IBM 3101 Industrial!

[y11971alex]

https://imgur.com/a/lXY0u



Will need some work.

[ramnes]

Ungh, the powder coating looks in bad shape; I hope the rest is in better condition.

Awesome find nonetheless!

[y11971alex]

Ungh, the powder coating looks in bad shape; I hope the rest is in better condition.

Awesome find nonetheless!

Inside is pretty much pristine; even the contamination shield is intact. Switches work fine, and a preliminary investigation into the PCB looks fine.

[tigpha]

Thanks for the pictures Alex. You have found a beautifully intact specimen. I am curious to know, since you have a Model F right alongside in the photos, how do these two keyboards compare in sound and feel? I very much doubt that I will find one to try for myself, and I keep hearing enthusiasts enthuse about their awesome beamsprings. All the fuss and fervour makes me curious.

[photekq]

Thanks for the pictures Alex. You have found a beautifully intact specimen. I am curious to know, since you have a Model F right alongside in the photos, how do these two keyboards compare in sound and feel? I very much doubt that I will find one to try for myself, and I keep hearing enthusiasts enthuse about their awesome beamsprings. All the fuss and fervour makes me curious.

Totally different. I couldn't really compare the feeling, as they're completely unique. The F feels like a rubberdome in comparison to the godly beamspring!

[seebart]

A lot of Beamsprings lately. And there will be more.

[emdude]

Really nice find! Shame about the powder-coating though, it does look to be in a sorry state.

[photekq]

Powder coating's the easiest thing to fix on a beamspring though. So long as the internals are fine and there's no rust, you should be happy!

[y11971alex]

On my unmodded beamspring, the Model F actually has a sharper click, which agrees with the force graphs of the two switches, but the beamspring is enchanting in its own way. It's extremely soft and smooth, more so than the Model F. I'll try the keyboard out again after I remove the contamination shield, which impedes the movement of the spring.

I was posting on a Taiwanese BBS, for which purpose I took this video of the activation of the switch (sorry for the orientation).

https://youtu.be/bs8fU3D-V4o

As you can see, the interior is very clean.

[need]

So many beamsprings lately, I wonder whether we can do a xwahsit controller group buy?

[tigpha]

I have heard say that when the beam springs collapse, it feels like an egg shell cracking under the finger. It seems so delicate and refined for such a hulkingly huge behemoth!

[y11971alex]

I have heard say that when the beam springs collapse, it feels like an egg shell cracking under the finger. It seems so delicate and refined for such a hulkingly huge behemoth!

Delicate is exactly the right word. It's neither as loud (since I don't have the solenoid) nor as springy as the Model F, but the tactility is still very pronounced......

It's quite correct to say that the feel is not easy to describe.

I'd say that there's a certain hollowness and levity to it.

[Muirium]

I'd call it the best of Model F—sharp tactile feedback at the point of click—and the best of Topre—smooth swingy force curve with a feeling of momentum to it—plus a heap of heavy metal goodness on top. The clicks themselves are delightful. Just as sharp as Model F's but deeper down inside the switch, and none of the ping.

One for the ages. Something we must recreate for ourselves someday, in a smaller form factor.

[seebart]

Thanks for sharing that video. Those delicate fly-plates do make some noise when the beam spring collapses.

Powder coating's the easiest thing to fix on a beamspring though. So long as the internals are fine and there's no rust, you should be happy!

Ecaxtly, should not be a problem.

One for the ages. Something we must recreate for ourselves someday, in a smaller form factor.

Call in the duck.

2.jpg (163.09 KiB) Viewed 7034 times

[y11971alex]

Should I get rid of the contamination shield then?

[Scottex]

that's a really cool video
and i think a group buy for controllers could be fantastic, i have a beamspring coming my way ^^

[photekq]

@seebart :

Shorter form factor height wise, not length wise! These things are too tall to be usable without a custom desk

[chzel]

Oh..Great find!
Powdercoat seems to be flaking like crazy, but it should clean up nicely!
Interestingly it has a different layout than mine, and no hatch! But you have the bottom manual cover!
Be sure to show us more pics!

