Chapter 2

[DavidB]

I haven't had a whole lot of time to rake through everything...  I've checked for SSK's and I don't see any.  I see a crap ton of 122 key Model F boards and a crap ton of IBM square logo model M boards...  A few random neatos mixed in.

I do, however, have a "buddy" who bought out pretty much all of a local terminal reseller's inventory when they went under, and he tells me that he has a bunch of 1387033s and the alike.  We'll see.  Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go buy up his stuff and have some good news for you all!

In the meantime, can you tell me anything about this board?

[Pacifist]

I haven't had a whole lot of time to rake through everything...  I've checked for SSK's and I don't see any.  I see a crap ton of 122 key Model F boards and a crap ton of IBM square logo model M boards...  A few random neatos mixed in.

I do, however, have a "buddy" who bought out pretty much all of a local terminal reseller's inventory when they went under, and he tells me that he has a bunch of 1387033s and the alike.  We'll see.  Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go buy up his stuff and have some good news for you all!

In the meantime, can you tell me anything about this board?

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That board, its called the elephant or something. Its pretty rare

Also I'd like to purchase an F-122 when you finish sorting everything

[Rewind]

I think that is the model F keyboard used for the IBM PC XT.

[Pacifist]

I think that is the model F keyboard used for the IBM PC XT.

no its not the xt the case is bigger on this

its either nicknamed ivory or elephant, idk which

[QuadGMoto]

I haven't had a whole lot of time to rake through everything...  I've checked for SSK's and I don't see any.  I see a crap ton of 122 key Model F boards and a crap ton of IBM square logo model M boards...  A few random neatos mixed in.

I do, however, have a "buddy" who bought out pretty much all of a local terminal reseller's inventory when they went under, and he tells me that he has a bunch of 1387033s and the alike.  We'll see.  Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go buy up his stuff and have some good news for you all!

In the meantime, can you tell me anything about this board?

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That looks like the keyboard for an IBM 5291 terminal.  http://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F

[Pacifist]

I haven't had a whole lot of time to rake through everything...  I've checked for SSK's and I don't see any.  I see a crap ton of 122 key Model F boards and a crap ton of IBM square logo model M boards...  A few random neatos mixed in.

I do, however, have a "buddy" who bought out pretty much all of a local terminal reseller's inventory when they went under, and he tells me that he has a bunch of 1387033s and the alike.  We'll see.  Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go buy up his stuff and have some good news for you all!

In the meantime, can you tell me anything about this board?

Show Image

Show Image

That looks like the keyboard for an IBM 5291 terminal.  http://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F

Ah yes. Its nicknamed bigfoot http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8/ibm-model-f-1397950-bigfoot-t158.html

[QuadGMoto]

Here's some other stuff I found on it:

Keyboard schematic: http://www.kbdbabel.org/schematic/kbdbabel_doc_ibm5291_kbd.pdf

geekhack thread: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=48950.0

Repair manual for the terminal: http://www.retrocomputing.eu/documents/5291_MaintenanceLibrary.pdf

[dorkvader]

The "bigfoot" F isn't too rare. there are a few on eBay right now. Certainly the 122's are rarer.

I've been wanting to get one and take it apart: I want to compare the case to the XT. Plus it has three stage feet !

I believe it'll work with soarer's converter code, so you don't need to modify it in any way to get it working on a PC.

From what I am able to determine this is one of the last keyboards that IBM made used the PC/XT layout.

[mougrim]

And if you have a "crap tone" of 122 Model F in reasonable good condition, I'd like to get in a line

[ZeDestructor]

I do, however, have a "buddy" who bought out pretty much all of a local terminal reseller's inventory when they went under, and he tells me that he has a bunch of 1387033s and the alike.  We'll see.  Hopefully tomorrow I'm going to go buy up his stuff and have some good news for you all!

Tell me more! Now!

Btw, the 1387033 is usually known as the "unsaver" among us Model F enthusiats.. it's a TKL that's as big as most normal extended keyboards.. hence negating all the space saving a TKL layout brings

EDIT: I'm mostly interested in the 1387033. And an industrial SSK.

