Beam Spring B104 Keyboard – Brand New Model F Keyboards

What is a Beam Spring Keyboard? Before the Model F keyboard was the Beam Spring keyboard, a keyboard that was designed to be like the IBM Selectric electric typewriters but made to work with IBM’s mainframe terminals. Originals regularly sell for over $1,000 to $2,000 but now you can get one in various “normal” modern layouts and various color options for a fraction of that cost. The new beam spring keyboards are also compatible with MX keycaps (see below for details). One of the best Beam Spring videos was put together by geekhack forum member and YouTuber Chyrosran22 – click here to watch. If you like Model F keyboards then you’ll definitely want to consider a beam spring keyboard, either as an upgrade or to add it to your rotation of keyboards. I would say most folks should start with the Model F before moving to the beam spring. For fastest delivery: choose Dark Blue, Light Blue, Off-White/Beige, Regular Gray, or True Red case color and the “all black keys with white text” key set. Other variations (Black, Industrial Gray) are in production and will arrive later this year. The key set “Black modifier keys with white text, all other keys white with black text” was too popular and is low stock now; if you can be flexible, please do not pick it and instead pick the “all black keys with white text” key set. Brand New Classic Style Beam Spring B104, B122, BSSK, B62 Keyboards, at a 50% or so discount to what an original IBM beam spring keyboard sells for nowadays You can choose one of the 7 case colors in the above options. Photos of each beam spring keyboard variation are not yet available. To see what each color looks like, check out the Model M style F104 product page; the colors will be the same. The B104 model is the standard 104-key layout similar to the classic Model M. The BSSK model is similar to the IBM Space Saving Keyboard / 87-key / TKL style keyboards. The B122 model is similar to the 122-key terminal keyboards but with LED lock lights and separated function blocks. The B62 model is similar to the F62 / 60% layout keyboards.

See the other product listings for these other styles. Before purchasing, please review the additional terms and conditions below. Ordering indicates your acceptance of all terms and conditions. Scroll to the bottom to see the Beam Spring Setup video and the Beam Spring Typing Test video. Please note the photos show optional add-ons such as keys and solenoid, which are not included with the base model. You need to click the appropriate check mark to order keys, solenoids, and other extras. You can choose ANSI layout (regular layout for US and several other countries) or ISO layout (vertical extra tall enter key, shorter left shift). Both of the available key set options will work for both ANSI and ISO layout, with some notations below. For ISO layouts specific to your country or language, the key sets are Cherry MX compatible, so feel free to use your own set (email me with international key set recommendations so I can share them!). Click here to visit the Beam Spring Extras product page to order additional beam spring extras (modules, key sets, LED Overlays, badges, etc.): https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/product/beam-spring-extras/ Importance of the add-on Deluxe First Aid Beam Spring Kit: The first aid kit that is included is just 4 modules, designed for initial fixing of modules broken in shipping or otherwise damaged. The “real” first aid kit folks pay for in the product add-on has 12 modules. If the modules fail many years from now, it is strongly recommended to have spent the extra $4 per module to have enough modules to last you the life of the keyboard, since modules won’t be available after this project shuts down and ends production. I think I saw some original beam spring modules going for $50 individually since the supply dried up, and I don’t want that to happen with these. Beam spring keyboards are new to most people – do not be scared to learn how to set them up and maintain them: Though both are capacitive keyboards with springs, beam spring keyboards are very different from Model F keyboards, so even if you are familiar with Model F’s you will need to watch a setup video to set up your beam spring keyboard – otherwise you will think that the product is defective because everything will not 100% work out of the box.

