[2011] Unicomp UB40T5A 122-key model M

[dorkvader]

Today, I will be writing a quick review of this unicomp terminal keyboard.

Don't turn it on, take it apart

This keyboard is really a marvel. It's based on the 122-key terminal keyboards for the early 1980's. These started in January 1984 as the IBM 6110668 and later in 1984 for the IBM 611034*, Not soon later, in 1985/86 they moved to the "model M" platform for decreased costs. These are very common and usually inexpensive. If you can put up with the size, they can be a good value. Over the years they have changed case and internal designs several times. This keyboard represents the most modern variation of these that I know of.

To begin, the keyboard uses normal buckling spring over membrane "model M" switches and dye-sublimated PBT keycaps. The black legends correspond to "normal" use, the blue ones for "terminal emulator" mode. This keyboard was received new in box, and the keyfeel is quite snappy: on par with other unicomps (note the "thin plate" for unicomp does impact the feel compared with a model M, but I feel that the thinner, springier, "blanket" changes it more.) This keyboard has 2KRO.


Grade "A" Unicomp nonsense

There are three outer screws holding the top case on. They are 5/32, but a 5.5mm nut driver works perfectly. This is a picture of a 1/4" screw that they have driven through the barrel frame and into the plate. I can only guess as to why, but my suspicion is to hold the assembly together better during the melting of the rivets. As you can see it's not even driven in straight. The screw is a stripping screw, and I suppose they installed it manually. I removed mine and threw it away, and I recommend that others do the same.

Also in the picture you can see part of the controller. It's in a different location here than in older IBM designs. This was likely a cost-saving technique on the part of unicomp. They were able to eliminate connectors for the membranes, instead using a more modern design for membrane keyboards. These things are a pain to reinstall correctly once they've been removed. I'm not touching it. It'll also make it harder to mod this to TKL, but that's life.


Cheap unicomp cable

This is an out-of focus picture of the cable. It's very cheap, using thin wire and cheap insulation. This make sit more stiff. The ground clip is very well secured and nicely soldered though. At least it's got a ferrite, so a bonus point for that. You will see why I couldn't just get a better picture later.


Shield strap, connects to the shielding of the cable and (presumably) the shell of the USB connector.
Look at that ground clip! Very nice. I couldn't move it very easily, so it's making a good connection for sure. One of the first signs of quality. Good to see someone still cares about quality grounding.


cheap unicomp bottom panel

The cable gland had been removed at this point. It falls off easily once the top case is off (that's all that holds it in place). You can see the hole in the bottom case where it exits. The cable gland is solid plastic, appears to be the same material as the case, and is one of the cheapest designs I've seen. There is some sticky foam that holds the PCB-area to the bottom case.


bottom of the cheap controller

The bottom of the controller reveals some more jacks. The one on the left is for the 4-pin USB. I assume the one on the right is for a PS/2 or terminal connector. There are places on the PCB for more jacks but they are just a different location (they are connected to the same pins as the jacks you see here). There are balls of solder on them, likely from how they cheaply soldered it. The plastic to make sure nothing bridges anything it's not supposed to is largely unnecessary, but a nice touch.


This is why you don't use cables this cheap unicomp!

This picture shows the shield clip wire having broken off the rest of the cable. It may have been soldered improperly to the shield, or perhaps it's the "drain" wire that contacts the shield. It is very brittle. It took no force to remove, and just fell out when I removed the cable from the jack. Fortunately it's not really necessary for operation. The KB still works fine.


Keycaps black and blue on metallic grey

Legendary unicomp printing. The legends are big and bold. Unicomp have opted to use large legends and make full use of their keycap, with the legends going just about to the edge. Printing on modifiers is nice and thin. I don't detect any bleed you sometimes get with dyesub. We'll see in 30 years.


Tenkey legends

It's really odd seeing center aligned legends for the "words" on the navigation part of the tenkey, but having the arrows be bottom aligned. Not a fan, but unicomp has always been "creative" with their alignment.


Unicomp, why?

