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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: y11971alex on Mon, 30 May 2016, 17:59:07

Title: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: y11971alex on Mon, 30 May 2016, 17:59:07
https://imgur.com/a/lXY0u

Well... still some work to be done!
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: xtrafrood on Mon, 30 May 2016, 18:21:52
Oh man, the curves on those keycaps! Beamspring? Very cool
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: pr0ximity on Mon, 30 May 2016, 18:53:39
So good! That reminds me I need to get my beamspring pictures together. Such a great looking board you've got. Is that model a fully metal case? My 5251 (which I'm typing on right now!) unfortunately has a plastic shell top piece.

How does it feel? Did you suffer any damage to the beamsprings when you took the inner assembly apart and exposed the flyplates? I've heard some people have had them spontaneously break when opened which has made me wary of opening mine up for a thorough interior cleaning.

They definitely test your ergonomics with that steep case :) Makes you a better typist, and they're fun as hell to type on  :thumb:
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: mike52787 on Mon, 30 May 2016, 18:54:35
holy **** im jealous, where did you get it?
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: y11971alex on Mon, 30 May 2016, 19:02:13
So good! That reminds me I need to get my beamspring pictures together. Such a great looking board you've got. Is that model a fully metal case? My 5251 (which I'm typing on right now!) unfortunately has a plastic shell top piece.
As far as I can tell (since the paint is slightly peeled off), both the top and bottom cases are metal, but I'm not sure which alloy.
Quote
How does it feel? Did you suffer any damage to the beamsprings when you took the inner assembly apart and exposed the flyplates? I've heard some people have had them spontaneously break when opened which has made me wary of opening mine up for a thorough interior cleaning.
Admittedly I wasn't too blown away by it at first, since I'm used to the huge fall-off in pressure on the Model F (20g as opposed to 10 on beamspring), but it's grown on me in less than three minutes of use.  I can't use it too regularly before my xwhatsit's controller arrives, however.  I don't think I broke anything in the process; the controller needed some persuasion to come off, but other than that there was no force needed. 
Quote
They definitely test your ergonomics with that steep case :) Makes you a better typist, and they're fun as hell to type on  :thumb:
I think you're supposed to suspend your wrists when typing on a typewriter; I guess same story with beamsprings.
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: y11971alex on Mon, 30 May 2016, 19:02:49
holy **** im jealous, where did you get it?
There are two major sources of beamsprings: orihalcon and Cindy. 
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: E TwentyNine on Mon, 30 May 2016, 19:13:27
So good! That reminds me I need to get my beamspring pictures together. Such a great looking board you've got. Is that model a fully metal case? My 5251 (which I'm typing on right now!) unfortunately has a plastic shell top piece.

How does it feel? Did you suffer any damage to the beamsprings when you took the inner assembly apart and exposed the flyplates? I've heard some people have had them spontaneously break when opened which has made me wary of opening mine up for a thorough interior cleaning.

They definitely test your ergonomics with that steep case :) Makes you a better typist, and they're fun as hell to type on  :thumb:

Open her up.  Flyplates aren't fun to reconnect, but once you get the hang of it it's a fairly straightforward process.
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: E TwentyNine on Mon, 30 May 2016, 19:15:22
Admittedly I wasn't too blown away by it at first, since I'm used to the huge fall-off in pressure on the Model F (20g as opposed to 10 on beamspring), but it's grown on me in less than three minutes of use.  I can't use it too regularly before my xwhatsit's controller arrives, however.  I don't think I broke anything in the process; the controller needed some persuasion to come off, but other than that there was no force needed. 
Quote
They definitely test your ergonomics with that steep case :) Makes you a better typist, and they're fun as hell to type on  :thumb:
I think you're supposed to suspend your wrists when typing on a typewriter; I guess same story with beamsprings.

You don't realize what you've been missing until you use it.   The only thing I would prefer to a beam spring is a selectric interfaced via usb.

And you're not supposed to rest your wrists using *any* keyboard.
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: supamesican on Tue, 31 May 2016, 12:14:10
beautiful! I need to get one of them, and a Selectric 2 now. Maybe for Christmas.
Title: Re: [Photos] IBM 3101
Post by: rowdy on Wed, 01 June 2016, 06:06:33
I had a keyboard something like that many years ago.

Maybe it too was beamspring.

I'm wondering if it is still in my mother's garage, or whether she chucked it out years ago (which is more likely).