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geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: Pacifist on Wed, 26 February 2014, 23:41:34

Title: Another F XT
Post by: Pacifist on Wed, 26 February 2014, 23:41:34
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-Model-F-Buckling-Spring-Keyboard-for-PC-XT-5150-5160-Computers-/271408861816?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item3f313a9278
Title: Re: Another F XT
Post by: dorkvader on Thu, 27 February 2014, 00:02:48
seller, proludwig, has set a reserve price above $20.

Here's the F XT I got a while ago http://www.ebay.com/itm/130717503780 I got a good deal then, so every XT since seems expensive by comparison.
Title: Re: Another F XT
Post by: Pacifist on Thu, 27 February 2014, 00:16:20
Quote from: dorkvader on Thu, 27 February 2014, 00:02:48
seller, proludwig, has set a reserve price above $20.

Here's the F XT I got a while ago http://www.ebay.com/itm/130717503780 I got a good deal then, so every XT since seems expensive by comparison.

I believe the cheapest price I've seen for F XT was $16 around the time I joined here. Too bad jdbidwatcher didn't work or I would have had a Model F in my hands long ago.
Title: Re: Another F XT
Post by: 127001 on Thu, 27 February 2014, 06:17:19
Quote from: Pacifist on Thu, 27 February 2014, 00:16:20
Quote from: dorkvader on Thu, 27 February 2014, 00:02:48
seller, proludwig, has set a reserve price above $20.

Here's the F XT I got a while ago http://www.ebay.com/itm/130717503780 I got a good deal then, so every XT since seems expensive by comparison.

I believe the cheapest price I've seen for F XT was $16 around the time I joined here. Too bad jdbidwatcher didn't work or I would have had a Model F in my hands long ago.

I got one for $5 last year. The guy only wanted $2 for it but I felt bad. Probably the only good deal I ever got on a keyboard though :P
Title: Re: Another F XT
Post by: fohat.digs on Thu, 27 February 2014, 07:07:29
Quote from: 127001 on Thu, 27 February 2014, 06:17:19
I got one for $5 last year. The guy only wanted $2 for it but I felt bad. Probably the only good deal I ever got on a keyboard though :P

Perhaps 2 years ago (and at least a year after Soarer's Converter was viable) I was the only bidder on a couple of them in the $1-$10 range + $10 shipping or so. One of them may have been missing a couple of keys.

With what seems like a buckling spring hysteria happening these days, I am still mystified that ATs are still selling in the $100 range, there is no comparison in the utility and convenience of an AT compared to the XT, even if the XT has a barely perceptibly better "feel" ....
Title: Re: Another F XT
Post by: dorkvader on Thu, 27 February 2014, 07:46:03
Quote from: fohat.digs on Thu, 27 February 2014, 07:07:29
even if the XT has a barely perceptibly better "feel" ....
There way be something wrong with my AT, (I suspect the plates are trying to unbend with age) but the "feel" of keys is not consistent across the rows. I plan to restore it anyway, but as of now my "model C" and PC model F are much better, mostly because they are more consistent.
Title: Re: Another F XT
Post by: fohat.digs on Thu, 27 February 2014, 08:25:12
Quote from: dorkvader on Thu, 27 February 2014, 07:46:03

There way be something wrong with my AT, (I suspect the plates are trying to unbend with age) but the "feel" of keys is not consistent across the rows.


The Model F mats were originally a moderately thin foam with a rubbery "skin" on one side. The rubber turns to glue and the foam turns to gritty sticky dust. Both are horrible.

Cutting a new, thicker, firmer mat improves feel greatly, but can make re-assembly more tedious.