Jan 1986 1390120

[didjamatic]

Jan 1986 1390120  They don't get much earlier than that.

[EverythingIBM]

No LED panel. Sucks.

[ricercar]

the "blue moon" NCBound10 pics.

Chortle. I see what you're doing there.

[maxlugar]

No LED panel. Sucks.

Yeah, the outstanding build quality and outstanding feel of the key presses is totally overshadowed by the lack of those cheerful green LEDS.  

You're a rather bright lad, ain't ya now?

[maxlugar]

Jan 1986 1390120  They don't get much earlier than that.

I would bet someone a NIB keyboard that this one will go for $200...at least I hope it sells for at least $200 because I bought my Jan 1986 1390120 from Brandon for more than $200.  I need someone to validate the real market value of this keyboard.  If not, I got taken for a ride  

[EverythingIBM]

Yeah, the outstanding build quality and outstanding feel of the key presses is totally overshadowed by the lack of those cheerful green LEDS.  

You're a rather bright lad, ain't ya now?

I already have a 1986 Model M, and it has an LED panel. It's EXACTLY the same as that one but it has LEDs. So you're the bright one laddy.

It's also worthy to note that my 1986 Model M is the same as a unicomp or a lexmark one, there's no difference, seriously.

The ONLY, ONE AND ONLY difference is that the older Model Ms had bigger LEDs. Which is kind of nice, easier to see the little glowing lights in the corner of my eye.

I would bet someone a NIB keyboard that this one will go for $200...at least I hope it sells for at least $200 because I bought my Jan 1986 1390120 from Brandon for more than $200.  I need someone to validate the real market value of this keyboard.  If not, I got taken for a ride  

That's too bad, I got my 1986 one for free.

[maxlugar]

I already have a 1986 Model M, and it has an LED panel. It's EXACTLY the same as that one but it has LEDs. So you're the bright one laddy.

It's also worthy to note that my 1986 Model M is the same as a unicomp or a lexmark one, there's no difference, seriously.

The ONLY, ONE AND ONLY difference is that the older Model Ms had bigger LEDs. Which is kind of nice, easier to see the little glowing lights in the corner of my eye.



That's too bad, I got my 1986 one for free.

That's kinda what I thought. Your yet another  ****ing moron who looks for keyboards in dumpsters and doesn't have the slightest clue what your'e talking about.

I have no doubt you've acquired dozens of Model Ms (for free of course) and performed countless documented comparison tests.

I would invite you to have sex with a free keyboard since you obviously ain't gettiin' it anywhere else you stupid ****.

How does that ignore "**** for brains charity cases" list work iMav?

[kishy]

retracted

[Mercen_505]

The older boards have excellent build quality overall. I doubt anyone in this day and age would sorely miss the state LEDs. It's a great board and will likely outlast anyone that buys it.

[Infinite north]

this was linked at the bottom of the auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Antique-IBM-Mainframe-Vacuum-Tube-Computer-705_W0QQitemZ120570704057QQcategoryZ74946QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D20%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8387381401807195125

I think everythingibm should pick it up. never would have guessed that IBM made tubes.

[EverythingIBM]

The older boards have excellent build quality overall. I doubt anyone in this day and age would sorely miss the state LEDs. It's a great board and will likely outlast anyone that buys it.

If you use something like FL Studio, you need the LEDs (otherwise it's just plain annoying trying to figure out if scroll lock is on or not). I'm sure people who do a lot of technical work making use of all of the lock functions will want to have them.

The older and newer boards are exactly the same. If you blind folded someone and let them try a variety of 1980's model Ms, in contrast to lexmark or unicomp ones, they wouldn't be able to tell a single difference.
It's all an illusion, just because it's older, you think it's better.

[EverythingIBM]

this was linked at the bottom of the auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Antique-IBM-Mainframe-Vacuum-Tube-Computer-705_W0QQitemZ120570704057QQcategoryZ74946QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D20%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8387381401807195125

I think everythingibm should pick it up. never would have guessed that IBM made tubes.

$6000?!? I wonder if it even works... if I was insane and did buy it, I would want to put it to use. But UPS would probably somehow damage it or deliver it to the wrong house.

ch_123 would probably be more interested in that stuff.

[maxlugar]

That is totally out of line. Totally.

Sometimes I think EIBM says utterly ridiculous things but calling them out in that particular way - particularly being insulting in the process - is completely out of line.

I'm not the only person besides EIBM who will see it this way. If you wanna edit your post get in touch and I'll remove the quote.

OK, I will retract my comments regariding EIBM.

Perhaps it was triggered by his screen name "Everthing IBM" and the fact that IBM has me over a barrel at the moment.  

Our application runs exclusively on p-series IBM machines and I am currently trying to determine how I can meet my annual $27 million volume commitment for their god damn DB2 licenses and SW maintenance when most of my clients are postponing upgrades of p-6 series machines and waiting for the next release of Power7 machines.

