[SOLD] Dasher D1 bidding at $98 BIN $220

[OldIsNew]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Data-General-Dasher-D1-Mechanical-Terminal-Keyboard/182951122122?hash=item2a98bc94ca:g:0DsAAOSwUMxaKZvN

I love these boards but too pricey for me.

[SamirD]

That's in awesome shape, and that connector is just wicked ancient!  How do you even connect something to that? 

[chyros]

That's in awesome shape, and that connector is just wicked ancient!  How do you even connect something to that? 

It does appear to be very yellowed though, the caps are supposed to be blue rather than green xD .

[ander]

It does appear to be very yellowed though, the caps are supposed to be blue rather than green xD .

I wouldn't say they're green, but rather a turquoise. Still, yes, there's quite a difference from the original shade (lower image).





I'm glad we could get together to discuss all this, BTW.

[sncbraxsc2]

Time to run Dasher V2, I kinda like this teal colorway better

[ander]

Now that I've seen them side-by-side again, I think Chyros is right—they're green. Could there have been a greenish colorway too? I don't think age would do something that radical.

[chyros]

Now that I've seen them side-by-side again, I think Chyros is right—they're green. Could there have been a greenish colorway too? I don't think age would do something that radical.

It's possible the photo white balance makes it look greener than it is.

Still on the fence about whether I should go for it or not. I REALLY want a Dasher xD .

[ander]

Still on the fence about whether I should go for it or not. I REALLY want a Dasher xD .

Eh?? I thought peeps traditionally sent you all sorts of great boards for free, to honour your greatness and so on. I mean, it'd be understandable.

[chyros]

Still on the fence about whether I should go for it or not. I REALLY want a Dasher xD .

Eh?? I thought peeps traditionally sent you all sorts of great boards for free, to honour your greatness and so on. I mean, it'd be understandable.

Hahaha, I'm not sure what to say to that, but thanks, I guess? xD

b***a got this one. I didn't even bother trying for it xD .

[SamirD]

It went for a pretty penny too!

[Tarienn]

Hey! This is the keyboard I bought. It still hasn’t arrived yet, but when I get it I’ll post some pictures to see if it yellowed as much as the sellers pictures show.

@chyros, do you want to borrow it for a review?

[ander]

@chyros, do you want to borrow it for a review?

Nice gesture!

[chyros]

Hey! This is the keyboard I bought. It still hasn’t arrived yet, but when I get it I’ll post some pictures to see if it yellowed as much as the sellers pictures show.

@chyros, do you want to borrow it for a review?

Hiya mate, I might well take you up on your offer. It's a cool board to show in a video .

[Tarienn]

Just got the board this morning! It's glorious! And gloriously dirty. There seems to be a few spots of rust on the lower right corner of the metal faceplate and towards the center. The switches all feel great though!







And it has seem to be yellowed. But there is also a layer of dark grime on all of the keys(possibly soot or something), I'm not sure how much of the discoloration it is responsible for. I'll do a bit of cleaning and disassembly, but not sure what to do about the rust. The blue paint seems to be chipping in those areas.

Not sure what type of switches they are either: (Note, the dent in the keycap is not from me pulling it, I swear!)



In any case, @Chyros, let me know when you'd like to borrow it. I'd love to see a video on this board

[chyros]

Hah, I KNEW it! Key Tronic vintage foam and foil. I've suspected it for a long time but now I know for sure.

I'd definitely like to borrow it, but I'm extremely booked for reviews for the near future. I'll happily review it as soon as I have some free slots on my hands though .

[Tarienn]

That's one mystery solved! They feel smoothly linear and consistent across all the keys. Besides the spacebar, which feels a bit ashy but I'm hoping the cleaning might clear that up.

@Chryo, I'll have it available whenever you have time! In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about the yellowing. I want to do what I can to restore these beautifully blue keys.

[chyros]

That's one mystery solved! They feel smoothly linear and consistent across all the keys. Besides the spacebar, which feels a bit ashy but I'm hoping the cleaning might clear that up.

