Admiral Shark's Keyboards

If you are completely new to IBM and family keyboards, an introduction is provided, covering the major IBM keyboard families & models, my picks for the "best of IBM", and a brief on companies behind these keyboards.

The Keyboard Timeline is an illustrated overview of some of the most important events affecting IBM and family keyboards, notable key dates and happenings that set in motion the transition from IBM's earliest keyboards to modern keyboards we now take for granted.

The ASK Keyboard Directory is maintained as an illustrated list of known IBM and family keyboards with some basic information, common part numbers to look for, at least one photo, and usually a link to where you can find out more a given keyboard.

As keyboards can be a highly technical subject and the community around them has a lot of specific jargon, the ASK Keyboard Dictionary is maintained to help you understand what various technical terms, colloquial names, 'marketing speak', etc. mean.

The Model M keyboard family is likely the most famous series of keyboards. It was also IBM's largest by number of variants and some of them can be the most accessible of IBM's older keyboard designs, thus probably the first family you will want to know more about.

Whilst "M" is by far the most famous of IBM's major keyboard models, there are more, each with their own story to tell. The Major IBM typewriter & keyboard models topic provides overviews of all known models and distinguishes them from similar IBM typewriter model nomenclature.

If you are a first-time or generally inexperienced buyer interested in buckling-spring keyboards, the ASK Buyer's Guide is maintained to tackle various questions you might have regarding Model F versus M, old versus new, where you can buy, and what to look out for.

Part numbers are how we identify specific IBM and family keyboards. The ASK Database records these and the known specs and features they can have, helping you find the part number of a desirable keyboard or to verify if a keyboard being sold matches the specs it's known to have.

Whether you need to identify a specific plug or socket or find a pinout diagram to help you with assembling an adapter or converter, the ASK Keyboard Connectors topic is where I put and store all such information I have found or produced.

A section of the ASK Buyer's Guide is dedicated to adapters and converters, devices that enable you to use old keyboards on contemporary hardware. Included is a comparison between passive and active devices (and why it matters) and a breakdown of potential options for given common IBM and family keyboard connectors.

ASK is a part of various active communities centred around sharing interests, photos, and knowledge on IBM and family keyboards. If you wish to participate in this, share photos and what you've learned about keyboards, get help, etc., you can join my affiliated subreddit and Discord!

Finally, ASK is surrounded by many other interesting and useful websites, singular pages, content creators, and other resources that I believe are worth a look. The Sites, Pages & Resources topic is where I aggregate such links.