IBM 5251 terminal find

User avatar
inmbolmie

05 May 2020, 17:13

This is the second part of a great "barn find" where I also got an IBM 5100 and some rusty printers. First post is here.

Due to space problems in my apartment I had until recently this IBM 5251 terminal in storage. But now with the pandemic and so I have had more time to clean and test this beast.


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With regards to the Beam Spring keyboard, nothing to say that hasn't been said here before about a 5251. This spanish unit is in great great condition except for the contamination shield and some lightly yellowed keys, I didn't even disassemble it and I plan to keep it 100% original.


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For this photoshoot I only did very light cleaning, It seems that this machine didn't see too much use in its day, as it doesn't have any evidence of heat damage inside. Maybe it was a late replacement for another unit and was quickly decomissioned. All the dirt inside come from the infamous "sticky foam" that IBM used apparently inside everything it shipped in the 70's and early 80's, that has disintegrated and covers everything inside.


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The only broken thing is a cable tie that holds in place a couple of HUGE capacitors. Very bad design for this component, as otherwise is really built like a tank... 40Kg for the unit plus 6Kg for the keyboard. I barely can move it around the house.


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More internals...


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Cleaner interior after some vacuuming...


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Everything looked ok, so I simply plugged it and switched it on, taking of course some precautions.


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It apparently works ok, I had nothing to plug it to but it has a "test" mode that shows some patterns on the screen and allows to test the keyboard, that works flawlessly. It displays the scancode of the last pressed key on the screen.


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Some short videos showing startup and testing, (quickly taken with an Iphone, do not expect "Chyros" quality content).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWKLZQn6tfM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFxcmSzPK34



Some more images.

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That's all for this gallery, it works and is good enough not no need any restoration, but i'm preparing something special for it in another post coming soon :?: ...
Last edited by inmbolmie on 06 May 2020, 15:58, edited 1 time in total.

John Doe

05 May 2020, 17:18

Is it the one listed on ebay weeks ago and soon gone fast?

Nice find, congrates.

User avatar
inmbolmie

05 May 2020, 17:23

John Doe wrote:
05 May 2020, 17:18
Is it the one listed on ebay weeks ago and soon gone fast?

Nice find, congrates.
No, this was a local deal in Spain.I can't imagine what the shipping cost would be for something like this on ebay...

John Doe

05 May 2020, 17:40

True. That's the concern when I opened the link when its available still but being hesitant... :cry:

User avatar
shine

05 May 2020, 18:25

:shock:

Heikkonen

05 May 2020, 20:25

Amazing find!

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AJM

05 May 2020, 22:26

Very nice. I also got a 5251 terminal/screen some time ago - to keep my keyboard company. (The weight of this thing is unbelievable :shock: .) I think you're very lucky, that your terminal still has that cover in the front of the stand, where the cable comes out. So far I haven't even seen a photo of one anywhere - only the little sketch of it in the manual. So I would be quite grateful, if you could post (or pm to me) a few more pictures of this part (front and back). Maybe I will try to make a replacement for mine.

User avatar
inmbolmie

06 May 2020, 15:55

AJM wrote:
05 May 2020, 22:26
Very nice. I also got a 5251 terminal/screen some time ago - to keep my keyboard company. (The weight of this thing is unbelievable :shock: .) I think you're very lucky, that your terminal still has that cover in the front of the stand, where the cable comes out. So far I haven't even seen a photo of one anywhere - only the little sketch of it in the manual. So I would be quite grateful, if you could post (or pm to me) a few more pictures of this part (front and back). Maybe I will try to make a replacement for mine.

Yes of course, here you have some detailed images. My cover came slightly cracked, but it is in good shape apart form that.

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User avatar
AJM

06 May 2020, 23:16

Wow! Thank you very much. That's very useful.

User avatar
inmbolmie

09 May 2020, 00:50

Follow-up workshop for this terminal, IBM 5251 terminal USB conversion (but not what you think)

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