geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Regal on Mon, 17 February 2014, 15:06:26
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http://imgur.com/tASUC4Y
No sticker on the back, so I don't have any idea about specifics. Only problem is that the spacebar sticks every once in a while, but I'm hoping a clean will fix that. Can anyone link me to a thread on how to clean it?
-Regal
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good find
remove keycaps put in denture tablets
clean under the keycaps with qtips
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XT Model F by IBM (http://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F#IBM_Personal_Computer_keyboard), a capacitive buckling spring keyboard. Good find, especially for $15. Those are some of my favorite switches, I don't like the layout as much. You can mod it though. And to answer your question, you might like these threads:
fohat.digs' Model F bolt mod thread (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=37753.0) - has info about F's in general
phosphorglow's Model M reconditioning video (http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=54190.0) - Not exactly the same as an F but it's got some great info
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Only problem is that the spacebar sticks every once in a while, but I'm hoping a clean will fix that.
That spacebar is a woolly booger. See if you can clean everything else with vacuum and Q-tips, but don't pull it off unless you have to.
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Yeah, I'm a bit nervous about taking off the spacebar. I've never done taken apart a keyboard before and lack most tools. I'll save the project for next weekend and will do some more research on how to do a good job so I don't botch things up.
I tested it out and at first I thought it didn't work, and I was dissappointed, but then I tried again, and it worked! :D
-Regal
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Yeah, I'm a bit nervous about taking off the spacebar. I've never done taken apart a keyboard before and lack most tools. I'll save the project for next weekend and will do some more research on how to do a good job so I don't botch things up.
I tested it out and at first I thought it didn't work, and I was dissappointed, but then I tried again, and it worked! :D
-Regal
You have a computer that uses XT scancodes?
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You have a computer that uses XT scancodes?
Nope, I have a KE-XTUSB. It actually just came in the mail today. I got my first mechanical keyboard just the other day and realized that I needed an XT adapter to use it, so purchased one. Went out today on a whim to the surplus store and found the other keyboard and bought it because I liked it. Haggled them down to $15 from $30 because of the sticking spacebar. When I got back my adapter was here and I tested out both keyboards and both seem to work! And now I am talking with you all :) Next thing that I need to figure out is how to program keys, as the arrow keys on my first one aren't registering.
-Regal
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Yeah, I'm a bit nervous about taking off the spacebar. I've never done taken apart a keyboard before and lack most tools. I'll save the project for next weekend and will do some more research on how to do a good job so I don't botch things up.
I tested it out and at first I thought it didn't work, and I was dissappointed, but then I tried again, and it worked! :D
-Regal
Let me repeat this because it's so important.
Never take off the spacebar.
Or you are in for a damn pain in the ass. Don't listen to the folks who say you can put it back by just pulling on a dental floss string. These guys have like 1000 posts and years of modding experience. For clumsy idiots like me, and for noobs like you, spacebar can never be put back once it comes off. I tried the dental floss thing for at least 30 minutes and gave up.
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Geez, good timing :) I was thinking about doing that very thing right now! :confused:
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Gah, now it's not working. I don't think it was the cleaning that did this, as it was temperamental to begin with, but I wonder what could be the problem? Every once in a while it will register, but now it has yet to register at all today. Perhaps it's the cable? Anything you'd recommend I try to either test to see what the problem is or fix it? I'm talking about the model f by the way.
Thanks! This whole keyboard subculture thing is awesome!
-Regal
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If you're so inclined, you could try to make a Soarer and see if the converter's the issue. It costs about $28 in parts and an hour or two of your time, even if you've never done soldering before.
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=17458.0
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You should buy a Unicomp for spare parts before trying to fix an IBM model F. Sooner or later the cost of repair will exceed the cost of a Unicomp anyway.
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If you need springs, caps, etc it's probably cheaper to pick up a terminal board off ebay for ~$20-25. Unless you were talking about replacing the F with an M, then I don't agree in the slightest; a M feels worlds different than a F, no matter which version of the F you have.
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Buy it.
Get a friend.
Get a gun.
Get a video camera.
Go to a safe remote area.
While your friend films, proceed to shoot that keyboard several times.
Post videos of the said deed.
Savor the dismay of everybody here.
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Buy it.
Get a friend.
Get a gun.
Get a video camera.
Go to a safe remote area.
While your friend films, proceed to shoot that keyboard several times.
Post videos of the said deed.
Savor the dismay of everybody here.
shoot all day and KB is still fine.
Dismay at wasting expensive ammo shooting unbreakable object.
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Dismay at wasting expensive ammo shooting unbreakable object.
Gotta put two between the spacebar.
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You guys are just weenies about the spacebar. Sure, it is a nuisance and PITA, and will probably take multiple attempts to get it right, but so are numerous other components of the process.
Akimbo has a guide for adjusting the force of the spacebar, while you are in there, you can do that, too.
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Yes, I'm prone to suspecting it to be immune to anything less than the fires of Mount Doom. I suspect bullets would only anger it, so I'll abstain from that. I'm actually considering the Soarer plan, but the casual way that ebacho refers to it taking no more than "an hour or two" can probably safely be translated as it taking somewhere between a month and never. ;)
-Regal
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Just beware the PING!
Cool find. Wish I had one. :thumb:
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Wish I had one.
