IBM Model M Keyboard - Review & Repair
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- Опубліковано 2 сер 2022
- Hi! Thanks to www.pcbway.com for sponsoring this video
Just how good is the mighty IBM Model M keyboard? I examine this example and discover what faults it has, and how to repair, before giving my thoughts on what some call the best keyboard ever made.
Along the way we completely disassemble the keyboard, and replace the plastic rivets with metal screws, or what’s called the “screw mod” in model M circles. It also gets a new spring plate and buckling spring for the space bar as well as a much needed clean before reassembly.
Big thanks to my bro who donated this piece to the basement!
Make sure to comment below if you want to see more of the NEC Versa, or any of the other machines that appear in episodes of The Basement.
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Thanks for fixing my keyboard little brother. I did warn you about the narrow 5.5mm socket, but forgot to tell you about the 60 bolts required for the bolt mod! Glad you got it done. It'll be worth more now that's it's been cleaned and had the bolt mod. My "daily driver" keyboard is a 1988 model M. Took it into class today as I was teaching operating system history. Students were suitably impressed at a working keyboard older than them.
Now I just need an IBM PS/2 to go with it!
@@TheBasementChannel I don't have a spare one of those to give you, sorry.
Doing an involuntary bolt mod is dedication ! :D
It was the only way to keep the project moving 😆
This video was great, I admire how cleanly you performed the bolt mod and I'm glad you enjoyed the keyboard
Hey thank you for your kind words. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
I had an IBM PS/2 model 70 back in the days, with a model M keyboard and the iconic ps/2 mouse. One of the most beautiful machines I have ever owned. My biggest regret is that I donated it when it became "obsolete" and now I live with that "I lost my precious" feeling :-D.
It’s hard hey, all those things which hit the bottom of the value curve and were donated or thrown away.
As a keyboard guy, keyboard people can be pretty weird at times. I love keyboards like the model M for their uniqueness, and other than the plastic rivets are borderline indestructible if you look after them. But just like you, the keyboard I use most often is a chiclet keyboard - it gets the job done.
It probably doesn’t help I’ve never learned to type properly
Great video hope your channel grows!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for this clear and detailed video explanation! My Model M stopped working properly when I tipped a glass of wine over it 😖 so I'm going to have a go at cleaning it up when it's dried out. 🤞 I found a narrow 5.5mm socket on line at Amazon - BGS 10503 | Socket, Hexagon, deep | 6.3 mm (1/4") Drive | 5.5 mm - for GBP 2.84. No worries!
Good luck! Make sure you have another few glasses of wine on hand to help you get through it!
Great job! I was lucky that the one I tore down (in my 2nd video!!) only needed a clean. We went on a 30 mile round trip to get the right sized socket to fit the back and to this day, this is the only time I've ever had to use it. I also loved the way you spelled out PCB Way with the keys ;)
Now I’ve ground off the size markers from that socket I’ll never know what it was used for 😂
I’ll need to check out your back catalog for your model m content! I doubly admire all your keyboard content now I’ve actually done one, you need the patience of a saint!
@@TheBasementChannel I hate repetitive tasks. Like REALLY hate them. But with keyboards, there isn't any alternative. What I do like is the what they look like at the end once all the hard work has been done and it's all nice and clean. The last one I did was the Apple adjustable keyboard. As I'd already been inside one in the past, it was much easier to get this one done.
That was interesting to watch, nicely done, I'm typing from the same keyboard right now, I found it in an abandoned school just laying in the ruins(I explore abandoned buildings) when i saw it I was like: no way this works, I took it home, cleaned it, got an PS 2 to USB cable and now I main the keyboard :D, It says UK - 1995 on the back, amazing find. It probably was last used in the school in the late 1999 or 2001.
I love this story! Thanks for sharing with us.
Well I've never thought to grind a tool down to fit. here's me ordering new things like a fool!!
Budgetary restraints beget resourcefulness 😄
Really enjoyed that! Nice drill action! 🤣
Thanks!
Strangely satifying. I'm typing this on a Model M, so I guess I'm biased
I think I can hear the clicky keys from here 😆
I'vr been there..Not with a keyboard, but with other aspect of these old machines. Sometimes looking for an easier way just takes you down a rabbit hole.
I just wanted so badly to not pull it all apart 😅
@@TheBasementChannel I hear you, and I have been there. sometimes looking for an easier way works fine. Other times, you
re in the rabbit hole. What males to sp satisfying os when it ends up working fine. Excellent video, I look forward to more..
Cool, how does it compare now with the latest mechanical switches (perhaps not the topre and opto-electro switches which I think is no technically mechanical) from Cherry, Gateron and Akko?
God bless, Rev. 21:4
No idea.
Lev 13:40
i always wonder old vintage keyboard upper blank is why so big
Room for activities?
maybe you right. put on pencil or things i guess so
My space, B & N keys don't work on the one I just bought, but i'm not keen to take it apart just yet. The springs don't look floppy though.
Sounds like a bolt mod is in your future 😅
I have3 one with space, B and N not working also.
@@eugenehomme8349 looks like our problem must be based in the same failure. Still haven't done the bolt mod, but will do soon.
I just disassembled mine and not sure if I can put it back.
You can do it! Just one step at a time 👍
What type of screws and nuts did you use?
Tiny ones! There was 6mm of thread between the head and the nut. I think they were 3mm diameter.
I'm easily triggered by certain sounds but not with keyboards like this; it's ASMR for geeks!
It certainly is!😆
I used to love my Model-M, until I got hold of an old IBM (AT) Model-F (which came before the Model-M) talk about night and day. Seriously - there is nothing that even comes close to the Model-F
So I've heard. I'd love to get my hands on one, but don't they require a bit of jiggery pokery to get working with modern hardware?
@@CarlCerecke There are a number of options: Install a 16 bit Teensy Microcontroller inside the case, and then flash it with Soarers firmware; use a "pre-built" Soarers convertor made for the AT keyboard (they are pretty expensive); lastly, install an XWhatsit controller (replacing the old IBM controller). I went with the internal Teensy, so my keyboard now has a standard USB 2 cable running to my PC. As you say - none are easy (especially as the AT keyboards are really expensive second-hand). Sadly the Soarers firmware is now getting very long in the tooth, with the original developer having vanished and the older Teensy cards now rarer than hens' teeth, while the XWhatsit stuff is a soldering horror story
Interesting, I went from Model F on the PC XT to the O.G Model M and didn't find any differences apart from the layout. Are you sure it wasn't a lexmark?
@@br33ch It's a PC AT, which has a Soarers installed in it (so a USB C connector) and has also had the keyboard layout updated to a modern format. That said, there are some pain points: no F11 or F12, plus only one ALT Key. Other than that, it's bloody fantastic!
I have this keyboard,but the cable is gone
🌸 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓂
Like other UA-camrs, unfortunately, without any experience and knowledge, you also ended up with a butchered keyboard. So, again, I appreciate your effort, but there is a proper way to mod Model M keyboards.
They call me The Basement Butcher, no keyboard is safe!
@@TheBasementChannel hahahahah 😆
What's the 'proper way'?
@@robertcrystals Rob, explaining this briefly or in detail takes a lot of work. Even if I attempted to simplify, keyboard modding involves numerous intricacies, both in practice and technique. It requires following a precise procedure. While I can outline the theoretical aspects, going into the practical details reveals a complexity only experienced modders can understand.
@@srt5490 lol