Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments
Search

News for nerds, stuff that matters

Slashdot Log In

Log In

Create Account  |  Retrieve Password

Do-It-Yourself Steampunk Keyboard

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wed Feb 28, 2007 09:55 AM
from the because-you-can dept.
Hardware Hacking Input Devices
An anonymous reader writes "Who said there's no use for your old IBM "M Series" keyboards anymore? This creative fellow shows us step by step how to convert the keyboards of yesteryear into keyboards of an even further distant, fictional time. H. G. Wells would be proud."
+ -
story
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

Do-It-Yourself Steampunk Keyboard 50 Comments More /

 Full
 Abbreviated
 Hidden
More
Loading... please wait.

  • Brazil (Score:4, Insightful)

    by suso (153703) * on Wednesday February 28 2007, @09:56AM (#18181058) Homepage Journal
    It reminds me a lot of something you'd see in the movie "Brazil". Pretty cool. I like the "Shift Freedom" key.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Right now it won't make people remember much. I tried to load the page when there were only 3 comments, and 5 minutes later half the images didn't load yet...

      coral cache [nyud.net]

      No Karma Whoring, posting as AC!
    • Does anyone have a mirror? I checked the site 3 times when there were 5-6 comments on the story and it was /.'d.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by The_Wilschon (782534)
      Yeah it looks really cool, but the board is going to die faster now. The original keycaps are vaguely umbrella shaped for a reason: to keep dust out of the buckling spring mechanism underneath them. Those little black plastic tubes that he pulls the keys out of now have their tops slightly exposed, so dust can settle down into them and interfere with things.

      If anyone is looking to make their own, they should just be aware of this.

      • Suggestions (Score:3, Interesting)

        by salec (791463)
        It would have been even more "steampunk" if numerical keypad was replaced with an old telephone rotary encoder (ah, the sound) and various "lock" keys replaced with pole switches. That would require some additional electronics hacking, though.

        Oh, and... LEDs should be replaced with little light bulbs from torches or, even better, wavelength scale backlight bulbs from antique radios (perhaps bulbs from Christmas tree lights would do fine), in nice little light "towers".

        Of course, an old 4-circuit woven fabri

  • Keyboard (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MattSparkes (950531) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @09:57AM (#18181062) Homepage Journal
    I've been looking for one of those for ages, I want to use it standard. Modern keyboards just don't make the right noise...
    • No kidding. I actually had 2 of them die on me not too long ago. Not sure why, I thought they were indestructible. They still work actually, they'll just freeze up every half hour or so and I have to "reboot" them by disconnecting and reconnecting the cable. It's probably the cable connector on the back of the keyboard getting loose or something. Anyone know if this is fixable? Or do I need to hit up ebay for a lot of model Ms?

      • Re:Keyboard (Score:4, Informative)

        by R2.0 (532027) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:23AM (#18181360)
        My guess is it's your motherboard, not the keyboard. Some later motherboards don't adhere to the original standards - kinda like the "lame serial port" problem in some laptops.

        Drop the guy at http://www.clickykeyboards.com/ [clickykeyboards.com] a line - he's quite helpful. They also have an adapter that will convert the PS/2 plug to USB, which might be a way around your problem.
        • hm, they worked just fine with the same motherboard for several years before they quit, and it's not like they quit at the same time. Probably 6 months or so between. Thanks for the link though, I'll check it out.

    • Re:Keyboard (Score:5, Informative)

      by SMQ (241278) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:17AM (#18181326)
      They're still being manufactured by Unicomp [pckeyboard.com]; same layout, same technology. Plus, they come in black [pckeyboard.com]!

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        A real vintage (1985 - 1992) model M keyboard built by IBM (when they were still INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS MACHINES corp)

        ...weighs almost 6 pounds and has steel parts and removable key caps. http://www.clickykeyboards.com/ [clickykeyboards.com]

        Unicomp has since simplified and reduced the design and changed quality of materials so that the pckeyboard.com units no longer have two-piece removable keys, aluminum instead of steel plate, and reduced weight to 4 pounds.

