geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: jpc on Sun, 10 October 2010, 21:44:46
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Here. (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e11050.m43.l1123/7?euid=2f3b9ff308ba465e8f347b8ad4d904a4&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D290485424410%26ssPageName%3DADME%3AX%3AAAQ%3AUS%3A1123)
I asked:
Hi,
Do you know if this keyboard uses buckling springs or rubber domes? I will bid if it uses springs.
You can tell for certain by pulling one of the keys out, and if there is a metal spring underneath, that is a buckling spring board. (Pulling the key won't damage the board, they are designed to pop off and pop on again.)
Thanks!
Seller replied:
Hi,
I pulled one of the keys off , I did not see a sprin g , as in a coil spring , but there is a "U" shaped metal piec undernaeth , I hope this helps.
Thanks
I have no idea what that means.
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ask if it CLICKS?
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The last 96U1114 listed, from my Box of Chocolates (http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?p=228593) post, turned out to be a rubber dome, per clickykeyboards and eventually verified by seller when asked by jpc.
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He might have pulled the spacebar.
Yeah, I should have specified the Esc key or something. "Where's the ANY key?"
For all I know, Unicomp calls both rubber dome and buckling spring boards 96U1114.
I didn't ask if it clicks, because rubber dome Ms make a thunka-thudda-thunkadud noise, and they have a tactile bump. If you don't know what clicky means, a rubber dome M might be clicky.
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For all I know, Unicomp calls both rubber dome and buckling spring boards 96U1114.
True, I don't know any better than that either, could be as far as I know. So you're right, best to ask & verify as you did before.
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Yeah I would guess that the buckling spring M5-2 has a different part number (not 96U1114) but we don't know until we sight one.
Here's another Unicomp M5-2, with a different part number and an IBM label, still no info on whether it has steel springs or rubber drones: http://cgi.ebay.com/REFURB-IBM-M5-2-Trackball-Keyboard-1398149-Ivory-660-/140461567958 (http://cgi.ebay.com/REFURB-IBM-M5-2-Trackball-Keyboard-1398149-Ivory-660-/140461567958)
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ISTR determining in the past, from an archived copy of the Unicomp site, that the 96U M5-2s are all rubber dome.
Will try to confirm this again.
Edit: yes, that is the case. Refer to http://web.archive.org/web/20080613182501/pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/ontheball.html
96U1114 is "quiet touch", rubber dome construction
UNI0476 is buckling spring (which are believed to be very uncommon)
Yup, I saw the same thing. Wonder if it's like the UNI04C6 with apparently was Unicomp's part number for the IBM space saver (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://mineko.fc2web.com/box/kb-room/items/unicomp-uni04c6.html&ei=kJayTMurMY-WsgOmnaCbAg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CB8Q7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3DUNI04C6%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Divfd) which was still labelled "IBM", at least near as I can tell from these historical materials.
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Interesting, it's an older-type Model M - with the cable going in through the middle of the case, and using a coiled, flat cable.
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Yeah and that '99 M5-2 has a gray label instead of a blue label. Not what you'd expect for '99.
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I saw that same exact keyboard on Ebay, and was considering trying to get it, and interestingly enough looking for the answer to the same question as the OP, I ended up back here....funny!