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My new keyboard is nearly as old as I am!

In this exciting episode of Veronica Explains, I share my most recent vintage computing find, an actual factual IBM Model M keyboard!

This keyboard - an IBM Model M 1390131 to be precise - is a legend for excellent feel and longevity- this one is from 1986 and feels (and sounds) like a dream. The retro computing community loves this keyboard for good reason!

It's not just show-and-tell in today's episode, though- I'll be going into how I got it set up with my modern USB-only computer using a Soarer's Converter- an excellent adapter which lets me remap keys, program macros, and other fun stuff.

With this awesome adapter, you can easily remap keys on your Model M, and it works on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

It's super neat and I hope you enjoy it!

Links referenced in the video:

🛍️ eBay store where I bought the converter: https://www.ebay.com/str/barcodemaverick
📌 Very helpful website which explains how the Soarer's Converter works: https://sharktastica.co.uk/guides/soarers_1
✈️ Geekhack with Soarer: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=17458.0
🔩 GeekHack wiki bolt mod: https://wiki.geekhack.org/index.php?title=Modifications:IBM_Model_M:Nut_and_Bolt_Mod
🦐 PJRC's Teensy adapter: https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy.html
👂 PJRC's HID Listen: https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/hid_listen.html
⭐ Adafruit pinout for AT connector: https://learn.adafruit.com/convert-your-model-m-keyboard-to-bluetooth-with-bluefruit-ez-key-hid/code

Commands:

Packages needed for Linux users:
Fedora: `sudo dnf install libstdc++.i686 libusb-compat-0.1.i686`
Ubuntu: `sudo apt install libusb-1.1-4:i386`
   
Soarer's Converter tools format:
First, create a binary with `./scas [layout file] [target binary]`
Second, flash the binary with `./scwr [binary created with scas]`

Chapters:

00:00 Introducing my Model M
00:46 History of the Model M
04:34 Price and comparison with Unicomp
05:54 How'd I get my Model M?
09:48 Cleanup Montage
11:12 Why use a Soarer's Converter?
14:41 Remapping keys with the Soarer's Converter
21:06 Is the Soarer's Converter worth it?
22:32 Ask Veronica

#ibm #retrocomputing #keyboard