A little classic IBM addition for your Thinkpad

I just recently found something to make my computing experience a lot easier and more enjoyable - a blast from the past, you might say - adapting the original IBM "Selectric" style AT (and later) keyboard to my T61p! The IBM Model "M" Keyboard was produced from 1985-1995 and has continued in production by Lexmark and their succesor, Unicomp.

Typing on the original IBM board is a delight - the mechanical "buckling spring" key design gives both tactile and audible feedback far superior to any modern keyboard. Generally it is believed a good touch typist can pickup 15% or more typing speed and the design is easier on the hand, wrist and finger joints, as you need not bottom the keys to be sure of data entry. And this keyboard is easy to adapt, if you have one lying around or find one in a second hand store - and still available brand new, with several interesting options, like a USB plug, a Trackpoint stick or Trackball for your mouse interface from Unicomp, different sizes, etc.

Although I am quite happy with my T61p's keyboard, typing on the original IBM board made me appreciate how much better things were designed then. When a personal computer was $6,000, you could justify shipping a keyboard that cost $1-200 with it. A $400 laptop? How much do you think they spend on the keyboard today. No complaints of "keyboard flex" with a board that weighs over five pounds and has a STEEL backplate!

If you want to buy an original that has been cleaned and checked for function, or need the adapter for one you have to make the original PS/2 interface appear as a modern, USB device to your current computer, I suggest you check out the following website:

ClickyKeyboards

If you want a brand new USB version of this board, visit Unicomp's website at:

Online Store Home Page Info

I bought my Model M at a thrift store for $2.99, ordered a replacement for the missing IBM cable from Clickykeyboards for $17.00, and plugged it in to my Thinkpad Advanced Dock and went right to work. The original IBM board does require the correct "active" adapter to enable it to plug into a USB port - the common, generic ones will generally not work. Aparrently the older Advanced Dock I use mine on was designed to provide the correct, slightly higher curent the board needs at it's PS/2 port. But the folks at Clickykeyboards can fix you up with the right USB adapter for any modern computer for around $20.

And it's a good investment. The "buckling spring" mechanical keyboards are rated for 25-50 MILLION Keystrokes! Most original boards have never needed repair - they just keep working, decades later. TPF

 

I miss mine. I remember back then, I used to think it was just a keyboard, and that many more like it were to be made like it (or rather, that they'd get better with time as with the rest of technology). Alas, twas not true.

You gotta admit though, that site has a good bit of Model M elitism.

 

The clickykeyboards.com home page says:

The computer keyboard is among the most under-appreciated components of the computer. In reality, the keyboard is the one part of the computer that gets the most physical contact. How many times a day do you touch a keyboard (number of characters typed) vs. the number of times you touch your computer’s internals?​

I disagree. It's the display that gets the most physical contact nowadays. My eyes "touch" the screen all the time! And two fingers of my right hand touch the touchpad more often than all the fingers touch the keyboard.

Life goes on.

 

The one that came before the M is better. Alas, the PS/2 versions are expensive and the ones with the fat plug don't work with anything.

I use a 1988 M with my desktop, though. Goes well with my "IBM Global Network" mousepad and PS/2 ball mouse.

 

I'm typing this on my '86 Model M, connected to my T500 through the Advanced Mini-dock. It's one of the rare 'silver label' ones and besides some dirt and a missing left alt keycap works wonderfully well. The Advanced Dock is one reason why I use my T500 a bit more than my X200 these days; it has some legacy ports and can take the Model M without the adapter as well as an older laser printer I've got hooked up via parallel. Funny how I'm using a nearly 25 year old keyboard on a modern laptop running Windows 7...

 

it is where old meets the new, it also shows that some technologies and designs are avantgarde and ageless... just like the Pyramid....

 

One thing I forgot to mention - not every IBM Model "M" keyboard is PC compatible, although most are. (I wouldn't want anyone to jump on the next Model M they see and be disappointed!)

Some of the M keyboards were made for the larger mid and mainframe computers and cannot be converted, and so do some reading on the Clickykeyboards.com site before you buy. And some that have a larger plug than the PS/2 round plug can be converted using a special metal adapter plug they have available, so check before you buy. They have a listing of the IBM part numbers at:

Information page on the IBM model M keyboard, based on the design of mechanical typewriters. - Model M buyer's guide

The Unicomp boards can be ordered as brand new, modern USB models, no adapters needed. Some say the original boards have a better feel, but I have not gotten to type on a Unicomp board and would love an opinion from anyone here who has. Anyone? TPF

 

No windows key and no menu key unfortunately. I have one of those sitting around my home.

One overlooked feature of the current set of thinkpad keyboards is that they don't jam up when you press more than three keys at the same time. I can press the home keys on the thinkpad keyboard and all eight letters will show up on the screen. I don't think the model M I have can do that.

 

Ctrl+Esc for the win, cant help you with the other

I edited and now i forgot what I said before.... Anyways yeah I remember the issues on all keyboards with the three keys was between the interface and the grid that made the whole damn thing work. The change to usb is what some game keyboard manufacturers said was a difference, but as the post after me describes this isnt entirely the case.

I have only owned two thinkpads both of wich are long dead.

 

Most keyboards can show at least 6 home row keys (my Dell Latitude can do all 8 home row keys), but if you try holding down QWAS or ASZX down at once, it won't work. There's some high end mechanical keyboards like Filco or the Das Keyboard that use diodes to enable you to hold down all 104 keys over a PS/2 connection. Those also have clicky keyswitches like a Model M.

 

Unicomp makes modernized Model Ms with Windows keys and USB for $69.
SpaceSaver 104/105

 

Ah you are right. It gives me a beep with something like QWAS. I guess there' no rejoicing for gamers with the thinkpad laptop keyboard. It seems if you want to press down a row of keys, you need them to be spaced apart too. e.g. asdf jkl; works, qweruiop works, but asdfhjkl or asdfghjk or qweryuio does not.

 

I have the same issue with QWAS and like you can do 8 keys on a row. ASUS G50 of course not a thinpad for the sake of discussion.

Most FPS's I wouldnt be pressing W and S at the same time but there are circumstances where I might wish to press QWA such as running forward and left while leaning? lol. This is why gamers need mice with 27 buttons.

 

It's a result of the fundamental workings of most keyboards.
Microsoft Applied Sciences Group