Should you buy a Model M? Screw mod, repair & parts
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 26 апр 2024
- PCB Prototype the Easy Way. Full feature custom PCB prototype service. www.pcbway.com/
Support me on patreon.com/Epictronics
Buy me a coffee :) ko-fi.com/epictronics
Join me on Twitter: / epictronics1
-
Tools I regularly use
DeoxIT D5 Contact Cleaner
Hanstar 861DW Rework Station
Pro'sKit SS-331 Desoldering Station
UNI-T UT61E Auto Ranging Multimeter
UNI-T UT890D Manual Ranging Multimeter
MESR-100 mk2 ESR meeter
PINECIL Soldering Iron
PinePowerPSU
TS-100 Soldering Iron
AMTECH NC-559-ASM Flux
Kester 951 Flux pen
MaAnt Grinding Pen
Multicore 60/40. 0.38mm and 0.5mm solder
TL866 II Plus Programmer
RIGOL DHO800 70MHz four-channel digital scope
Tektronix 2246A 100 MHz four-channel analog scope
FNIRSI DPOX180H 180MHz Handheld Digital Oscilloscope
InfiRay P2 Pro Thermal Camera
PCBs from PCBWay.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
patreon.com/Epictronics
Join me on Twitter: / epictronics1
Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio 
Наука
To reattach the springs without doing the bolt mod i've always rotated the springs. You can put some electrical tape on a toothpick, then put the pick in the spring and push down on the spring with the tape and twist. I have done quite a lot of keys that way on both model M and model F. Its also easier to remove the springs by twisting them off and gently pulling, they dont get elongated as much.
indeed, I made a similar comment
I'll try that, thanks
I recently restored a Model M of a PS/2 model 50 (still under restoration). It was incredibly dirty, dusty, crapped, and even with pieces of cement inside. I had to disassemble it completely. The incredibly difficult part when putting it together was the plastic base of the keys. Since I had to eliminate all the plastic pins, like you did, I had to invent something to hold it back again. Instead of screws I did it with small pieces of L-shaped metal (pieces of paper clips) that went through where the plastic pins were before, heating them to go through the plastic and they will remain fixed. And since this base is curved, adapted to the metal base, I had to make a curved support with cardboard. Thus, the plastic base was placed upside down, with the keys facing down, and the cardboard "ribs" between the keys so these could fall in place, and taking the appropriate shape to be able to place the metal base on top, pass the metal pins and bend them tightly to keep both pieces together correctly. Good part of the problem was those plastic segments being falling apart one form the others. Three keys did not work well, but I already fixed one without disassembling the keyboard again, I still have to adjust two others, the backspace and another that I don't remember
18:25 this barrel plate looks sturdy, but I bolt moded very fragile barrel plates, I made at least 7 bolt mods, here is a technique to never crack the barrel plate especially those fragile 80's barrel plates:
1) leave the barrel plate attached tot the steel plate when you start drilling;
2) make just one hole clean the plastic rivet and add a bolt and nut, repeat step 2 for all the rivets, one by one,
3) unscrew the barrel plate and clean the plastic shrapnels from drilling the rivets
4) screw it back together
It adds more time to the whole thing but is extra safe. Also there is the advantage that there is no misaligment with the steel plate. Don't forget: don't tighten to much the bolts and nuts.
I'll give that a try, thanks
Putting that spring back on the flapper (and removing it too), a light twisting motion helps by unloading the coiled tension to make it looser.
I am a software developer. The keyboard, which I am using every day is the same Model M which I got 1993 (or 94? sooo long time ago). It still works perfectly fine. I use it on a cheap PS2-USB-Adapter on my 2022 Dell Laptop. I am addicted to the sound it makes, when I'm typing. The keycaps are already quite dirty (again). Once I will need to pull them off again, put them into a little bag and put them into the washing machine (40°C). In the 30 years I use this keyboard, I did this 2 or 3 times already. The keycaps still look great.
I'm actually not a fan of IBM stuff, I still love Amiga and Macs, but this keyboard is just worldclass.
It sure is! I wish I also still had my first Model M
25:39 You mean ISO keyboard. ANSI is the standard US layout.
Crap, I mixed them up lol
after 20 to 40 years of standards andd technologies in these keyboards and other components, I've found the occasional terminological mistake to be acceptable so long as its recognized. but good catch
5:07 you can use a toothpick stick it in one end of the spring and the other end in the flapper bump and once you fixed it on the dedicated bump on the flapper and just try and push the toothpick and screw the spring.
I'll try that next time, thanks
Wow, that's a lot of work to get those back to life and happy. I've never taken mine apart and I hope I won't have to any time soon. Nice work!
Thanks! Maybe you should. It's amazing to type on after a screw mod!
I have a late-80's 122-key M keyboard from an old terminal. I did an Soarer mod internally by disconnecting the cable from the internal header and plugging the mod in there.
Oh how much I love Model M repair videos. I have only done one full bolt mod on my Unicomp Model M 104. My other Model M 102 was made by Lexmark, and OEM'd to Dell in '92 with an original Dell Logo. Only 5 lost rivets, and works just fine. I considered a screw mod, but thought that if the keyboard works and feels fine, there is no reason to do the mod. Thank you for your video on the Model M repairs. Always enjoyed them, and this one is no exception.
