15 Nov
2014
15 Nov
'14
10:53 a.m.
Hi all,
I've got a 5160 here with the XT keyboard - however it's got the 64/256K
motherboard fitted (with the "early" Jan '86 EPROMs), and Wikipedia seems
to claim that by the time the 64/256K boards came out the machines were
shipped with 102-key keyboards (the XT flavor of the Model M, I assume).
Anyone know if that's true, and so my system should technically have a
"full size" keyboard, or was there a crossover period where systems with
the newer boards shipped with the 83-key XT keyboards?
Everything else about the machine suggests it was built sometime '86 (dates
on the PSU, IC date codes on the expansion boards etc.), although it has a
20MB F/H IBM hard drive (rather than the H/H Seagates that I think the
newer systems got). There's no ID info on the underside of the keyboard
like there is on my Model M; I'm not sure if there should be.
Also, I'm missing the silver keyboard decal - I believe these just said
"IBM personal computer" like they did for the 5150, even though the 5160
case decal mentions XT. Does anyone have one they could pull from an
otherwise-junk keyboard that they might be willing to part with?
cheers
Jules
15 Nov
15 Nov
12:20 p.m.
On 11/15/2014, 7:53 AM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Hi all,
...
Everything else about the machine suggests it was built sometime '86
(dates on the PSU, IC date codes on the expansion boards etc.), ...
cheers
Jules
For dating computers (or any logic boards) I suggest looking at the date
codes on soldered in devices - anything else could have been exchanged,
replaced, updated...
John :-#)#
2:05 p.m.
On 11/15/2014 07:53 AM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Also, I'm missing the silver keyboard decal - I
believe these just said
"IBM personal computer" like they did for the 5150, even though the 5160
case decal mentions XT. Does anyone have one they could pull from an
otherwise-junk keyboard that they might be willing to part with?
It's quite possible that the keyboard wasn't IBM-produced either. There
were plenty of Taiwanese clones with recesses of precisely the
dimensions to fit the IBM logo. Is there no label on the back of the
keyboard that gives the IBM part number and manufacture date?
--Chuck
2:31 p.m.
On 11/15/2014 01:05 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 11/15/2014 07:53 AM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Interesting - I know there were crappy clones around which weren't as
heavy-duty, but I don't recall seeing any with the buckling-spring
mechanism (which doesn't mean to say that they didn't exist, of course!)
Anyway no, there are no external markings. However, I just opened the case
and the guts are labeled as IBM. It's got a "shop date" of 5025, whatever
that translates to.
The main keyboard IC is marked:
8493518
LC 862092
A 8421 C K
CP5092
The "8421" is quite possibly a date code; the 14-pin IC next to the
controller IC has a date code of 8427. That's a couple of years older than
the rest of the machine - but having said that, there are ICs that old in
the main system too, mixed in with ones from '85 and '86, so it's perhaps
not a definitive answer.
Interestingly (well, perhaps to us geeks, anyway) the internal label claims
that it's a Model F - which goes against what Wikipedia claims (i.e. that
the Model F was the 84-key AT keyboard, replacing the 83-key XT unit)
cheers
Jules
Also, I'm missing the silver keyboard decal -
I believe these just said
"IBM personal computer" like they did for the 5150, even though the 5160
case decal mentions XT. Does anyone have one they could pull from an
otherwise-junk keyboard that they might be willing to part with?
It's quite possible that the keyboard wasn't IBM-produced either. There
were plenty of Taiwanese clones with recesses of precisely the dimensions
to fit the IBM logo. Is there no label on the back of the keyboard that
gives the IBM part number and manufacture date? 
2:32 p.m.
On 11/15/2014 11:05 AM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 11/15/2014 07:53 AM, Jules Richardson wrote:
Is it possible that it is a de-badged 3270PC or one of the 4000 product
lines? They also used the XT for making up foreign terminals, such as
Katakana or Hangul, but I'm not sure if they did it before they
repackaged and came out with the PS2 50 and PS2 30 systems.
We got a Korean terminal like that. Pry of some stickers, and reload
the software, and you would get a regular looking PC.
And of course replace the keyboard or keycaps.
Jim
Also, I'm missing the silver keyboard decal -
I believe these just said
"IBM personal computer" like they did for the 5150, even though the 5160
case decal mentions XT. Does anyone have one they could pull from an
otherwise-junk keyboard that they might be willing to part with?
It's quite possible that the keyboard wasn't IBM-produced either.
There were plenty of Taiwanese clones with recesses of precisely the
dimensions to fit the IBM logo. Is there no label on the back of the
keyboard that gives the IBM part number and manufacture date?
--Chuck
2:49 p.m.
I've got a 5160 here with the XT keyboard -
however it's got the 64/256K
motherboard fitted (with the "early" Jan '86 EPROMs), and Wikipedia seems
to claim that by the time the 64/256K boards came out the machines were
shipped with 102-key keyboards (the XT flavor of the Model M, I assume).
Anyone know if that's true, and so my system should technically have a
"full size" keyboard, or was there a crossover period where systems with
the newer boards shipped with the 83-key XT keyboards?
I thought the 64K-256K board was the older XT one, the later version being 256-640K
(it's the same board with the '158 mux chip added and a link soldered in, just
like the
well-known upgrade).
Anyway, all the XT's I've seen had the 64K-256K board and the 83 key keyboard (or
is it
84 key over here, the smaller one, anyway). And they just say 'personal computer'
on the
decal.
-tony
3:42 p.m.
On 11/15/2014 01:49 PM, tony duell wrote:
Well spotted - darn it! I *meant* 256/640K board :-( I wrote that message
over the course of two days while doing a hundred other things, and kept
coming back to re-word it.
cheers
Jules
I've got a 5160 here with the XT keyboard -
however it's got the 64/256K
motherboard fitted (with the "early" Jan '86 EPROMs), and Wikipedia seems
to claim that by the time the 64/256K boards came out the machines were
shipped with 102-key keyboards (the XT flavor of the Model M, I assume).
Anyone know if that's true, and so my system should technically have a
"full size" keyboard, or was there a crossover period where systems with
the newer boards shipped with the 83-key XT keyboards?
I thought the 64K-256K board was the older XT one, the later version being 256-640K
(it's the same board with the '158 mux chip added and a link soldered in, just
like the
well-known upgrade).
3537
days inactive
3537
days old
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