@Chryo, I'll have it available whenever you have time! In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about the yellowing. I want to do what I can to restore these beautifully blue keys.

Does the blue on the inside of the caps look different from that on the outside?

[Tarienn]

Does the blue on the inside of the caps look different from that on the outside?

Yep, very bright Blue on the inside, greenish on the outside. There isn’t a hint of green on the inside.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chyros]

Does the blue on the inside of the caps look different from that on the outside?

Yep, very bright Blue on the inside, greenish on the outside. There isn’t a hint of green on the inside.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, thought so. The caps were originally the colour on the inside. The green is from yellowing - it's ABS after all .

[Tarienn]

Yeah, thought so. The caps were originally the colour on the inside. The green is from yellowing - it's ABS after all .

I wonder if 40% salon and UV light will help restore the color, or if it'll damage the original color as well. I may have to do some testing with some less valuable colored ABS keycaps

[chyros]

Yeah, thought so. The caps were originally the colour on the inside. The green is from yellowing - it's ABS after all .

I wonder if 40% salon and UV light will help restore the color, or if it'll damage the original color as well. I may have to do some testing with some less valuable colored ABS keycaps

Some Retr0bright may work. The yellowing is known to return after a few years regardless though .

[JP]

Yeah, thought so. The caps were originally the colour on the inside. The green is from yellowing - it's ABS after all .

I wonder if 40% salon and UV light will help restore the color, or if it'll damage the original color as well. I may have to do some testing with some less valuable colored ABS keycaps

Some Retr0bright may work. The yellowing is known to return after a few years regardless though .

If only there was someone here who knew a little bit of chemistry that might be able to help with this issue 

[chyros]

Yeah, thought so. The caps were originally the colour on the inside. The green is from yellowing - it's ABS after all .

I wonder if 40% salon and UV light will help restore the color, or if it'll damage the original color as well. I may have to do some testing with some less valuable colored ABS keycaps

Some Retr0bright may work. The yellowing is known to return after a few years regardless though .

If only there was someone here who knew a little bit of chemistry that might be able to help with this issue 

Well if you keep it in a glovebox afterwards it should be fine, but most people don't have access to one .

[Tarienn]

Boom. Let the keycaps sit in some denture cleaner while I took the board apart to dust and scrub it. Had to brush away some of that rust and loose paint, but I'll have to come back to that. Let the keys sit out in the sun for a few hours and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out

Here's some before and after pics:

Before:



After:



You can't quite see it as bad in the photos, but there are some spots I didn't quite brush with the solution as well, and the outsides still aren't as bright as they used to be. There also appears to be some very faint dark stains that no amount of scrubbing or alcohol would remove. But they look as close as I think they're going to get

[chyros]

Oh wow. That made a LOT of difference :O . Very nice, I mean the teal was not bad either, but this just looks MUCH better!

[SamirD]

Super job on cleaning that up!  Night and day difference!  And this was just with denture tabs and a toothbrush?

[chyros]

I assume he must've used peroxides of some sort, surely Oo .

[Tarienn]

Haha, it would seem I missed a step in my excitement to post about my cleaning.

I put em in denture cleaner for about 40 minutes, then hand toweled them all off.
After they dried, I paint brushed 40% salon formula on them and plastic wrapped them face up on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and put them out on my patio under direct sunlight for about 5 hours. That brightened up real quick

Really beautiful keys, they really need to be seen in person.

[chyros]

Haha, it would seem I missed a step in my excitement to post about my cleaning.

I put em in denture cleaner for about 40 minutes, then hand toweled them all off.
After they dried, I paint brushed 40% salon formula on them and plastic wrapped them face up on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and put them out on my patio under direct sunlight for about 5 hours. That brightened up real quick

Really beautiful keys, they really need to be seen in person.

I've got the perfect accompaniment prop for them for a review as well ^^ .

[Tarienn]

I've got the perfect accompaniment prop for them for a review as well ^^ .

Ah, so exciting! Can't wait