    • I've been looking for one of those for ages, I want to use it standard
      http://www.clickykeyboard.com/ [clickykeyboard.com] has what you need.

  • Mirror Dot (Score:4, Informative)

    by A Name Similar to Di (875837) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:05AM (#18181194)
    Since I already can't get to the site...there's a mirror dot here [mirrordot.org].
  • But does it still make that super loud clicky noise when you type?

    • Re:but (Score:5, Insightful)

      by value_added (719364) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:36AM (#18181540)
      But does it still make that super loud clicky noise when you type?

      Even if it doesn't, it would definitely go a long way to training people to avoid the carpal-tunnel-inducing-typo-generating bad habit of resting their wrists on the keyboard.

      For anyone who never learned to type in a typing class on a real typewriter, I'll point out that most everyone who finishes such a course ends up typing at about 90wpm. I enrolled on a lark (to meet girls, actually, but they all ended up resenting me because I typed faster than they did), but the habits drilled into me I keep to this day.

      Take that Mavis Beacon. Now get off my lawn.

      Great looking keyboard at any rate. What's missing is a big magnifying screen like those found in Terry Gilliam's Brazil. And some pneumatic tubes. Gotta have pneumatic tubes -- you can impress your friends and family and have fun scaring the shit out of the dog at the same time.

      • Re:but (Score:4, Insightful)

        by gEvil (beta) (945888) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:37AM (#18181576)
        You've made a good point. I still consider the keyboarding class that i took on a whim in high school to be one of the most useful classes I took there.

        • Re:but (Score:5, Funny)

          by garcia (6573) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @11:12AM (#18182066) Homepage
          I spent my time harassing the teacher by writing BASIC programs on the Apple ]['s that made the computer beep and pause and repeat. Installing it on 25 computers to go "BEEP" all the way around the room and then start over again was fun until I got an hour of detention for each computer.

          The only thing I learned in that class was that programming in BASIC sent you to detention.
      • I took typing in Grade 9 (yes, I'm from Canada) and we learned on Underwood Upright manual typewriters. I'll never forget our teacher's mantra, "Short, Snappy Strokes". God, my first electric typewriter (and it was only semi-automatic, the carriage return was manual) was such a blessing compared to those upright beasts.

  • Not for me (Score:3, Funny)

    by LearnToSpell (694184) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:12AM (#18181272) Homepage
    I perked up when I saw the ol' Model M. Got a couple lying around, and I've been using the same one for the last 10 years or so. But this! Drill press?! Band saw?! What is this, shop class? Sounds like a hardware problem, boyo. Not my department.

    • I'll see your 10 years, and raise you 10 years. Don't know if it's exactly the Model M, but I'm still using the same old 101-key keyboard that I got back in 1987 with my first IBM. A few years back at a hamfest, I found a brand new old 101-key, still in the unopened box for $25, but my mistake was only buying one.
  • While I agree that the whole project was very nicely done, it doesn't look like he even tried to match the type between his 'new' keys and the vintage ones he bought off ebay. Look at the picture with the two green lights for an example--the type used for the 'Page Up' and 'Home' keys looks nothing like that used for the 'Shift Lock' key.

  • Keyboards (Score:4, Insightful)

    by PatrickThomson (712694) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:25AM (#18181382)
    not that I want to be pedantic, but the model M's are about the only old keyboards worth not cutting to bits.

  • "Who said there's no use for your old IBM "M Series" keyboards anymore?"
    What the hell?! Anyone with sense knows that the Model M is the best keyboard ever made. C'mon!
  • I have a couple spares, actually, though I'm not sure if they're all of the removable keycaps variety. I'm not totally satisfied with the result in the article: I think I'd have used a piece of stiff, black plastic instead of felt. Looks pretty nice, though.

  • Steampunk? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly (844560) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:45AM (#18181662) Homepage Journal
    Where do you load in the coal?
  • But he did a lot of work that I don't know if I could do.

    On the other hand, I would DEFINITELY buy what he made, it looks a lot better than most of the plastic crap out there.