Here's that shield clip wire all forlorn and alone now that it's separated from the cable. I'm deciding if I want to repair that cable or just replace it with a better one. The ZIF socket on the left side of the controller appears to be for a trackpoint. I bet they use this same controller for their endurapro. I'm really digging the alignment on the "numlk" key (not really).


unicomp cheap cable channel

Here's a shot of the cable channels. They are (of course) too narrow to accept the cable that comes on this keyboard. I'm not even sure they will fit a cable of any size (as they are angled in) The upshot is that it would have been much cheaper to mould.


cheap unicomp feet

These feet are much different from standard IBM feet. They feel a lot cheaper, but they do seem to latch into place well.

Overall, it feels nice to type on, is huge, and has lots of keycaps. It was manufactured in such a way as to save lots of money, and I imagine it did well for unicomp. I'm deciding if it's worth it to modify this to a tenkeyless design.

overall score: cheap/10

Thanks for reading.

[digi]

Thanks for the review Dork! Now I know what this beast looks like on the inside, any plans for converting it to an unsaver?

[dorkvader]

Thanks for the review Dork! Now I know what this beast looks like on the inside, any plans for converting it to an unsaver?

Yeah, but it'll be tough. Since the controller will have to be folded over with the membranes (and aligning them is gonna be a pain). I'm still deciding if it's worth a try.

[rowdy]

You can understand some of the cost-saving measures in these days of disposable equipment, but they still use melted plastic rivets to hold the bits together?  Yikes!

Was this from that recent $19 sale?  I am regretting less and less not getting one.  Apart from having to mod it to ANSI layout, there are all the other little issues that add up to a lot more work to make a solid keyboard that would last for decades.

Thanks for posting

[dorkvader]

Yep it was! totally worth it. These were NIB! I'll be bolt-modding mine when I have time. Buying 10 KBs worth of bolts at once was a good idea, though I doubted it at the time.

[rowdy]

Even with shipping it would still have been a good deal for me.  But all the little things add up, plus the hassle of modding it to ANSI layout kinda killed the idea.

Kudos for those who took the leap and ended up with a nice keyboard though

[E TwentyNine]

You can understand some of the cost-saving measures in these days of disposable equipment, but they still use melted plastic rivets to hold the bits together?  Yikes!

That's standard M construction.   Often holds up fine for keyboards decades old.

[E TwentyNine]

Excellent writeup.

I'm deciding if it's worth it to modify this to a tenkeyless design.

That's the only reason I even considered getting this board but decided I have too many projects as it is.   I would like to see it done and think it improves the keyboard quite a bit.

[rowdy]

You can understand some of the cost-saving measures in these days of disposable equipment, but they still use melted plastic rivets to hold the bits together?  Yikes!

That's standard M construction.   Often holds up fine for keyboards decades old.

Hmmm, because broken rivets seems to consistently be the one thing that stops a 30 year old keyboard from being as good as when it was first made.

[berserkfan]

Thanks for the review!

To be honest Dorkvader, I'd rather stick with my Deko after you're done figuring it out. For $19 you got a fantastic deal, but as your review shows it is cheap and anyone who wants to invest serious work should get a better base material to start with. The Unicomp construction is almost like a cooler master - value conscious and competent but not something an enthusiast or modder could love.

I think I'll go back and desolder my infuriating Access-IS. Infuriating, yet commands my respect.

[kalrand]

Did you mention something in another thread about there possibly being a jumper? Was it on the other side of the controller?

[CPTBadAss]

LOL that last part made me laugh aloud "Cheap/10" hahaha.

Nice review though. Not very quick, you should say its thorough

[dorkvader]

You can understand some of the cost-saving measures in these days of disposable equipment, but they still use melted plastic rivets to hold the bits together?  Yikes!

That's standard M construction.   Often holds up fine for keyboards decades old.

I forgot to put this in my review, but there was one broken rivet.

Did you mention something in another thread about there possibly being a jumper? Was it on the other side of the controller?

This 2-pin connector is likely for a case speaker, but might be for a jumper (or soemthing else?). We'll see next time I have to mess with it. I also plan to pin-put those other connectors to make sure I know where they go. You can see pictures of both sides of the controller in my images, though the shots of the front are a little smaller (the images themselves are huge, so you can open them in a new tab and zoom in) You can also see "j5" at the top right. This likely connects to the same traces as the physical connector circled, (the rest do) but might be something else. I'll get the DMM and test it out.

