Shadow Lord
Veteran Member
So a while back a thread was posted on a very early revision 5150A. More interesting to me was the fact that the keyboard connector on this board was metal in nature and not the usual molded plastic with the IBM logo. The early consensus was that it was a replacement after market connector.
However, since that thread was started I noted two other instances of the same connector, all associated with very early 5150As.
So today when I saw an IBM 83 Key Model F at the local Goodwill with the metal connector I had to pick it up for the princely sum of $5 . I got home and got one of my plastic connector keyboards and opened them up sided by side. This is what I found:
The only external difference between the two keyboards is the connectors. Internally though it is a different story. The basic design and construction are the same given that the external frame are the same part numbers for both keyboards. However, the earlier revision board has a much less integrated circuit board. The internal part numbers are also different. The earlier boards have a lower part number. There is also a reference to a test number and much more info on who prepared and tested the keyboard.
However, since that thread was started I noted two other instances of the same connector, all associated with very early 5150As.
So today when I saw an IBM 83 Key Model F at the local Goodwill with the metal connector I had to pick it up for the princely sum of $5 . I got home and got one of my plastic connector keyboards and opened them up sided by side. This is what I found:
The only external difference between the two keyboards is the connectors. Internally though it is a different story. The basic design and construction are the same given that the external frame are the same part numbers for both keyboards. However, the earlier revision board has a much less integrated circuit board. The internal part numbers are also different. The earlier boards have a lower part number. There is also a reference to a test number and much more info on who prepared and tested the keyboard.
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