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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: nerp on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:24:28

Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: nerp on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:24:28
In the past week I've purchased and started using both a 1993 Model M 42H1292 from clickykeyboards.com and a Customizer 104 (DOB 2/19/2009 - must not have much inventory piled up!) and I've officially become tiresome to spend time with because I'm gushing obsessively about my new fetish: the buckling spring.

Oh the sweetness I'm feeling to watch my words literally snap into place. My first PC was an original IBM XT and my high school days were spent in PS/2 labs with rows of these babies. Those years were formative ones and my eventual drift towards the writer's life started with my hands on this chattery design, my arrogant adolescence being confronted against these keys.

I don't know how I rediscovered the Model M, but since I have, I don't know how I fogot about it. I had moved on, I guess, with the rest of the world, to soft squishy boards that were purchased on the premise of quietness and appearance.

So I've been lurking here for a couple weeks, soaking up information. I saw someone post a link here in the comments section in a blog post by someone about the Model M and the Unicomp somewhere. I am very impressed with the community here and wanted to say thanks for all the knowledge I've sucked up.

My experience buying from clickykeyboards was solid. The board arrived in two days and is remarkably clean. They really do a perfect job making the board as spic and span as possible. No pubes, thank god. The price was decent. I know there are probably boards sitting in junk bins waiting for me to snatch for $5 within a 100 mile radius, but I honestly don't have the time to find, test, and de-pube some random board. The $40 and shipping for this Model M was worth the convenience.

Meanwhile, I ordered a Customizer 104 last week. I was sold on the whole story of an American small business, running on a shoestring, banging out plastic on IBM's old factory parts. Hard working Kentuckian moms putting the keys on the board by hand. This is something I want to support. I stumbled upon the NRP story from January in my research. WOw, I think, here's a little operation keeping this legendary computer part ALIVE. This isn't just a fortunate occurrence for people who cling to buckling spring. This is a real STORY.

I place the order, thinking about how the company had to lay off a third of its employees and stuck in a position in which their equipment can only do so much and their income can't pay for retooling and expansions. I feel a connection, as a newspaper reporter, devoting my life to this. . . old thing that so many people can't live without. But this financial death grip is tightening.

Two days go by and I haven't even received a confirmation. I send an e-mail just inquiring if they needed more info or anything, letting them know I'm patient and not anxious if they don't have the board ready yet.

The next day, I get a shipping notice and tracking number.

The following day, Jim Owens e-mails me and tells me that the 104 won't ship for 7-10 days due to a "parts problem." Tells me that they can send out a SpaceSaver first thing Monday (this week) if I don't want to wait for the Customizer.

I think, maybe the tracking number is just generated when they process the order and the box is set aside or something, even if the board isn't ready. I really would rather have the Customizer over the spacesaver so I tell him I have no problem waiting. But, sure enough, the Customizer IS shipping since UPS starts telling me it's in transit from Kentucky and all is well.

So Jim was confused or something. Granted, the board was made a day after I placed the order. I tried calling Jim before I left the e-mail but I got his voicemail and hung up. I didn't want to be a nag.

I hope everything is OK over there. Jim e-mailed me on a Saturday night. I picture this guy, Jim Owens, tapping away on his own customizer, putting in some extra hours to do his part to keep the company going.

So anyway, back to the boards. I have to say, I prefer the Unicomp so far. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe if I got the 1391401 instead of a 42H1292 I'd think differently. The M performs PERFECTLY, for the record. It's just. . . The Unicomp feels tighter but smoother in a way. I think it just might be that one board is broken in and the other is literally, only 6 days old as I type this. That's kinda sexy to me. My new board is an INFANT! If I had a woman's breasts, I would at least offer it some teat...I'm getting off-topic again. Apologies.

The IBM board came with two-piece keys. Compared to the Unicomp, the shell plastic does seem just a little more solid, but the difference in build quality is pretty tough to tell apart. I could confirm that the injection molding marks are pretty apparent on the Unicomp. This doesn't bother me at all. In the normal ambient lighting of my room, the board actually looks quite smart and fits in with my setup quite nicely. It's a nice solid slab on the desk, and that's what counts.

