IBM Model M Space Saving Mini Love

[skcheng]

I just received a shipment of 5 of my currently FAVE IBM keyboard.   I'm also awaiting delivery of 2 IBM Model F AT 84 key units, but until they arrive, I feel that the Space Saving Mini is KING of the heap.  

The box arrived yesterday afternoon via UPS and of course the box was damaged and one of the keyboards was sticking out of the box.    Nice....  But I can't really blame UPS since the keyboards were shipped with just 2 pieces of bubble wrap separating all 5 of the boards.  

One was busted up.  Cracked frame, scuffed up case, broken keys etc..  Luckily the other 4 arrived intact.   Has anyone else bought from surplus warehouses before?   Do Model M keyboards usually ship with an SDL cable??  Because I received ZERO cords for the 5 boards.  

Group shot:



Busted keys and broken frame on what "was" a very nice board:





Some shots of three of the boards.   Supposedly these were cleaned and refurbished, but not to my standards.   But I guess they're nicer than what I've picked up on ebay.  









Now here is an interesting board with a different layout.   I'm not sure what the different keys are for?  Any help/info would be greatly appreciated.   On this board, shift + help activates the numpad.   I also have no idea what the extra FN keys are for?   Noob question again, but is there a way to find out how those keys are mapped??











I have a few more of these coming in this week, including a formerly NIB unit and a German layout 85 key and finally an Industrial.  

Anyone else have any unusual Space Saving models??  I'd love to see what's out there.  

Thx,

skc

[platon]

wow, you are a rich man my friend! where did you get all these minis from again? And you found an industrial mini?

A week ago i received my NIB space saver from ebay and i fell in love with it instantly. I am not stopping at owning only one of these .

From what i understand these kbs do not come with an sdl cable, but some ebay sellers include one out of courtesy.

[itlnstln]

Concerning the SDL cables, there are a certain amount of Model Ms (Space Saving, Regular, whatever) that were Field Replacement Units (FRUs).  These did not come with a cable.  The FRU would be sent to the client or replaced by a technician for the client, and the existing cable would be used since they are detachable.  While this might be one reason for MIA cables, it could also be that they were lost or not shipped by a negligent seller.  You can get replacements from Unicomp, IIRC.

[skcheng]

Concerning the SDL cables, there are a certain amount of Model Ms (Space Saving, Regular, whatever) that were Field Replacement Units (FRUs).  These did not come with a cable.  The FRU would be sent to the client or replaced by a technician for the client, and the existing cable would be used since they are detachable.  While this might be one reason for MIA cables, it could also be that they were lost or not shipped by a negligent seller.  You can get replacements from Unicomp, IIRC.

But the Unicomp ones don't say "IBM" on them ...

I found a seller on Ebay with new cables.   On their website, they sell them for $10/ea + shipping.   I just bought a bunch, no big deal.

skc

[skcheng]

wow, you are a rich man my friend! where did you get all these minis from again? And you found an industrial mini?

A week ago i received my NIB space saver from ebay and i fell in love with it instantly. I am not stopping at owning only one of these .

From what i understand these kbs do not come with an sdl cable, but some ebay sellers include one out of courtesy.

NIB huh???  Are you going to mod it??   I highly recommend the nuts/bolts mod.   Just be sure to read Rip's directions and not just look at the pictures LOL.

[platon]

NIB huh???  Are you going to mod it??   I highly recommend the nuts/bolts mod.   Just be sure to read Rip's directions and not just look at the pictures LOL.

No modding yet, It is still so virgin But it is gonna lose its nib status fast cause i use it at home daily. Maybe ill open it up in a few months!

[keyb_gr]

Now here is an interesting board with a different layout.   I'm not sure what the different keys are for?

That's a terminal board. If you can't get it to work properly, consider modding it with the controller board and keys from the busted board.

[didjamatic]

Nice score of minis!  If that seller doesn't refund you some dough, you need to go Epic Beard Man on him.

[Mental Hobbit]

Did the description say they come with cables, or were cables on the photos? That's something I always check on Model M auctions, as SDL cables are a lot more difficult to get in Europe than the keyboards.

[skcheng]

wow, you are a rich man my friend! where did you get all these minis from again? And you found an industrial mini?

A week ago i received my NIB space saver from ebay and i fell in love with it instantly. I am not stopping at owning only one of these .

From what i understand these kbs do not come with an sdl cable, but some ebay sellers include one out of courtesy.

