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Author Topic: Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!  (Read 5678 times)

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Offline themadreason

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« on: Mon, 31 October 2011, 22:45:53 »
Have you seen those HUGE model Ms for $25 on ebay with a terminal connector and wanted one?  I found an easy way to make them PC compatable.  

Unicomp makes a version of the model M, which is PC compatible called the PC/5250.  If you are willing to do a bolt mod, why not replace the complete electrical circuit inside of the old IBM model M with a new PC/5250 switch membrane ASM, controller PCB board, and switches/hammers while you are at it?  Unicomp will sell you the parts.

The cost of a 122 key terminal M is around $30 on ebay if your wallet does not get raped.
The cost of the parts was $52.
(Parts- Controller PCB board, Cable, Switch Membrane ASM, and Hammers/Springs)
The cost of the tiny nuts and bolts was less than $5.

Give Jim Owens at Unicomp a call and support the last withering vestiges of American buckling sping manufacturing!  http://www.pckeyboard.com

This is around $87 for what will be a brand new model M 122 key keyboard, which has a TON of keys, which will now take macros, and it will have any flavor of connecting cable that you want to order up.  Mine is a first gen terminal, and I will freely admit that the aluminum IBM logo does give me a boner.  

Big respect to the guys who figured that stuff out in the Teensy method for they know much more than me, but I am just saying... why mess around with the Teensy to get a bunch of whacked out scan codes?  

If you do not like the idea of drilling all of those holes in the bolt mod, you could also just buy a new unicomp PC/5250 keyboard and drop the insides into the old IBM plastic shell.  The new boards are $99, an no one would ever know the difference.  $130 dollars is about the same as a decent MX Cherry board these days.  I talked to Unicomp, and the new internals are to the exact same dimensions as the old ones.  I did the bolt mod route since I thought that it would be fun, and it was also cheaper, and I am a bankrupt college student.
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Offline dorkvader

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 00:21:27 »
Alternatively, didn't someone come up with a microcontroller for it?
---
Got any pictures you can post? I'm always a fan of pictures. Show it off! (Just post 15 times somewhere first, so you can put them in here)

Pretty cool mod/information. I may pick up a 122-key for the keycaps, as my M is missing some :(
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Offline mich

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 03:04:40 »
Quote from: themadreason;443090
Have you seen those HUGE model Ms for $25 on ebay with a terminal connector and wanted one?  I found an easy way to make them PC compatable.
Many (all?) of them *are* PC compatible, only with different plug and few protocol oddities which can be dealt with in software (Linux is easy, Windows driver is available) or simply by using Soarer's USB adapter.

Quote from: themadreason;443090
The cost of a 122 key terminal M is around $30 on ebay if your wallet does not get raped.
The cost of the parts was $52.
(Parts- Controller PCB board, Cable, Switch Membrane ASM, and Hammers/Springs)
The cost of the tiny nuts and bolts was less than $5.
Total: $87 + few hours of work
New and shiny Unicomp: $99

Just sayin' :)
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Offline jpc

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 08:10:35 »
New and shiny Unicomp?
You mean, with a warranty, choice of colors, choice of USB or PS2, choice of custom keycaps if you want, and with brand new crisp springs?
Who wants that man. That's crazy talk.
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RSI prevention recipe:[/B] Kinesis Contoured, Colemak layout, touch typing, Contour Design Rollermouse,  Logitech TrackMan Wheel, Logitech m570 trackball, "workrave" break timer software, "awesome" window manager, tenkeyless boards, cherry browns, Wang 724 with "ghetto green" ALPS, standing desk and/or comfy adjustable chairs, stress reduction, computer time reduction.

Fun non-ergonomic things: bolt modded Model M Space Saving Keyboards with new springs, Kensington Expert Mouse v7, Unicomp Endurapro, Northgates

Offline Soarer

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 08:51:15 »
My converter sends 'whacked out' codes for only a few keys, and that is unavoidable if each key is to send a unique code (which is needed so that people can remap them using tools on the PC). Remapping is in the works (and progressing well), but admittedly not available yet.

