Author Topic: The Tale of Three Model M's (Read 6872 times)

KillerBee · « **on:** Tue, 03 August 2010, 08:40:17 »

This is the story of three Model M's:
- My Original Model M
- Sealcouch's Custom Doo-Doo Board
- A Black Rubber Dome Model M called Smartrex

This is the story of three very different IBM Model M's;

My original Model M I aquired back in 2001 back when I was a Freshman in High School. I was helping a teacher clean a storage when I encountered the sexy beast. It was big, heavy and clicky. Basically love at first type.

Up until recently I decided that I wanted a BLACK Model M, seeing as the famous M13 was basically an unobtainable of myself I decided to tackle it a different way.

I saw in an auction a UNICOMP SMARTREX keyboard and immediately fell in love with it, but I had just one problem... R-U-B-B-E-R D-O-M-E. Well I guess that was the end of it until I said to myself wait I can fit a Model M in here!

Wanting to keep my original Model M in its original incarnation I set out to find another Model M.
Looking in the EBAY auctions all I saw where dirty and as-is Model M or Model M that where waay out of my price liking.

Thats when I found THIS:

This Model M had been properly dyed by GH Member Sealcouch, just in an akward array of colors!! Dark chocolate brown grey keys and the white keys where dyed in a very nice blue. Thou the Model M was VERY UGLY (and cheap) I saw potential in it.

THE PLAN was to take the dark chocolate keys and replace them into my original Model M along with the red Fentex keys

This left me now with a whole set of blue keys (from the doo-doo board) and grey keys (from my Model M) Now all I had to do was recase the blue key monster into the SMARTREX case

It became my custom BLACK Model M. Now the SMARTREX case has a decal over the LED, to reuse the LED's I added a LED Cover from a Model M that had a black border to properly blend with the case.

To Be Continued...

Today miraculously I recieved both the smartrex and the doo-doo board

The doo-doo board looks better in person than in the photos, I give sealcouch credit for the perfect dye procedure and the AWSOME pack job

Right away I went to the tools and cracked them open

Started swapping keys and stuff around

Then I tried this

I went with the second choice

Let me know what you guys think and if I should change anything

SPECIAL THANKS GOES OUT TO KISHY, RIPSTER, SEALCOUCH AND THE TEAM OF FENTEK

KillerBee · « **Reply #1 on:** Tue, 03 August 2010, 11:28:26 »

Quote from: ripster;208675

Nice pics of the SmarTrex.

When I am done I will thank you for the pictures

sealcouch · « **Reply #2 on:** Tue, 03 August 2010, 16:21:51 »

I'm bracing for impact.

audioave10 · « **Reply #3 on:** Tue, 03 August 2010, 22:58:21 »

I guess no resize here - those pics ore HUUGE. No problemo however and I'm quite interested to see all your M's when finished.

KillerBee · « **Reply #4 on:** Wed, 04 August 2010, 00:59:05 »

I fixed it a little on the resize issue

EverythingIBM · « **Reply #5 on:** Wed, 04 August 2010, 01:42:53 »

This'll be interesting. Was wondering why you bought the doo-doo board. Too bad, its infamy for ugliness will be sorely missed. sealcouch can always make another one though.

$60 doesn't seem that cheap, I could have bought a Model M13 for $65 awhile back. Even a more "awhile back" I could have bought one for $20.

sealcouch · « **Reply #6 on:** Wed, 04 August 2010, 01:51:23 »

The new Doo-doo board is in the brainstorming process.

KillerBee · « **Reply #7 on:** Wed, 04 August 2010, 23:17:52 »

Threes company

Ohh nudy shots (note my dirty model m vs the clean doo-doo board)

IDEA 1

IDEA 2

I picked idea 2 but nothing is set in stone please I need feedback and comments to decide what to eventually do

KillerBee · « **Reply #8 on:** Wed, 04 August 2010, 23:35:46 »

KillerBee · « **Reply #9 on:** Wed, 04 August 2010, 23:38:06 »

Actually the brown keys look black so its a neat contrast

Shawn Stanford · « **Reply #10 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 07:17:00 »

That looks horrible...

KillerBee · « **Reply #11 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 07:24:14 »

Quote from: Shawn Stanford;209403

That looks horrible...