The Unicomp has more of a rumbly, scratchiness which I think can be attributed to the subtle differences in the shell and housing. I need more time on both boards to really compare the differences in key action. But both boards are very wonderful to type on. I find myself wanting to find reasons to keep hammering away. I write for a living, so I have ample opportunity to use these boards, but since I've got them, I've been going above and beyond my normal keyboarding amounts, replying to emails that don't really warrant reply, writing much more elaborate instant messages, and, perhaps most noticeably to you, writing massive and wordy posts on message boards.

With the Model M, My coworkers gathered around me and admired the board once I took it out the box. It's so pristine and new looking, you'd think it was brand new. Already, a few other reporters are pledging to look into getting their own. Many of us grew up and got through college on these boards, so the revelation that there's a big market for them and they're still proving to be reliable workhorses has caused quite a stir in my office.

Now, quick question - what is the overall consensus on the 42H1292? Is it a disaster that I got it? Should I set it aside for backup/parts and get me a bona-fide 1391401? Or is this new obsession of mine just starting to get the best of me and the only difference would be weight, heft, cosmetic stuff?

Here's the link to the actual board I bought: http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/9246/subcatid/0/id/389138

There's a part of me that thinks I should just get another Unicomp. Anything for Jim.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: wheel83 on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:28:33
everyone is gonna have to start wearing ear plugs in your office.  

long live the model m though.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: cchan on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:31:33
Yeah... I can tell from this small novel that you're pretty chuffed. I love to hear about Unicomp, their personal service, and their employees' dedication. And I felt this same chuf***e upon receiving my first decent board, a 1993 1391401, for $5 from a school. Excuse the bad pun, but it all just clicked then. I had been using substandard input devices for about seven (1997-2004) years and now that I know better, I couldn't ever go back to a crappy rubber dome keyboard.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: nerp on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:33:55
Chuffed is a fantastic word to describe it.

I read someone post here that the feeling of the Unicomp is like firmly placing a small bag of legos down onto a table. It's exactly that.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: wheel83 on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:50:18
do they still sell those lexmarks at recycledgoods.com

could you help me out with a link please ?
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: wellington1869 on Wed, 25 February 2009, 22:58:15
Congrats and welcome to the club.
I too am a rediscoverer like you, I grew up on the M, forgot about it for nearly 25 years, and went back to it wondering why I had ever left.

So are you saying clickykeyboards sent you the 42H1292 instead of the 1391401?

(For what its worth, I was obsessive enough to insist on getting a 1391401; I felt like if I was going to get a Porsche, why wouldnt I get the 911?). But in truth there's probably as much difference between different 1391401 boards as there is between these two models. Maybe someone here knows better though, I dont know the 42H model.

According to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard) the only difference should be a detachable cable on the 139, a gray logo on the 139 (vs blue logo), and made by ibm/lexmark (the 139) rather than lexmark. (And I'm happy to say I have a 139 with gray logo/detachable cable/ibm-made :) )
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: nerp on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:04:09
No, I chose the 42H1292 over the 1381401 since there was a substantial price difference. I already had placed an order for a Customizer and felt that the Customizer would be my only buckling spring board, but I started to freak out and decided I wanted a real model M and have a board at both work and home. So I just ordered the M like that. I have no regrets. But I can't help but feel curious about the 1391401. There are plenty of them floating around out there so maybe I'll grab one when I see one pop up for cheap. Ideally, I'd like a new in box, never used one, but there's no way I'd be willing to pay more than $80 to $100 for that. At clickykeyboards, they want $200 for one. Yikes. Not quite there yet.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: bhtooefr on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:05:52
Quote from: wellington1869
I felt like if I was going to get a Porsche, why wouldnt I get the 911?


Because the Cayman is a more balanced car for less money?

(Then again, the Cayman would be the SpaceSaver or something. Which does have the occasional drawback, but has some benefits, too.)
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: wellington1869 on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:06:12
Quote

But I can't help but feel curious about the 1391401. There are plenty of them floating around out there so maybe I'll grab one when I see one pop up for cheap. Ideally, I'd like a new in box, never used one,

Ebay is your best bet, to get one in great shape and decent price. Every now and then you even see NIB M's. Keep an eye on seller ncbound10 (http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/ncbound10_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ), especially. I'd trust a used one from that seller, generally good experiences reported here.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: skriefal on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:19:25
Quote from: webwit;22834
Next page I stumbled upon was from recycledgoods.com which has 73 of them for $35 or something, and no one buying. Oh well..