[JPG]

Depending on price, I would be interested in the unsaver or F122 

[user 18]

I'd also get in line for a F122, or potentially just a BS Model M

[semyorka]

If you start selling some of these off, I'm *definitely* interested in a few 1387033s.

[DavidB]

Sorry everyone!  Been insanely busy the past couple of weeks and haven't had time to get anything for an update.  Hopefully this coming week will be a little more forgiving!

[Pacifist]

Sorry everyone!  Been insanely busy the past couple of weeks and haven't had time to get anything for an update.  Hopefully this coming week will be a little more forgiving!

Yay!

[ZeDestructor]

Sorry everyone!  Been insanely busy the past couple of weeks and haven't had time to get anything for an update.  Hopefully this coming week will be a little more forgiving!

w00t w00t!

[qnaal]

a crap ton of 122 key Model F

do you accept bitcoins?

[DavidB]

A quick update:

I haven't been able to do diddly squat yet due to time constraints...

I did, however; have someone order some F-122s off of my company's website (I REALLY thought that I had removed them all) for dirt cheap...  I'm glad that it only showed 3 in stock because he probably would have cleared me out.  I had some fairly long conversations with him on the phone and I would like to ask a question or two to the geekhack community:

He said he was buying model M no LED square label boards for $15-25 for the keycaps - is this about accurate?

He said he is buying F-122 boards @ ~$65.00 - is this accurate? 

Nearly every F-122 I see go on ebay goes over $100... most $120-150ish...  Do you think he was trying to play me because he got the 3 @ $45? or was he being genuine?

Just curious...

[Pacifist]

A quick update:

I haven't been able to do diddly squat yet due to time constraints...

I did, however; have someone order some F-122s off of my company's website (I REALLY thought that I had removed them all) for dirt cheap...  I'm glad that it only showed 3 in stock because he probably would have cleared me out.  I had some fairly long conversations with him on the phone and I would like to ask a question or two to the geekhack community:

He said he was buying model M no LED square label boards for $15-25 for the keycaps - is this about accurate?

He said he is buying F-122 boards @ ~$65.00 - is this accurate? 

Nearly every F-122 I see go on ebay goes over $100... most $120-150ish...  Do you think he was trying to play me because he got the 3 @ $45? or was he being genuine?

Just curious...

M no LED is most likely 1390120 or older, WORTH A LOT (AT LEAST $60)

F-122 At the bare mininum $100

cancel the guy's order if you can, he's trying to take advantage of the low price

[jwaz]

What caps are available on the 122 that he couldn't get at Unicomp?

[JPG]

A quick update:

I haven't been able to do diddly squat yet due to time constraints...

I did, however; have someone order some F-122s off of my company's website (I REALLY thought that I had removed them all) for dirt cheap...  I'm glad that it only showed 3 in stock because he probably would have cleared me out.  I had some fairly long conversations with him on the phone and I would like to ask a question or two to the geekhack community:

He said he was buying model M no LED square label boards for $15-25 for the keycaps - is this about accurate?

He said he is buying F-122 boards @ ~$65.00 - is this accurate? 

Nearly every F-122 I see go on ebay goes over $100... most $120-150ish...  Do you think he was trying to play me because he got the 3 @ $45? or was he being genuine?

Just curious...

I got my F122 for 55$, but I have been very lucky. They were sold with a screen. I asked to buy only the keyboard and got it for 55$ plus shipping. But it's probably worth more. 75-125$ is probably what they should sell for, depending on the condition. I still consider that 65$ is not that bad of a price, but people seems to be willing to pay more for them. I quite understand since I love my F122, but it's always risky since it's hard to know the condition from a picture, and you still need a soarer and some restoration. It's not like a new plug and play keyboard.

[ZeDestructor]

A quick update:

I haven't been able to do diddly squat yet due to time constraints...

I did, however; have someone order some F-122s off of my company's website (I REALLY thought that I had removed them all) for dirt cheap...  I'm glad that it only showed 3 in stock because he probably would have cleared me out.  I had some fairly long conversations with him on the phone and I would like to ask a question or two to the geekhack community:

He said he was buying model M no LED square label boards for $15-25 for the keycaps - is this about accurate?

