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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: QuincyJones on Wed, 13 July 2016, 16:18:23
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So, it's come and it's a 1986-1988 apparently. Nice and... "creamy". I'm pretty sure I can get some fingerprints off this thing! Maybe from the printers floor or mechanics shop.
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Looks unusually yellow for a Model M, wonder why that is.
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Looks unusually yellow for a Model M, wonder why that is.
Yeah, the base is mostly beige, there's a gradient yellowing-to-beige around the back though.
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Cigar smoke :D
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Looks unusually yellow for a Model M, wonder why that is.
Bet it's a Greenock board. They had some different materials sometimes for the spacebar, maybe they had some variation on the case material as well.
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Looks unusually yellow for a Model M, wonder why that is.
Bet it's a Greenock board. They had some different materials sometimes for the spacebar, maybe they had some variation on the case material as well.
Yep - it is! They also made the worst labels with the shortest lifespan by the looks.
Incidentally, judging by the amount of dirt that's on the keys, you can see that the original owner didn't like using commas nor semi-colons and also that Dvorak was right! Look at all those unused keys on the home row!
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Dirt-wise I would call that about average for a salvaged Model M. Should clean up nicely with soap and water and maybe some aggressive scrubbing in places.
I hate it when those legends get shifted so far to the left.
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Dirt-wise I would call that about average for a salvaged Model M. Should clean up nicely with soap and water and maybe some aggressive scrubbing in places.
I hate it when those legends get shifted so far to the left.
Yeah, I'm tempted to clean the caps now, but don't want to put them back on a dirty keyboard to only have to pull them off again, so am forcing myself to wait until I can get something to open it with! Went around 4 DIY stores today to not find a single driver suitable!
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Went around 4 DIY stores today to not find a single driver suitable!
Try an auto store. The socket needs to be "long" and "thin-walled" that is, intended to snake down into narrow spaces as are often found around engines.
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Went around 4 DIY stores today to not find a single driver suitable!
Try an auto store. The socket needs to be "long" and "thin-walled" that is, intended to snake down into narrow spaces as are often found around engines.
Heh, I did! The assistant was like "what's a nut driver?" They had a set of about 8 drivers, but not 5.5mm / 7/32's
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The assistant was like "what's a nut driver?"
You might find a socket much easier than a nut driver.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/XCELITE-7-32-Hollow-Shaft-HS7-Nut-Driver-Free-Shipping-/291808572296?hash=item43f1257388:g:RxgAAOSwMHdXS54g (http://www.ebay.com/itm/XCELITE-7-32-Hollow-Shaft-HS7-Nut-Driver-Free-Shipping-/291808572296?hash=item43f1257388:g:RxgAAOSwMHdXS54g)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Craftsman-9-32-1-4-7-32-3-16-1-6mm-6-Point-Deep-Laser-Etch-Socket-1-4-Drive-/361635448002?hash=item54332704c2:g:fE4AAOSwvg9Xe1b7&item=361635448002&vxp=mtr (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Craftsman-9-32-1-4-7-32-3-16-1-6mm-6-Point-Deep-Laser-Etch-Socket-1-4-Drive-/361635448002?hash=item54332704c2:g:fE4AAOSwvg9Xe1b7&item=361635448002&vxp=mtr)
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The assistant was like "what's a nut driver?"
You might find a socket much easier than a nut driver.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/XCELITE-7-32-Hollow-Shaft-HS7-Nut-Driver-Free-Shipping-/291808572296?hash=item43f1257388:g:RxgAAOSwMHdXS54g (http://www.ebay.com/itm/XCELITE-7-32-Hollow-Shaft-HS7-Nut-Driver-Free-Shipping-/291808572296?hash=item43f1257388:g:RxgAAOSwMHdXS54g)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Craftsman-9-32-1-4-7-32-3-16-1-6mm-6-Point-Deep-Laser-Etch-Socket-1-4-Drive-/361635448002?hash=item54332704c2:g:fE4AAOSwvg9Xe1b7&item=361635448002&vxp=mtr (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Craftsman-9-32-1-4-7-32-3-16-1-6mm-6-Point-Deep-Laser-Etch-Socket-1-4-Drive-/361635448002?hash=item54332704c2:g:fE4AAOSwvg9Xe1b7&item=361635448002&vxp=mtr)
You know, I did actually look in the car shop, but they only had locked-away sets. But yeah, just checked on ebay, and trying to find something with the clearance will be tough, but it's a great lead - thanks.
btw - what is the distance from case hole to screw? 1/2"?
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Cigar smoke :D
That's what I'm thinking, but then wouldn't the keycaps be yellowed too?
Model M's case isn't PBT as far as I know though, so maybe cigar smoke yellows it anyway.
I know the Greenock made ones had ABS spacebars with that weird grounding thing but I don't think they did it with the whole board.
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what is the distance from case hole to screw? 1/2"?
Easily. 2 full cm
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Cigar smoke :D
That's what I'm thinking, but then wouldn't the keycaps be yellowed too?
Model M's case isn't PBT as far as I know though, so maybe cigar smoke yellows it anyway.
I know the Greenock made ones had ABS spacebars with that weird grounding thing but I don't think they did it with the whole board.
PBT as far as I know were only used in key caps due to their brittleness. I believe Model M cases use some PVC mix.
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Cigar smoke :D
That's what I'm thinking, but then wouldn't the keycaps be yellowed too?
Model M's case isn't PBT as far as I know though, so maybe cigar smoke yellows it anyway.
I know the Greenock made ones had ABS spacebars with that weird grounding thing but I don't think they did it with the whole board.
I am inclined to think that the Model F seems to yellow more easily than the Model M, and this could be due to the painted surface.
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Cigar smoke :D
That's what I'm thinking, but then wouldn't the keycaps be yellowed too?
Model M's case isn't PBT as far as I know though, so maybe cigar smoke yellows it anyway.
I know the Greenock made ones had ABS spacebars with that weird grounding thing but I don't think they did it with the whole board.
You know, if it was smoke, wouldn't it be uneven? And surely there'd be a HELL of a lot of smoke to yellow the top evenly and fade away - was it inside a 3ft cube room? Also, the parts not typically exposed to sunlight - the bottom and the rear lower-half of the bottom case is beige with a strage gradient on the back.
I'd expect to see burn marks on it too - I did pick up a keyboard from a smoker once and there were remnants of ash marks and browny/orange lines from where they'd placed the cigarette on it. Cleans up fairly nicely though.
Also 2.3KG heavy - is that typical?
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Also 2.3KG heavy - is that typical?
Yes, and the old ones were half a kg more than that.
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Also 2.3KG heavy - is that typical?
Yes, and the old ones were half a kg more than that.
That would make it 2.8 kg, which is 200g more than a Model F XT.
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Thank the lord that plastic mixture didn't make it out of that one factory!