deskthority

About 5 months ago I was able to save what was left in an abandoned factory here in northen Italy. It's already been visited multiple times before and a ton of good stuff came out of it, in particular Beamsprings, but that was a while ago and when I went there the first time there was pretty much nothing left, except for a couple of keyboards and calculators. I ended up going there again a couple of times tho, and I was actually able to find some stuff. In particular, 4 Beamspring keyboards: 2 IBM 3742 modules, both coming from the same desk, an IBM 3741 and another one I was not able to identify, but after a bit of searching I was able to find it on another post: viewtopic.php?f=66&t=5700&p=511188&hili ... ng#p511188 I also took pictures of the desks where the keyboard modules were taken from: It looks like the desk modules use a different variant of switches, with one of the 3742 having what seem to be blue housings and the 3741 with it's odd yellow sliders, not to mention the non angled metal stem on all of them. I just started working on the 3742 in better condition, and after finishing it I'll probably sell the other one and start working on the one that I still don't know the name of, while the 3741 will probably just be used for parts, as it's pretty much unsalvageable.
I started by taking the keycaps off, and as you can see the housings are blue rather than black. I remember seeing these somewhere before but there are no mentionings of different variants on the wiki. The metal plate and back plate were a bit bent, since to remove the keyboard module from the desk, the only way to do so was using a crowbar, and by doing so the keyboard got bent. Luckily it was an easy fix tho! All I had to do was hammer it back to shape, which took something like 5 minutes to do. The pcb seems to be in decent shape, but I'm quite sure I'll have to use a new one. I then took the switches apart, and unfortunately (totally my fault) one of the metal stems broke, so I had to make a new one:
I took a sheet of scrap metal with a thickness of roughly 1.17mm and carefully filed it down to shape it's not identical, but it fits perfectly in the plastic stem and keycap without either too much stress or wiggle, so it won't be an issue. I then put the switches parts and keycaps in vinegar for about a day, and cleaned them with an old toothbrush and a sponge and washed them with soapy water. As you can see from the picture I also tried to salvage some parts that I had found laying around in the factory, as I have a whole bag of those and I want to restore those too, for spares and extra keycaps and parts. I reassembled all the switches and that's basically it for now, I still have to work on the metal plates, but before doing it I decided to try and look into the software part of the project. I think the only way I can get this thing working is by using the Commonsense firmware, only issue is that I can't seem to find the board needed for it to work, the CY8CKIT-059, anywhere for less than 100€. Anyone knows if I can use a different board for it or where I can find one for a reasonable price? I should also probably mention that, while I have restored a bunch of vintage keyboards in the past, none of them where either as complicated, trashed and valuable as this one, so I am trying to be as careful as possible and any tips or criticism is more than welcome.

Thanks for sharing this!

For controllers you might want to look into an xwhatsit controller, which can be had for way less than 100€. Here is the one for beamsprings and here is the model f version. I think the beampspring controller should be sufficient due to the limited amount of rows on your bastards. It may require some custom work if somebody has not mapped out the matrix yet. Maybe you can find some inspiration from Heikkonen, who has recently converted a somewhat similar module. QMK is working on the controllers, but I am not sure about the recent development of this, somebody might be able to fill us in on that.

For a restoration project of the same magnitude you might be rallied by this post, where a beamer in horrendous condition gets revived!.

Good luck with the project! It's amazing how much can be saved, given enough work.

Great finds, cant wait to see what it will be like after restoration.

Hope this could help bit id the last one model.

https://youtu.be/2cAWArBXRhE

Nice find! If you need any help with the restoration fell free to ask!

Chances are that those keyboards work, don't ask me how but those boards where built to withstand a lot. Look

John Doe wrote: 05 Mar 2023, 01:33 Great finds, cant wait to see what it will be like after restoration.

Hope this could help bit id the last one model.

https://youtu.be/2cAWArBXRhE

Yup, that's the model. Thanks!

mmm wrote: 05 Mar 2023, 01:11 Thanks for sharing this!

For controllers you might want to look into an xwhatsit controller, which can be had for way less than 100€. Here is the one for beamsprings and here is the model f version. I think the beampspring controller should be sufficient due to the limited amount of rows on your bastards. It may require some custom work if somebody has not mapped out the matrix yet. Maybe you can find some inspiration from Heikkonen, who has recently converted a somewhat similar module. QMK is working on the controllers, but I am not sure about the recent development of this, somebody might be able to fill us in on that.

For a restoration project of the same magnitude you might be rallied by this post, where a beamer in horrendous condition gets revived!.

Good luck with the project! It's amazing how much can be saved, given enough work.

Thanks! I thought the xwhatsit controller wasn't gonna work for this model for some reason. I'll take a look, it might actually be the best solution

iirc theres a yt channel that visited an abandoned clothing place with a TON of 3278's with their terminals

vyquad wrote: 06 Mar 2023, 07:23 iirc theres a yt channel that visited an abandoned clothing place with a TON of 3278's with their terminals

That's the exact same place these came from actually. Unfortunately all of the 3278's have been taken already

Nature abhors a vacuum, unless it’s where the loot was. Yoink!

Muirium wrote: 06 Mar 2023, 20:40 Nature abhors a vacuum, unless it’s where the loot was. Yoink!

I am wondering how everything got in such a state, though. Everything's rustier than a Lancia Beta parked in Scarborough.

Is this textile factory still standing? I would love to have some parts from one of these 3741/3742's to add to my shell of a 3741.

Medesano_Ovest wrote: 06 Mar 2023, 19:27

vyquad wrote: 06 Mar 2023, 07:23 iirc theres a yt channel that visited an abandoned clothing place with a TON of 3278's with their terminals

That's the exact same place these came from actually. Unfortunately all of the 3278's have been taken already

Oh thats not unfortunate! Its in someones possession now instead of rotting

PM’d with Q