Model M SSK Mystery Theatre (Case Closed)

[hullo8d]

i was going to post this in some general discussion thread, but damn it, i want the attention! this thing has been bugging me for 2 years, and i need some sort of keyboard sherlock to help me out with this one. i picked up this model m ssk 2 years ago at a random yard sale. i was kind of a noob at the time, so i had no idea what i had in my hands or believe me i would have asked them this question on the spot. all i knew is that when i started pressing keys that there was something special about it and i didn't give it a second thought until i started doing my own research into these keyboards. i had no idea about the slight difference my model m ssk had compared to others

the difference being this...




the standard label isn't on this thing. i had to pop the top and look under the hood to get the actual info, and as it turns out, it was an early 1987.

this makes me think that this could have been some internal ibm use keyboard, but that's just the wishful thinker in me. but i've always loved this about my keyboard, it's was just another way of romanticizing it.

now i want to ruin that magic. so give it to me straight doc. is this board special or not!?!?

update: it's a 1986 prototype and has a couple differences from the normal SSKs such as different case moulding (lack of speaker grill, fresh texturing on surfaces that are normally smooth, a few other nuances) socketed eeprom, and it still keeps the old galvanzied steel plate. the internal sticker's shop date is 5390, so it puts it's production past mid 1986.

[jaffers]

That looks like an engineering sample, thats cool af

[hullo8d]

That looks like an engineering sample, thats cool af

my thoughts exactly. i have a second one with a label that's been sloppily peeled off which is the one i use. the one in my post is kept in a safe place in my attic.

edit: the label was not peeled by me, so please don't report me. my parole officer has me in the wringer

[E TwentyNine]

The board may be special.  Open it up, get a picture of the chip on the controller board and the back of the controller board.

[berserkfan]

Am guessing it is just a sample offered to potential customers. Don't be expecting any Inspector Gadget stuff under the hood.

[JimByr]

There was a 1390359 SSK with a normal label in a topic on the Deskthority forum. The keyboard was dated 25 Mar 1987.

Here's the link...
https://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/oldest-model-m-space-saver-t6319.html

[hullo8d]

The board may be special.  Open it up, get a picture of the chip on the controller board and the back of the controller board.

here you go chief https://imgur.com/a/8wlEA

There was a 1390359 SSK with a normal label in a topic on the Deskthority forum. The keyboard was dated 25 Mar 1987.

i'd appreciate a link

[JimByr]

I'll have to search. I was searching and got off track and deleted the remainder of this post since it had nothing to do with the 1390359.

[hullo8d]

corus kb does have some 1390359 on amazon, 2 actually, but i still have a feeling that maybe my keyboards were distributed some different way (samples, internal employee use, engineering sample, etc.) by ibm. could just be some label placed by a different company though. i was hoping that maybe one of you guys had seen something like this pop up before. anyways thanks for all the help. guess this one is a cold case (i'd rather have a cold case of beers if you know what i mean)

[rowdy]

LEX = Lexmark?

I have a Lexmark SSK.

[smknjoe]

LEX = Lexmark?

I have a Lexmark SSK.

Lexington, Kentucky

[rowdy]

LEX = Lexmark?

I have a Lexmark SSK.

Lexington, Kentucky

Ah, ok.

[chyros]

E29's or Clicky's prototype M read Ferrari somewhere iirc, it was a kind of internal code. Those Ms were from 1985 though, but I don't know when the SSK was introduced.

[hullo8d]

LEX = Lexmark?

I have a Lexmark SSK.

i have 2 of them.

E29's or Clicky's prototype M read Ferrari somewhere iirc, it was a kind of internal code. Those Ms were from 1985 though, but I don't know when the SSK was introduced.

according the the deskthority wiki they started production in 1987, but thanks for sheding some more light. guess i might have a prototype or engineering sample

[rowdy]

LEX = Lexmark?

I have a Lexmark SSK.

i have 2 of them.

I have one, plus one IBM SSK.  The IBM feels heavier than the Lexmark.

[hullo8d]

LEX = Lexmark?

I have a Lexmark SSK.

i have 2 of them.

I have one, plus one IBM SSK.  The IBM feels heavier than the Lexmark.

yeah i've noticed that too. the sound they make is slightly queiter too, but it's still feels like a model m.

[hullo8d]

just a small update.

i sent these (i forgot to mention i had 2) to phosphor so he could give them the treatment, and he made some pretty amazing discoveries. these are apparently 1986 model m ssks, they used a different mold than the normal production (lack of speaker grille, fresh texturing on place that are normally smooth, and couple of other nuances), and the controller board has a socketed EEPROM.

guess i'm blessed.

[rowdy]

just a small update.

i sent these (i forgot to mention i had 2) to phosphor so he could give them the treatment, and he made some pretty amazing discoveries. these are apparently 1986 model m ssks, they used a different mold than the normal production (lack of speaker grille, fresh texturing on place that are normally smooth, and couple of other nuances), and the controller board has a socketed EEPROM.

guess i'm blessed.

A very nice find then

[chyros]

Sounds more and more like a prototype to me .

