Hi all,
It's been a while since I last came in here. Glad to see the Geekhack community is still thriving!
I see a bit of a small keycap industry has emerged since I was last an active member here, so I was wondering if anyone knew of any suppliers that might sell replacement keycaps for an IBM Model M15? Mine has been going strong for over 10 years of really heavy use, but just yesterday the stabilizer bar on the left shift key finally gave up the ghost. The key is still usable, if fairly wobbly, but ideally I'd really love to find a replacement. Besides, Backspace is also on its last legs.
Apparently, the keycaps on the M15 are the same as the M2, so if no one is manufacturing replacement keysets, I would also be interested to hear if anyone has a non-functional M2 that could be cannibalized for parts.
Cheers,
Fran
heya, i own a model m15 which im modding and putting through her paces.
Heres my acquired knowledge of the m15 so far:
Taking her apart to get to the internals (controller etc) is a doddle if you know how. but i havnt managed to get to the springs internally yet. - cant work out how to get behind the metal backplate
the springs used are the same as the model m and the model m2, therefore they can be got new from unicomp and replaced via the chopstick method or cannibalized from an old model m/m2
as for keycaps, they are the same as the m2.
Left shift key and the backspace key from model m2 US layout should fit
Im still trying to work out possible replacements for the following:
spacebars (looks like you would have to make new ones/mod something)
right shift is a bit difficult as it is stepped, i cannot find a direct replacement, BUT the caps lock key from the model m2 would fit (just the wrong text), maybe there is a model m2 vers with a stepped right shift, i havnt looked very hard yet.
Enter and Tab will also be viable to swap from the model m2
only other issue is ctrl/alt...any normal key would swap onto them, but the text is wrong.
stem mods might be a possibility from other keyboards, not looked into it yet.
I'm looking at doing various mods to my model m15
- braided detachable cables maybe even wireless one day
- clip on wrist rests
- trackpoints (maybe)
- RGB mod via rit dye or perhaps the modifier keys ritdyed.
- internal USB hub
