Industrial gray Model M 1388032

[Techno Trousers]

OMG, this (attempted) classic keyboard profiteering has gotten completely ridiculous.  $1,800 seriously? WTF!!??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171069330334

[snoopy]

"Considered the HOLY GRAIL of IBM Keyboards!!!!! MINT!!!"

[Thechemist]

No crystal, pass. 

[Techno Trousers]

No crystal, pass. 

It had better be a pure diamond MANDOLIN crystal for that price. 

[bazemk1979]

pfffff that price,,,, this one at best is worth $150 even though it has the old type rear sticker.....

[fohat.digs]

even though it has the old type rear sticker.....

I do lust after those labels. I have never had a Model M with one of those.

[Techno Trousers]

even though it has the old type rear sticker.....

I do lust after those labels. I have never had a Model M with one of those.

I must admit I do like looking at that label on my 1390131 dated 4/86 from time to time. It just seems like they had real pride in making those keyboards and dating them like that.

[JWK]

In the ad, the seller references Ebay #251152766493 which sold for $845.  That one was serial number 163 and was dated September 3, 1985.  I'd guess that was the first week of production, if not the first day.  (I was a losing bidder on that auction.)  I spoke with the seller of that earlier 1388032, "troshinsky123"; her father was an IBM employee his entire career.     

[Photoelectric]

No crystal, pass. 

Haha   ++

[calavera]

3 offers, I bet he declined all of them thinking he was getting low balled.

[nubbinator]

3 offers, I bet he declined all of them thinking he was getting low balled.

Or it autodeclined them for not meeting the minimum.

[Techno Trousers]

I was one.  Made a reasonable if not generous offer and was autodeclined. I expected as much,  but it never hurts to try.

[The_Ed]

What did you offer?

[berserkfan]

you are wrong; it is equipped with Mandolin crystals, Mandolin bolts, Mandolin rivets, Mandolin paint, Mandolin resistors, Mandolin LEDs.

For $1800, it is so cheap that I'm offering a Trillion dollars to make sure no one snipes it away from me.

btw my trillion happens to be drawn on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, but don't let these little details bother you.

pfffff that price,,,, this one at best is worth $150 even though it has the old type rear sticker.....

[smknjoe]

What did you offer?

I was one.  Made a reasonable if not generous offer and was autodeclined. I expected as much,  but it never hurts to try.

Did you see what the seller said in red at the bottom? I thought the last few industrials went for around $450? He's saying the last one sold on ebay went for $800+ I don't really keep track though since they tend to be too rich for my blood.

[Shadovved]

AHHA. Maybe I should offer him my industrial for $300 )

And he used an adapter that only supports 3KRO? Maybe I'll sell him my adapter for cheap too

[snoopy]

That's the last one I've seen: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-Industrial-Gray-IBM-Model-M-Clicky-Keyboard-PN-1390653-DEC-1988-/321144941472

[ed_avis]

The grey colour does look handsome.  It's surprising Unicomp only make them in black and white.  If they sold grey cases for people to 'upgrade' their existing Model Ms to Industrials...

[Shadovved]

The grey colour does look handsome.  It's surprising Unicomp only make them in black and white.  If they sold grey cases for people to 'upgrade' their existing Model Ms to Industrials...

Then its still not an industrial  )

[insilica]

As Harry Potter says: "Riddikulus"

[Mandolin]

still so much to learn, nobody will forget the mandolin crystals 

[tinlong117]

No one realise that this is the first pc compatible M.

[Mandolin]

No one realise that this is the first pc compatible M.

First in the entire world? Universe-wise?

THAT'S GOLD

[dorkvader]

No one realise that this is the first pc compatible M.

First in the entire world? Universe-wise?

THAT'S GOLD

When he says "this" he is referring to this model, not this exact specimen. Yes, this model keyboard is the first PC compatible keyboard with a buckling spring over membrane "model M" keyswitch design.

I'm sure it has the nicer crystal as well.

[Mandolin]

No one realise that this is the first pc compatible M.

First in the entire world? Universe-wise?

THAT'S GOLD

When he says "this" he is referring to this model, not this exact specimen. Yes, this model keyboard is the first PC compatible keyboard with a buckling spring over membrane "model M" keyswitch design.

I'm sure it has the nicer crystal as well.

How nice? crystal clear coating? not the blurry one? crystal inside a crystal?

[The_Ed]

My god... I swear spamdolin is 4... Go somewhere ****ing else, we're all tired of your bull**** about crystals...

While I would love to have an 1388032, I will likely never get one.

[TacticalCoder]

The grey colour does look handsome.  It's surprising Unicomp only make them in black and white.  If they sold grey cases for people to 'upgrade' their existing Model Ms to Industrials...

