1 Jan
2013
1 Jan
'13
2:20 p.m.
On 12/31/2012 8:24 PM, Jules Richardson wrote:
What's at the other end of the cable? It's been so long that I don't
remember. I assume it goes via some molded strain-relief widget at the
keyboard end, but does it terminate within the keyboard with a plug that
*is* replaceable (or perhaps wires soldered straight to a PCB)?
If so, personally I'd replace the whole molded cable and plug with
modern parts, but keep the original cable and faulty connector to pass
on to a future owner. Then I'd have a working keyboard, but a subsequent
owner could return it to a partly-functional original "museum piece" if
they wanted (or hack the plug off and replace that if they so desired,
but at least I still would have done my bit to preserve things).
cheers
Jules
It is a cable assembly - the other end terminates in a nice Berg
connector. Since it is hidden in the keyboard case all sorts of nasty
hackish things can be done without detection.
Here is a photo:
http://www.brutman.com/pics/IBM_5150_Keyboard_cable.jpg
Like you suggested, I am holding the faulty parts - I do that as a
matter of policy. I might not be able to make a fix today, but in the
future I might or I will run into somebody who can.
Substituting in something else is a good workaround for now. I don't
need these two keyboards operating at the moment so they'll just go back
on the shelf with a tag.
It does annoy me that a second one went bad after just a little usage.
I suspect something dries out over time and makes it more fragile.
Regards,
Mike
