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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: iMav on Thu, 06 November 2008, 18:10:53

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: iMav on Thu, 06 November 2008, 18:10:53

Well, picked it up a few days ago.  Just starting to get it cleaned up.  Here is part of it:

(http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-1.jpg) (http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-1-big.jpg)

(http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-2.jpg) (http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-2-big.jpg)

(http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-3.jpg) (http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-3-big.jpg)

Soaking the keycaps and topcase right now.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: zwmalone on Thu, 06 November 2008, 18:23:19

Nice!  Looks like it's in good shape.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: iMav on Thu, 06 November 2008, 18:30:16

Here's the rest of it...fresh from its bath.  ;)

(http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-4.jpg) (http://www.uhhh.org/~lherzog/blog-images/model-m2-4-big.jpg)

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: zwmalone on Thu, 06 November 2008, 18:37:48

Nice find iMav.  What's the date on the M2?

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: bigpook on Thu, 06 November 2008, 18:54:54

didn't xsphat have issues with the M2's?

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: xsphat on Thu, 06 November 2008, 19:52:51

Both of them. One lasted a week though, so you might get that out of it.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: fkeidjn on Thu, 06 November 2008, 22:17:12

How do you put that back together?  I've tried to, but to no avail.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: iMav on Fri, 07 November 2008, 01:07:41

Quote from: fkeidjn;10420

How do you put that back together?  I've tried to, but to no avail.

Easy.  If you hold the top case upside down, the bucking spring assemblies can be seated properly and then the bottom case is snapped on.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: iMav on Fri, 07 November 2008, 10:12:37

During the reassembly, I noticed issues with some of the bucking springs.  Sent an email to Jim Owens (from Unicomp).  I also need a y-cable for one of my M-4's ("mighty mouse") that was missing one.  He told me that if I ordered the cable, he'd send me a full set of replacement buckling springs for my Model M2.  :)

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: itlnstln on Fri, 07 November 2008, 10:53:15

If I order new cables for my Ms from Jim, will he make me an M15?  :)  Probably not... :(

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: lowpoly on Fri, 07 November 2008, 11:46:55

Quote

will he make me an M15?

Did anybody ever ask him if he could?

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: itlnstln on Fri, 07 November 2008, 11:59:55

I have, but they "have no plans currently" to produce the M15.  I am not so sure they recieved the patent to that one.  I remember reading a history/wiki about it, and another company ended up with the patent (for the split base portion, that is; Unicomp owns the patents for the BS).

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: itlnstln on Fri, 07 November 2008, 12:16:38

Taking a quick look online, Key Ovation owns the patents for the split-adjustable platform.  Their keyboard, the Gold Touch, is very similar, but they use rubber domes.  The sources I found online aren't official, so they could be wrong, but it seems plausible.  From the pages I found (essentially blogs and message boards), Key Ovation did the overall design for IBM/Lexmark who then produced the board.  When Lexmark stopped making the M, and sold the patents to MaxiSwitch (then Unicomp), they did not get the M15 patents (they were probably just licensed from Key Ovation).

Again, take this with a grain of salt as I can't verify any of it.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: lowpoly on Fri, 07 November 2008, 12:33:31

Thanks. So, no new M15s for us.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: itlnstln on Fri, 07 November 2008, 12:46:27

I would doubt it.  If we could get Key Ovation to use mechanical switches (I vote for Alps or blue Cherries) of some kind in their keyboards, that would work, too.

http://www.keyovation.com

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: Qwertyuiop on Thu, 13 November 2008, 01:42:08

It will be interesting to see what you think of the M2 once it's reassembled.

I bought a new old stock one from clickykeyboards a couple of years ago, and it had one big flaw for me. All of the wide keys, backspace, shift, enter, etc. require significantly more force to press than the normal keys. As far as I could determine, it's because of that little plastic hinge thing that stabilizes those keys. While I never found a lot of information online about the M2, I was surprised that nothing I found mentioned this.

I personally found the keyboard painful to use since the stiff keys just happen to be ones you press with a pinky. It's probably a bigger issue for me because I have CTS and might not be an issue at all for others.

Title: Just picked up a Model M2
Post by: bhtooefr on Thu, 13 November 2008, 05:44:46

Or, KeyOvation could just... make a buckling spring version.

The buckling spring patents expired last year.