What would you have done different?

microsoft windows · « **Reply #12 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 08:55:52 »

If you feel like spending the money and like blank keyboards, you could chuck a set of blank black keys into that Smartrex.

microsoft windows · « **Reply #13 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 08:56:35 »

Quote from: Shawn Stanford;209403

That looks horrible...

Hey. It's racially diverse!

KillerBee · « **Reply #14 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 09:23:21 »

Quote from: Shawn Stanford;209403

That looks horrible...

I second that; if FIRST SGT. STANFORD says its horrible then it is.

I was active duty ARMY Signals Intel Analyst (98C)

hyperlinked · « **Reply #15 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 09:32:34 »

Quote from: KillerBee;209346

Show Image

It really does look like the whole board is made out of chocolate!

I like the blue keys with the white outer keys look a lot better on the black case.

audioave10 · « **Reply #16 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 11:43:33 »

I think I also like "idea 1" better. IMHO
Its nice to have some options however.

kishy · « **Reply #17 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 11:43:43 »

I'd like to see all coloured keys in the black case.

gr1m · « **Reply #18 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 11:52:01 »

I'm not too sure about the black-casing keyboard, but the white one (with blue inner keys) looks amazing.

Shawn Stanford · « **Reply #19 on:** Thu, 05 August 2010, 20:10:35 »

Quote from: KillerBee;209439

I second that; if FIRST SGT. STANFORD says its horrible then it is. I was active duty ARMY Signals Intel Analyst (98C)

Better brush up the analysis skills, Soldier: I'm only a sergeant first class. :-D

KillerBee · « **Reply #20 on:** Mon, 09 August 2010, 08:21:03 »

there seems to be an extra rocker in your chest patch using the picture at the left

KillerBee · « **Reply #21 on:** Mon, 09 August 2010, 08:23:10 »

my old man found an IBM Model M Terminal Keyboard in storage where he works, I told him to strip her clean of all caps and keys.

Should be throwing around some ideas soon

kishy · « **Reply #22 on:** Mon, 09 August 2010, 11:49:25 »

KillerBee if the remainder of the board is to be trashed, please take a peek at the bottom and let me know if it has a DIP switch block installed or not (if not, it'll have a plastic panel filling the obvious hole). I'd want that block of switches and their little plastic bracket if it'd otherwise be thrown away.

EverythingIBM · « **Reply #23 on:** Mon, 09 August 2010, 13:45:42 »

Hmmm... wouldn't it have been easier to just dye a beige case totally black? That way you'd have black for both top & bottom pieces.

You could even have a contrasting blue IBM logo against the black -- I think that always looks so cool.

instantkamera · « **Reply #24 on:** Tue, 10 August 2010, 08:11:11 »

Cant the brown keys be dyed totally black?

KillerBee · « **Reply #25 on:** Tue, 10 August 2010, 17:13:47 »

Quote from: instantkamera;210868

Cant the brown keys be dyed totally black?

I would possibly think so Im going to try within this upcoming week

@kishy: I got your letter today thanks! and dad tried to get the board out of the lab but they said NO :-( Eventhou he said it was trash but they denied.

EverythingIBM · « **Reply #26 on:** Tue, 10 August 2010, 21:03:28 »

Quote from: KillerBee;211132

I would possibly think so Im going to try within this upcoming week

@kishy: I got your letter today thanks! and dad tried to get the board out of the lab but they said NO :-( Eventhou he said it was trash but they denied.

Don't remind me. So many stupid companies don't let you take things, even when they're about to throw it out.

A company (where I actually got my 300PL from) still was using all of them (lol), BUT THEY THREW THEM ALL OUT. I wanted them. Or at least one. Looks like I'll have to buy one

KillerBee · « **Reply #27 on:** Tue, 10 August 2010, 23:20:30 »

Quote from: EverythingIBM;211200

Don't remind me. So many stupid companies don't let you take things, even when they're about to throw it out.

A company (where I actually got my 300PL from) still was using all of them (lol), BUT THEY THREW THEM ALL OUT. I wanted them. Or at least one. Looks like I'll have to buy one

Atleast he got me the complete key set, and this is the Puerto Rico Telephone Company (PRTC) thing have changed since the government sold the company in the late 1990's

News:

Author Topic: The Tale of Three Model M's (Read 6872 times)