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Author Topic: I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing  (Read 3125 times)

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Offline KillerBee

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 10:55:52 »
I have been tinkering with my model m lately since the arrival of SEPT 1985 board.

Since my original June 1985 was soo clean and new when I got I never bothered to clean the keys.

I just found out that the June 1985 board has one piece caps!!

Believe me I am very shocked to find that one of the earliest production model m's shipped with one piece key caps!

the letter set and the keypad both share the one piece design whereas the F1 - F12 keys are two piece as well as the insert/home/pg up/pg dn/end/delete/num lock/*/- and this guy /

I allways thought the one piece deal was either a unicomp deal or a maxiswitch thing.
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IBM Model M 1386304 Nov. 1985

Offline MissileMike

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 10:59:09 »
I have a 1987 space saver that is also one-piece- and a few others in my collection.  So they have been around since the start, I guess.
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BS: 5 Space Savers  ||  9 42H  ||  10 1391401 or similar  ||  1x 1390131  || AT&T 305b  ||  Dell Model M
Cherry: Leopold FC200RC/AB  ||  3 Ducky 1087  ||  PLU ML87 ||  Cherry G80-8113LUVEU-2  browns
Alps: Filco Zero Tenkeyless (fukka)  ||  ABS M1  ||  3x Dell AT101w  ||  Ancer KF-191  ||  6 Vivanco Compact
Misc: NMB RT6855T+  ||  NMB RT101 Space Invader  ||  Dell Quietkey  ||  Ge Fanuc Industrial Metal

Offline ch_123

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 11:17:53 »
The 3161 was a generic ANSI terminal whereas the 5250/3270 terminals were highly customizable. As the first Model M, perhaps it was deemed unnecessary to have two piece caps, and the idea of having two piece caps on all Model Ms came sometime later? Who knows.
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Offline KillerBee

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 11:27:48 »
Quote from: ch_123;237990
As the first Model M, perhaps it was deemed unnecessary to have two piece caps


Maybe she was in the sense like an engineering mule

But by September they had added the two piece caps. So the test theory kinda holds its own
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IBM Model M 1386304 Nov. 1985

Offline ch_123

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 11:59:31 »
Does your other one have two part keycaps?

IIRC, some of the lower end 3270/5250 terminal keyboards did not have two part caps either. Being able to change the layout was a feature that differentiated lower end from higher end terminals.
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Offline jpc

  • Posts: 363
I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 12:11:49 »
Both types of keys have existed since the start.

My brand new Unicomp Endurapro came with two-piece key caps, to my surprise.  I had assumed, given all the cost reductions over the years, that two-piece caps were history. They're not; and perhaps they are no more expensive to produce than one-piece.
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RSI prevention recipe:[/B] Kinesis Contoured, Colemak layout, touch typing, Contour Design Rollermouse,  Logitech TrackMan Wheel, Logitech m570 trackball, "workrave" break timer software, "awesome" window manager, tenkeyless boards, cherry browns, Wang 724 with "ghetto green" ALPS, standing desk and/or comfy adjustable chairs, stress reduction, computer time reduction.

Fun non-ergonomic things: bolt modded Model M Space Saving Keyboards with new springs, Kensington Expert Mouse v7, Unicomp Endurapro, Northgates

Offline ch_123

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #6 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 12:23:51 »
Was it a white or black Unicomp?
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Offline ch_123

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 12:28:31 »
There were some PNs that were always two-part. There were some (albeit few) that were always one-part. Some were a bit of a mess, and I think IBM offered the choice on some models. Two part caps aren't always desirable.
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Offline KillerBee

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  • Location: Miami, FL
I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 12:41:42 »
Quote from: ch_123;238018
Does your other one have two part keycaps?


Yes

June 1985 -- One Piece

Sept 1985 -- Two Piece

Remember same model number
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IBM Model M 1386304 Nov. 1985

woody

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #9 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 16:04:59 »
Quote from: ch_123;238030
Was it a white or black Unicomp?


I think white Unicomps have 2-piece caps, the black have 1-piece. But please correct me.
________
Fordl?ndia
« Last Edit: Sat, 05 February 2011, 14:02:27 by woody »
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Offline MissileMike

  • Posts: 280
I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #10 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 16:09:28 »
Two of my black unicomps from 2007 have 2 piece keycaps, the other 2008 has 1 piece.  Did they start going 1 piece later?
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BS: 5 Space Savers  ||  9 42H  ||  10 1391401 or similar  ||  1x 1390131  || AT&T 305b  ||  Dell Model M
Cherry: Leopold FC200RC/AB  ||  3 Ducky 1087  ||  PLU ML87 ||  Cherry G80-8113LUVEU-2  browns
Alps: Filco Zero Tenkeyless (fukka)  ||  ABS M1  ||  3x Dell AT101w  ||  Ancer KF-191  ||  6 Vivanco Compact
Misc: NMB RT6855T+  ||  NMB RT101 Space Invader  ||  Dell Quietkey  ||  Ge Fanuc Industrial Metal

Offline ch_123

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 16:12:53 »
It's all very confusing. I used to have a 2008 black/grey Unicomp that was mostly one-part (some keys were two part), but I think I have heard from some people since that they have had black/grey ones that were all double part.

AFAIK, the black terminal keyboards are double part.
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Offline jpc

  • Posts: 363
I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 24 October 2010, 22:09:43 »
Quote from: ch_123;238030
Was it a white or black Unicomp?


White
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RSI prevention recipe:[/B] Kinesis Contoured, Colemak layout, touch typing, Contour Design Rollermouse,  Logitech TrackMan Wheel, Logitech m570 trackball, "workrave" break timer software, "awesome" window manager, tenkeyless boards, cherry browns, Wang 724 with "ghetto green" ALPS, standing desk and/or comfy adjustable chairs, stress reduction, computer time reduction.

Fun non-ergonomic things: bolt modded Model M Space Saving Keyboards with new springs, Kensington Expert Mouse v7, Unicomp Endurapro, Northgates

Offline ch_123

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I thought 1 piece caps where a unicomp thing
« Reply #13 on: Mon, 25 October 2010, 04:14:44 »
I'm pretty sure all the white ones are two part.
« Last Edit: Mon, 25 October 2010, 04:21:49 by ch_123 »
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