geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: lootbag on Sun, 23 January 2011, 15:24:33
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Here we go again...
http://cgi.ebay.ca/IBM-Model-M-Space-Saver-Clicky-Keyboard-NIB-/180616321494?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2a0d9259d6#ht_1340wt_1139 (http://cgi.ebay.ca/IBM-Model-M-Space-Saver-Clicky-Keyboard-NIB-/180616321494?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2a0d9259d6#ht_1340wt_1139)
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oh man this is going to go for a hefty price.
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i hate you guys for posting these on here >.< (i'm trying to acquire one)
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May the highest bidder win haha.
As much as I want one of these, I am leaning towards an 86U/87U.
SIGH
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The realforce is MUCH smaller. And I do love me a good Topre switch. I alternate between buckling spring and topre for my typing needs. And you'll be spending about the same on either, if you want NIB.
Now, there is one distinct advantage for the IBM over the Realforce: you can change the layout of the keys to be whatever you want (within reason). The membranes are the same for all of the non-japanese layouts, so you can easily turn it into a UK or DE keyboard, or a UNIX layout, as I did.
Combined with the teensy based PS/2 converter, the remapping could even be done in hardware.
Now, if you're happy with ANSI, then this is a moot point, and it just comes down to switch and size preferences.
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A little late, but glad to see comptekw2k hasn't run out. Did they always charge 36$ for shipping?
The last one went for just over 300$
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A little late, but glad to see comptekw2k hasn't run out. Did they always charge 36$ for shipping?
The last one went for just over 300$
The link in the OP is to the Canada eBay site. Could be why the shipping is higher if it defaulted the shipping to Canada.
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The link in the OP is to the Canada eBay site. Could be why the shipping is higher if it defaulted the shipping to Canada.
Ah ha! Good eye.
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...and in less than 24 hours we're already up to $142.50.... SSK madness knows no limits!
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What madness? They're good keyboards. :biggrin:
While any busted-up SSK can be repaired, a NIB one might also need to be repaired. Its rivets could be long gone. That's the only thing that seems possibly irrational about the price of NIB SSKs. Buyers may be assuming that NIB means new.
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What madness? They're good keyboards. :biggrin:.
They're not good keyboards. They're *great* keyboards!
(http://www.erwinandsandy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/tony_the_tiger_432.gif)
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What madness? They're good keyboards. :biggrin:
While any busted-up SSK can be repaired, a NIB one might also need to be repaired. Its rivets could be long gone. That's the only thing that seems possibly irrational about the price of NIB SSKs. Buyers may be assuming that NIB means new.
Good point. Has anyone bought one of these and checked for broken rivets? A slightly used SSK with a well-done bolt mod might actually be preferable to a brand new one where you have to spend the time to do the bolt mod yourself, and if not experienced, might damage it.
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13 busted rivets.
:eek:
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I got one from the same guy, NIB, had 13 busted rivets.
That's a bummer to hear.
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Depends on how the feel is affected. 13 broken rivets is a bit much for me, ymmv though.
The nut/bolt mod isn't that hard to do, it is just time consuming and tedious. Use a sharp chisel, get the right nut/bolts, use a quality drill/bit and have lots of patience.
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I got one from the same guy, NIB, had 13 busted rivets.
So someone correct me if I'm wrong, if these Model M's end up with so many broken rivets by just sitting over time, then it seems the NIB premium they're commanding isn't really worth it. Because in order for it to feel like new, it'll require a bolt mod, which by nature means it won't be NIB anymore. So actually a nearly new keyboard with a properly executed bolt mod might even be preferable if someone got it to use it.
I was considering getting one of these, but maybe I'll pass if it's this likely a large number of rivets will be broken, and just stick to nicer used ones. With many items, new mint versions tend to increase in value at a higher percent compared to used versions. But if it becomes well-known that the new version degrades over time just by sitting there, I doubt they'll increase more than used ones.
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If the rest of the board is brand new, you can probably do the "lite" version of the bolt mod: drill out and bolt up only the broken rivets. This is much less work because you don't disassemble and reassemble the main assembly. Once you have the tools (dremel, drill bit, nuts, bolts, 5.5mm driver) the ersatz bolt mod takes only a few minutes.
You wouldn't be able to change out the membranes or springs, but on a NIB SSK those should be perfect already.
For those that haven't seen an M taken apart: there's nothing but solid plastic between the stud that the rivet was formerly attached to, and the front of the barrel plate. From the metal plate side, you can drill straight down into the stud and through to the barrel plate without disturbing anything important.
You'd want to remove a few keys opposite each spot you drill, so they aren't damaged. (But don't take all the keys off, because then you're sitting the board on its springs which could damage the springs.)
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That was just luck of the draw. I can tilt my nib ones side to side, and I don't hear any rivets in there.
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But my understanding is that the rivets tend to break just by aging. If this is correct, your NIB boards which currently don't have any broken rivets, may very well have major issues with rivets some years down the road.
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Yes, they definitely could have issues- no doubt about that.
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Think of it as an opportunity to flex your drilling muscles.
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Yeah, but what about Comptek2wk? Did he have bad karma? Or the guy he bought it from, maybe he had bad karma. You know, I heard bad karma has a very long half-life. Any stored up bad karma in those rivets is bad news waiting to happen. I do though have a super dooper bad karma zapper I'd be willing to trade you for your industrial mini and your APL mini. Guaranteed to get rid of bad karma in your rivets. I can't guarantee it'll help with other factors that can damage your rivets, but certainly will clean out all that nasty bad karma.
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When bad karma piles up your best bet is to get on the karma payment plan. Paying off all at once can be painful!
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355$
Is that a record? Will we see 400$ in 2011?
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waaahhh~
kudos to the SSK winner.
I will stick with my lowly 1391401
& my Topres