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Author Topic: M2 on ebay.co.uk  (Read 2360 times)

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Offline ed_avis

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M2 on ebay.co.uk
« on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 03:38:59 »
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171020651871

As far as I know this is a buckling spring keyboard, as the seller indicates.
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Offline Dgsbllx

  • Posts: 300
  • Location: UK
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 04:51:08 »
Cheers, might have to put a bid in as I'm yet to try BS. Can't believe there have been 5 bids and it is currently at £1.70  :))
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Offline ed_avis

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Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 05:29:53 »
The M2 is kind of buckling-spring-on-a-budget.  For your first ever a plain old Model M might be better and perhaps not any more expensive.
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Offline Dgsbllx

  • Posts: 300
  • Location: UK
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 05:32:15 »
Ok thanks. There is no room for budgets in the keyboard world!
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 06:52:48 »
The M2 could have been a game-changer, but it turned out to be a dog.

It is nice to have a small footprint, but they "cheapened" everything in the process.

Still, it is better than 99% of the keyboards on the planet.
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Offline longweight

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Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 06:53:46 »
All over this :D
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Offline dorkvader

  • Posts: 6289
  • Location: Boston area
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Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 09 April 2013, 14:05:19 »
Note that this has no metal backplate, and I believe the keycaps aren't compatible with other buckling spring keyboards. You may also have to repair the controller.

That said, the green alt is nice!
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Offline Peter

  • Posts: 86
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 10 April 2013, 03:05:09 »
The caps are all 'one-piece' dye-subs, you can replace them with 'two-piece' caps and stems if you like ..
It's a somewhat cheaper and lighter version of a model 'M', but with a more 'modern' design and dimensions .
It's also relatively rare in ISO-layouts, most of them have  been 'recycled' years ago :(






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Offline dorkvader

  • Posts: 6289
  • Location: Boston area
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Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 11 April 2013, 01:23:13 »
Quote from: Peter on Wed, 10 April 2013, 03:05:09
The caps are all 'one-piece' dye-subs, you can replace them with 'two-piece' caps and stems if you like ..
It's a somewhat cheaper and lighter version of a model 'M', but with a more 'modern' design and dimensions .
It's also relatively rare in ISO-layouts, most of them have  been 'recycled' years ago :(
Is it true that the keycaps are a different shape? The DT wiki says they are lower profile and have a shorter and narrower stem.

Note that also on IBM BS keyboards, it seems to be random whether the keycaps are one piece or two. I have three F's from 1984, and two have one-piece, and one has two-piece. My 1390120 from early 1986 had one piece. My 1391401 from 1990 had two. It's like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get.
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Offline Mikelittoris

  • Posts: 22
  • Location: Sweden
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #9 on: Fri, 12 April 2013, 09:46:55 »
Quote from: Peter on Wed, 10 April 2013, 03:05:09
The caps are all 'one-piece' dye-subs, you can replace them with 'two-piece' caps and stems if you like ..
It's a somewhat cheaper and lighter version of a model 'M', but with a more 'modern' design and dimensions .
It's also relatively rare in ISO-layouts, most of them have  been 'recycled' years ago :(


Regarding replacing the caps with Model M two-piece, they tend to get kind of wobbly since they are much taller than the M2 caps.


And trying it the other way around, M2 caps on a M doesn't work either, they're to low and bottom out before the spring buckles.

Anyway, it's a nice board, i really like it. It makes a slightly higher pitched metallic sound compared to a Model M.
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IBM Model M SSK -91 (Bolt moded), Geekhack ESC, RGB modifiers and lt blue WASD cluster.
IBM Model M -95
IBM Model N2 -94
IBM Model F -85 (122-key Terminal) Using a Teensy with Soarer\'s adapter code.

Offline Mikelittoris

  • Posts: 22
  • Location: Sweden
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #10 on: Fri, 12 April 2013, 10:03:48 »
Quote from: dorkvader on Thu, 11 April 2013, 01:23:13
Quote from: Peter on Wed, 10 April 2013, 03:05:09
The caps are all 'one-piece' dye-subs, you can replace them with 'two-piece' caps and stems if you like ..
It's a somewhat cheaper and lighter version of a model 'M', but with a more 'modern' design and dimensions .
It's also relatively rare in ISO-layouts, most of them have  been 'recycled' years ago :(
Is it true that the keycaps are a different shape? The DT wiki says they are lower profile and have a shorter and narrower stem.

Note that also on IBM BS keyboards, it seems to be random whether the keycaps are one piece or two. I have three F's from 1984, and two have one-piece, and one has two-piece. My 1390120 from early 1986 had one piece. My 1391401 from 1990 had two. It's like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get.

I've got one of these as well as a model m, so i took some pics comparing them a while ago. My board is named N2 tough, but from what i can tell they're the same.

Model M top piece - Model M stem piece - N2 Cap

N2 on top of the M




I hope this helps,

Best regards Christoffer
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IBM Model M SSK -91 (Bolt moded), Geekhack ESC, RGB modifiers and lt blue WASD cluster.
IBM Model M -95
IBM Model N2 -94
IBM Model F -85 (122-key Terminal) Using a Teensy with Soarer\'s adapter code.

Offline Peter

  • Posts: 86
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 28 April 2013, 08:07:02 »
Quote from: Mikelittoris on Fri, 12 April 2013, 09:46:55
Regarding replacing the caps with Model M two-piece, they tend to get kind of wobbly since they are much taller than the M2 caps.
Show Image

Anyway, it's a nice board, i really like it. It makes a slightly higher pitched metallic sound compared to a Model M.

True, 2-piece caps from a Model M are 'taller' and therefore more 'wobbly'.
That's probably also why IBM made them 'shorter' for the M2,  but the originals DO fit !
(In case you ever want to convert one to your National layout - Unicomp-caps will do the job, albeit a bit wobbly ..)
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Offline lcg

  • Posts: 3
Re: M2 on ebay.co.uk
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 28 April 2013, 08:40:07 »
There's another one on eBay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190831117249
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