deskthority

All 4704s are among the most coveted, rare boards. Why is it that surprising when at most, 2 or 3 of these are sold per year?

Even that 3278 went for just under 2300 unrestored and unconverted- and those are listed every other week (minus the white numpad keys).

Weezer wrote: 16 Oct 2020, 01:31 People going nuts on this keyboard. Betting this thing will end up $2000+

Yeah I'd be very surprised if it ends for under 2k. This one has the rare white numpad keys and 2u zero.

One of these gems, or a first generation LINC laboratories keyboard would be quite the find!

Guuuuys... check out this IBM numpad.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274496258628?ul_noapp=true

I don't think I had ever seen one like this before.

And I can't imagine how high the price is going to end up being.


Went for almost 2100 bucks. I was expecting it to go high as the only one sold in ...

Very clean 3278, I'm surprised you don't want to keep it and use it yourself! This doesn't even need any restoration work

As hellothere stated, it's from the 8100 information system which was used in an industrial (think warehouse or processing plant) setting. The model of the terminal was the unoriginally named "Keyboard Display model 3,4" and would have been attached to a 8130/8140 Processor via a local loop, but I ...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-IBM-3643-3-4-COMPUTER-WORKSTATION-UNKNOWN-/363087576671

Looks like a monstrous terminal with a built in beamspring for $2000 + shipping. Not sure if it's a good price, but it's certainly unique.


Wow! Did someone here get this? I have never even seen one of ...

He found a company in Japan that made key switches with the sound and feel he liked. The feel is like IBM`s, but the click is louder.

Hmm, I wonder what company this could be. 8-)

Great article, interesting to see the small enter was a deliberate choice and that clicky vs silent rivalries were ...

I think it's fair to have this discussion, since the greed vs community thing has been going on for years in keyboard communities. I also think this is an odd bone to pick, given how much Joe has done over the years for the hobby. It's one thing to bring up something like the 4k SSK respectfully and ...

These look fantastic, it's cool to see unique switches being used in custom builds. Would love to see a typing demo of the Fujitsu and Omron boards if you have them all assembled.

vzeMhkyf.jpg


This one has always been interesting. It looks like authentic 3270 terminals, but with aftermarket keyboards in some kind of platform enclosure. I've seen beamspring clone boards from Microswitch, Memorex, and Decision Data, but never ones like these.

There appears to be badges ...

Talk about a pristine example, glad it ended up in good hands. Was worried for a sec the desk was about to collapse after that drop test :lol: I look forward to seeing it converted, and wonder if you'll be able to get the macro keys working.

For the letter variants, I think there's a separate ...

Like SneakyRobb said, the yellowing ones are most likely replacements from a different factory (Greenock) that used a different formula.

Have a look at this thread , retrobright does not usually end well with dark doubleshots. A selectric set would be ideal for the alpha cluster, but if your ...

The 3279s flush mounted into the 80s woodgrain- what a dream setup!

I was trying to dig information about this exact Selectric model, but couldn't find much. Are there any websites, forums, businesses that could help with this (other than this forum of course)? I'll take more pictures of the Selectric when I can.


Unfortunately, knowledge for typewriters is even ...

Thank you all! I really like the brochures too! I was planning to scan all the paper documents before selling them. I don't want them to get lost or destroyed during shipping. If somebody wants to help me put them up on the deskthority wiki after scanning I'd appreciate it!


Wow, great finds on ...

A little yellowed, but other than the contamination shield they look to be in pretty great condition. Have you tested the terminals yet to see if they work? Would be so cool to see a working double-sided setup with these!

That "0" key in the corner is just as unusual as the speaker, it looks almost ...

Interested in 2 for now, possibly more if this ends up working out well.

Oh this is painful to see. It's so difficult to insulate these bricks from their own weight, especially the way shipping companies handle them.

I had a Multistation board that got crunched like this. The PCB should be sturdy since it's flush mounted to the brass plate, but I could see it cracking ...

It's cool to see so many variants of these. I did a little more poking around, and it looks like the BCRU models with the + style nav cluster as in OP were made for the DPS7, original DPS8 and similar systems from 1979-1981. Here's some examples:


BCRU011F.jpeg
BCRU211G.jpg


Those with the ...

Multics DPS8 systems.


Otherwise known as "the first great love of my life". :ugeek:


Did you work on these in an industrial setting? I'm curious as to how they were actually used, and if they were actually nice to work with day-to-day. The manuals make it seem like they put just as much ...

I agree this is a golden age of appreciation, even if prices are a lot higher than they once were for vintage items. We've never had so many options to try for both original and re-creation switches, not to mention ways to trade and share our experiences. It seems most things considered 'eccentric ...

Wow what a find! And it's fully intact with all the accessories. Doubt it needs much restoration outside of a good cleaning, I hope you can find an xwhatsit for that wonderful beamdesk.

The collection is just as impressive, so many well kept systems. Still has the manuals, tapes, intact cores for ...

Sad to lose such a distinguished member, especially at that age. Rest in peace.

I felt like doing some research tonight, and managed to find a bit of history about this terminal. It does appear to be a BCRU211G-001 model, which were part of the Honeywell Test Instruments lineup. This was a distinct division in Honeywell, and had their own set of terminals completely unique to ...

It's interesting how the F107 and bigfoot have such lower pitched pinging than the massive F122. Makes me wonder how much the case material actually affects this.

Always thought these were some of the nicest looking terminals. Yours is no exception, very clean!

Are those switches the SD linear type? I have yet to come across one of their own keyboards in the wild.

Welcome Nader, I can tell those boards have been well cared for. Original DOS disks and all, the memorabilia is a nice touch. Setup looks great!

These all look so good, I wish we had a better idea of what kinds of dyes and shades would actually work for cases like this.

I may grab some cheap IBM mice from that era and try using them as guinea pigs. They can be had for around 5 bucks a piece, use similar materials (with the M cases at least ...

You're right about the manufacturing process changing, especially in EU factories. While these were caps originally made in the late 70s, replacement caps were available well into the 80s.

It's possible the ones yellowing are replacements that were manufactured in the Greenock factory, who were ...