General Guide for the Best Vintage Boards?

[chuckster]

Hey Guys, just wondering because a quick search didn't bring up anything. I'm a huge fan of the Model M, after acquiring my first 1391401 about six months ago. This, along with a less than stellar, (but still pretty nice) experience with a '93 Fujitsu from my local thrift shop has really sparked my interest in vintage boards. I love modern Cherry MX, don't get me wrong--but old boards just seem so much more solid and well-built, not to mention the history you can extrapolate during bouts of writer's block. After much reading, I have now discovered great ALPS boards like the Omnikey and the Dell AT-101, but overall, I just don't see a whole lot of information on a number of vintage boards.

What I'm looking for now is a comparative--or at least concise, descriptive list of the best vintage keyboards out there. I know there are many more options than the few I know about, I just don't know where to go besides hours of research on each specific model. Is there anything out there like this?

[MGH]

The DT wiki is great

[hwood34]

Yeah, browsing the DT wiki and general DT discussions should be of great help since they're very vintage-centric over there. But a few brands or boards that are known for their quality are IBMs, many hall-effect boards, Northgate Omnikey's, original Cherry, (I'll try and think of some more). But there's an incredible amount of great vintage stuff and there's no one real comprehensive guide, you can only really learn as you go along

[jacobolus]

What I'm looking for now is a comparative--or at least concise, descriptive list of the best vintage keyboards out there.

There are hundreds of great old keyboards, and hundreds of historical geekhack threads about related topics.

There’s no way anything can be both authoritative and concise. In general it’s impossible to give useful advice without knowing what you like specifically and what your requirements are.

[chuckster]

Ahh, well I guess it's wiki-crawling for me! Now to find a PC-compatible Hall-Effect board for the ultimate in longevity... Any Suggestions?

[Snowdog993]

Another thing that is kind of hard is that some manufacturers at that time period had keyboards with the same model number, yet had some with rubberdome and some with actual mechanical switches.  (BTC comes to mind as one example.)  So be aware of that.
There are others that actually LOOK expensive, yet are just that.  They look good, but are really just a cheap clone.
I have a box with newer and older keyboards that I was duped into buying.  (I think one that comes to mind is the Microsoft Internet Keyboard)  I must have gone through about 6 of them, before I realized why they felt so good at first, then lost life after being used.  I didn't know any better at that time.  Fortunately I actually did have an IBM Blue Label 1391401 and a IBM Blue Label UK 42H1292 and always dug them out because they worked without trouble.  I passed on my 1391401 to my nephew, and he uses it to this day.
The UK model lost use of the B N and Spacebar keys.  I tried to fix it myself not knowing what I was getting into and ruined it.
Since I gave my only working IBM keyboard to him, I broke down and bought the keyboards in my list in my sig.  I am currently on the computer with my Lexmark keyboard. and I am very happy with it.
A collector is one thing, to have a collection.  I have a use for every keyboard I have and don't regret it at all.
Lesson learned.  I like the keyboards I have and use them religiously.  I'm not a profiteer, or a super-Einstein.  I just know what works for me.

[jacobolus]

Now to find a PC-compatible Hall-Effect board for the ultimate in longevity... Any Suggestions?

Sure. Go buy any old hall effect board you like, then learn enough electrical engineering to design your own controller, and solder it in. BAM! Easy!

(Or wait a year or two and hope someone else does the design work.)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Ahh, well I guess it's wiki-crawling for me! Now to find a PC-compatible Hall-Effect board for the ultimate in longevity... Any Suggestions?

RAFI still sell keyboards:

http://www.rafi.de/Standard-keyboards-for-PCs-use.382.0.html?&L=1

Waterproof, so that should help when your beer mug falls over.

Catalogue here:

http://www.rafi.de/Standard-Keyboards-RAFI.199.0.html?&L=1

You want the solid-state type, which uses their Hall effect switches.

I imagine they won't be cheap, but they're brand new and PC compatible, with Windows keys!

[Findecanor]

Whenever I see an interesting-looking vintage keyboard at an auction site (or elsewhere on the web), I try to find the model number. Then I use Google Image search (not web search) on the brand name and/or model number to find a picture of a similar-looking model. If I get a hit, the image is in an article or in a forum thread somewhere (most often here, but not always) with more information.