He said he is buying F-122 boards @ ~$65.00 - is this accurate? 

Nearly every F-122 I see go on ebay goes over $100... most $120-150ish...  Do you think he was trying to play me because he got the 3 @ $45? or was he being genuine?

Just curious...

I usually see no-LED Ms in the 100+ range, F122 in the 125+ (I've seen some go for 300 when they go completely out of stock for months). Sometimes you get lucky like with JPG, but that happens quite rarely, or with private dealings between friends kind of srrangements.

[DavidB]

A quick update:

I haven't been able to do diddly squat yet due to time constraints...

I did, however; have someone order some F-122s off of my company's website (I REALLY thought that I had removed them all) for dirt cheap...  I'm glad that it only showed 3 in stock because he probably would have cleared me out.  I had some fairly long conversations with him on the phone and I would like to ask a question or two to the geekhack community:

He said he was buying model M no LED square label boards for $15-25 for the keycaps - is this about accurate?

He said he is buying F-122 boards @ ~$65.00 - is this accurate? 

Nearly every F-122 I see go on ebay goes over $100... most $120-150ish...  Do you think he was trying to play me because he got the 3 @ $45? or was he being genuine?

Just curious...

M no LED is most likely 1390120 or older, WORTH A LOT (AT LEAST $60)

F-122 At the bare mininum $100

cancel the guy's order if you can, he's trying to take advantage of the low price

1390120 and the like are exactly the ones he was talking about...  and thanks to you guys I knew enough to know that I probably shouldn't jump at the opportunity to unload a bunch of them at a price like that  

I wasn't going to cancel his order - it was a mistake on my part leaving the F122's on there and he found them and paid for them so they were his, and at least it gave me a reason to come and post an 'unupdate' to you all

[DavidB]

FYI:

to everyone who has sent me PM's:

I'm sorry if I haven't  responded to you yet.  I will get back to each and every one of you once I have the answers to your questions, and the time to do so


Oh - Also, you guys have pretty much turned me  onto mechanical keyboards.  I went and bought a Logitech G710+ just to see what all of the hype was about, and its pretty awesome.  I got another one  for home a week later because yea, its pretty awesome. 

[Pacifist]

Ah oh well. Just make sure you get good prices for the remaining stock

$15-$25 would be good prices for the terminal (but not SDL) M's

[Techno Trousers]

Hi David, thanks for the update. I agree with most everything said here. I got my F-122 for $85 plus shipping a while back. I am surprised when they go for well over $100, because they do take quite a bit of effort and money to make them usable with a PC.

It also seem strange to buy Model M terminal boards just for the caps, when you can buy a complete, brand new set of caps and stems (or "buttons" as they like to call them) from Unicomp for $25.

[mougrim]

FYI:

to everyone who has sent me PM's:

I'm sorry if I haven't  responded to you yet.  I will get back to each and every one of you once I have the answers to your questions, and the time to do so


Oh - Also, you guys have pretty much turned me  onto mechanical keyboards.  I went and bought a Logitech G710+ just to see what all of the hype was about, and its pretty awesome.  I got another one  for home a week later because yea, its pretty awesome.

Hmm... not bad for a beginning, if you like Cherry Brown switches - which, it appears, you do But still I think you should try to clean and try to use one of ps/2 M boards. Then you'll understand why it is so big fuss about it here

[mougrim]

It also seem strange to buy Model M terminal boards just for the caps, when you can buy a complete, brand new set of caps and stems (or "buttons" as they like to call them) from Unicomp for $25.

Yep. Complete set, without spacebar, for 25. And for extra 5 you can get it custom printed in every layout they have specs for. And every color.

[False_Dmitry_II]

Not every color, I tried. They first didn't understand what I was asking, and then they told me that they don't offer any keys bigger than one unit colored.

[mougrim]

Not every color, I tried. They first didn't understand what I was asking, and then they told me that they don't offer any keys bigger than one unit colored.