I'm not exactly rich, but I do have my collecting obsessions  :-))

I love functional art including exotic pool cues, knives, flashlights, rare and exotic lps, yo-yo's.  So this is actually an inexpensive hobby for me.   I'm not Webwit though......can't afford flashy aluminum keycaps!!

I found these keyboards at a Computer surplus store.   They are in good shape, so I'll probably call to see if they have more.   Weren't cheap.....

I checked and they have hundreds of SDL cables.   I think it's not that big of a deal to supply some cables considering I purchased 5 keyboards.  

skc

[skcheng]

That's a terminal board. If you can't get it to work properly, consider modding it with the controller board and keys from the busted board.

Everything seems to work from what I can tell??   I don't really use the function keys, so I think I'll just keep it the way it is.    Weird how there's an Enter button on the right by the space bar.

[skcheng]

Nice score of minis!  If that seller doesn't refund you some dough, you need to go Epic Beard Man on him.

Show Image

They've been nice to deal with so far today.   Just filled out the RMA info.  

Epic Beard Man huh??

skc

[skcheng]

Did the description say they come with cables, or were cables on the photos? That's something I always check on Model M auctions, as SDL cables are a lot more difficult to get in Europe than the keyboards.

The description did not say that they come with cables.  But then again, there was no description.   Just a model no. and availability.    No worries since I already purchased 5 new cables at $10/ea from an Electronics supplier.

[itlnstln]

Did IBM consider the cable to be part of the PC, then?

[ch_123]

Now here is an interesting board with a different layout. I'm not sure what the different keys are for? Any help/info would be greatly appreciated. On this board, shift + help activates the numpad. I also have no idea what the extra FN keys are for? Noob question again, but is there a way to find out how those keys are mapped??

The keycaps are from a 3151 terminal keyboard. I think IBM may have made space saving versions of the 3151, but a) 3151s were PS/2 incompatible, and used permanently attached RJ-11 cables and b) the keycaps on yours are inconsistent... for example, only every second or third F key is a terminal one. Any of the terminal space saving keyboards I've seen didn't have the numpad emulator, and the part number is that of a normal, run of the mill space saver, so the final diagnosis is...

Whoever sold it had a space saver with missing caps. He had a 3151 keyboard which he couldn't sell because it wasn't PS/2 compatible. He killed two birds with one stone. In terms of internals, or extra key functions, there's nothing interesting at all about your keyboard.

Anyone else have any unusual Space Saving models?? I'd love to see what's out there.

There's the almost mythical Industrial Grey one which some folks around here have. There's also the UNIC046 with the strange US ISO layout that seems to have been very popular in Japan for some reason...

[skcheng]

The keycaps are from a 3151 terminal keyboard. I think IBM may have made space saving versions of the 3151, but a) 3151s were PS/2 incompatible, and used permanently attached RJ-11 cables and b) the keycaps on yours are inconsistent... for example, only every second or third F key is a terminal one. Any of the terminal space saving keyboards I've seen didn't have the numpad emulator, and the part number is that of a normal, run of the mill space saver, so the final diagnosis is...

Whoever sold it had a space saver with missing caps. He had a 3151 keyboard which he couldn't sell because it wasn't PS/2 compatible. He killed two birds with one stone. In terms of internals, or extra key functions, there's nothing interesting at all about your keyboard.

Cool.  Thanks for the info.  The odd thing is that out of the 5 keyboards I received that one looked the newest as if it had hardly been used if ever.   The others at least show signs of wear.    But if there's nothing special with layout and the keyboard, I'll simply swap in a brand new set of keys for the standard layout.  

There's the almost mythical Industrial Grey one which some folks around here have. There's also the UNIC046 with the strange US ISO layout that seems to have been very popular in Japan for some reason...

I have one of those coming my way along with an 85 key German layout Space Saving keyboard with the vertical enter.    I'll post pics as soon as I get them in.

Thanks for the help!!

skc

[skcheng]

The Ms never came with the cables in the box.  Although interestingly enough there is a space in the foam packaging were one fits.

Congrats on the Minis.  The King of Keyboards!

Thanks Rip.   So I don't feel so bad that my boards came sans cables??   No big deal......I just thought they forgot.    Price on the cables.......$26/ea??

[kishy]

You can make your own if you're a resourceful person with the right crimp tool. AMP SDL connectors - the exact same parts originally used by IBM - can be bought from Tyco Electronics.

[kishy]

Keep in mind, however, that the crimp tool costs eleven hundred dollars.

[ch_123]

I got one from the US for about €10 inc. shipping once.