[digi]

now to find a 5/32 nut driver that actually fits all the way down to those nuts, ugh.

Dorkvader, does a 2.25 shift from a Model M fit in place of the small left shift and that 1x next to it?

[digi]

I just finished my first bolt mod on this unicomp and after I got everything back together, windows plays a sound every time a key is pressed but no letters register in notepad... Has anyone had a similar problem by chance?

I'm trying to make it into an unsaver, do the two sheets on the right (circled in yellow) have to be pressed together to complete the connection for the board to work or does it only require good contact at the controller?

*update: It appears that the Caps Lock is registering correctly (led turns on on controller when pressed). It's just that any other key doesn't register..



with controller connected to computer:

[dorkvader]

I just finished my first bolt mod on this unicomp and after I got everything back together, windows plays a sound every time a key is pressed but no letters register in notepad... Has anyone had a similar problem by chance?

I'm trying to make it into an unsaver, do the two sheets on the right (circled in yellow) have to be pressed together to complete the connection for the board to work or does it only require good contact at the controller?

*update: It appears that the Caps Lock is registering correctly (led turns on on controller when pressed). It's just that any other key doesn't register..

Show Image

with controller connected to computer:

Show Image

I think there's an issue with it detecting another keypress it shouldn't. I suspect it's a misalignment of the controller on the traces. You can use aquakeytest to see what else it's doing, though it can sometimes be hard to see exactly what is being pressed if it's not a key in the normal 104. EK's switch hitter keeps a log so maybe it's better for that application.

To answer your question specifically, the membranes do not need to be pressed together between the plate and plastic to function, Just the connector needs to make a good connection to the membranes. However, if they aren't flat, it can create an alignment issue which can cause problems like what you're having.

To get around your issue, you can get an old M122 and a soarer which should allow for a better positioning of the controller / switch matrix. I have an NIB M122 with domes that will finally see some use in this capacity.

[digi]

I just finished my first bolt mod on this unicomp and after I got everything back together, windows plays a sound every time a key is pressed but no letters register in notepad... Has anyone had a similar problem by chance?

I'm trying to make it into an unsaver, do the two sheets on the right (circled in yellow) have to be pressed together to complete the connection for the board to work or does it only require good contact at the controller?

*update: It appears that the Caps Lock is registering correctly (led turns on on controller when pressed). It's just that any other key doesn't register..

Show Image

with controller connected to computer:

Show Image

I think there's an issue with it detecting another keypress it shouldn't. I suspect it's a misalignment of the controller on the traces. You can use aquakeytest to see what else it's doing, though it can sometimes be hard to see exactly what is being pressed if it's not a key in the normal 104. EK's switch hitter keeps a log so maybe it's better for that application.

To answer your question specifically, the membranes do not need to be pressed together between the plate and plastic to function, Just the connector needs to make a good connection to the membranes. However, if they aren't flat, it can create an alignment issue which can cause problems like what you're having.

To get around your issue, you can get an old M122 and a soarer which should allow for a better positioning of the controller / switch matrix. I have an NIB M122 with domes that will finally see some use in this capacity.

You're the man brohandles. EK Switch Hitter was showing about 5-6 keys registering while not being pressed down. I took it all back apart and noticed a couple of screws were too close to the springs. Removed the screws and bingo, i'm good to go. The project can continue now..

Thanks for the help! =)

[ch_123]

The ZIF socket on the left side of the controller appears to be for a trackpoint. I bet they use this same controller for their endurapro.

On the Endurapro, there's two controllers - one for the trackpoint and one for the keyboard. The keyboard one is a standard one like that on their Customizer/Spacesaver (or whatever it is that they call them these days). The keyboard controller is then connected to the trackpoint controller, and the USB or PS/2 Y-cable is connected to the trackpoint controller.

Also in the picture you can see part of the controller. It's in a different location here than in older IBM designs. This was likely a cost-saving technique on the part of unicomp.

Lexmark were the first to do this (see the 42H1292 101-keys) back in 1995. I would imagine the new circuitry probably draws less power too.