[seebart]

@seebart :

Shorter form factor height wise, not length wise! These things are too tall to be usable without a custom desk

With Beamspring switches one can only make it so much shorter height wise. Even the 32** are not that slim.

[lot_lizard]

Should I get rid of the contamination shield then?

I would most definitely say yes, but you will need to cut out around the 4/6 stabilizer clips. If you cut it out with a sharp knife around the edges, you can always add it back later and not really even notice it was ever removed. To avoid cutting it, you would need to disassemble the whole board and pop the stabilizers out from the inside (I would avoid this, because those plastic stabilizers can be brittle, and replacing/repairing is not ideal... plus they aren't too fun to take completely apart).

Once you try the without that thick contamination shield, you will never go back (the difference is dramatic in a wonderful way). The keys will be much more crisp. If you were going to use it as a daily driver, you can always add back a very thin plastic

[chzel]

There are no stabilisers on this one, except the spacebar of course, and that one clips on the front, so there is no issue with the shield.

I'd say leave it without the shield, unless you do something that might send stuff flying in your keyboard.
I experimented with a garbage bag, which worked great minus some irritating "krits krits" noise. I need to try other brands to find a silent one!

[lot_lizard]

There are no stabilisers on this one, except the spacebar of course, and that one clips on the front, so there is no issue with the shield.

I couldn't remember if the backspace had the stabilizer turned toward the top of the board on ones similar to this... Good to know

EDIT: and those beefcake controllers always crack me up

[y11971alex]

What about shrink-wrap?

[seebart]

What about shrink-wrap?

Parak shows us his method:

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=46 ... #msg971228

[lot_lizard]

What about shrink-wrap?

I use .05 thou plastic on two of mine, and if you really seat it in the key gaps (need to seat in two directions after you finish the middle row), you won't notice much difference (much less than the stock barrier). I used a non cling version (but that is hard to find). I believe cling wrap would be a similar thickness. Not sure about the crinkle noise with it, but with mine, there isn't any. You'll figure out the pattern for seating the plastic quickly... It's straightforward. Moral... Try the thinnest thing you can find, and experiment if the crinkle is too much

EDIT: I just looked at Seebart's link. Use some thinner plastic than that (my two cents). Also, I went straight across with the middle row to help me keep things lined up, and then worked out in quadrants. Seemed to work well

[emdude]

Wow, I did not realize that it was important to replace the contamination shield. I previously thought it was all right to just toss the disintegrated plastic and to leave things shiny and bare; guess not.. Thanks for the link seebart, I will take note of this.. I will probably try using shrink or plastic wrap when I restore my beam springs.

[Muirium]

Ah, perhaps that's why my American layout 3276 was acting funny when I visited it six months after fixing it up with Xwhatsit's…

No real harm, I reckon. Rather, these beamsprings are super picky because for all the wonders of their feel, their capsense got schooled good and proper when Model F came along and flipped the polarity.

[lot_lizard]

Wow, I did not realize that it was important to replace the contamination shield. I previously thought it was all right to just toss the disintegrated plastic and to leave things shiny and bare; guess not.. Thanks for the link seebart, I will take note of this.. I will probably try using shrink or plastic wrap when I restore my beam springs.

That's a million dollar question... Is it really even worth? No idea. I will say the two beamsprings I use regularly have it, and haven't had problems... But you could certainly debate whether it was even needed

[y11971alex]

Wow, I did not realize that it was important to replace the contamination shield. I previously thought it was all right to just toss the disintegrated plastic and to leave things shiny and bare; guess not.. Thanks for the link seebart, I will take note of this.. I will probably try using shrink or plastic wrap when I restore my beam springs.

That's a million dollar question... Is it really even worth? No idea. I will say the two beamsprings I use regularly have it, and haven't had problems... But you could certainly debate whether it was even needed

But the presence of the shield really makes the whole keyboard feel, well, very unclean. When you press down on one button, the buttons around it get pulled towards it.

[Muirium]

Yup. That's why I rock mine commando style. Simply no substitute for pure feel. But as for actually working well with Xwhatsit's controller…

I think we'll all be better off with something a little different, including individual thresholds for every key.