It sucks when I literally have no alternative but Big Blue and they wield their might...because they can.

Anyhow, it was late and I'll save my obsecenity for more deserving people...like webwit  

Although I regret my unfortunate comments, just curious, who died and made you Brigham Young Kishy?

[kishy]

Although I regret my unfortunate comments, just curious, who died and made you Brigham Young Kishy?

Lol, as it happens, that's just me (not in the field of religion promotion, though). I'll make the appropriate edit meaning you can make yours if you'd like to.

It's not you specifically, could have been anyone else and I would have done the same. Reminds me of certain things said about me a while back which were of a personal nature...attack someone's online personality if you're gonna go after them, not the actual person behind the keyboard. A fine line, I know.

Geekhack seems to be self-moderating in the way that members generally won't go out of line, but if they do, other members will call them on it. No need to bother iMav on vacation this way

[J888www]

Do you people not realise that iMav has a hose-pipe attached to a cold water tap ready for any heated situations ? Think he's waiting for an excuse/looking forward to using  it too.

[ricercar]

fleck you all. Keyboards are for luddites. Get a tablet computer. Use handwriting recognition. *****es. *



* Not meant to Offend any female dogs who may be forum members. On the internet no one knows you're a dog.

[ch_123]

Damn, they're on to me!

[ricercar]

Isn't that lmnop's old avatar?

[Mercen_505]

It's all an illusion, just because it's older, you think it's better.

My collection largely disagrees with you. Although I lack the equipment to do proper measurements...

[Mercen_505]

The best Model M is the Unicomp M13.

Absolutely. Bestest keyboard EVAR!

[javifast]

Better than the Maxiswitch M13

[itlnstln]

Isn't that lmnop's old avatar?

You might be thinking of Lam47.  He had his dog (same breed) as his avatar.

[javifast]

The Unicomp Model M13s require consistently 7-9g less force than all my other Model Ms.

Yes, you are right. My unicomp requires less force. But is the same quality?

[ch_123]

Yes, you are right. My unicomp requires less force. But is the same quality?

Depends on how you define quality. They are all the same mechanisms, but as time went on, build quality of the casings definitely went down. I wonder if the reported discrepancies in force requirements of later Model Ms were to do with looser tolerances having an effect on the mechanisms somehow...

[ch_123]

It seems unlikely, but why else would otherwise seemingly identical buckling spring assemblies have different resistances in different keyboards of the same basic design?

My Black Maxiswitch M13 is also quite light, and swapping a spring from an M2 had practically no effect on it, even though the M2 felt much stiffer.

[didjamatic]

No LED panel. Sucks.

If you need an LED to tell you your capslock is on, your doin it wrong

It's also worthy to note that my 1986 Model M is the same as a unicomp or a lexmark one, there's no difference, seriously.

Anyone with any credibility or ability to observe knows this is not the case.


I personally collect mostly silver label Model M's because I like older keyboards, the lack of LEDs is a cool feature on this model and has never impeded my use of it, but I don't need LEDs or training wheels or diapers either.  I would think someone named "Everything IBM" would be more educated about the differences in IBM keyboards, but if you think they're all the same, great - go use your freebie in bliss and let others enjoy the differences.

[itlnstln]

If you need an LED to tell you your capslock is on, your doin it wrong.

Ha!  You'd be doing a lot of things wrong.

[didjamatic]

Yes, the sound is different.  The weight is also very different - When you pick them up you feel the difference in a second, I sold a Flexmark that felt like half the weight of my silver labels.  In fact, I did a drop test and it fell to the ground only slightly faster than a latex balloon.  (j/k)  Also, Lexy put those fixed twizzle cords on some of them that are one step above a phone cord and are frequently screwed up even when you open a NIB model like I did.

They are all good keyboards, but I much prefer the earlier models and they are not all the same.

I've never used a Unicomp yet, so I can't comment on them, but I can comment on the incredible build quality of the 1390120

[didjamatic]

Great deal for a great keyboard.

[maxlugar]

this was linked at the bottom of the auction.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Antique-IBM-Mainframe-Vacuum-Tube-Computer-705_W0QQitemZ120570704057QQcategoryZ74946QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m8QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DMW%26its%3DC%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D20%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D8387381401807195125

I think everythingibm should pick it up. never would have guessed that IBM made tubes.

Very cool, it looks like it belongs on the bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek TOS.  I was always fascinated by all those blinking coloured lights that didn't seem to have any obvious purpose.

[EverythingIBM]

Very cool, it looks like it belongs on the bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek TOS.  I was always fascinated by all those blinking coloured lights that didn't seem to have any obvious purpose.

I guess that's why you like Model Ms with no LED labels

[maxlugar]

If you need an LED to tell you your capslock is on, your doin it wrong



Anyone with any credibility or ability to observe knows this is not the case.