  • Matching Case (Score:4, Funny)

    by internic (453511) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @11:03AM (#18181932)
    I guess that keyboard goes with this case [boingboing.net].

  • The end result is very beautiful, and I'm seriously considering attempting to duplicate this project, but with a few changes:

    • use green felt (like from a pool-table)
    • use symbols for the non-alpha-numeric keys (print screen, num lock, etc)
    • do something about that cable, it doesn't quite match the look of the rest of the project. Maybe some flexible shielded conduit?

    This project reminds me of a case mod featured here a long while back, where the entire inside of the case was covered in chromed panels, an

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by BJH (11355)
      That would be Orac. I believe the article you're looking for is this one [slashdot.org], and the associated mod page is this one [bit-tech.net].
  • Unicomp (the original contractor who made IBM keyboards) still makes them and are for sale at http://www.pckeyboard.com/ [pckeyboard.com] . My undiagnosed 'carpal tunnel' pain went away after I started using one.
  • Come on! And that can't possibly be comfortable to type on for long periods of time....
  • Bravo!
    That is very very nice. When does mass production start?

  • more keyboard modding guides (Score:3, Informative)

    by wehe (135130) <weheNO@SPAMtuxmobil.org> on Wednesday February 28 2007, @01:22PM (#18183852) Homepage Journal
    There is a project dedicated to keyboard modding, repairing and cleaning [repair4keyboard.org], which lists many more guides for keyboard hackers.

    • Re:No Use... (Score:5, Funny)

      by saskboy (600063) on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:07AM (#18181212) Homepage Journal
      "I still clunk away at my IBM model M keyboard every night...
      Only problem is my neighbors complain of the noise"

      How do you get your keyboard to moan, "oooh, oooh, like that, give me more?" That's quite the hack.

    • Re:the finest... (Score:4, Informative)

      by drinkypoo (153816) <martin.espinoza@gmail.com> on Wednesday February 28 2007, @10:11AM (#18181254) Homepage Journal
      I'm trying to remember the name of the finest keyboard, I actually own one but I don't use it because I use a laptop these days... Northstar Omnikey Ultra, that sounds right. Supports XT, AT, Tandy, and Amiga with interchangable cables. Has dip switches for keyboard mode, to switch keymap to Dvorak, and to swap caps and lctrl. It actually came with a key cap remover so that you could switch your keys to match your layout. Very sexy. But just as importantly, it has that clicky feel (a little softer but with excellent feedback) and every key switch is replacable. They use an Alps part you can order from digi-key.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Canthros (5769)
        Northgate Omnikey, I'm guessing. (Just stumbled across it looking for an inexpensive source of Model M keycaps.)
        • Ah yes, that's the name all right. Thanks for the refresher. Seriously, I like it every bit as much as the Model M, but it does have a slightly easier keypress so for those who would like their typing to sound like the wrath of god, it's probably not the answer.
        • Just out of curiousity, did you find a source for keycaps? I am missing the Esc and an Alt cap for my Model M, and came up dry a few months ago. I can't complain, though. The keyboard was $2 at Goodwill and cleaned up very nicely.
          • Clickykeyboards.com [clickykeyboards.com] sells them on a limited basis--I guess they salvage them from defunct Model Ms--at $1 per. Not too bad if you need a few, but I was hoping to find a better price, which I haven't. I'm short a couple arrow keys and an Escape key, IIRC. I'd have to dig the spares out to inventory and check.

    • While bastardising an IBM Model M is almost inexcusable, this steampunk mod is quite nice. I have two model M keyboards that I use regularly.

      Agreed. Typing on one (1984) right now, also have an '87 model with its original stuck-on-when-new WordPerfect cheat sheet. My third PC/AT keyboard is a 1983 Compaq Deskpro 286 keyboard; it's two-tone brown and looks utterly ridiculous sitting in front of an LCD monitor and beside an optical mouse. It's just as comfortable as a Model M for just the exact opposite r

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2009 Geeknet, Inc.