I agree: best looking color for a Model M in my opinion too 

For a few years they used to: you could buy industrial shells for full-sized Ms and the top part only for space-saver Ms from Unicomp. AFAICT they were NOS (new old stock) but I'm not sure.

I think they're all gone now so it would indeed be great if Unicomp started making these again.

I managed to snap four of them why they still had some (and I've got a real industrial M as well). I'm not selling them but I may trade these shells one of these days.

[berserkfan]

don't mind me asking tactical coder, but are your shells basically grey versions of regular Model Ms?

Someone was talking about using duplicolor vinyl dye to paint a Model M. Because the dye can be absorbed into the plastic, it allows an even coating that will never flake off. If that works, we could all create our own ghetto Industrials. Sure, resale value won't be high - but at least we will get the nice grey color which I'm sure is the primary objective of most people to begin with.

The grey colour does look handsome.  It's surprising Unicomp only make them in black and white.  If they sold grey cases for people to 'upgrade' their existing Model Ms to Industrials...

I agree: best looking color for a Model M in my opinion too 

For a few years they used to: you could buy industrial shells for full-sized Ms and the top part only for space-saver Ms from Unicomp. AFAICT they were NOS (new old stock) but I'm not sure.

I think they're all gone now so it would indeed be great if Unicomp started making these again.

I managed to snap four of them why they still had some (and I've got a real industrial M as well). I'm not selling them but I may trade these shells one of these days.

[fohat.digs]

Someone was talking about using duplicolor vinyl dye to paint a Model M. Because the dye can be absorbed into the plastic, it allows an even coating that will never flake off. If that works, we could all create our own ghetto Industrials. Sure, resale value won't be high - but at least we will get the nice grey color which I'm sure is the primary objective of most people to begin with.

The only Dupli-Color gray I have seen is the darker "charcoal" color. Makes a nice case, but not the same.

[smknjoe]

I don't know much about Industrial M's. Was it just the color that was different or was it a different type of plastic that was more resistant to chemical solvents as well? I know that there is some industrial grade network equipment that is specifically designed for corrosive environments.

[snoopy]

As far as I know, it is only the color. I didn't see or feel any other differences

[Techno Trousers]

Just saw the seller lowered the price to "only" $900. If it's cut in half again, I could see it selling.

[Techno Trousers]

Down to $750. He must actually want to sell it after all.

[ed_avis]

I'd quite like a charcoal colour Model M... it would go with my T221s.

[Techno Trousers]

It's down to $700 now. Bargain! LOL.

I've never seen one of these in person, but according to clickykeyboards.com, the industrial color is more of a military olive drab, so somewhere between gray and green.

[Techno Trousers]

Hmm... Down to $450 now. I think it will sell when it goes under $400.

Definitely a strange way to run an auction. If I were selling that, I think I would have started at $99 and let the auction frenzy take over. Just look at that NIB SSK that's almost up to $400, and the industrial boards have to be much rarer than beige SSKs.

[tinlong117]

The_ed, it's the time to grab it!

[The_Ed]

But it was touched by other people... But it is still so purdy...

EDIT: Looks like someone bought it.

[JWK]

Just saw the seller lowered the price to "only" $900. If it's cut in half again, I could see it selling.

You hit that right on the nose.  $449.95

[fohat.digs]

about time for this to come up again

[Techno Trousers]

Good one! Fortunately I'm too old and wise to be an investment collector. If it's not going to be used by me as-is, or for parts, I want to move it along to someone who will enjoy it.

Of course, I told my wife I wanted to ultimately end up with six or so keyboards I really like, and her response was "do you really need six keyboards?" So I'm thinking "NOW you want to start using logic?"

[bitslasher]

So people buy these as investments???  These things are already so expensive!  I feel one day our grandchildren will read of how the world changed when the great mechanical keyboard bubble finally burst, leaving behind total devastation - a wasteland of switch springs and rubber domes.  Because in their time after the bubble, mechanical boards will be cheap again and available too all, regardless of financial privilege.  They will again be able to take them for granted just like our grandparents did in the 1980's. 

Btw, I'm the fool that got that board.   I'd been hunting for that one since I spotted its sibling on clickykeyboards.com a while ago.  I feel a little silly for getting it really, but I was sick of browsing eBay!  I plan on using it as it was intended, except for the industrial part.  It'll instead used to write software.  Sad thing is, the auction mentioned how the USB adapter didn't support 3-key rollover.  That didn't sound right to me.  He actually had one of those really nice $30 adapters off eBay that has the USB adapter built right into the cord itself, looks like an oem part.  Well sure enough, when it arrived, it really didn't work at all, the board that is-- the usb cable was actually fine.  Of course I had a couple other model Ms around so I swapped the controller board and viola it worked perfectly.  So I contacted Brandon at clickykeyboards.com and he hooked me up with a correct controller board (that can take the yellow LED cable) for $10.  I think the original board has a dry cap or something, I'd like to fix it so its all original again.  Has anyone here repaired a flaked out PCB?  It will flash the LEDs and they actually will try to toggle the lock status on/off, but no key signal makes it through.  Other than the bad PCB the board looks brand new.  I wonder if the pcb went bad a very very long time ago and the board was just stuck in storage.  The seller said he got it from an estate sale of an ex-IBMer, it actually still was with its server, the 7531, but he didn't purchase that.

