[SOLD] Another Displaywriter IBM Beamspring on eBay $149.98 + shipping :-)

[ekeppel]

The second one this seller has listed tonight at this price.  Perhaps more are on the way?   (EDIT: I messaged the seller and these are the only two he has.)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272824522508

[ekeppel]

That one went quickly also.  Wonder if anyone here got it?

[ander]

Man, the shipping's a killer on those, isn't it? Unfortunately they're a tad too big for USPS's flat-rate Board Game boxes.

[JP]

I paid way too much for mine 

[matt-taco]

Well, there goes another.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[ekeppel]

Well, there goes another.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

You could set the Great Finds sub-board to notify you the moment someone posts, which may give you a better chance of catching stuff like this.  You may already have done that, but if not it's worth doing.   :-)

[ander]

I've gotta say, I quite prefer the darker colourways, e.g.:





...over that all-white one. Even the ones with only outer dark keys:





...seem much more attractive. What do you guys think?

[ekeppel]

I've gotta say, I quite prefer the darker colourways, e.g.:

...over that all-white one. Even the ones with only outer dark keys:

...seem much more attractive. What do you guys think?

I agree.  I think the all white is pretty plain looking compared to other colorways.  They can be spruced up a lot with a set of alphas taken from a Selectric, however. :-)

[chyros]

I've gotta say, I quite prefer the darker colourways, e.g.:

...over that all-white one. Even the ones with only outer dark keys:

...seem much more attractive. What do you guys think?

I agree.  I think the all white is pretty plain looking compared to other colorways.  They can be spruced up a lot with a set of alphas taken from a Selectric, however. :-)

5251 <3

[ekeppel]

While on the subject of the 5251, I thought that I would share something that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere, though I seriously doubt that I'm breaking any new ground here.   )

As many of us know, keys from other Beamsprings or from a Selectric can be used to customize our layouts.  What I have not heard anyone mention is that due to the Beamspring's split mounting arm, the possibility is there of mounting keys off-center and not using the mounting slot at all.  While it may immediately seem like this wouldn't work, in practice I've found that it works really well.  For example, here's my current setup on my 5251:



I've taken a few keys from a Selectric II, such as the stepped Caps Lock, Return, and the plus/minus keys on the numpad.  Since my muscle memory is ANSI, I swapped the LeftShift and >< keys and also put in a closer-to-ANSI Return key. 

While it would seem that these keys shouldn't fit in those spots, thanks to the way the mount has a slot in it, one can just use the key's mold-fins to hold it in place instead of the usual mounting hole.  Yes, the key will tip if you press hard on the unsupported side, but I have really not had any issues with regular typing force, even bottoming out the keys pretty hard. 

The Return key is mounted similarly but straddles two switches.  I am using the original ISO Return/Field-Exit switch for the 'fin-mount', and the backwards-L portion of the key fits snugly over the other switch, making it extremely stable.  Two keys are activated for one press in this configuration but that's easily fixed either in programming or by removal of one of the switch plates.  I chose to just change the programming to ignore the extra switch.

It was very easy to make these modifications, along with minor adjustments in the xwhatsit controller programming, and didn't require any additional disassembly.  These changes, along with some key remaps for modifiers, etc. make this keyboard very usable for me as a daily driver, and I can recommend similar changes for those who have trouble using ISO layouts, but would like to make more use of the 5251 or other Beamspring layout.

Hopefully this info is helpful. 

[ander]

While on the subject of the 5251, I thought that I would share something that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere...

Dude, you're a geek among geeks, and I salute you. 

[nurupism]

The Return key is mounted similarly but straddles two switches.  I am using the original ISO Return/Field-Exit switch for the 'fin-mount', and the backwards-L portion of the key fits snugly over the other switch, making it extremely stable.  Two keys are activated for one press in this configuration but that's easily fixed either in programming or by removal of one of the switch plates.  I chose to just change the programming to ignore the extra switch.

That sounds really cool, I'd love to give that a try on my own 3278. Although it sounds like straddling two switches would make the key twice as heavy to actuate, have you found a solution for this?

[ekeppel]

That sounds really cool, I'd love to give that a try on my own 3278. Although it sounds like straddling two switches would make the key twice as heavy to actuate, have you found a solution for this?

I didn't bother with the shift key, since it makes it less easy to accidentally hit when I type quickly.  The double spring pressure is not that noticeable when I actually go to use it, though.

If I remember correctly, for the Return key, I just lightened the spring closest to the " key by using one from a C64 / VIC20 keyboard that I had laying around.  The springs are a decent fit on the beamspring, but lighter. I suppose you could just remove a coil or two from the existing springs too, but I would hate to ruin an original spring when alternatives are easily available. 

Whatever you do, don't lighten a spring too much or remove it.  If you do, it likely won't return properly.  :-)

[orihalcon]

You can take one of the springs out, or maybe fit with lighter springs on both?

Haven’t tried this mod myself, but definitely looks nice!

[ekeppel]

It just occurred to me that the last photo I posted in this thread shows the keyboard with a different layout than I have currently, so my comment about the left shift key doesn't make much sense, lol.

Here's the layout right now.  No, the Griffin Powermate is not mounted to the keyboard.  It's just handy to have it sitting there. :-)