I have one of those coming my way along with an 85 key German layout Space Saving keyboard with the vertical enter.

Oh, interesting. I would like to see an actual proper European layout space saver Model M... Looking forward to pics.

[itlnstln]

Keep in mind, however, that the crimp tool costs eleven hundred dollars.

I wonder if you can use something like a CAT5 crimper.  I don't have an M near me to get a better look at the connector, unfortunately.

[pfink]

You can make your own if you're a resourceful person with the right crimp tool. AMP SDL connectors - the exact same parts originally used by IBM - can be bought from Tyco Electronics.

It's much simpler (and cheaper) to buy an SDL->PS/2 cable than to find the parts and tools for making your own. Anyone that stocks the 6-conductor version seems to only sell them in quantity, and IIRC the price on the crimp tool was [strike]several hundred[/strike] over a thousand bucks if you can find one for sale.

I'm still kicking myself for not bidding on the SDL crimper that ending up going for ten bucks on eBay last year:

http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=108489&postcount=14

[kishy]

RJ45 is no good in this case. Same principle at heart but won't fit.

I'd really like to set up shop assembling Model M cables. They'd go for cost + $5, nothing extravagant, but if the initial investment is too big it doesn't make sense.

[pfink]

You can make your own if you're a resourceful person with the right crimp tool. AMP SDL connectors - the exact same parts originally used by IBM - can be bought from Tyco Electronics.

It's much simpler (and cheaper) to buy an SDL->PS/2 cable than to find the parts and tools for making your own. Anyone that stocks the 6-conductor version seems to only sell them in quantity, and IIRC the price on the crimp tool was [strike]several hundred[/strike] over a thousand bucks if you can find one for sale.

I'm still kicking myself for not bidding on the SDL crimper that ending up going for ten buck on eBay last year:

http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=108489&postcount=14

[skcheng]

I spent the better part of today during work and after cleaning up one of the boards which I'll be parting with in the next few days.  

Outer casing cleaned and scrubbed with Goo Gone and Simple Green.  And stains buffed out and polished.   Frame cleaned with brushes, Q-tips and some Armor-All.   Keys cleaned in my heated ultrasonic with a Fixodent tablet and hand scrubbed with Simple Green.    I like 2 piece caps, but I don't really like taking them apart to dry.   Bit of a pain in the ass.   Keycaps look like new.  

Some pics:









I don't know whether I prefer the ivory framed version or the black framed version??    Both are nice and I'm glad that I have a few of each  ;-))

[skcheng]

All done.  Ain't she purty......

20 yrs worth of build-up glue (someone glued this board down with double stick tape and other nonsense).   Keys all have full texture and clearly legible dye.  Really GREAT keys on these old IBM keyboards.  







And the ready to go out and party body stocking shot.  Thanks for the tip Welly.  

[didjamatic]

Nice clean job.

[skcheng]

Nice clean job.

Thanks Didj!!   Could have been yours .....  :-)

[ricercar]

So what's going to happen to that awesome clean board? You're going to sell it to me, right?

[Shadin]

Any clues to what surplus company you're using?  I haven't had any lucking finding even one 84-key yet.

[pfink]

I thought I'd get in on the Space Saver love fest...

[skcheng]

Thanks for posting!!   I really dig the camo board.  I'll have a few more to post in a couple of days.   I'm waiting on my 86 key German layout board to arrive.  

Have you done the nuts/bolts mod on any of them??  

skc

[skcheng]

So what's going to happen to that awesome clean board? You're going to sell it to me, right?

Hey Ricer.   I have 2 spoken for already.   I share......

You don't have one of these???  

skc

[skcheng]

Any clues to what surplus company you're using?  I haven't had any lucking finding even one 84-key yet.

Well......I basically punched in some model numbers on Google and then started making phone calls.    Is that a good enough clue.   And they weren't exactly cheap, but at least I have enough for myself now and then some :-))

[pfink]

Hey Pfink, how did you do that IBM label on the black one?

I bought some IBM ThinkPad labels on eBay and cut off the "ThinkPad".

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Thinkpad-Sticker-Badge-Logo-Label-C3_W0QQitemZ180474582929QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a051f9791

[ricercar]

Hey Ricer.   I have 2 spoken for already.   I share......

You don't have one of these???  

skc

I have no space saver yet. I'd like to speak for one. Especially with white insides; I've never seen that before.

[pfink]

Thanks for posting!!   I really dig the camo board.  I'll have a few more to post in a couple of days.   I'm waiting on my 86 key German layout board to arrive.  

