deskthority

Ellipse wrote: Interesting, what is the layout and part number of that one?

Its normal US ANSI, part number 1391401, made in 1993 by IBM not Lexmark. It has an orange enter as well as some weird legends like Reset and Zoom Line.

codemonkeymike wrote: Did you get that from orihalcon, I saw he had a keyboard with green secondary legends a while back. I am still kicking myself for not getting that.

Yeah its from him Gonna make one hell of a F77!

Would anyone be interested in writing a generic Model F manual? For both the original keyboards as well as the reproductions. It would help buckling spring owners with a central place to learn key re-seating, disassembly, spring replacement, changing the layout, etc.?

I was thinking it could be written in the old formatting/layout like the manuals of the 80s/90s, maybe with some old-style illustrations/line art/product photos?

That would be awesome!

A quick search yielded this from the XT.

http://www.retroarchive.org/dos/docs/ibm5160techref.pdf

Keyboard starts on 1-65 (PDF page 78). Not too robust, but I think this would be the style of the original manual?

**

Here is the technical reference guide for the IB 5155 which has much more information.

http://www.minuszerodegrees.net/manuals ... _MAR86.pdf

Key Board section is section 4, and starts on PDF page 97.

**

Also found this product picture from the model M. Would this be the style you are looking for?

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MmCp ... _promo.jpg

Yes these are the right idea!

Any other exemplary 1980s tech manuals that would fit the style of this project please do link to them here!

Hi Ellipse.
The compact F77 has proven too tempting, and I've emailed you at info@modelfkeyboards.com a request to change my order.
As always, the keyboards look great, and I am so glad I got involved way back in October 2015!
Cheers, Cods

I also like the style of the Keytronic 3270 compatible keyboard manuals (below).

Yes updated cods!

Does anyone want to change their F77 case color to Black, Silver Gray, or True Red? I would appreciate it! Both the Industrial Gray and Off-White/Beige F77 options have proven far more popular than I had expected and we are running low on stock.

We are also running very low on Ultra Compact Keyboards and might run out in a month or two for the early bird round - if you wanted a compact keyboard in the early bird round please reserve one soon!

Ellipse wrote: Both the Industrial Gray and Off-White/Beige F77 options have proven far more popular than I had expected and we are running low on stock.

Definitely most popular due to resembling the ORIGINAL keyboard colours from way back then.

Might also like to guess some wise-arse might stick an IBM label on this keyboard and say it's an original Model-F keyboard that is totally new and unused .

Watch the Flebay newbs jump on it for thousands of dollars, thinking they bought an old keyboard but in reality got an exclusive Ellipse keyboard, far better than the original .

YES the world loves the original design hence only specific colours sell quite fast.

Elrick wrote:

Ellipse wrote: YES the world loves the original design hence only specific colours sell quite fast.

I'm a tad frustrated because I'd like to buy a F77 in a non-standard color but unfortunately they will only be available to those in the early bird round.

It's not that I don't have the money - it's that there are no reviews out yet. I need concrete evidence that A) this product actually exists [sorry photos aren't enough] and B) The factory doesn't go rogue. [ie: XMIT]

Believe me, I want to support the project but I feel it's unfair to rig it against those that are cautious because you don't have any "street cred."

slyker wrote: Believe me, I want to support the project but I feel it's unfair to rig it against those that are cautious because you don't have any "street cred."

Are you serious? Ellipse is not a fly-by-night Reddit seller, he's running a pretty solid business and has done so for as long as I've been on DT. I understand that that's no guarantee, but saying he has no "street cred" seems kind of ludicrous.

Also, maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but 'rigged'? Rigging something indicates giving an unfair advantage to some at the expense of others; 'unfair' in the sense that the basis on which one group is given preferential treatment over the other is exclusionary, such as when the reason is racism, sexism, elitism, nepotism, etc.

(for more examples and in depth history, look up 'President of the United States of America')

What Ellipse is doing is not 'rigging' this for anyone. The terms are fair and equal for all: just join early and you can have special colours, there isn't even a surcharge for being annoying (or I'm sure I'd be paying extra for mine).

@Scarpia you miss quoted there, I would edit your post... Edit: fixed!

