Thinkpad Lexmark Keyboards

xenophile

16 Sep 2021, 05:29

Hello!

I'm looking into buying a vintage thinkpad (specifically one with a lexmark keyboard). Is anyone aware of the thinkpad models that have a lexmark keyboard? I'm currently looking at the thinkpad 600 series which I'm uncertain if they have lexmark keyboards but any model that has a lexmark is what I'm looking for! Thanks! :)

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sharktastica

16 Sep 2021, 07:36

Hi!

Unfortunately, the ThinkPad 600 series was introduced in 1998, approximately two years after Lexmark exited keyboard production.

However, to my knowledge, ThinkPads 365C, 500 (although not labelled as such), 750C, 755CX and 850 could come Lexmark's (Model M6-1/buckling sleeves switches, as they're known) keyboard assemblies. I actually recently released an article on the similar Model M4 buckling sleeves keyboards that thanks to assistance from laptop.pics included a part about this type of ThinkPad keyboard - it confirms several of these machines as having Lexmark-made Model M6-1 keyboards which you can see here (scroll down a bit from the linked section and you'll see some photos of keyboard assembly 'birth certificates' confirming the OEM). But, I cannot guarantee they always come with Lexmark-made assemblies since Key Tronic picked up production of Model M6-1 keyboard assemblies after "Lexit" in April 1996. The Model M6-1s KT produced are however faithful to Lexmark's design (unlike the 701C/701CS keyboard and its version of buckling sleeves). So if you don't mind a KT assembly, you can add 365E/X/XD and 860 to the list of possible ThinkPads to look out for too.

It's possible there are many other ThinkPads with Lexmark-made M6-1 assemblies too, but there's no way to tell for sure without tearing down the machine. I hope to one day do an audit confirming as many vintage ThinkPad keyboard OEMs as possible (for a future Model M6-1 exclusive follow up to my M4 article), but until then, the best you can try is asking sellers to pop off a keycap and confirm the existence of this specific type of buckling sleeve:
shark_365X-XD_switches.jpg
shark_365X-XD_switches.jpg (725.34 KiB) Viewed 4418 times
Knowing this, you basically have a coin toss between it being a Lexmark or Key Tronic produced assembly unless you know for certain the machine was produced before 1996. And that's assuming there are no other nuances too. But this should work in most cases.

Good luck in your search!
Last edited by sharktastica on 16 Sep 2021, 13:40, edited 3 times in total.

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kbdfr
The Tiproman

16 Sep 2021, 12:02

I actually have 2 vintage Thinkpad 600E.
Is there an easy (and not destructive) way to tell whether they have a Lexmark keyboard or not?
Must confess I did not get much enlightment from sharktastica's post :lol:

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Palatino

16 Sep 2021, 13:13

I also have a bunch of Thinkpads which I’ll unearth and check their model numbers and switches for you in case one of them is what you’re after. Great laptops! Very un-Apple (cheap, black, openable and repairable, good travel keyboard).

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sharktastica

16 Sep 2021, 13:14

kbdfr wrote:
16 Sep 2021, 12:02
I actually have 2 vintage Thinkpad 600E.
Is there an easy (and not destructive) way to tell whether they have a Lexmark keyboard or not?
Yes, the release date. The 600 series was introduced in 1998, two years after Lexmark stopped producing keyboards.
kbdfr wrote:
16 Sep 2021, 12:02
Must confess I did not get much enlightment from sharktastica's post :lol:
Care to elaborate or just looking for an argument? :lol: The second line plainly and clearly answers your question, after all. What I wrote also answers the OP's question(s) to the best of my ability by resolving the status of the 600, suggesting other ThinkPads known to have Lexmark-made keyboard assemblies, helpfully making them aware that Key Tronic also made keyboard assemblies for some of the same machines, and pointed out a way they could identify other potential Lexmark-made ThinkPad keyboards. If there are any issues with what I said, I'm more than happy to clarify.

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kbdfr
The Tiproman

16 Sep 2021, 13:39

sharktastica wrote:
16 Sep 2021, 13:14
kbdfr wrote:
16 Sep 2021, 12:02
[…] Must confess I did not get much enlightment from sharktastica's post :lol:
[…] or just looking for an argument? :lol:
Not today, but thanks for the offer - you seem to know me :mrgreen:
The second line plainly and clearly answers your question, after all. What I wrote also answers the OP's question(s) to the best of my ability by resolving the status of the 600, suggesting other ThinkPads known to have Lexmark-made keyboard assemblies, helpfully making them aware that Key Tronic also made keyboard assemblies for some of the same machines, and pointed out a way they could identify other potential Lexmark-made ThinkPad keyboards. If there are any issues with what I said, I'm more than happy to clarify.
Still in the dark, sorry, I seem to have been working too much lately.
Where do I find the release date on my actual 600E Thinkpads?
Or can I simply pull a keycap (in such a way that I can put it back in place safely) and see a difference between a Lexmark and a non-Lexmark keyboard?
Please bear with me, I’m just a Cherry fanboy :lol:

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sharktastica

16 Sep 2021, 13:53

kbdfr wrote:
16 Sep 2021, 13:39
Still in the dark, sorry, I seem to have been working too much lately.
Where do I find the release date on my actual 600E Thinkpads?
Or can I simply pull a keycap (in such a way that I can put it back in place safely) and see a difference between a Lexmark and a non-Lexmark keyboard?
Please bear with me, I’m just a Cherry fanboy :lol:
If it's not printed somewhere on the bottom of your 600Es, the BIOS revision date or the prescense of Windows 98 stickers could confirm its from beyond the Lexmark era. But as a rule of thumb, the 600 series was produced between 1998 and 2000 so its almost certainly not Lexmark.

If it was within the reach of being produced by Lexmark, pulling a keycap out would be a way to determine if it's potentially Lexmark or not. To my knowledge, Lexmark only ever produced Model M6 buckling rubber sleeves keyboards for ThinkPads. So, if its a scissor-switch keyboard (or some other whacky domes implementation), it wouldn't be a Lexmark keyboard. Given the era, its probably an Alps or Maxi Switch OEM keyboard assembly.

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kbdfr
The Tiproman

16 Sep 2021, 18:01

1998 and 1999, so certainly not Lexmark, sorry.

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sharktastica

08 Jan 2022, 22:54

sharktastica wrote:
16 Sep 2021, 07:36
I hope to one day do an audit confirming as many vintage ThinkPad keyboard OEMs as possible (for a future Model M6-1 exclusive follow up to my M4 article)
That's now been done: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26684&p=497137#p497137.

The following is a list of IBM portables known to use Lexmark made keyboards as a summary:
  • IBM PS/Note 2141-x82 series (similar design to TP350 but sans TrackPoint)
  • IBM ThinkPad 700 series
  • IBM PS/55 Note C52 (Japanese exclusive version of TP700)
  • IBM ThinkPad 720 series
  • IBM ThinkPad 350 series
  • IBM PS/Note 425 series (essentially the same as TP350)
  • IBM ThinkPad 500
  • IBM ThinkPad 750 series
  • IBM PS/55 5535-ZAD (A giant Japanese ThinkPad-like machine)
  • IBM RS/6000 Notebook N40* **
  • IBM ThinkPad 360 series
  • IBM ThinkPad 370C
  • IBM ThinkPad 355 series
  • IBM ThinkPad 510CS
  • IBM ThinkPad 755C series*
  • IBM ThinkPad Power Series 850* **
  • IBM ThinkPad 365 series*
* Later examples use keyboards made at Key Tronic but using former Lexmark tooling
** RISC-based ThinkPad/ThinkPad-line machine

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