$35 for a Model M from recycledgoods.com?  Sure you're not missing an extra zero in there? :)
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: bhtooefr on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:22:58
Yeah, seriously, recycledgoods.com is legendary for being quite proud of their junk, let alone anything actually GOOD.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: bhtooefr on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:30:30
The thing is, clickykeyboards bases their knowledge on keyboards that they have. So, they may very well have only seen one, and considered it very rare.

Even if it really is that rare, though, it's not gonna be that DESIRABLE, being a normal Model M mechanically. The M15, or anything like it, truly is rare, and desirable. :)
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: bhtooefr on Wed, 25 February 2009, 23:40:49
And since when was a 1390131 even rare, for that matter? :p
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: Biggs on Thu, 26 February 2009, 13:22:30
Damn! Now I'm motivated to buy a Customizer! ;)

Welcome to geekhack, Nerp!
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: MANISH7 on Thu, 26 February 2009, 18:31:11
Quote from: Biggs;22901
Damn! Now I'm motivated to buy a Customizer! ;)

Welcome to geekhack, Nerp!


rofl thank to his post i just ordered 2 unicomp keyboards.

since the customizer 101 is now coming in usb i ordered it. although i detest the windows key, i ordered a spacesaver. i needed a keyboard with a smaller footprint so it can fit through my height adjustable rear mouse bridge. so these two keyboards will be added to my 139401 and the customizer with ps2 cable. a few years later hopefully unicomp will still be around...i'll order gaming keyboards from them. maybe even a vintage, brand new 139401 from clickykeyboards.

yes, i love unicomp. very proud of the american tradition and legendary keyboard that they have carried on. the people there were very nice, friendly, and went out of their way to help / speak to customers (jim owens and chuck cropper). 10/10. you couldn't get a better company. wish them the best.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: wellington1869 on Thu, 26 February 2009, 21:43:19
ya, owens and cropper (sounds like a comedy team) have been pretty great with me too.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: cchan on Thu, 26 February 2009, 21:49:08
I've only dealt with Cropper, who sent me several free keycaps. I definitely got a good impression of the company from that.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: FKSSR on Fri, 27 February 2009, 09:12:20
I am planning on getting a unicomp spacesaver in the next couple months.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: nerp on Fri, 27 February 2009, 14:03:37
I'm thrilled that people are buying boards based on my post. Unicomp needs our support, especially in this tough time. Word of mouth, I think, is what will keep them going. I think they've had a bit of a surge in business in recent weeks due to that NPR story and other buzz. Let's keep that positive energy going!

Cheers all!
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: docfruitbat on Wed, 10 November 2010, 17:16:50
Greetings, All.  I'm new to this forum, but after reading comments about the old Model M I feel right at home.  It's been awhile since I used a real IBM keyboard (which was a 1392366 connected to a 6150 IBM RT/PC).  I learned to type on the old IBM Selectric II (using a golf-ball), which my Mother uses to this very day.
My work just "upgraded" my desk machine and replaced my old keyboard with a new Dell keyboard.  Oh, the silence!  I can't stand it!!  That and I'm getting carpel tunnel from it :-(.  So!  With the great reviews of clickykeyboard.com and pckeyboards.com, I'm gonna go order either a real Model M or a Customizer.  Just wanted to say thanks for the comments.  All this great love for the old keyboard is heart warming (sniff!).
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: Half-Saint on Thu, 11 November 2010, 02:32:04
Happy for you. Nice necro-job on the thread! ;)
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: steeef on Thu, 11 November 2010, 08:45:33
Hey! I'm pretty new too. I've been buying cheap keyboards off eBay to try out different switch types, but it seems like the Model M is the easiest to find. So far I've bought 3 and destroyed one (had a few broken hammers, screwed up a bolt mod by being impatient, ended up with a ton of spare keys, springs, and hammers).

Right now I'm waiting for the third to arrive so I can try following Ripster's USB mod. I've already soldered the wires onto the destroyed keyboard's controller.
Title: Hi. New model M **** here.
Post by: Sam on Thu, 11 November 2010, 21:29:10
Quote from: ripster;245691
Show Image
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/5086109415_d9c3dd1b39_b.jpg)

What's with the wonky left Alt?  Or is that just something weird with the way the picture was taken?  Maybe strange jpeg artifacting?  Perhaps better to use png. :)