Thanks. I'm surprised to hear that a Unicomp needs a bold mod. The oldest Unicomp is still just 28 years old?
1:30 Computer Tech Center
It looks like the sticker on the back says Product of: Computer Tech Center
I think it does, thanks!
Vintage cherry fan here, I have a keyboard from 1985 wich is keycap kompatible with new glorius caps and vice versa. It is similar to the AT layout of the model F. ❤
I use a Unicomp Model M, and absolutely love it. As I'm a programmer, I spend most of my working day typing so the idea of using a cheap keyboard with poor tactile response is anathema to me. I can't understand why the vast majority of my colleagues are content to use the awful keyboards or the one on a laptop - even when I'm using a laptop, if I'm at a desk I'll connect a keyboard to it. The only downside to the Model M is how loud it is, so I do have a Filco with Cherry MX silent keys for offices where the noise is an issue.
Yeah, vintage IBM laptops had some pretty amazing keyboards too. I wish we could bring them back. At least we have the Model M!
@@Epictronics1 The best laptop keyboard I ever used was the mechanical one on a RDI machine. It was basically a Sun SparcStation 5 UNIX workstation crammed into a portable format. RDI were bought by Tadpole, and like them they made machines that were often used for US military applications back when the Department of Defense required their systems to have POSIX compliant operating systems like Solaris. Fun fact - the POSIX compatibility layer in Windows NT was MicroSoft's way to get around this requirement. The compatibility layer was just enough to get past the contractual obligations, but absolutely useless for actual software.
I had a model m all the way into college up until like 2008 or so but my new computer didn't have any PS2 ports so I bought a USB keyboard and stuck it in a box where it promptly disappeared. 😢
I sold my first Model M in 1997. Huge mistake!
I don't know why people call it a bolt mod and then use machine screws. Screws use drivers, nuts use wrenches, it has nothing to do with whether it uses a nut or not. If it's point and has sharp threads it's a self tapper, if it's meant to go into metal threads it's a machine screw, or machine bolt if it uses a wrench.
As IBM used to say.... _How yah gonna do it? You're gonna PS/2 it!_
Excellent job. Thank you so much for the level of detail. I will definitely keep this video link in case I have to repair any of my Model M. And yes, it is a Spanish keyboard indeed. Spanish uses the inverted quote to start a sentence that ends with a quote. ¿Weird enough?. I have the (mostly) very same 😀
Thanks. I love my new "intro" key 😊
@@Epictronics1 That was a good one: "I don't need an Intro, I have one every week". Hilarious🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That was very helpful. I scored a number of model Ms years ago and supplied them to friends who loved the feel and the sound. It is a marvelous keyboard but I would never recommend them as being purely superior for everyone because they are definitely a love it or hate it kind of thing. In my own case, I found extended typing made the sound unpleasant and the travel seemed excessive. I settled on an inexpensive Keytronic E06101D, a model much loved for its quiet smoothness and feel. This became an issue when the manufacturer of their lubricant closed down and they had to substitute something else that gave worse feel. I still have a shiny new one of those later ones in the original box. I don't think life was ever intended to be too easy. 😉
That is an excellent choice too. I used an ergo force for about a decade as my daily driver
@@Epictronics1 I bought one of those . It was good, so I gave it to a friend. I like to make people's computing experience as pleasant as possible.
On a Terminal keyboard I'd expect the additional four function keys above the Numpad, known (to me at least) as Gold Keys... necessary to navigate SMIT.
I haven't messed around with terminals (yet). I couldn't find anything on Google about "gold keys" What kb has those?
@@Epictronics1 : As far as I know, this has its origins in DEC terminals. In earlier models there was a literal "gold key" that functions similar to CTRL or ALT, e.g. for invoking formatting functions.
Later terminals like the VT220 dropped that key but added function keys above the NUM pad, labelled PF1 through PF4, that took over certain gold key functions.
Like I mentioned before, you'll need them in SMIT (the central configuration tool in older IBM AIX systems, e.g. version 3 or 4).
Fun fact, the layout of VT220's keyboard was copied in the Model-M, which should be even compatible with VT220 (and later) terminals... well, minus the gold keys.
that keyboard needs transparent keycaps and LEDs!
I’m in the middle of doing one as of typing this. Waiting on a few parts from Unicomp. Done multiple
Restauraste un modelo M con distribución en español... Ahahaha, cheers mate, nice work as always, indeed is a weird keyboard, that's the kind of decision build factories take to other international markets!
That is a Spanish layout keyboard, but the C with a tail is _not_ a Spanish character, so it doesn't look at all "Spanish." I really don't know why it's included other than the possibility that Catalan uses it. Catalan doesn't use the tilde-N, but those are the only differences between the character set. Spanish and Catalan both use the acute and grave (á, à) so I think the tailed-C is there for universal compatibility in Spain for both Spanish and Catalan.
