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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Findecanor on Sun, 15 May 2011, 15:11:14

Title: Is this a beam-spring keyboard?
Post by: Findecanor on Sun, 15 May 2011, 15:11:14

(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=18147&stc=1&d=1305489840)
I found this on an auction site as part of a lot of vintage computers. The pictures are very blurry and the seller is very bad at answering my questions.

Apparently, this keyboard is mounted inside a table... with the IBM logo. Underneath the table on the left is what appears to be the main unit. Some "Data Station" for System/3 perhaps?
It looks like the seller has three of them.

Title: Is this a beam-spring keyboard?
Post by: xwhatsit on Sun, 15 May 2011, 16:45:48

It sure looks like it!

Lucky fella. Buy it! Can't promise when but I'll have a USB controller for these ready in the next 6 months. Model F is almost working and these use the same system, just reversed.

Title: Is this a beam-spring keyboard?
Post by: bhtooefr on Sun, 15 May 2011, 16:46:00

The Data Station is a device that acts like a card punch, but instead makes disk files.

It looks nothing like the 3720 family, so I'd guess it's the 5280 family. I'd say buckling spring, as the 5280s were in the 1980s, but those keycaps look like double-shot spherical keys, which is a dead giveaway that it's beam spring, if it is the 5280 family.

It's somewhere between a dumb terminal and a keyboard and monitor for a dumb terminal. A little smarter than just a keyboard and monitor, but not much.

Title: Is this a beam-spring keyboard?
Post by: Ascaii on Mon, 16 May 2011, 13:19:17

looks like something to buy^^.

Title: Is this a beam-spring keyboard?
Post by: Findecanor on Mon, 16 May 2011, 15:01:23

I am getting more and more afraid that I won't be able to get to these either. The seller does not answer to my mails.