deskthority

Here are some pictures of a Unitek keyboard I acquired at an electronics store yesterday. The board was VERY dirty when I first picked it up and needed some cleaning.

Here is the label.




This was the state of the board before I cleaned it.

In order to clean it, I opened the whole thing in order to get to the barrel plate and interior. I unscrewed all the screws I saw and the board wouldn't open in one area. This guy was hiding from me!

Another yucky part of the keyboard...
The huge spacebar has a linear cherry mx gray switch underneath supported by two stabilizers. Are these supposed to be more smooth than the newer mx grays like the cherry mx blacks? You can also see that some of the keys have been faded and damaged. On closer inspection, I believe these are dyesub, but a chemical or something got on a few of the keys and caused the damage.
The keyboard has two folding feet that feel a little flimsy, but get the job done.
Here is a shot of the keyboard PCB
Here is the keyboard assembly. Plate mounted switches.

I also cleaned the key caps. I soaked them in hot soapy water, and then hand washed each of them under hot water. Took quite a while.
I actually like the cable on this board a lot. It feels solid, has a nice coil, has a glossy black feel, and the end is a full metal piece.
Here are the after cleaning pics of the keyboard. I used an air compressor and an alcohol soaked toothbrush to clean it.

Barrel Plate:
Fully assembled.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Desoldering!

I thought about not harvesting the switches but there are two missing keys and some are damaged beyond repair and good luck finding replacements.

I desoldered all the switches on the PCB like in the picture. This took about one or two hours to finish! Once everything was desoldered, I had to rip the PCB to pieces in order to get the switches off. It just would not let go! There were probably some unfinished soldering now that I look back on it. Next step was to pop them all out of the barrel plate. The hardest part was my desolderer. I think it's pretty old, it's just what my Father had available. The end kept popping out! I wonder is there any use for the barrel plate now? Or should I just recycle it? Here are all the switches in a bowl with the mx gray in the middle. I am pleased to report that there were no casualties among the switches. Except for the one below that was already damaged when I got the keyboard. The switch will still depress, it is just unstable. I have marked it with a silver circle on both sides of the switch. The damaged switch is the one on the left. I will be selling these switches, shoot me an offer. There are 95 total, and minus two if you don't count the unstable one and the mx gray switch(if you want that too)

I am also selling the keycaps for 5$ + shipping. The ones that are not damaged are actually quite nice, and I think these are dyesub. Not sure what you would use them for, but they're available.

I want to hold onto the cable. It still holds a nice coil and its sturdy and has a nice feel to it. I might be able to use it for something in the future.

Looks like a nice find. Vintage Cherry MX Black switches. Looking forward to seeing the finished result!

XMIT wrote: Looks like a nice find. Vintage Cherry MX Black switches. Looking forward to seeing the finished result!

I was thinking the same thing. I've been looking for a nice set of Vintage Blacks. I would probably have the switches desoldered out, wasting all of your efforts...........

AbuBakr Akram wrote:

XMIT wrote: Looks like a nice find. Vintage Cherry MX Black switches. Looking forward to seeing the finished result!

I was thinking the same thing. I've been looking for a nice set of Vintage Blacks. I would probably have the switches desoldered out, wasting all of your efforts...........

How much would you pay for a set of around 100 mx blacks?

Probably around $50. Though I'm not sure if that's a fair price.

That's Unitek week!

Great find. You finally got your terminal keyboard, Redmaus.

Redmaus wrote: I also cleaned the key caps. I soaked them in hot soapy water, and then hand washed each of them under hot water. Took quite a while.

An easier method is:
salad spinner
6 cups or 1.5L hot water (212F or 100 C for PBT key caps only, 160F or 70 C for all others)
1T or 15mL dishwasher soap (ideally unscented and no added color. I use Seventh Generation Natural Dishwasher Detergent Gel, available at H-E-B, the local grocery store.)

Combine water, dish soap and key caps in salad spinner.
Spin for 10 seconds to mix soap thoroughly.
Let sit for 15 minutes. Maybe clean other parts of the keyboard while waiting.
Spin for a couple of minutes, slowly. There may be no suds especially with hard Texas water, this is okay.
Drain.
Rinse 5 times.
Spin to dry.

Let keycaps dry on a towel until no moisture remains.

I doubt these are dyesubs...my bet is pad printed

Great cleanup job + pics!

Using this with a modern computer won't require any converting if you have a PS2 port. It speaks AT, so with a simple DIN5 to PS2 adapter, it will work just fine.

scottc wrote: Using this with a modern computer won't require any converting if you have a PS2 port. It speaks AT, so with a simple DIN5 to PS2 adapter, it will work just fine.

Already tried that, it didn't like the conversion. The LEDS would work when I touched the caps lock key though.

AbuBakr Akram wrote: Probably around $50. Though I'm not sure if that's a fair price.

I might do that for you. Some if the keys on this board are ruined, and the layout means you can't just replace with different ones. There were also two keys missing when I bought it. But one thing is the linear gray key. Do you want it? I am not sure if they are supposed to be smoother than the current MX grays like the blacks are. But all of the switches are indeed very smooth the gray is the same slick switch just a little heavier.

Ascaii wrote: I doubt these are dyesubs...my bet is pad printed

I thought that too, until I noticed how the lettering remained so deep into the keys even with the damage. I also scrubbed them by hand VERY hard, and the lettering did not fade.

Redmaus wrote:

scottc wrote: Using this with a modern computer won't require any converting if you have a PS2 port. It speaks AT, so with a simple DIN5 to PS2 adapter, it will work just fine.

Already tried that, it didn't like the conversion. The LEDS would work when I touched the caps lock key though.

Was it in AT mode, not XT? If so, then it's probably just broken.

scottc wrote: Using this with a modern computer won't require any converting if you have a PS2 port. It speaks AT, so with a simple DIN5 to PS2 adapter, it will work just fine.

I actually prefer PS/2 to USB. As far as I know, it's the fasted way to get a key stroke from the board to your PC. It just sucks for mobile......you know, laptops, tablets etc.

Lot of header pictures here ...

Are you making a keycaps salad ?

idollar wrote: Lot of header pictures here ...

Are you making a keycaps salad ?

I actually have an IBM F122 ANSI conversion that I need to post once I finish formatting and editing. Unlike this guide which was quickly photographed with a point and shoot, the ANSI conversion was taken with an SLR macro lens

Redmaus wrote: Desoldering!


I will be selling these switches, shoot me an offer. There are 95 total, and minus two if you don't count the unstable one and the mx gray switch(if you want that too)

I am also selling the keycaps for 5$ + shipping. The ones that are not damaged are actually quite nice, and I think these are dyesub. Not sure what you would use them for, but they're available.

I want to hold onto the cable. It still holds a nice coil and its sturdy and has a nice feel to it. I might be able to use it for something in the future.

Hi! Sorry to hear your keyboard was missing a few key caps. Today, I found one of these in a barn, but I am missing one of the feet that folds down :'(

Do you still have the feet from your keyboard? I would really like to completely restore my keyboard. So if you are willing to part with them, please send me a message!

Also, the end of my cable was cut off, so I think I will be needing to put a new connector if not an entire cable. Right now, I am thinking I will use a PS/2 cable instead of the serial, since nobody has serial ports, and I don't like adapters. So, if anyone has any ideas on what to use for a new cable or adapter, please let me know!

Thanks!

-Kev