Unfortunately, the P/N sticker was gone when I got it, so no way of telling the origin of this kb. A previous owner may have modified it?
I'm not familiar with these keyboards and this issue. I've seen quite often in cheap electronics that they use plastic posts and just melt the tips to hold PCBs or whatever in place. I don't think I've seen plastic "rivets", at least in this manner. Inserting lots of metal screws in a brittle piece of plastic seems a bit risky to me. Depending on the type of plastic used, it might be possible to attach some new plastic extensions that can be melted (with heat, glue or a solvent), or possibly by using some kind of thin metal rod and melt it into the plastic using some sort of clamp soldering iron. Maybe common metal rivets without fully pulling/popping them as the force is quite large. I don't know. This problem does seem a bit tricky to solve. Ideally, I suppose the whole plastic part had better be replaced by a more durable replica. Anyway, I hope it works and will last. The specimens here look great apart from the faults.
Barrel plates are still made by Unicomp. I'm gonna order one and try it out next
I am certainly one who really appreciates these beauties. The feel was made to resemble a typewriter, to tell the typist that yes, that key *was* pressed, no mistake. So many times when typing on lesser keyboards I've had small panic attacks on whether I did fully engage a particular key lol. Ironically I'm typing on an IBM keyboard, but one that has keys made of Jello haha. Its only advantage is that it has a fingerprint scanner.
Having spent my formative years as a tech with a lot of IBM gear, their early classic keyboards still live in my heart and I am keeping my eyes out for a model M.
I'm actually old enough to predate PCs :) Occasionally I bring out an IBM Selectric just for the joy of typing on them :)
@@Epictronics1 So am I in fact 🙂 I will be sixty this year, and my secondary school didn't start computer classes until a year or two after I left. I did however take typing classes, which I thought was a rather odd thing for me to do as it was considered one of the classes mainly for the girls. But when I did actually start working with computers some years later I found that my touch typing skills made me completely independent of the keyboard, and I rarely look down now.
As an aside, all but a few of the typewriters in the class were mechanical, with I think three or so Selectrics, which were highly sought after. I'd give anything for a Selectric today.
@@denniseldridge2936 Well, then you're in luck, prices on Selectrics are still often very reasonable. Many of them are mechanically stuck though. This is an easy fix. Remove the case and soak it in WD-40 and leave it overnight. The next day, soak it in machine oil. This is often the only thing needed to get them working again :)
@@Epictronics1 The only problem is I live on an island some 770 miles east of the Carolinas lol. That said, I've come across a lot of other cool stuff, including a Model M that was just sitting atop a pile of boxes out on the sidewalk (I still have no idea how I managed to mislay it) that worked perfectly (this was the late 90s if I recall correctly).
If I find another M I'll use your guide to restoring it though! 🙂
1:33 I read Computer Test Center
Hmm, google wasn't of much help unfortunately
Epictronics, please, do a video explaining how to change the controller on the keyboard. I have one of those IBM originals that only works on terminals. It would be very cool use it as a PS2 keyboard. Thanks for the outstanding videos.
One way could be to buy the rubber dome model M which is cheaper and canibalize the controller, also the barrel plate can be used from that model. The controler doesn't require soldering you just put the ribbon cable from the membrane in the new controller is pretty straightforward
This is very easy actually. Buy a PS/2 controller on ebay and replace the controller. The controller will fit perfectly without any mods. If you are going to use it with a modern PC, there is a modern USB controller. I have not tried it myself
is there a wireless dongle/battery power mod?
That would be awesome
I did a nut and machine screw mod to one of my newer Lexmark Model M keyboards about 10 years ago. I also used a Dremel and the same attachment to drill the holes! The keyboard was great at first but after a few years the backspace, enter and right shift keys became sticky. The keys do work if you press them directly on top of the spring. If you press any place else the post rubs in the spacer causing the sticking. So far I haven’t been able to resolve this issue.
I have a truely rare Model M13 keyboard (has built in trackpoint mouse) which I picked up at a local surplus store. Somehow I broke she space bar by pounding it too much. I haven’t gotten the guts yet to repair it and do a bolt mod, especially when I see the prices on eBay!
Lastly an apology. My comment on your recent video regarding the Apple //c transformer was a bit too cheeky. Will try to tone it down next time.
No worries. The M13 is awesome. I hope you'll be able to get it fixed. Regarding the Lexmark, I would first try with a tiny amount of PTFE on the plunger. This has fixed a very similar fault on one of my Gen 1. If that doesn't help, I would add a few extra screws by drilling additional holes in the backplate. Good luck
Unicomp was pretty bad like 5 years ago. They were good 15-20 years ago. It seems like their tooling is all worn out. Dunno if they've taken care of that
I've read somewhere that they have replaced their tooling a few years ago
That first keyboard looks maybe some fake or a counterfeit model? The printing on the keys is wearing off, seems odd.
Yeah, I noticed. Caps must be some special print. I just did a screw mod on it. There was a dried up cup of coffee inside lol
This was very interesting, and has convinced me that I'm not going to buy a Unicomp keyboard at any point in the future.
You can bay Unicomp New Model M and use more than 2 keys at once ..