Every color, just not complete set. But you can get a nice combination from standard colours too. Here what I have:

[DavidB]

FYI:

to everyone who has sent me PM's:

I'm sorry if I haven't  responded to you yet.  I will get back to each and every one of you once I have the answers to your questions, and the time to do so


Oh - Also, you guys have pretty much turned me  onto mechanical keyboards.  I went and bought a Logitech G710+ just to see what all of the hype was about, and its pretty awesome.  I got another one  for home a week later because yea, its pretty awesome.

Hmm... not bad for a beginning, if you like Cherry Brown switches - which, it appears, you do But still I think you should try to clean and try to use one of ps/2 M boards. Then you'll understand why it is so big fuss about it here

I like typing on the M but I'm pretty sure it would drive my coworkers crazy. 

[jdcarpe]

DavidB, any way you could publish the serial numbers of the 3 F-122s you send him? That way we will know who is flipping these for a profit when they appear on eBay.

[ZeDestructor]

FYI:

to everyone who has sent me PM's:

I'm sorry if I haven't  responded to you yet.  I will get back to each and every one of you once I have the answers to your questions, and the time to do so


Oh - Also, you guys have pretty much turned me  onto mechanical keyboards.  I went and bought a Logitech G710+ just to see what all of the hype was about, and its pretty awesome.  I got another one  for home a week later because yea, its pretty awesome.

Hmm... not bad for a beginning, if you like Cherry Brown switches - which, it appears, you do But still I think you should try to clean and try to use one of ps/2 M boards. Then you'll understand why it is so big fuss about it here

I like typing on the M but I'm pretty sure it would drive my coworkers crazy. 

Me and another cowoker have volountarily banned ourselves from bringing an M to work....

DavidB, any way you could publish the serial numbers of the 3 F-122s you send him? That way we will know who is flipping these for a profit when they appear on eBay.

Now now, let's not do that. The guy was fishing for some cheap stuff, and he got some. I mean, it's not like we don't do that here all the time on ebay sellers...

[fohat.digs]

It is a real shame that somebody was able to pick the true plums out of the collection for so cheap. I wish I had realized that they were actually on sale somewhere.

David B, I strongly recommend that you pull out whatever Model Fs you still have left and set them aside. They are "the good stuff".

I don't know why some people get excited about the 1390120s, they are less desirable than Model Ms with LEDs, except maybe as parts donors, in my opinion. But then, after using Model Fs for a couple of years, I have become mostly indifferent to Model Ms anyway.

[mougrim]

FYI:

to everyone who has sent me PM's:

I'm sorry if I haven't  responded to you yet.  I will get back to each and every one of you once I have the answers to your questions, and the time to do so


Oh - Also, you guys have pretty much turned me  onto mechanical keyboards.  I went and bought a Logitech G710+ just to see what all of the hype was about, and its pretty awesome.  I got another one  for home a week later because yea, its pretty awesome.

Hmm... not bad for a beginning, if you like Cherry Brown switches - which, it appears, you do But still I think you should try to clean and try to use one of ps/2 M boards. Then you'll understand why it is so big fuss about it here

I like typing on the M but I'm pretty sure it would drive my coworkers crazy.

That's the point in it! But for work with very noise-sensitive co-workers I'd choice some tactile but quiet switches, yes.

[dorkvader]

I went on his website to look for F122's and saw them and did NOT buy

I probably should have e-mailed him about them though.

[Pacifist]

I went on his website to look for F122's and saw them and did NOT buy

I probably should have e-mailed him about them though.

He had a website? How'd you find it?

[user 18]

I went on his website to look for F122's and saw them and did NOT buy

I probably should have e-mailed him about them though.

He had a website? How'd you find it?

It's in his profile here.

[False_Dmitry_II]

So why don't they allow people to buy a complete set if they totally do have multi-unit keys colored?

I ended up just getting a regular set and am going to resort to using dye when I apparently should have been able to buy a colored set.

[False_Dmitry_II]

I went on his website to look for F122's and saw them and did NOT buy

I probably should have e-mailed him about them though.

I saw them too. Didn't think they were actually being offered at that, given his thread here.