[absyrd]

just a small update.

i sent these (i forgot to mention i had 2) to phosphor so he could give them the treatment, and he made some pretty amazing discoveries. these are apparently 1986 model m ssks, they used a different mold than the normal production (lack of speaker grille, fresh texturing on place that are normally smooth, and couple of other nuances), and the controller board has a socketed EEPROM.

guess i'm blessed.

Phosphor sees a ton of these. I'm guessing he was happy to give them the treatment. Nice find!

[alh84001]

I have one, plus one IBM SSK.  The IBM feels heavier than the Lexmark.

Can you put them to the scales? What model number do they have?
Some time ago one seller had three SSKs, 1987 and 1991 IBMs and 1993 Lexmark. By the time I took notice, the IBMs were gone.


@OP nice find. From the sticker on the controller I would say at least the controller, and possibly the board, is from 14th week of 1986. I may be misreading that label though.

[CPTBadAss]

Need more pictures! What an interesting find

Edit: Found phosphorglow's album of the teardown for this board.

[Snowdog993]

Need more pictures! What an interesting find

https://www.flickr.com/photos/phosphorglow/albums/72157665323435521

[hullo8d]

Maxx was pretty thorough with his picture taking. You can see both the original and finished products on his flickr, they're 225 and 226. I'll weight the board as a whole later, but off hand I know it's around 4 lbs, most likely above.

[ander]

I sure like the legends. They seem more elegantly spaced to me than the older SSK's. (Imagine, Lexmark doing something better than IBM...?)

[rowdy]

I have one, plus one IBM SSK.  The IBM feels heavier than the Lexmark.

Can you put them to the scales? What model number do they have?
Some time ago one seller had three SSKs, 1987 and 1991 IBMs and 1993 Lexmark. By the time I took notice, the IBMs were gone.


@OP nice find. From the sticker on the controller I would say at least the controller, and possibly the board, is from 14th week of 1986. I may be misreading that label though.

I've made a note to find the scales on the weekend and weigh them.

[E TwentyNine]

That is an IBM manufactured Keyboard.  The IBM plant was in Lexington, KY (which is where Lexmark got its name when it split off from IBM), and the sticker on the back shows an IBM department number (K77).

While the secondary legends have varied in color over the years, they look to me to be spaced exactly the same as the common SSK layout (including the one I'm typing on).

All that being said, while phosphor does great work, I would not have refurbed this board, I especially would not have removed that handwritten sticker.

[hullo8d]

All that being said, while phosphor does great work, I would not have refurbed this board, I especially would not have removed that handwritten sticker.

When Maxx told me about the history of this board I did have second thoughts about getting the rivets replaced and preserving it as is, but then I gave it some more thought. There really is no place where this can be displayed as a piece of history that'll receive the recognition it deserves, all the glory it'd receive would come from a forum thread and maybe some wiki entry. And If I had sold this to some collector, it'd never see the light of day again, it'll just gather dust in an attic because that somehow satiates some obsessive need. I have no intentions of selling it and instead plan to keep this heirloom within my family, so preservation was on my mind.

Everything else on this board is still original including the handwritten sticker (aside from the rivets replacement of course). The one that got the copy of the handwritten label had it torn off before I got it.

Edit: Also, having Maxx work on it kind of adds to the history don't you think? Think Forest Gump, but with my keyboard.

[phosphorglow]

Seriously though... I loved every second those SSKs were in my shop and I'm thrilled they'll be typed on instead of sitting around collecting dust. Now they can collect dust and debris while getting used.

E29 - which sticker? The case label that says Engineering Model? The one was missing all but a scrap so I took a picture of the intact label and photoshopped a replacement.

I'll give those two boards a proper thread with organized photos at some point and detail all of the fun nuances I noticed.
Of 226 overhauls those were by far the coolest ones to grace my workbench.

[E TwentyNine]

E29 - which sticker? The case label that says Engineering Model? The one was missing all but a scrap so I took a picture of the intact label and photoshopped a replacement.

Ah. I should have known.   Seem to be more pictures up and now I see you cloned the first label and changed some of the numbers to match the second board.  Very nice.

[rowdy]

I have one, plus one IBM SSK.  The IBM feels heavier than the Lexmark.

Can you put them to the scales? What model number do they have?
Some time ago one seller had three SSKs, 1987 and 1991 IBMs and 1993 Lexmark. By the time I took notice, the IBMs were gone.

IBM 1391472 13-Oct-1987 1.777Kg
Lexmark 1397961 21-Apr-1994 1.636Kg

[alh84001]

IBM 1391472 13-Oct-1987 1.777Kg
Lexmark 1397961 21-Apr-1994 1.636Kg

Thanks! So it's an 8% reduction in weight. Quite substantial. Especially, if it is all in the metal plate. Almost like going from 1.25mm to 1mm plate.

[rowdy]

IBM 1391472 13-Oct-1987 1.777Kg
Lexmark 1397961 21-Apr-1994 1.636Kg

Thanks! So it's an 8% reduction in weight. Quite substantial. Especially, if it is all in the metal plate. Almost like going from 1.25mm to 1mm plate.

I haven't opened either, and acquired the Lexmark first, so holding the IBM SSK for the first time I was surprised how much heavier it seemed.

I didn't weigh them until now.

[alh84001]

On a related note, do all Lexmark built SSKs have draining holes? Or is it limited to a specific part number? Mine is 1370475 and draining holes are present.