"Total crap" is a bit harsh. Yes, they're rubber dome, but solid Chicony-made ones. No, they're not beam spring or buckling spring model F or M, not even the cheapo crappo M2, but as rubber domes go they are pretty good, giving a lot of tactile non-clicky mechanicals a run for their money. I'm hopelessly spoilt for keyboards, so would pass them up (I do have an IBM rubber dome board, but that's a Model M Quiet Touch...) - but if you don't have a cupboard full of unusual and in some cases very nice keyboards you could do a lot worse than one of these.

I had a IBM keyboard from that era and I would describe it as about as good as you can expect from a rubber dome. The most notable thing about the one I had was the the keycaps were nice and thick and the whole unit was sturdy and heavy. It didn't feel cheap even if it kind of was.

they're pretty solid rubberdome keyboards, good for the bench/workshop or just everyday keyboard if you just need to have a keyboard handy... no they're not anything "special" but they're not "crap" either, they sure are better than the common generic dell/hp keyboards.

dionb wrote on 2021-05-19, 22:31:

"Total crap" is a bit harsh. Yes, they're rubber dome, but solid Chicony-made ones. No, they're not beam spring or buckling spring model F or M, not even the cheapo crappo M2, but as rubber domes go they are pretty good, giving a lot of tactile non-clicky mechanicals a run for their money. I'm hopelessly spoilt for keyboards, so would pass them up (I do have an IBM rubber dome board, but that's a Model M Quiet Touch...) - but if you don't have a cupboard full of unusual and in some cases very nice keyboards you could do a lot worse than one of these.

mothergoose729 wrote on 2021-05-19, 22:39:

I had a IBM keyboard from that era and I would describe it as about as good as you can expect from a rubber dome. The most notable thing about the one I had was the the keycaps were nice and thick and the whole unit was sturdy and heavy. It didn't feel cheap even if it kind of was.

imi wrote on 2021-05-19, 22:41:

they're pretty solid rubberdome keyboards, good for the bench/workshop or just everyday keyboard if you just need to have a keyboard handy... no they're not anything "special" but they're not "crap" either, they sure are better than the common generic dell/hp keyboards.

Thanks guys!

I don't really love spending ~an hour per board, taking apart and iso'ing every inch, but ultimately it's either that or the rubbish.

So on the premise that these don't suck, guess I'll put them in the pile - with a plan to clean up at a later date. Thankless duty that is! 😉

I'd expect you could make a few dollars if you put them on ebay, not much but no doubt some people would be looking to find matching keyboard to a retro IBM they had picked up or simply to have something with IBM badging

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-05-20, 03:48:

[...]

I don't really love spending ~an hour per board, taking apart and iso'ing every inch, but ultimately it's either that or the rubbish.

So on the premise that these don't suck, guess I'll put them in the pile - with a plan to clean up at a later date. Thankless duty that is! 😉

An hour? This stuff can be done much faster:

- remove all keycaps, put in pillow case. Tie knot and throw in laundry with a regular wash.
- disassemble rest. Set aside PCB. All other plastic bits in dishwasher (unless you really want to be gentle to lable on bottom plate, then leave that out).
- use rubbing alcohol to clean PCB (plus bottom plate if not in dishwasher)
- allow all washed bits to completely dry (do NOT put in clothes dryer...)
- reassemble and put back keycaps.

dionb wrote on 2021-05-20, 10:07:

An hour? This stuff can be done much faster: […]
Show full quote

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-05-20, 03:48:

[...]

I don't really love spending ~an hour per board, taking apart and iso'ing every inch, but ultimately it's either that or the rubbish.

So on the premise that these don't suck, guess I'll put them in the pile - with a plan to clean up at a later date. Thankless duty that is! 😉

An hour? This stuff can be done much faster:

- remove all keycaps, put in pillow case. Tie knot and throw in laundry with a regular wash.
- disassemble rest. Set aside PCB. All other plastic bits in dishwasher (unless you really want to be gentle to lable on bottom plate, then leave that out).
- use rubbing alcohol to clean PCB (plus bottom plate if not in dishwasher)
- allow all washed bits to completely dry (do NOT put in clothes dryer...)
- reassemble and put back keycaps.

Thanks, I like your recipe and will give it a try - put the machines to work!

I really do not enjoy cleaning the several Logitech Deluxe 250 keyboards I have. Each one has 23 screws of 5 different sizes, two of which are behind keys which first need to be levered out with a knife.

I also used to own two 1990s keyboards that had 100+ individual rubber domes that needed to be carefully replaced after washing. Those were also a pain to clean. Thankfully keyboards like that are no longer made.

ETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw-qCswO_fo

I have a later multimedia IBM compacted ~101 layout board for IBM by Silitek and that types pretty nice for a dome kb. I'd grab another if I saw one.

Heh, I didn't have a dishwasher back in the day when I was poorer and KBs still cost a bit, and I'd just hose everything down in the bath, then stick it in an air duct for a couple of days to dry thoroughly.

Errius wrote on 2021-05-20, 12:42:

I really do not enjoy cleaning the several Logitech Deluxe 250 keyboards I have. Each one has 23 screws of 5 different sizes, two of which are behind keys which first need to be levered out with a knife.

I also used to own two 1990s keyboards that had 100+ individual rubber domes that needed to be carefully replaced after washing. Those were also a pain to clean. Thankfully keyboards like that are no longer made.

ETA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw-qCswO_fo

I don't know if the ones the OP has are the similar or not, but the IBM keyboard I took apart had about six or seven screws for the chassy and a couple more for the PCB, all the same size and all Philips. Only thing that stumped me for a bit is that two or thee of them were under the keycaps.