geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: dante on Mon, 18 March 2013, 18:53:45
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I'm looking to get the oldest Model M in 101 key layout I can find. I've heard that time is not kind to Model M's; would it be safe to automatically assume 86/87 M's will need bolt modding?
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My "pride and joy" Model M is a September 1986 1390131 that I bolt-modded and added 2010 Unicomp springs (thanks demik) along with orihalcon's USB cable.
Amazingly, it came to me with < and I am not making this up > not one single broken rivet.
Every other Model M I have had (which is well over a dozen) has had 10%-50% broken rivets.
The good qualities of the old (pre-early-1989 or thereabouts) Ms are very heavy back plates (on the very early ones the metal is shiny and yellowish, later it is dull gray), heavier wiring and cabling to the controller, and wire stabilizers on the long keys (and I am not sure that I think that these are superior to the later plastic insert stabilizers).
The 1390120s and 1390131s have the square metal badge which is infinitely classier than the stamped plastic labels.
I have never had a controller fail on a 1391401, but several later controllers have gone bad.
All that said, the first M I ever bought was a lightly-used 1991 black label 1391401, and I have left it totally stock and it still feels just about as good as any of the others.
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Bolt modding as a requirement for functioning is far less commonplace than people make it out to be. Most damage comes from rough handling and poor storage conditions. An M which has been well taken care of usually won't have any issues. Otherwise? Dude - it's an M! We're going to be typing on these things 30 years from the date of manufacture.
The biggest thing to watch for on early M's is the significantly higher controller draw. (Yes, they're all high draw compared to modern keyboards - and PS/2 spec is 500mV damnit, not one mV less!) But the very early M's have the highest draw of the lot excepting the M5/M13's combined. And motherboard manufacturers just LOVE to cheap the hell out on the PS/2 fusing because "lolol nobody uses ps/2 no more here's a fraction of a penny to cut!" Unless you know for SURE that your motherboard manufacturer didn't do that, use a USB adapter. The minimum recommended safe for an '86/'87 with LEDs is 400mV fusing per port.
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Would you trust ClickyKeyboards.com? Are their prices fair?
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I have only bought parts from clickykeyboards and they were fine.
Their prices are twice the going rate on ebay, I always assumed that you got good clean tested specimens from them, but apparently some people here have been disappointed.
Unless you are scared of using a few screwdrivers and cleaning rags, most nasty ebay purchases clean up very nicely.
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I dont have a 1390131 like fohat, but I did grab a 1390120 (same thing but with no LEDs) from eBay for $25 or so shipped. It's from early march 1986 I believe. I'll look again when I get home and post a picture of the label (it has the older style model F like label, which was abandoned for the smaller model M label we know and love in mid 1986) if you want. I'm waiting for my bolts to arrive. It's already drilled earlier this week.
The older model M's have stabilizer wires on some of the keys
The very oldest are the square label industrial IBMs, which started to appear in late (october?) 1985 I believe.
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The "older style F label" is uber-sexy.
I have never had an M with that style, but I would certainly like to have one!
The 1390120 has never appealed to me, without indicator LEDs, but it's the least costly way to go if you want a old M.
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The 1390120 has never appealed to me, without indicator LEDs, but it's the least costly way to go if you want a old M.
I actually like the idea of a minimalist keyboard w/o LEDs. Any other models other than the 1390120 that didn't have LED's?
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The very oldest are the square label industrial IBMs, which started to appear in late (october?) 1985 I believe.
I have one with a controller board from December 1984 (http://minus.com/lXP2yEzv7DRWS).