Cable repair on Industrial Model M (M13)

evoman · 15 Jun 2017, 11:11

I have a really lovely Model M in the industrial colours with the trackpoint, but despite being in nearly new condition the jacketing (housing) is fraying. I assume it is because the material chosen did not have good plasticised properties since the cable hasn't been abused (indeed, it was just plugged into a desktop system, so under no strain). The underlying insulation/housing over the actual wires is intact and looks pristine. This model doesn't have a detachable cable, and regardless, it needs a cable that has the mouse and keyboard connections (to accommodate the trackpoint)

So I am wondering if anyone has a good trick for repairing the jacket on the cable. I have seen heat-shrink options, but you need to get them over the end of the cable, and I am not sure any will fit over the PS/2 plugs (even ones with a 3:1 shrink ratio). Any other ideas? I would prefer to not just put electrical tape onto the cables since the keyboard is in such great condition. Thanks for any input! (I can add photos later)

wobbled · 15 Jun 2017, 11:29

I have a brand new coiled black cable for M13's - bought one to replace the cable on my industrial M13 but ordered two from unicomp by accident. Drop me a PM if interested. Since you're in the UK as well, shipping wouldn't be expensive either.

The cables are removable by the way, but only from inside the case. I'll upload some pictures of the cable and its connector when I get home from work.

pixelheresy · 15 Jun 2017, 11:32

Pictures would help, especially for options of keeping it *stock*.

If you are using a Soarer's or the like, you can just wire in a board and have a USB breakout instead... depending on how *stock* you want it.

evoman · 15 Jun 2017, 17:03

I'll try to get some photos tonight (fighting with a dead camera on my phone!) - the stock cable matches the industrial greenish grey. I suppose a non-stock (non-matching) cable might still be better than leaving the current one in place.

evoman · 16 Jun 2017, 01:21

Here is the cable (sorry for the terrible photo, I had to use the selfie camera on my phone!)

evoman · 16 Jun 2017, 01:24

I don't have a photo of the keyboard given my lack of a working proper camera, but it is the same as this one:

pixelheresy · 16 Jun 2017, 14:45

Yipe... Yeah sorry, it's M13. Not a direct easy solution.

If you or a friend is handy with a soldiering iron, can test continuity, etc. the best option is to buy a detachable, brand spanking new one from Unicomp, cutting off the connector and stripping, and soldering it into the board, thereby replacing it with basically an identical, factory fresh, copy.

http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/1398094

wobbled · 16 Jun 2017, 15:00

pixelheresy wrote: Yipe... Yeah sorry, it's M13. Not a direct easy solution.

If you or a friend is handy with a soldiering iron, can test continuity, etc. the best option is to buy a detachable, brand spanking new one from Unicomp, cutting off the connector and stripping, and soldering it into the board, thereby replacing it with basically an identical, factory fresh, copy.

http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/1398094

That would work but it wouldn't look very good. The M13 cables are flat and have a little stopper type thing that goes between the two pieces of the Model M's case. If he put in a round cable without that stopper he'd have a hole surrounding the part of the case where the cable enters.

If you decide on getting a new cable drop me a PM as I said before, would be much cheaper than going through unicomp.

pixelheresy · 16 Jun 2017, 15:17

wobbled wrote: That would work but it wouldn't look very good. The M13 cables are flat and have a little stopper type thing that goes between the two pieces of the Model M's case. If he put in a round cable without that stopper he'd have a hole surrounding the part of the case where the cable enters.

If you decide on getting a new cable drop me a PM as I said before, would be much cheaper than going through unicomp.

Not necessarily: most mods that have a Soarer's Converter *internally* I've seen done reuse the cable plug. To make sure it doesn't back out, you can knot or use a couple zip ties on the inside so the cable doesn't back out.

Example here:
http://www.justblair.co.uk/computers/22 ... board.html

If you have a cheaper cable he can use, great! That may be cooler than getting a new one from Unicomp, so long as it is in good shape.

wobbled · 16 Jun 2017, 15:34

From what I remember the cable plug was permanently attached to the cable / part of the cable but I could be mistaken. I had the exact same Industrial M13 with the same issue and bought a brand new sealed M13 cable from unicomp in black but I put 2 in the quantity by accident. My second one is still in my drawer in the original bag. I ended up taking the blue IBM badge off and putting one of my black badges on there to make it match a little more. Still trying to find a black M13 LED overlay sticker.

pixelheresy · 16 Jun 2017, 15:47

wobbled wrote: From what I remember the cable plug was permanently attached to the cable / part of the cable but I could be mistaken.

Yuck. I hate when they do shit like that. Makes assembly perhaps 1 min quicker, but makes maintenance a bitch.

wobbled wrote: I had the exact same Industrial M13 with the same issue and bought a brand new sealed M13 cable from unicomp in black but I put 2 in the quantity by accident. My second one is still in my drawer in the original bag. I ended up taking the blue IBM badge off and putting one of my black badges on there to make it match a little more. Still trying to find a black M13 LED overlay sticker.

Not bad. Get the man that cable, stat!

Honestly, finding a black wire grommet or bushing would be fairly easy online, if you measure the hole and the cable, so making it look "finished" is not that much of a barrier. An industrial M13 is not an every day sort of find, so no reason to make it look like it was a fix, even if you have to discard the old rubber grommet.

evoman · 19 Jun 2017, 10:25

Thanks for all the info - how hard is to do the cable replacement (using the original part)? Unicomp sell replacements for some of the non-detachable cables, but their page just asks for the model number and doesn't specify what is available. I assume that they won't have the matching colour, so the black is probably the best option.

The jacket on the cable has clearly just lost it's plasticity since a bit fell off while I was cleaning up the keyboard and it feels stiff and brittle. The rest of the cable is fine, so I think that they might have used a different material on the PS/2 connectors after the split point in the cable.

I had some hope that I could get a good heat shrink material that I could use to cover that section of the cable, so the part sitting on the desk would still be stock and match (and the repair would be hidden behind the computer).

wobbled · 19 Jun 2017, 10:37

It depends entirely on what controller your keyboard has but usually there's just a four or five pin connector that you unplug, unscrew the cable retention bracket and put your new cable in. Open your case up and take a picture of the inside for me and the connector up close, I'll see if it's compatible with the cable I have. And yes, Unicomp only have black m13 cables.

evoman · 19 Jun 2017, 23:15

wobbled wrote: It depends entirely on what controller your keyboard has but usually there's just a four or five pin connector that you unplug, unscrew the cable retention bracket and put your new cable in. Open your case up and take a picture of the inside for me and the connector up close, I'll see if it's compatible with the cable I have. And yes, Unicomp only have black m13 cables.

Thanks for the info - I brought the keyboard back to my office at work, so will try to have a look tomorrow.

evoman · 20 Jun 2017, 13:04

I didn't realize the bolts had a hex head - does anyone know what size socket will fit the hex bolts? I am not sure I have a socket thin enough to fit down into the indentations where the bolts are. How do people usually open these cases?

Cheers for any advice!

wobbled · 20 Jun 2017, 13:12

5.5mm (7/32″) precision nut driver