Toss in a few more twenties and get an AT F.
That is 1000% preferable.
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Just beware the PING!
Cool find. Wish I had one. :thumb:
How much ping does F have?
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How much ping does F have?
Triple the amount of M.
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How much ping does F have?
Triple the amount of M.
:Shudder:
How much would the floss mod reduce F ping?
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How much would the floss mod reduce F ping?
This moves into very esoteric opinion territory.
I agree that an unflossed F borders on the "shudder" sensation, so I have flossed all of mine. To me, the flossed F is perfect. The deep metal rumble of the heavy plates is unaffected, while the annoying overtones are attenuated.
Neither flossed nor unflossed M has the right sound or feel to me anymore, I think that the so-called "ping" is actually pretty lifeless because of the plastic barrel plate, and flossing deadens the sound overall but has little effect on the overtones because they never "rang" (maybe "sang" would be a better description) to begin with.
In essence, a Model F sounds and feels alive, even when flossed, in a way that a Model M seems to feel lifeless, at best.
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How much would the floss mod reduce F ping?
This moves into very esoteric opinion territory.
I agree that an unflossed F borders on the "shudder" sensation, so I have flossed all of mine. To me, the flossed F is perfect. The deep metal rumble of the heavy plates is unaffected, while the annoying overtones are attenuated.
Neither flossed not unflossed M has the right sound or feel to me anymore, I think that the so-called "ping" is actually pretty lifeless because of the plastic barrel plate, and flossing deadens the sound overall but has little effect on the overtones because they never "rang" (maybe "sang" would be a better description) to begin with.
In essence, a Model F sounds and feels alive, even when flossed, in a way that a Model M always feels lifeless, at best.
Sweet! Thanks for the help!
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very good find! just find it a good home!
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Thanks Kleme, I want to fix it before I do anything further with it though. It is a rather temperamental device. A lot of the time it doesn't register, while other times it will. I just plug it in and unplug it, then plug it back in, and once every 20 times or so it will register and I can type a few sentences and then it will stop registering again. I have no idea what the problem is.
-Regal
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P.S. Another interesting thing I found is that if I hold down some keys and slowly plug it in it will register and lock in, which makes me think it might be the cable that's the problem, and nothing internal, which makes me hopeful that making a Soarer might fix the problem (if my grasp on what a Soarer is is accurate). Any other ideas before I try that would be greatly appreciated as well though too. :)
Thanks,
Regal
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Once again, for emphasis:
Don't remove that spacebar unless you absolutely have to!
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That is a GREAT find, I have been searching for a Model F for a long while..
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How much would the floss mod reduce F ping?
This moves into very esoteric opinion territory.
I agree that an unflossed F borders on the "shudder" sensation, so I have flossed all of mine. To me, the flossed F is perfect. The deep metal rumble of the heavy plates is unaffected, while the annoying overtones are attenuated.
Neither flossed nor unflossed M has the right sound or feel to me anymore, I think that the so-called "ping" is actually pretty lifeless because of the plastic barrel plate, and flossing deadens the sound overall but has little effect on the overtones because they never "rang" (maybe "sang" would be a better description) to begin with.
In essence, a Model F sounds and feels alive, even when flossed, in a way that a Model M seems to feel lifeless, at best.
Arg! More fuel to the fire about whether or not I should floss-mod my 122.
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How much would the floss mod reduce F ping?
This moves into very esoteric opinion territory.
I agree that an unflossed F borders on the "shudder" sensation, so I have flossed all of mine. To me, the flossed F is perfect. The deep metal rumble of the heavy plates is unaffected, while the annoying overtones are attenuated.
Neither flossed nor unflossed M has the right sound or feel to me anymore, I think that the so-called "ping" is actually pretty lifeless because of the plastic barrel plate, and flossing deadens the sound overall but has little effect on the overtones because they never "rang" (maybe "sang" would be a better description) to begin with.
In essence, a Model F sounds and feels alive, even when flossed, in a way that a Model M seems to feel lifeless, at best.
Arg! More fuel to the fire about whether or not I should floss-mod my 122.
You shouldn't floss mod it. Send it to me and I will do so for you. It'll take a year for me to do it tho :))
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Arg! More fuel to the fire about whether or not I should floss-mod my 122.
Go for it. Unlike most mods around here, flossing is 100% reversible. It'll probably be easier to undo it than it will be to do it, in fact.
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Unlike most mods around here, flossing is 100% reversible. It'll probably be easier to undo it than it will be to do it, in fact.
It is fairly easy to undo if you have the beast apart. Only taking the keycaps off you will have to fiddle with it a lot more.
If your floss sections are as tall as the springs, you can pick them out with a sharp pair of tweezers. Below the top of the spring - much harder.
My experience is that perhaps up to a third of them will fall out if you turn it upside-down and shake, but many will be fairly stubborn. Straightening out a small fish hook is probably the most effective, but don't pull too hard and stretch the spring.
Unless you simply like the loud ringing overtones, you are likely to be happy with the mod. An un-modded F is overbearing to me.
Remember that when you are inserting the floss, if you don't hit it on the 1st or 2nd try, you will probably have flared out the weave and will need to cut it back to get a tight fresh edge.
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Great find! I love that fancy lay-out. :D