Unicomp Model M Right Shift Key Issue

[Heisenberg122]

Hi everyone,


I'm having an issue with the right shift key of my Unicomp Model M (Made in 2006) keyboard. Please see the following two videos of the issue I'm having;

I made a quick search on the internet and I just realized that I'm not the only one who is having this issue:

Also, I saw another one who is having that issue in the comments of the one (

- Typing Demo XL - IBM buckling springs (Unicomp Model M) (ASMR)) of the videos of Chyrosran22



And, an original IBM Model M (SSK) :

I reported that issue to the Unicomp support line. Then they requested that removing the key and taking pictures of the board side and the bottom side of the key. They told me that they need to be sure if the insert is missing or not. I recorded the videos at the beginning of this post and shared those videos with them more than 10 days ago. Since the time I shared the videos, they've lapsed into silence. There is no response from Unicomp any longer.
Although I write comments asking for any response several times on the ticket but no, nobody is answering the ticket anymore. This is irritating and tiresome behavior. I prefer that they would say something, positive or negative!.
Not responding at all is really irritating!


Anyway, as you can see in the videos, smaller keys such as backspace (2U), ANSI enter key (2.25U), etc don't have this issue.


I suspect that this is a design fault. So, the length of the right shift key as 2.75U is too long to be stabilized with a kind of plastic insert stabilizer to be used.


If the key is longer than ~2.25U then the wire stabilizer would be better instead of the plastic insert stabilizer I think.


I'm wondering if anybody had that kind of issue on Unicomp buckling spring keyboards?

Or any kind of comment will be appreciated.


Thank you so much in advance.

[rowdy]

I have 5 Model M keyboards.

The two 101 key and one of the SSKs work perfectly.

The other SSK has slightly sticky shift keys anyway, and the right shift does exhibit a slight tendency to stick occasionally, especially when pressed on the extreme right side.  It does more or less work most of the time though.

My M122 is in the middle of a bolt mod (I haven't forgotten about it, if anyone reading this recalls the saga) - the right shift key on that also sticks slightly and intermittently.

None are as extreme as the examples you have illustrated.

It was suggested to me to stick a screwdriver into the insert (the little white thing in the barrel) under the key and wiggle it about a bit.  Most likely the keyboards are a bit sensitive to the position of that insert, especially on the right shift, which is the longest key on the keyboard.

[Heisenberg122]

I have 5 Model M keyboards.

The two 101 key and one of the SSKs work perfectly.

The other SSK has slightly sticky shift keys anyway, and the right shift does exhibit a slight tendency to stick occasionally, especially when pressed on the extreme right side.  It does more or less work most of the time though.

My M122 is in the middle of a bolt mod (I haven't forgotten about it, if anyone reading this recalls the saga) - the right shift key on that also sticks slightly and intermittently.

None are as extreme as the examples you have illustrated.

It was suggested to me to stick a screwdriver into the insert (the little white thing in the barrel) under the key and wiggle it about a bit.  Most likely the keyboards are a bit sensitive to the position of that insert, especially on the right shift, which is the longest key on the keyboard.

Thank you @rowdy. I tried to wiggle the insert about a bit with a tiny screwdriver. While I was afraid to break it by mistake I'm not sure if I did it correctly or not but I couldn't solve the problem unfortunately.

By the way, I've downloaded the Technical Reference document for the brand new model f keyboards from the website of @darkcruix : https://www.bucklingspring.com/download/model-f-technical-reference/

For the Removing Stabilizer, there is a very effective way, it worked for me.

Removing Stabilizer:



As for the key binding problem, there are two methods have been advised to resolve the issue in the document:

Method-1, Lubing the insert with grease.
Method-2, Lift the insert a little bit, about 1mm








I've also tried both of them as well, but the problem remains, they didn't solve the problem. My right shift key is still binding.

(Although the document has been written for Model F keyboards, you know, the plastic insert parts and the mechanism are very similar to the Model Ms.)

[rowdy]

The grease I can understand, but the 1mm lifting is an interesting approach.  None of mine are that bad that I'd need to use either method anyway.

With it documented this well, in addition to all the example you've found, it could just be a, well, maybe not a design fault, just materials with a very fine degrading over the decades.

[Heisenberg122]

The grease I can understand, but the 1mm lifting is an interesting approach.  None of mine are that bad that I'd need to use either method anyway.

With it documented this well, in addition to all the example you've found, it could just be a, well, maybe not a design fault, just materials with a very fine degrading over the decades.

Thank you @rowdy for your comment.

[rowdy]

Also missed the word tolerance, as in "... just materials with a very fine tolerance degrading over the decades"