A Very Very Rare IBM Adapter Card

[Dave_K.]

A couple more things I discovered...

In March of 1983, IBM announced three new 5150 models, the x14, x64, and x71, that did not have a keyboard option, and was made specifically for the "IBM 3270 Personal Computer Attachment".

THREE NEW MODELS OF IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER 5150 SYSTEM UNITS WITHOUT KEYBOARDS ARE AVAILABLE

www.ibm.com

Then in June of 1994, these models were withdrawn from marketing.

NEW MODELS OF THE IBM PC FAMILY

www.ibm.com

I'm not sure how long these were supported for, but in 1995, the "IBM Guide to Personal Computers" lists an additional 3279 version of the same attachment option (supporting color), on page 71 (11-34)

https://ardent-tool.com/docs/pdf/GC20-8210-00_A_Guide_to_IBM_Personal_Computers_Apr85.pdf

I'm sure it would be next to impossible to find these cards (or 3278/3279 add-on options) in the wild on eBay, but if the manual and disks somehow turned up, maybe there is hope of someone finding a complete unused kit.

 

[willmurray461]

Wow, it's so funny to see this thread revived four years later! Interesting stuff you found there, Dave_K; didn't ever expect to find mention of this in the 3278's keyboard manual. Unfortunately though, I'm beginning to think that these adapters might have all been lost to history. It would probably be more worthwhile for me to reverse-engineer the circuitry than trying to track one of these down .