IBM SpaceSaver II - Seller refurbished - BIN $32.00

[TexasFlood]

IBM SpaceSaver II Wired Keyboard - Stealth black - BIN $32.00 - $7.00 shipping (to me)
For anyone who missed out on that last lot of these.  Those were new, this is used, but not a bad price and looks in reasonable shape.

From Seller:

IBM Space Saver II Keyboard  37L0888
Tested/cleaned/90 day warranty
The IBM Space Saver II Black keyboard is a space-efficient version of IBM's popular TrackPoint keyboard. It is designed to use minimum desk space while offering maximum productivity. The integrated TrackPoint pointing stick is used for cursor control or to scroll through large documents or Web sites. This keyboard is perfect for rack mounted servers, ThinkPad docking stations, port replicators, or other applications where space is at a premium.

[EverythingIBM]

To make that keyboard worthwhile, you'd probably have to get a sheet of high quality rubber domes, cut it, and fit it on there... because... those keyboards have TERRIBLE rubber membranes.

I even have the exact year when IBM used lesser quality membranes for their keyboards.

Although that is a nice chassis for a keyboard.

[wanabe]

darn that's a shame about the domes..it would be a perfect work keyboard for me.

[TexasFlood]

To make that keyboard worthwhile, you'd probably have to get a sheet of high quality rubber domes, cut it, and fit it on there... because... those keyboards have TERRIBLE rubber membranes.

I even have the exact year when IBM used lesser quality membranes for their keyboards.

Although that is a nice chassis for a keyboard.

Man.  No way I'd go to that much trouble.  I have one of these.  It's not a great keyboard but it's small and has a trackpoint which counts for a lot with me.  I would not recommend it for a daily driver, and maybe should have said that in my original post, but I can use it occasionally without undo pain.

[TexasFlood]

Hate to play semantics with you, but the rubber domes are not the membrane. They are the rubber domes.

The membrane is the mylar sheets...such as what you find in a Model M.

This conversation jogged my memory. There was a mod somebody had done a while back on one of these.  Basically they put a small slit the side/edge of the domes on one of these.  I can't find it right now.  I know I posted a link to the mod here somewhere but can't find it right now.

But there are some pictures of it from KBDMania.net including internals here.

[TexasFlood]

Hate to play semantics with you, but the rubber domes are not the membrane. They are the rubber domes.

The membrane is the mylar sheets...such as what you find in a Model M.

This conversation jogged my memory. I found a link to a mod somebody had done a while back on one of these.  Basically they put a small slit the side/edge of the domes on one of these.  Found it, here is a link to the page showing the cut.  There are some pictures of it from KBDMania.net including internals here.

[TexasFlood]

Hate to play semantics with you, but the rubber domes are not the membrane. They are the rubber domes.

The membrane is the mylar sheets...such as what you find in a Model M.

This conversation jogged my memory. I found a link to a mod somebody had done a while back on one of these.  Basically they put a small slit the side/edge of the domes on one of these.  Found it, here is a link to the page showing the cut.  If you poke around there you'll find more pictures of this keyboard including internals, try clicking the "index" link at the bottom right of the page to start.  There are also some pictures of it from KBDMania.net including internals here.

[TexasFlood]

Or if you have a rack in the basement and need a 1U KVM drawer which includes this keyboard & a 15" LCD.

[microsoft windows]

It's definitely not worth $75 for some old LCD and a rubber dome keyboard.

[TexasFlood]

It's definitely not worth $75 for some old LCD and a rubber dome keyboard.

Not if you aren't going to use the drawer.  It's pretty slick the way the monitor flips and the whole thing slides back into the rack taking only 1U.  I've bought and used a lot of these in data centers.  Think they were in the $100s new.  I really can't remember the exact cost because they were cheap compared to the servers and it wasn't my money anyway, :wink:.

[TexasFlood]

[strike]Are you sure this one flips down? The rack mount drawer types tend to have a laptop-like LCD which is thinner...this looks like it permanently sticks out of the rack without moving.[/strike]

Nevermind, monitor goes backwards on this one.

My bad, actually it flips forward & covers the keyboard. Same result though.

[TexasFlood]

Eesh, so it does go forwards...weird. That looks taller than 1U. I can only presume it's rather old for it to have such a chunky monitor.

Belkin has a really sharp one currently, but the keyboard likely sucks.

I'd measure one if I could but don't have access to one of these any more.  I'm pretty sure these were 1U but maybe I'm remembering wrong.  1U is 1.75" or less.  When folded the high point is at the hinge point which might be that.  And yes these have been around for years so the monitor is a little chunky but very solidly built.  I haven't seen the Belkin.  I'm sure the technology has gotten a lot better since this IBM one came out.  But it's not apples to apples since I'm bet good money you're not going to find the Belkin for $75 shipped and it likely won't have a trackpoint either - more likely a touchpad which while better than nothing is not my preference to say the least.

[didjamatic]

The rails on the sides in that pic are exactly 1U.  That is at least 2U the way the monitor sticks up.

[TexasFlood]

The rails on the sides in that pic are exactly 1U.  That is at least 2U the way the monitor sticks up.

That's what I was thinking, didja. I've worked with 1U stuff and there's no way the overall height on that is 1U.

So I think that IBM made both a 1U and a 3U rack kit.  It's been a while and I'm probably mixing them up, think the 1U one did fold back and this must be the 3U one.

[Half-Saint]

I have one of those boards and it's slightly better than current Logitech domes. It still feels quite awful to be honest...