy ancient attempt at this to shame.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=76 ... msg1900511

Muirium wrote: ↑

10 Jan 2023, 17:18

the system itself

You will have to admit that dual 8 inch floppies are pretty awesome!

Which Model F? The 122-key already has a Model M sized space bar, and can easily be adapted for the different wire. If you are doing an ANSI-mod + Alts to an F AT, then you can also do a mod to use an M space bar while keeping the black "undercarriage" piece. My guess is that adapting an M space bar...

You can't do better than Northgate Omnikey 101s.

You have to try very hard to botch a mod like that. I have done a couple of dozen of these by now, and although I am fairly proficient I would still not call a "bolt" mod easy. It is tedious and fussy and may well take a couple of goes to get it right. I learned the Sandy55 method many years ago an...

Besides repairing damage, one of the beauties of a bolt mod is that you can adjust or "tune" the assembly. In my opinion, a lot of people see steel nuts and bolts and washers and think "cool, let's crank them down as tight as they will go" - forgetting that they are replacing little cylindrical shaf...

Just boil on the stove dye? I’m prejudiced (having ruined I hear you. My results dyeing IBM key caps have been far better than my results dyeing clothes (although I have dyed wool successfully a few times). This is pretty long in the tooth, but reply #14 is a classic. https://geekhack.org/index.php...

Muirium wrote: ↑

12 Dec 2022, 17:35

Doesn’t the dye always eventually come off on your fingers?

Not in my experience. I have 5+ year old dye that has not faded or come off at all, and using both vintage and Unicomp M/F caps.

That is what makes dye so much better than "paint"

If you can live with "almost" black then one option is to dye ordinary caps to a dark gray with the legends still barely legible ....

I second the suggestion that a thorough cleaning and a bolt mod will likely solve your "feel" problems.

edit - 1 or 2 broken rivets could cause that area to feel "soft" but there are other use or wear-related faults that could be in play.

This does not directly address your question, but if it was this (or something very much like it), in my opinion that is the ideal configuration for a mouse. Actual "vertical" mice are a disaster because you have to use your thumb to resist the action of pressing the buttons, but the "diagonal lean"...

Great ?
Interesting ?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/394361354926?m ... name=11021

Ha ha, no. That is a "screw vs bolt" definition. For a while he was selling screw-modded Model Ms, I think that it was a hobby/business (typical former engineer .... ) and he was all in. As I recall he actually had somebody make custom boxes and styrofoam inserts for him, and he was doing thorough t...

All Emmer achieved I think that he should also be credited with really pushing and popularizing "screw mods" as an alternative to traditional "bolt mods" Personally, I have always done full-blown "bolt mods" because I wanted to peel the layers of the internal assembly apart and thoroughly clean eve...

ArtyomTheMetroHopper wrote: ↑

22 Nov 2022, 16:31

THATS artisanry!

Datamancer was the man in the steampunk keyboard universe, until, sadly, he took his own life a few years ago.

any Model M is best besides the SSK The inclusion of a numpad improves any thing. I have been retired for a couple of years now, and although I am now not analyzing multiple spreadsheets every day, I still instinctively reach for, and appreciate having, a numpad. And, having been using a 122-key fo...

Beautiful!
That is indisputably the best Model M variant in my opinion.

Muirium wrote: ↑

17 Nov 2022, 11:09

And yet… that feeling you’re missing out on something remains.

One of my big problems is that even when I have found The One, eventually I stumble across some form of "upgrade" that tempts into a lust for The Even Better One.

Aruberon wrote: ↑

15 Nov 2022, 09:09

a board like this, sitting tight in between a steel bottom plate without padding

The Model Fs that I have disassembled had a clear mylar sheet with "keyhole" shaped slots matching the holes that "slide fit" the PCB into the curved metal plate.

did you tape off the lock light label to keep the paint off? Don't blame me if it goes wrong, but I have had good luck removing labels with naptha (old-fashioned cigarette lighter fluid). Work quickly and clean it up immediately because it can damage plastic. With all the extraneous stuff off rehab...

One is NIB, which I'll keep as an heirloom SSK. The other two are in good cosmetic condition and work fine but could use the usual bolt or screw mod. I bought one out of Cindy's crop of NIB SSKs what, ~8 years ago? It came out of the box with over half of its rivets broken, including almost all of ...