Anyway, I'm curious... with that method, what scan codes do you get? Do F13 to F24 send the codes for F13 to F24, or combinations (shift+F1 to shift+F12)? Which key is 'Esc'? Do some keys send the same code as others? Do any keys not have a usable function?

edit: Actually, I think this post answers most of my questions :)
« Last Edit: Tue, 01 November 2011, 08:56:37 by Soarer »
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Offline themadreason

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 19:27:21 »
"I did the bolt mod route since I thought that it would be fun."  Don't really know that much computer science yet.  My university has me still taking business courses.  I will finally get into computer science next semester.  However, I do know how to work with my hands, so the bolt mod was easier for me.

FYI this quest began when I F&^(*&^(*&^ed up and bought a terminal board on Ebay with an RJ45 connector.  With $25 already sunk into the keyboard, fifty dollars of new parts made more sense to me than $99 of new Unicomp.  Having the bolt mod done also allows me to replace the springs and hammers.

Would those methods work with an RJ45 terminal?!  I only saw teensy's method.  Do you have a link to those other methods?

You are correct.  This does not make much economic sense, but it was fun to take everything apart and rebuild my classic first gen M!  I just need some new keycaps to make everything look factory fresh.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 20:50:12 »
Mix up some powdered laundry detergent and Oxi-Clean/Biz etc in hot water and soak the keys for a few hours, rinse thoroughly.

They will look amazing, unless they are terribly worn or scratched.
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Offline dorkvader

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 01 November 2011, 21:46:04 »
Quote from: fohat.digs;443763
Mix up some powdered laundry detergent and Oxi-Clean/Biz etc in hot water and soak the keys for a few hours, rinse thoroughly.

They will look amazing, unless they are terribly worn or scratched.
My M was pretty messy, and I soaked the keys in dish soap + warm water for a day or so, and they came out looking amazing. I think I even soaked them for too long.

Now if only my retrobrite will hurry up....

Quote from: jpc;443254
New and shiny Unicomp?
You mean, with a warranty, choice of colors, choice of USB or PS2, choice of custom keycaps if you want, and with brand new crisp springs?
Who wants that man. That's crazy talk.
WAIT: Unicomp does custom keycaps? Can I get two piece keys for my black-silver one? I need details man!
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Offline themadreason

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 02 November 2011, 13:00:16 »
Your concerns are justified, Kishy.  Yes, these methods look pretty neat.  There are a number of old terminals that would be fun to collect, and most people do not want them.  There are some neat terminal keyboards, which go for nothing on Ebay.  

Thanks for the advice, everyone.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 02 November 2011, 19:39:51 »
Actually, the terminals are selling for more and more on ebay, and there have not been any Fs at all in several weeks.

I would like to get another Teensy and make an in-line box to use for a variety of boards, but how to handle the multiple plug types? Do you go in with, say, PS2 and out with USB, and stack up adapters as needed on the front end?

Last, I have a couple of Model F-122 cables and the plug is odd, similar to a DIN-5 but not. Is there any kind of adapter for that, and/or can you buy a female socket and wire something else up from the back?

Thanks
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“Citizens United violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president.
So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over.”
- Jimmy Carter 2015

Offline fohat.digs

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 02 November 2011, 20:39:51 »
You're right, there are always Model M terminals for sale. Nice Model Fs are more rare.

I ordered a DIN-6 socket from Hong Kong. I will build my own adapter to male PS2 and let the outboard Teensy use a female PS2 input.

thanks for the help.
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“Citizens United violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president.
So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over.”
- Jimmy Carter 2015

Offline dorkvader

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Make a 122 key Model M terminal work with your PC!
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 02 November 2011, 21:01:05 »
Quote from: fohat.digs;444555
Actually, the terminals are selling for more and more on ebay, and there have not been any Fs at all in several weeks.
Wasn't there one up recently /now? I remember there being a post about it on the great finds.

I'm considering buying a terminal for the keycaps, and to fiddle with. Also, in case of zombies.
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