1390120 restoration [WIP]
Posted: 01 Nov 2015, 22:29
Hi there,
If anyone's interested, here is my "story" with the 1390120 from 86'. The model m shares the same year of birth as me and therefore will be treated like she should. My story with model m's began in the beginning of this year, when I searched and discover one at work. It was made in 98' and it was missing some caps but other than that, she was just fine...minus the dirt and who knows what else was trapped in there.
Ok, because those old, heavy keyboards aren't really mainstream anymore and are in quiet harsh conditions, they're mostly headed in the trash cans. Wait what, I've said? I saved her and so the story between me and the m's really began. From that day on, I've taken care of the next three boards, another 98', 99' and a really poor 93' model with some disfunctional keys. She was the first I had to bold (khm, screw) mod and the first one who was entirely restored...or so I've thought...until I've meet the 1390120.
Badly broken case, missing keys and 1/3 of the rivets, missing IBM metal engraved sign, controller flapping around, the main plate flapping around and with rattling interior sound...but apart of these "minor" problems, quite a keyboard, the one I was searching for...to restore it as much as possible to her original condition.
So here she goes:
http://imgur.com/a/4NeDm
The project is only a week old, I'm doing all the work when the time permits, but it's slowly progressing in it's final stage...the 1390120 is amazing...the feel of the keys is like a dream, even in comparison to the newer models from the 90's.
I've decided to leave her technicalities as pristine as possible, so I'm modding the DIN end of the black coiled cable with atmega32u4 controller and USB A male connector. Adding the missing keys and the RGB set will spice things up, but so far I'm really satisfied, she's a beaut' already!
If anyone's interested, here is my "story" with the 1390120 from 86'. The model m shares the same year of birth as me and therefore will be treated like she should. My story with model m's began in the beginning of this year, when I searched and discover one at work. It was made in 98' and it was missing some caps but other than that, she was just fine...minus the dirt and who knows what else was trapped in there.
Ok, because those old, heavy keyboards aren't really mainstream anymore and are in quiet harsh conditions, they're mostly headed in the trash cans. Wait what, I've said? I saved her and so the story between me and the m's really began. From that day on, I've taken care of the next three boards, another 98', 99' and a really poor 93' model with some disfunctional keys. She was the first I had to bold (khm, screw) mod and the first one who was entirely restored...or so I've thought...until I've meet the 1390120.
Badly broken case, missing keys and 1/3 of the rivets, missing IBM metal engraved sign, controller flapping around, the main plate flapping around and with rattling interior sound...but apart of these "minor" problems, quite a keyboard, the one I was searching for...to restore it as much as possible to her original condition.
So here she goes:
http://imgur.com/a/4NeDm
The project is only a week old, I'm doing all the work when the time permits, but it's slowly progressing in it's final stage...the 1390120 is amazing...the feel of the keys is like a dream, even in comparison to the newer models from the 90's.
I've decided to leave her technicalities as pristine as possible, so I'm modding the DIN end of the black coiled cable with atmega32u4 controller and USB A male connector. Adding the missing keys and the RGB set will spice things up, but so far I'm really satisfied, she's a beaut' already!
