Author Topic: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay  (Read 2102 times)

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Offline fohat.digs

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Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 16:05:36 »
Somebody really needs to buy this now. I would be all over it if I weren't broke.

And please don't be an ******* and lowball bid on it to kill the buy it now opportunity.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Northgate-OmniKey-101-Mechanical-Keyboard-White-Keycaps-with-Cable-/111603725692?ssPageName=ADME:SS:SS:US:3160
"The Trump campaign announced in a letter that Republican candidates and committees are now expected to pay “a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC” for using his “name, image, and likeness in fundraising solicitations.”
“Any split that is higher than 5%,” the letter states, “will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump's campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.”"

Offline metalliqaz

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 16:11:12 »
Northgate, the other Model M :)

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 16:21:54 »
"The Trump campaign announced in a letter that Republican candidates and committees are now expected to pay “a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC” for using his “name, image, and likeness in fundraising solicitations.”
“Any split that is higher than 5%,” the letter states, “will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump's campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.”"

Offline jdcarpe

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 16:35:20 »
Thank you, sir!
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Offline Special K

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 16:44:07 »
OK,

I saw that this morning but didn't bid on it/buy it because:

1. The seller said they hadn't even tested the board to make sure it works

2. You can't really see much from the photos - nothing of the back of the board or the cable, and not even a clear, in focus shot of the front of the board.

3. I bought a board one time that had dots of rust all over the backplate underneath the switches; the keyboard was simply advertised as "used" with no mention of the rust.  Personally as a buyer I would like to know if the keyboard has any damage that can't be simply cleaned off, and now make it a point to ask the seller about rust if it isn't clear from the photos.

Yet the board sold anyway in less than a day after listing.

Am I being too picky for wanting to see these things before buying?  The auction said no returns so I'd feel like an idiot if I bought it and it didn't work or there was some major defect that wasn't visible from the limited photos, yet I don't want to keep missing out on auctions because I'm waiting on the seller for more information.  Some keyboard sellers know what they have and include all relevant photos and information, but many like this one apparently do not.

I'm kind of a n00b when it comes to buying used keyboards on ebay and just wonder what other do.  I might just make this a separate thread as it is worth a discussion.
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LOL - we're on post #163 of this mega-thread and you've gone from"keyboard n00b" to "keyboard sn0b".  We've done our job.

Offline metalliqaz

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 16:49:10 »
I bought an Omnikey 101 like this one a while ago for a few bucks more.  It was definitely dirty in person.

The one in this listing clearly has some crud on the Q key.  The Omnikeys usually got a lot of use so they often require some loving before you can use them.  You can still find NIB or like new, but they are twice as much.  As far as working/non working, I'd bet its working, the biggest risk is funky switches.  Mine had one and I had to buy one of those alps 4-packs to fix it.

Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 18:14:15 »
I have bought at least 3 of these in the $35-85 range and only 1 of them was "nice"

There were rust spots on all the plates and I would take that as a given on just about any decades-old Alps board.

I looked at the box and styrofoam and assumed that this one was very good + but perhaps not.

"The Trump campaign announced in a letter that Republican candidates and committees are now expected to pay “a minimum of 5% of all fundraising solicitations to Trump National Committee JFC” for using his “name, image, and likeness in fundraising solicitations.”
“Any split that is higher than 5%,” the letter states, “will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump's campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.”"

Offline chyros

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 18:41:41 »
There were rust spots on all the plates and I would take that as a given on just about any decades-old Alps board.
Really? Oo Most of mine are quite rust-free.... Maybe I'm just lucky though :) .
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Offline engicoder

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 19:42:22 »
I would have bit on this if I hadn't just picked up my 3rd last week. I'm always looking for spares for my original Omnikey that I bought new in 1989 with a Northgate 386, complete with turbo button for backwards compatability.
   

Offline metalliqaz

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Re: Northgate Omnikey excellent on ebay
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 21 February 2015, 19:57:35 »
I would have bit on this if I hadn't just picked up my 3rd last week. I'm always looking for spares for my original Omnikey that I bought new in 1989 with a Northgate 386, complete with turbo button for backwards compatability.

Heh, awesome