@slyker Ellipse has been selling IBM keyboards for years now. I'm sure if you ask around you will find a bunch of people here have purchased something from him. That being said, I will be at the Philadelphia keyboard meetup which Ellipse says he will be at with a prototype. So I will update with my thoughts.

@codemonkeymike thanks for spotting that, I've corrected my post now.

@slyker: A NASA orange is supposed to be available in the next round, and I believe you will still have the custom colour option to have your keyboard painted whatever colour.

NASA Orange should go real well with APL caps!

Khers wrote: @slyker: A NASA orange is supposed to be available in the next round, and I believe you will still have the custom colour option to have your keyboard painted whatever colour.

Perhaps I'm blind, but I could not find reference to the "NASA orange" case color on modelfkeyboards.com or this forum topic. Was there a post that mentioned this? Just curious to find out more.

And does "NASA orange" refer to the orange of the astronauts' Advanced Crew Escape Suit? (glad to now know the name for that... )

I think it's the International Orange (Aerospace). Wikipedia has a page about it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_orange

robotsokk wrote:

Khers wrote: @slyker: A NASA orange is supposed to be available in the next round, and I believe you will still have the custom colour option to have your keyboard painted whatever colour.

Perhaps I'm blind, but I could not find reference to the "NASA orange" case color on modelfkeyboards.com or this forum topic. Was there a post that mentioned this? Just curious to find out more.

And does "NASA orange" refer to the orange of the astronauts' Advanced Crew Escape Suit? (glad to now know the name for that... )

There was a post about it a few pages back. Ellipse wrote that orange (I believe Techno is right about the actual name of the colour) would be included in the final run, so not available in the early bird round but you can probably message him to secure a spot if you so wish.

Ah, got it. Thank you both for that info.

Oh wow. I was ranting for no good reason. Yes I much prefer the Orange over the Red! I'll wait until the final round then!

We have a hold up on international orange since the guy went with another color. As with the other custom colors the factory requires $500 per color per production run beyond the agreed upon two custom colors and black that come standard.

Happy to split the international orange bill if a few people want to chip in for the color (e.g. 5 people at $100 each).

The wiki is now up and running!

All Model F experts please contribute to the Model F Owner's Manual now up on http://www.modelfkeyboards.com/wiki

It is aimed at helping both the owners of the original keyboards as well as the reproductions.

It will help provide buckling spring owners (everyone from beginners to advanced users) with a central place to learn key re-seating, disassembly, spring replacement, changing the layout, etc.

Wow that wiki layout looks really comprehensive. I cant wait to see it get filled with all sorts of helpful info.

PBT Key tests from the factory:

The factory expects to spend two more weeks perfecting the injection molds for the keys, as well as mixing the PBT plastic to get the perfect colors for pearl, pebble, and Industrial SSK blue. The flash (excess plastic) has not been removed from these test keys.

The key texture has not yet been applied to the top of the key molds so they appear shiny/unfinished in these photos. As always the colors of these photos are not accurate.

Industrial SSK blue full 103 key sets (with and without legends) are available to order if anyone wants them.

Once I approve the keys, production can start on the keys.

Thanks for sharing the update on how the keys are progressing -- that industrial blue looks lovely. IMO it looks closer to the original than some of the pics I've seen in the past of Unicomp's offering. Glad I included some in my order.

What's the ball park eta on f77 delivery for a new order? Just the bog standard black. Just very roughly, less than 6 months, less than a year etc kinda deal... TIA

Sometime in several months consolation. Here is a production status update on each part: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/blog/

The blue keycaps look very nice, is there an option to order a modifier kit of blue caps? I ordered my F62 with blank black keycaps and I think it would look great with some blue modifiers.

Sure, just order 2 units per key of the store item "$1 increments" and note what you would like.

As a note, the Industrial SSK blue cap color is being matched to an original Industrial SSK key cap that I mailed to the factory. They are still working on getting a good match but are getting closer. This color is not offered by Unicomp (they offer a much darker blue as well as a light blue).

Is the firmware reprogrammable? Can I still order? could I buy two sets of keycaps just for the "numpad" section?