On 2018-10-19 3:15 PM, Ethan Dicks via cctalk wrote:
On Fri, Oct 19, 2018 at 11:34 AM, Bill Degnan via cctalk
<[email protected]> wrote:
Here is a great example of why the keyboards and terminals are getting
separated
https://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-3101-beam-spring-keyboard-purchased-new-in-1982/123422383512?hash=item1cbc8c1d98:g:sCkAAOSwfbhbwQvU
Note the price $2000 so far.
Woof! I have a complete, working IBM 3101 terminal (got it from a
former co-worker who used to use it to work from home at CompuServe)
and it's tempting to sell just the keyboard.
-ethan
Even though the feel of the "beam-spring" keyboards is nice and they
make a pleasant sound they are not the most reliable keyboard. Since
they are capacitive keyboards they are very sensitive to contamination,
and one of the flat metal springs in the key module flexes back and
forth each time the key is depressed which leads to it fatiguing and
breaking. I am sure the only source of replacement key modules now
would be to take them from another keyboard. When I was servicing a lot
of terminals that used that keyboard technology I used to keep half a
dozen in my trunk all the time.
The design as used in the original PC keyboard was mechanically more
durable but since it was still a capacitive keyboard, it was still very
sensitive to contamination.
Paul.