Have you done the nuts/bolts mod on any of them??  

Not yet. That's on the "to do" list along with the USB mod.

[maxlugar]

Congrats on the Minis.  The King of Keyboards!

Agreed.  They are indeed The King of Mini Model M Keyboards.

(You know, that those cost engineered, technologically superior buckling springs over membrane key switches).

No dedicated number pad and such sharp, precise, tactile key presses. I mean can it get any better than that?  Plus those membrane direct contact switches are so awesome! No key bounce or chatter and outstanding NKRO.

But best of all, they are so cool and modern looking - not the slightest hint of "Vintage" with those Model M Minis, no siree.

Maybe I'll wait until a sealed NIB Mini is offered for sale...I'll bet one of those is worth a lot more than those crappy Vintage 84-key PC AT Model F capacitive switch keyboards.  

[skcheng]

Oh, interesting. I would like to see an actual proper European layout space saver Model M... Looking forward to pics.[/QUOTE]


I'll post pics as soon as I receive them.  I have three coming in.....all NIB.   Can't wait to see them.....I just expedited shipping on them.  

Do you have links to any IBM German keyboards??   And the only link I could find to an 85 Key Space Saving keyboard was on ClickyKeyboards.com.  

This one:

86-Key Space Saver

[skcheng]

Agreed.  They are indeed The King of Mini Model M Keyboards.

(You know, that those cost engineered, technologically superior buckling springs over membrane key switches).

No dedicated number pad and such sharp, precise, tactile key presses. I mean can it get any better than that?  Plus those membrane direct contact switches are so awesome! No key bounce or chatter and outstanding NKRO.

But best of all, they are so cool and modern looking - not the slightest hint of "Vintage" with those Model M Minis, no siree.

Maybe I'll wait until a sealed NIB Mini is offered for sale...I'll bet one of those is worth a lot more than those crappy Vintage 84-key PC AT Model F capacitive switch keyboards.  

There's one on ebay right now.   I'm gonna bet that it's an '88 Model 1392934with a black frame and a somewhat dirty looking SDL cable.   And I'm gonna guess that it will sell for just over $200  :-))

[skcheng]

I thought I'd get in on the Space Saver love fest...

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Have you found your various Space Savers to vary much in quality/feel.   I don't see much difference in mine.   Just great quality control all across the board.   I have two gray label  (much easier than black lettering on white label)  1392934 boards with beige frames, but one has 2 piece keycaps and the other has 1 piece keycaps.     And all of them seem to have broken rivets in the same place.  

I haven't taken apart my formerly NIB 1392934 (with a black frame) but seemingly most of these have held up really quite well considering their age.   You have 6 of these, so I'm assuming you like them??  :-))

[skcheng]

Group buy anyone??   I think I'd like one in neon green  :-))

Space Saver T-Shirt

[kriminal]

Group buy anyone??   I think I'd like one in neon green  :-))

Space Saver T-Shirt

i would like one of your M' mini's :-))

[itlnstln]

I wouldn't buy that shirt on the strength of those reasons alone (stolen pic and "space saver").

[didjamatic]

I don't know.  One of my favorite Star Wars collectibles is a set of nesting dolls my parents got for me in China, one of them features a storm trooper holding a light saber.  Obviously it was a knockoff and incorrect, but a favorite nonetheless.

Funny about that shirt, I thought it was missing the right shift key in the tshirt graphic until you just posted the original photo and I can see they are caps.  And it has a "clear" key on the left, is that a terminal board?

[skcheng]

Nice T-shirt.

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******* stole my pic.

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And it's "Space Saving".  Grumble.  Lot of idiots on the internet.

I was wondering where I got Space Saver from and actually it's from your list based on current faves???   Hmmmm...

[skcheng]

Don't sweat the Space Saver thing.  No biggie.

But that dude stealing my pic!  Sometimes you have to take a STAND!

Get OFF My Internet!

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The pic is from the "International Mini Mod" btw.  One of the advantages of the nut/bolt mod is all the dinking around you can do.

I just checked again and you're right.   He DID steal your pic......I thought you were just kidding, but now I see that you weren't.

[phototristan]

Are blue label ones worse than black label ones at all? Just curious.

[armenws]

my favorite (and currently in-use) keyboard too.

[maxlugar]

We need a secret handshake for IBM mini owners.

No you don't. I understand you people have the ability to identify others of your kind at first glance.  (the wink and licking of the lips are a dead giveaway)