Primarily made because I wanted to talk about my new hobby.
I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm a fan of mechanical computer keyboards. A really simple definition of "mechanical keyboard" would be, "One that doesn't cost $8.99 at your local electronics store." Another poor definition is that it's one that goes "click" when you press down a key. So, what's my hobby? Restoring vintage mechanical keyboards.
I was able to buy two IBM Model M keyboards from around 1990 for pretty cheap. I fixed both up and I'm typing on one of them right now. I'm just going to grab some links off of a website to show you what they look like, because both my keyboards look brand new, so here are a 101 key and a 122 key (video review) from around the same year as my keyboards. (Yes, typing the 122 key does make you feel like you're about to launch the space shuttle.)
I sorta "lucked-out" on my 101 key because all I had to do with it is clean it and now it looks, sounds, and feels perfect, so I'm keeping it and will sell my less-than-one-year-old "main" keyboard. The 122 looks pretty great, but the keyboard has a bunch of weird terminal keys, possibly for launching that space shuttle. I'm thinking about replacing those with the normal ones from a QWERTY layout, then doing something called a "bolt mod." I'm planning on first listing it on ebay to see if I can get some good $ by saying that it's 99.9% original: hey, I just replaced one spring.
Anyway, the IBM Model M isn't the best keyboard IBM made. That title goes to the one made two models earlier, the beamspring terminal keyboards from 1979 to 1981, which sell for $1000+ in bad condition. That's way out of my price range and parts are a bit scarce, so I'm really hoping to buy one of the next models, the Model F, which was made between 1981 and 1985. Those only cost around $125, for a beat-up one.
I did just purchase a non-IBM keyboard for extra cheap. I'm still waiting for it to arrive. It has a 1/3 chance of being excellent, 1/3 chance of being really good, and a 1/3 chance of being "not bad for the price."
So, what's your non-musical hobby?
I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm a fan of mechanical computer keyboards. A really simple definition of "mechanical keyboard" would be, "One that doesn't cost $8.99 at your local electronics store." Another poor definition is that it's one that goes "click" when you press down a key. So, what's my hobby? Restoring vintage mechanical keyboards.
I was able to buy two IBM Model M keyboards from around 1990 for pretty cheap. I fixed both up and I'm typing on one of them right now. I'm just going to grab some links off of a website to show you what they look like, because both my keyboards look brand new, so here are a 101 key and a 122 key (video review) from around the same year as my keyboards. (Yes, typing the 122 key does make you feel like you're about to launch the space shuttle.)
I sorta "lucked-out" on my 101 key because all I had to do with it is clean it and now it looks, sounds, and feels perfect, so I'm keeping it and will sell my less-than-one-year-old "main" keyboard. The 122 looks pretty great, but the keyboard has a bunch of weird terminal keys, possibly for launching that space shuttle. I'm thinking about replacing those with the normal ones from a QWERTY layout, then doing something called a "bolt mod." I'm planning on first listing it on ebay to see if I can get some good $ by saying that it's 99.9% original: hey, I just replaced one spring.
Anyway, the IBM Model M isn't the best keyboard IBM made. That title goes to the one made two models earlier, the beamspring terminal keyboards from 1979 to 1981, which sell for $1000+ in bad condition. That's way out of my price range and parts are a bit scarce, so I'm really hoping to buy one of the next models, the Model F, which was made between 1981 and 1985. Those only cost around $125, for a beat-up one.
I did just purchase a non-IBM keyboard for extra cheap. I'm still waiting for it to arrive. It has a 1/3 chance of being excellent, 1/3 chance of being really good, and a 1/3 chance of being "not bad for the price."
So, what's your non-musical hobby?
