Restoring classic IBM Model F keyboard

The original IBM Model F was sold with the IBM PC 5150 - the first IBM PC



For many, the quality of the keyboard does not matter much: for them it is a cheap peripheral device, no matter which manufacturer. But some people who work with the keyboard for 8-12 hours a day, begin to understand that the keyboards are different. Like a mechanic who buys wrenches from the same company, or a carpenter who prefers a 150-year-old plane, so they realize that they used to do better tools than they do now. It is difficult to describe in words, but the old mechanical keyboards are not viscous, the keys are pressed clearly and accurately, you do not need to knock on them, they are more ergonomic. They even sound nicer.



Although in recent years, in the wake of the new fashion, manufacturers are producing modern mechanical models of the hi-end class, but none of them will surpass the best keyboard in the history of computer equipment - the classic IBM Model F , which was produced in 1981-1994.



Today, it is almost impossible to get an original IBM Model F keyboard, except to be lucky enough to find one in a warehouse of decommissioned equipment or to buy at an auction for about $ 500. The keyboard has long been discontinued.

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But recently, enthusiasts have put a lot of effort to make an exact copy of such a mechanical keyboard - IBM Model F Kishsaver. For this, we had to make new molds for the manufacture of plastic keys, develop printed circuit boards from scratch and repeat everything else that IBM did in the late 70s.

Mechanical keyboard

The first computer keyboards for Commodore 64, the original Macintosh, and the first PCs were very different from modern keyboards. Each key has a switch with a rather complicated spring mechanism. For example, in the DEC VT100 terminals, tricky springs from Hi-Tek were installed, in the original Macintosh, Commodore Amiga and Atari 800 - spiral springs from Mitsumi.



IBM has gone its own way and has used the work of its typewriter division, for which it has manufactured spring switches since the early 1970s. Thus, keys from an IBM Selectric typewriter have been adapted for use in a computer keyboard.





Spring mechanism in an IBM Selectric typewriter



While other manufacturers gradually abandoned the spring mechanism, IBM showed surprising stability and continued production of the IBM Model F. It first went on sale with the IBM System / 23 computer in August 1981, one month before the release of the first IBM PC. In 1985, IBM Model M replaced IBM Model F, but the basic mechanism for closing contacts in the key remained the same. It is this spring mechanism provides a pleasant tactile sensation, which is absent in modern keyboards.





Spring mechanism in an IBM Model F keyboard



IBM sold Lexmark's Model M manufacturing unit in 1991, and in 1996, employees of the former IBM plant in Lexington, Kentucky, bought the rights and printing forms to produce the Model M. Even now, you can buy it at Unicomp , as in 1986, as well as hundreds of other models of mechanical keyboards made at the factory in Lexington. But all these models are made on the basis of Model M, while the production technology of Model F, it seemed, was lost.

Kishsaver

At first glance, the Model F keyboard layout looks weird, like other keyboards from the 70s and 80s. In those days, the layout was constantly changing. For example, the arrangement of the arrow keys in the shape of an inverted “T” first appeared on the DEC LK201 keyboard in 1982. The buttons on the left side — Control, Alt, Caps Lock, and Tab — were not standardized until the mid-80s. The Windows key did appear only in 1994 (on the Microsoft Natural Keyboard).



In the late 80s, the keyboard layout was approved by the ANSI and ISO standards, but until now enthusiasts release keyboards, where the keys are not arranged according to the standard, but more conveniently. The era of keyboard modding has come.





Happy Hacking Keyboard



Around 2012, rumors appeared on some of the major keyboard enthusiast forums that someone made a strange copy of an IBM keyboard. It was small, with only 62 keys, made of metal and used the same bendable springs in switches like IBM Model F. It was a keyboard for IBM 4704, Part Number 6019284, which was made by Canadian enthusiast under the name Kishy .













Kishsaver



The keyboard was called Kishsaver.



At the same time, the community of enthusiasts thought about restoring the real, original keyboard of the IBM Model F. They decided to make open source controllers so that the ancient electronics in the IBM keyboard could be connected via USB.



The enthusiasts took the original IBM F77 Kishsaver as a basis.





Original keyboard IBM F77 Kishsaver





62-button replica of IBM Model F



One of the engineers who was involved in the project has restored many of these keyboards over the years. He carefully measured every detail of the IBM Model F from his collection in order to place an order at one of the Chinese factories.



Reverse engineering of the PCB was also a relatively simple task.





Kishsaver 62 Key Keyboard PCB





Render Aluminum Keyboard Case



As in many similar projects, the greatest difficulties arose with the replication of mechanical design. It was necessary to make a mold, choose the right type of plastic for conductive substrates in the spring mechanism. Enthusiasts managed to recreate the original mechanism exactly. Even if you have an old IBM Model F keyboard, you can safely replace any of the parts with a new one. Even the foam packaging for the keyboard did exactly the same as in the 80s.





Model F conductive plastic switches



Recreating the 62-button IBM Model F can be called one of the main achievements of vintage computer enthusiasts. It is especially noteworthy due to the fact that now no manufacturer produces such keyboards.



Now the "self-made" 62-button and 77-button IBM Model F are sold in the online store for $ 325 or $ 376.







Well, the developers are thinking to bring the copy even closer to the original. For example, I would like to make aluminum castings. In any case, this case shows that even one maker is able to master such a difficult task as the production of a replica of a discontinued device according to its own project.