Hello GeekHack! As many of you are already aware, I work for a UK charity called
Computers 4 Africa. We receive donations of second-hand IT kit, and then we repair and refurbish it before sending it on to schools, libraries, medical projects and other worthwhile causes in Africa.
Some of the donations we get are quite old, to the point where they're unwanted in Africa... but those can be some of the most interesting finds in the UK and Europe, especially when the items in question are mechanical keyboards.
Basically what I'm doing here is raising money for the C4A project. The more I can get for these boards, the more kit we can send to a worthy cause in Africa and the more peoples' lives we can change. One child with an education in IT can get a job that will feed his entire extended family, and advancing African economies into the information age- a lofty goal I know, but you gotta have targets, right?- is the single thing that is most likely in our view to enable the continent to break the cycle of poverty that it is left with by most other aid programs. Teach a dude how to be a better subsistence farmer and he'll still be a subsistence farmer. Teach a dude how to use a computer and he's got a chance at actually climbing the ladder.
Anyway, charity ramble over and it's on to the items for sale.
First thing we have for you is a number of Dell AT102W PS/2 keyboards. These are mostly in very good condition. Two of them were still in their original polythene bags when we got them, though some bright spark decided to take one of them out to have a look at it. That one does have some very slight cosmetic damage to the upper left corner, and one of the other boards in otherwise good condition has a few scratches on the upper part of the casing but for the most part they're all fairly free of yellowing and generally pretty good-looking boards.
The key switches on on these boards are all old-school complicated black ALPS. These do have a noticeable "bump" in the action but are non-clicky keys.
Keyswitch photos (exterior, interior):
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(Note that I have tested this board after putting the switch back together and it works just fine).
The one in the worst condition is this one:
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This board has significant yellowing and some heat damage(!) to a couple of keys. The backplate also has a couple of rust patches on it. This board is distinctly non-representative of our current stock, however.
This one is much more like it:
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This is the one that has just been removed from its bag: The documents in front are the original safety notice and board manual, which will be supplied with it when it is sold. I'm thinking about scanning them in so I can provide copies with the other boards, but I think that might be a bit much. Most of the keyboards we have are in similar condition, though admittedly most of them don't still have the original twist tie holding the cable in place like this one does.
UPDATE: The NIB keyboard we had has sold, though we do still have four 'boards in new or nearly-new condition (some minor cosmetic damage only). We have split the remaining white AT102Ws into three grades and priced them appropriately on eBay
here,
here and
here. All of these can be cleaned before shipping on request for a slight markup, except for the high-quality boards which have already been cleaned- though I suspect that most keyboard enthusiasts will prefer to clean the boards themselves rather than trust our relatively rushed and superficial high-speed cleaning job.
We do also have one black AT102W board, though the F2 key is missing and the keyswitch has some (mostly cosmetic) damage, The switch still works, and it will hold a key as long as you're not typing with hammers, but I don't think we have a spare ALPS F2 key available (though I will take another rummage this afternoon).
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UPDATE: We now also have two complete black AT102W boards (no keys missing, no switches damaged).
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Initially asking £20 for the black keyboards (apart from the damaged one) because they do generate more interest, though offers will be considered. These will be put on eBay next week.
The next items we have are a pair of 102-key DIN boards with unbranded white ALPS Simplified II (XM) switches.
The clicky switches one these boards work very nicely. Maybe not quite as much as older white ALPS keys, but they're still a good bet. DIN to PS/2 converters are quite cheap as well, you shouldn't have any trouble finding one around here (though unfortunately I need mine for testing old boards and don't have a spare at the moment). The clicky action means they're pretty cool.
Not exactly sure what board these are, but I have included a couple of pics of the serial plates below.
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I'm initially aiming a little higher for these because of the clicky action, call it £25 or so, but am definitely willing to accept offers.
The last complete board I have available is one I think is a Nan Tan 102-key DIN board from about 1988. ALPS-branded white clicky switches, though I've not had a look inside to check exactly what model they are. The keycaps are all doubleshots, and to be honest I was thinking of nicking them for my ALPS buckling spring board but I think it might actually be worth something to the charity. I will check the key switches tomorrow evening and let you know what they are exactly.
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I'm looking for reasonable offers on this board, the keycaps alone make it a pretty shiny proposition.
The last thing I have available is a set of doubleshot keycaps for a 102-key ISO board, which I believe are Cherry-compatible. One member has already expressed an interest in these and will get priority, but I thought I'd best include them here anyway. They are quite badly yellowed, though they have been fairly thoroughly cleaned and are supplied in a sealed polythene bag.
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Not sure how much to ask for these because of the aging on them: Looking for somewhere around the £20 mark, but definitely willing to accept offers.