[dorkvader]

So people buy these as investments???  These things are already so expensive!  I feel one day our grandchildren will read of how the world changed when the great mechanical keyboard bubble finally burst, leaving behind total devastation - a wasteland of switch springs and rubber domes.  Because in their time after the bubble, mechanical boards will be cheap again and available too all, regardless of financial privilege.  They will again be able to take them for granted just like our grandparents did in the 1980's. 

Btw, I'm the fool that got that board.   I'd been hunting for that one since I spotted its sibling on clickykeyboards.com a while ago.  I feel a little silly for getting it really, but I was sick of browsing eBay!  I plan on using it as it was intended, except for the industrial part.  It'll instead used to write software.  Sad thing is, the auction mentioned how the USB adapter didn't support 3-key rollover.  That didn't sound right to me.  He actually had one of those really nice $30 adapters off eBay that has the USB adapter built right into the cord itself, looks like an oem part.  Well sure enough, when it arrived, it really didn't work at all, the board that is-- the usb cable was actually fine.  Of course I had a couple other model Ms around so I swapped the controller board and viola it worked perfectly.  So I contacted Brandon at clickykeyboards.com and he hooked me up with a correct controller board (that can take the yellow LED cable) for $10.  I think the original board has a dry cap or something, I'd like to fix it so its all original again.  Has anyone here repaired a flaked out PCB?  It will flash the LEDs and they actually will try to toggle the lock status on/off, but no key signal makes it through.  Other than the bad PCB the board looks brand new.  I wonder if the pcb went bad a very very long time ago and the board was just stuck in storage.  The seller said he got it from an estate sale of an ex-IBMer, it actually still was with its server, the 7531, but he didn't purchase that.

Well met!

First of all, it's excellent that you will be using this as intended. About the  key rollover, the model M is a membrane based keyboard and as such only supports 2KRO. EVen if you get an adapter that supports NKRO (like the diy soarer converter) the keyboard matrix and controller only support 2KRO. This is not an issue for most, though. Those USB - to - SDL adapters are usually the ones from orihalcon, and they use an excellent ID innovations multimode USB to PS2 adapter. I'm using one on my model m at work and it's great.

I've done some PCB repair and would gladly take a look at it (though there's a good chance I wont be able to find anything). If you wanted to post pictures of the PCB, I'm sure some of the talented people on the forum could give a hand. From your description it sounds like the KB is not passing the POST that it does (where it flashes all 3 LEDs after you plug it in.

I hope you are enjoying your KB! These older IBM boards are great to type on.

[Shadovved]

Model M's are 2KRO even with adapter? 

[Krogenar]

No crystal, pass. 

It had better be a pure diamond MANDOLIN crystal for that price. 

Model M, Now With Dilithium Crystal. If the keyboard malfunctions, jettison the core.

[SpAmRaY]

No crystal, pass. 

It had better be a pure diamond MANDOLIN crystal for that price. 

Model M, Now With Dilithium Crystal. If the keyboard malfunctions, jettison the core.

But...but.....you can type at warp speed!

[Techno Trousers]

Nice grab, man. I'm glad you didn't pay any of the ludicrous early prices. $450 is higher than I would personally have paid, but I don't think it's out of line. Glad to hear you were able to get it working, and the board is going to be put to work the way it should be!

[Krogenar]

No crystal, pass. 

It had better be a pure diamond MANDOLIN crystal for that price. 

Model M, Now With Dilithium Crystal. If the keyboard malfunctions, jettison the core.

But...but.....you can type at warp speed!

Captain Krog: "Spammy! Shields are down.... Can you give me 6KRO?"
Spammy (in Engineering, in a Scottish accent): "She woon't taek much moor cap'n -- ah mite getcha tew-kay-arr-oo (2KRO) ..."

[bitslasher]

2KRO must be limited to 2-keys at once on a single pathway on the matrix right???  I'm thinking this because you can obviously do key combos like CTRL+ALT+DELETE.  These keys are all on separate paths though, so that's why it works?

[dorkvader]

2KRO must be limited to 2-keys at once on a single pathway on the matrix right???  I'm thinking this because you can obviously do key combos like CTRL+ALT+DELETE.  These keys are all on separate paths though, so that's why it works?

Yes, 2KRO means that some (but not all) three-key combinations will fail, and all 2 key combinations will work. Most 2KRO keyboards are set up such that the modifiers are mainly on a separate row so you can do three key combinations with them.