I personally collect mostly silver label Model M's because I like older keyboards, the lack of LEDs is a cool feature on this model and has never impeded my use of it, but I don't need LEDs or training wheels or diapers either.  I would think someone named "Everything IBM" would be more educated about the differences in IBM keyboards, but if you think they're all the same, great - go use your freebie in bliss and let others enjoy the differences.

Careful now dj.  Although I concur with your reasonably stated comments, Kishy my Ass, the self-appointed geekhack moral watchdog is looking out for his retarded butt buddies (all the way from Canada).

We must try to be nice, not use profanity, not be offensive, and especiallly not contradict idiots who have little or no basis for their positions. And we need to show tolerance to the same group of retards who post replies to other people's posts just to be heard.

On second thought, you should take the high road.   I'll continue to be the impolite, obnoxious, non politically correct ******* I was born to be - until iMav blocks my IP addresses  

PM sent Kishy  

[mr_a500]

Very cool, it looks like it belongs on the bridge of the Enterprise from Star Trek TOS.  I was always fascinated by all those blinking coloured lights that didn't seem to have any obvious purpose.

Yeah, you're right. As soon as I saw that thing, I started hearing Enterprise bridge noises in my head. (especially that high pitched "tweet..tweet..tweet")

[kishy]

Careful now dj.  Although I concur with your reasonably stated comments, Kishy my Ass, the self-appointed geekhack moral watchdog is looking out for his retarded butt buddies (all the way from Canada).

We must try to be nice, not use profanity, not be offensive, and especiallly not contradict idiots who have little or no basis for their positions. And we need to show tolerance to the same group of retards who post replies to other people's posts just to be heard.

On second thought, you should take the high road.   I'll continue to be the impolite, obnoxious, non politically correct ******* I was born to be - until iMav blocks my IP addresses  

PM sent Kishy  

I'm laughing so hard I'm nearly in tears (that's probably because I'm too exhausted to comprehend what you've said, but whatever).

Cheers man, cheers.

[JBert]

Careful now dj.  Although I concur with your reasonably stated comments, Kishy my Ass, the self-appointed geekhack moral watchdog is looking out for his retarded butt buddies (all the way from Canada).

We must try to be nice, not use profanity, not be offensive, and especiallly not contradict idiots who have little or no basis for their positions. And we need to show tolerance to the same group of retards who post replies to other people's posts just to be heard.

On second thought, you should take the high road.   I'll continue to be the impolite, obnoxious, non politically correct ******* I was born to be - until iMav blocks my IP addresses  

PM sent Kishy  

No, no, you're doing it wrong. Just ask webwit for advice.

I already have a 1986 Model M, and it has an LED panel. It's EXACTLY the same as that one but it has LEDs. So you're the bright one laddy.

It's also worthy to note that my 1986 Model M is the same as a unicomp or a lexmark one, there's no difference, seriously.

The ONLY, ONE AND ONLY difference is that the older Model Ms had bigger LEDs. Which is kind of nice, easier to see the little glowing lights in the corner of my eye.

Tell you what, an IBM PC 5160 and an IBM 300 PL have a lot of stuff in common. Sure they aren't the same?

[didjamatic]

Careful now dj.  Although I concur with your reasonably stated comments... We must try to be nice

I often forget that the tone of something I say doesn't come through in the written word very well.  My second comment was a ribbing comment, though I was disagreeing with him, I was just poking at eIBM in fun, but hopefully he knows that.

[kishy]

Another difference, much more meaningful to some of us than others: -0120 is XT compatible.

[nowsharing]

-0120 is XT compatible.

I just read the wiki entry, and saw that both the 120 & 131 are XT/AT compatible. Somehow I never realized that, and it does make them much more interesting.

[pfink]

If you use something like FL Studio, you need the LEDs (otherwise it's just plain annoying trying to figure out if scroll lock is on or not). I'm sure people who do a lot of technical work making use of all of the lock functions will want to have them.

If you're using Windows you can use something like this:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/PORTABLE-SOFTWARE/System/System-Info/Portable-TrayStatus.shtml

I'm sure there are similar programs available for other operating systems.

[didjamatic]

Really?  Without a manual switch it auto-senses XT and AT?

[kishy]

Really?  Without a manual switch it auto-senses XT and AT?

Yeah, there are a crapload of keyboards that can do this. Some of the foil/foam BTCs are able to do it, I believe (I think my 5339R can).

[ch_123]

It is important to stress here that the -120 and -131 are compatible with later XTs. The older ones can't handle anything other than an 83-key (although some can be given a BIOS upgrade). The 5150 PC is completely incompatible as far as I know.

This is also true of most earlier Model Ms including the industrials and earlier 1391401s. I'm pretty sure it was due to the original style of controller used by the Model M.

XT-286s used -131s AFAIK as they were basically low cost ATs.