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AT&T 305B-AA Buckling spring keyboard

Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 16:27
by Gray Jian
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Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 16:40
by ohaimark
Are the front legends dye sublimated? I'm jealous of this one -- my 305B is missing its original Ctrl keys.

Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 16:44
by alh84001
It's almost a kind of 50 shades of grey keyboard :)

Are the keycaps compatible with OG BS? I don't think there are italic pebble keycaps available on any of IBM boards.

Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 16:56
by ohaimark
The keycaps are compatible with OG BS. This 305B is particularly impressive because its space bar isn't yellowed -- they're ABS. Its shift, caps, etc. keys are also a nonstandard color for these keyboards. The plate is also black, which seems odd to me. All of my AT&T boards have a milky, opaque plate plastic.

Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 17:00
by alh84001
ohaimark wrote: The keycaps are compatible with OG BS.
Damnit! Now I need want one.

Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 17:11
by ohaimark
Did you see my 122 key AT&T keyboard? :lol:

Posted: 21 Feb 2017, 17:19
by alh84001
No. And I refuse to acknowledge it even exists :lol:

Posted: 23 Feb 2017, 05:24
by Gray Jian
ohaimark wrote: The keycaps are compatible with OG BS. This 305B is particularly impressive because its space bar isn't yellowed -- they're ABS. Its shift, caps, etc. keys are also a nonstandard color for these keyboards. The plate is also black, which seems odd to me. All of my AT&T boards have a milky, opaque plate plastic.
The spacebar is pbt too. There are indeed some 305B have black plates:
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Posted: 23 Feb 2017, 08:08
by ohaimark
How do you know the spacebar is PBT?

Posted: 23 Feb 2017, 15:22
by fohat
I had an AT&T keyboard with yellowed ABS space bar once, and discovered that it was entirely different (some weird stabilizer scheme as I remember) and could not be replaced with a standard one.

Posted: 24 Feb 2017, 19:35
by ohaimark
The stabilizer scheme is a bit different, but I installed a Model M space bar on mine and it works reasonably well.

Posted: 25 Feb 2017, 09:15
by Gray Jian
The spacebar of 305B is different from model m:
left is 305B, right is model m
left is 305B, right is model m
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left is 305B, right is model m
left is 305B, right is model m
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There are some 305B have white spacebar:
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Posted: 25 Feb 2017, 14:30
by ohaimark
Yes, they aren't precisely the same. That doesn't make them completely incompatible, though. I'll put up some photos of mine.

Also, the fact that some AT&T space bars aren't yellowed doesn't automatically mean they're PBT. They may still be ABS. You need to test with a solvent like acetone OR find injection mold markings on the underside of the space bar to know for sure.

It's possible for ABS to be white if it hasn't been exposed to UV light or used heavily.

Posted: 25 Feb 2017, 15:44
by Gray Jian
Hi @ohaimark!
I posted these photos just want to prove my spacebar is not a part of a model m.Yes, you are right, the model m spacebar is compatible with a 305B, and when I touch the 305B spacebar, my feeling is comfortable, so maybe it is ABS, not PBT.
You have a 122key 305B, that must be beautiful, if you can post some photo here, that's great!
Welcome other people post their 305B photos too. It's a great keyboard, but a little desolate here.

Posted: 25 Feb 2017, 17:05
by ohaimark

Posted: 26 Feb 2017, 04:41
by Gray Jian
The 122 key looks great, the another 305B looks great too!

Posted: 26 Feb 2017, 06:00
by ohaimark
Thank you. :)