I have noticed that some of my IBM Model Ms have a spot on the right edge of the right shift key which makes it hard to press the key if you land on that spot, the Northgate does not have this hard spot, probably because of the stabilizer. Stabilizers on these keys are held by thin plastic and sometimes break when removed. You can expect stabilizers for the Shift, Enter, the Backspace and large + and 0/Ins keys. Double shot keys will not fade by exposure to the sun, but because the keys are made from ABS plastic, they can yellow. The front of the Print Screen and Pause keys are also dye sublimated on the front face of the key. The Northgate uses double-shot injected molded keys. Because the keycaps are often detachable from the keystem, it is easier to convert a Model M from a QWERTY to an Dvorak layout physically. The numberpad Enter and + keys will have stabilizers in the earlier keyboards, but these may not be present in the later keyboards. Dye sublimated keys can fade somewhat by exposure to the sun, but I have not seen any on my keyboards. The Model M uses dye sublimated printing on all its keycaps. Each key has a diode to allow for n-key rollover. The plate & PCB is held together by screws, the keyswitch housing and solder. Metal plates often have rust spots from spilled liquids or ambient humidity. In between the keys and the PCB is a metal plate.
The Northgate has all its keys soldered onto a single-layer PCB. Some Model M enthusiasts have modded or repaired their keyboard by drilling out the rivets and replaced them with screws and nuts. When cleaning a Model M for the first time, it is not uncommon to see several broken off rivets. The rivets can be dislodged by time or by dropping the keyboard. The plastic, membrane and metal is held together by plastic rivets from the top half that are melted through holes in the membrane and form a button on the underside of the metal plate. The plastic, when pressed together by the key press, makes an electrical contact. The top and bottom layer have the pathways for an electrical circuit. Sandwiched in between the plastic and metal layers is three layers of a plastic membrane. The enclosure is held together with standard Phillips screws.Ī Model M has a plastic top half (usually black, sometimes light gray) and a bottom metal half. The bottom half of the enclosure is made of metal. The wear on the ABS keycaps will show itself as shiny areas, but the keyboard I have only shows this noticeably on with the Enter key. Yellowed ABS plastic can become brittle, but there is no thin plastic on the Northgate keyboard, unlike the thin IBM keycaps. It is typically the case that you will find an Omnikey in a yellowed state. Northgates use a top shell and keys made of ABS plastic. Later Model Ms, mostly made by Lexmark and Unicomp, often have drainage holes cut into the bottom half of the enclosure for liquid spills, but the IBM-made keyboards rarely have them.
#OMNIKEY KEYBOARD DRIVER#
The enclosure is held together with hex screws requiring a long-barreled 7/32" driver to access. Because keycaps come off very easily, it is often the case that you will find a keyboard for sale with one or more missing.
#OMNIKEY KEYBOARD CRACKED#
On the other hand, PBT can be somewhat brittle and it is not a rare thing to see cracked keycaps on a Model M. For this reason Model M do not yellow through exposure to ultraviolet light. Model M's use PBT plastic on the top and bottom enclosures, on the key caps and the key stems.
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