This should not scare anyone away from using these great keyboards as it is well worth an hour or more of your time to be able to use such a great keyboard. To spend the least amount of time required to get your own beam spring keyboard, order this round 2 keyboard instead of the round 1 keyboard. Tools are required – they are not included: You’ll need a Torx T8 screwdriver and maybe some other tools. Here’s the screwdriver set I have. Wait time longer than one month: This product is the round 2 product, which is in production and should ship out over the coming months. It will take me a while to mail them out, so please expect a wait of more than one month to ship your keyboard once the keyboards all arrive. I unfortunately cannot provide anyone with an estimate on when their specific order will ship or where they are in the queue. Please subscribe to the Deskthority and geekhack beam spring project threads for updates. Various models to choose from and customize: With these round 2 keyboards, you can choose from the Beam 104 (B104), Beam SSK (BSSK), Beam 122 (B122), and Beam 62 (B62). All models have the classic IBM Beam Spring style case – not an exact reproduction but a similar style. Each Round 2 model allows you to choose from ANSI or ISO, and HHKB is an option only for the B62. There are special factory mods available for the BSSK for split shift and split backspace, and cutting the case to add 5 extra keys in the right side block (see below for details). I am open to additional customizations if you pay the tooling fee (please email me with details and we can discuss). All round 1 keyboards have the same ANSI standard layout and cannot be adjusted to ISO, split backspace, split shift, etc. like Model F keyboards. The case colors are identical between the new Model M style F104/FSSK Model F keyboards and the Round 2 beam spring keyboards, so feel free to head over to those other product pages to see them.

See the fully working Round 2 prototype typing test video below, but your keyboard will not match the photos: You can see the Round 1 and Round 2 combined typing test video below showing a fully working Round 2 prototype, but the case design and key sets will be different, as shown in the product images and renderings which are not finalized. The key set that will be offered with these keyboards in one of the product images above, as shown installed on the compact style case. The gray and green sets shown on the Round 2 prototype are samples and will not be offered. What you’ll do to set it up: You will be testing each key and opening up the keyboard to fix/replace key modules and install the space bar, and you’ll install the other keycaps. When installing keys, be extremely gentle when pressing them into the module. It is not necessary to push down the keys hard, as far as they will go, because you will likely break something. Some keys won’t work right away – you are responsible for making this keyboard work: the required setup process may require additional adjustment in the future, after your keyboard is set up. Everything is not going to work 100% out of the box, and everything is not going to work 100% in the months and years after you have set up your keyboard. Just like the Model F keyboards you will need to set them up and spend a few minutes to do some adjustments over time. You are responsible for the initial setup and for fixing stuff. This keyboard is not for you if you do not want to spend an hour or more to set it up and time in the future to adjust a key that stops working well. Do not use any beam spring keyboard in a mission-critical environment. The round 2 keyboard will have a more refined quality control process from the factory compared to round 1, meaning less time required. What is not as good with Round 1, and will be better with Round 2: Round 2 is the full deluxe version of this keyboard that is most similar to the original IBM design philosophy, with your choice of a powdercoated case color, inner assembly plates, additional foam dampening sheet sitting on top of the modules and below the top inner assembly plate. The main Round 1 issues are related to quality control, specifically with the two plastic parts that make up each beam module.

The beam module design and parts are fully functional, but round 1 folks will need to pay extra attention. For the round 2, new molds have been ordered to fix this problem. This part has been redesigned a little for round 2 and will have better tolerances, though the main reason for the redesign was to make the modules a little taller to accommodate the additional sound dampening foam added in round 2, going in between the top inner assembly and the tops of the beam modules. Round 1 modules will not be compatible with round 2 keyboards. Some key modules may get stuck and require adjustment – please see the videos in the manual where I walk through a full setup of a keyboard from start to finish. The sound: Watch the typing test video to get an idea of the sound of the keyboard. The Round 1 sound is not like an original IBM beam spring keyboard, though round 2 is far closer to the originals than round 1. The sound of the prototype Round 2 beam spring keyboard is not guaranteed to be representative of the production units. Please do not order this keyboard, expecting the sound to be at all similar to an original IBM beam spring. My focus on the first round was to reproduce the weighting and feel of the originals as close as possible, but not to reproduce the sound. Due to the ultra compact case and the goal to be as compact as possible (with no additional sound dampening and plates as with the Round 2 boards), I would describe the sound as more reverberant and less high-pitched/sharp. Free first aid kit with keyboard: To help alleviate the issues of potentially out-of-spec beam modules or ones damaged in shipping, every beam spring keyboard will include a free first aid beam spring kit consisting of 4 additional fully assembled beam modules; in my experience all but 1 or 2 of the beam modules can be adjusted so that they are fully functional without needing replacement. The expectation is that up to 4 beam modules may be replaced with ones from the first aid kit (of course if more than 4 are non-repairable following the setup video, the limited warranty may cover replacement of these additional modules beyond the first 4). You will not receive 4 additional modules by mail if 4 are broken initially or after some usage, for example; those 4 free modules are meant to serve as advance replacements.