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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: ch_123 on Sun, 11 April 2010, 15:46:36

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 11 April 2010, 15:46:36

Anyone see this? (http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/fa/items.main/parentcat/11066/subcatid/0/id/461779)

(http://www.clickykeyboard.com/2010/apr03/001.jpg)
(http://www.clickykeyboard.com/2010/apr03/003.jpg)
(http://www.clickykeyboard.com/2010/apr03/006.jpg)

Whatever that is, it's not Buckling Springs - the keycaps and the backplate are definitely not from either a Model F or a Model M. The ribbon cables suggest that it's not an F either. I think I'm going to send Brandon an email and find out more...

EDIT: Turns out that Oak Switch Systems was a company that made... that's right - switches. I'm guessing that someone wanted a linear keyboard and IBM obliged. Or maybe it was rubber dome/foam'n'foil? Seems unlikely. Again, an email is needed.

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 11 April 2010, 16:12:03

The more I look at it, the weirder it is. The cable is far shorter than other Model Fs. Unlike the buckling spring Model F industrials I've seen, it has feet and no drainage channels/openings near the bottom. Two theories -

A) This thing was just a different revision of the Industrial Model F that was damaged, and some third party vendor retrofitted it with their own keyboard assembly/controller.

B) IBM, for whatever reason, needed to subcontract the manufacturing of these keyboards to a third party. It would explain why the case is completely different to IBM-made industrials, but it would seem unlikely that IBM had such a huge demand for them that they'd need to subcontract them out...

I dunno.

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: Rajagra on Sun, 11 April 2010, 16:45:58

The tilde key looks weird, like it was taken from the top row.

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 11 April 2010, 16:51:08

The Numpad minus looks very out of place also.

The keycaps remind me of some foam'n'foil keyboards I've seen. My money is on a retrofit...

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: ch_123 on Sun, 11 April 2010, 16:57:15

The ones in the Industrial are definitely not normal... too flat and short

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: D-EJ915 on Sun, 11 April 2010, 17:44:53

looks pretty cool to me, I like those shorter keys like on the type6/7 and hhkb

Title: Oh boy, this is an interesting one...
Post by: ch_123 on Fri, 16 April 2010, 04:21:03

Oh yeah, I got an email from Brandon a few days back, apparently they had linear switches. I'm still thinking it was a third party refurb.