P/N 6018109 - Model F Keypad Details & Specs
Provided by the ASK Keyboard Part Number Database
| TypeType A designation from my own type naming scheme used to categorise this keyboard with or from others by their common features and market intent but may/may not be derived from official names. |
Model F 3290/5080 24/25-key Keypad |
| Known Host SystemsKnown Host Systems A list of known host systems this keyboard could be bundled with or at least designed specifically to operate with. This could be terminals, desktop PCs or laptops. |
IBM 3290 Model 1 Information Panel (IBM 3270 family) |
| OEMOEM Possible companies responsible for making this keyboard for the company marketing it. |
IBM U.S. |
| Key-switchesKey-switches The name of the known switching mechanism that lies under this keyboard's keys. |
IBM capacitive buckling springs |
| Earliest AppearanceEarliest Appearance The year (and possibly the quarter) that this keyboard part number was introduced, first observed, first recorded or the first example found. |
1983 Q1 |
| Original KeycapsOriginal Keycaps The keyboard's original keycaps' material and text/symbol printing technique. |
PBT with dye-sublimated legends |
| Casing ColourCasing Colour The original colour of this keyboard's outer casing. For keyboards whose casing materials are known to yellow, this will refer to the original colour before such transformation occurs. |
Pearl White |
| BrandingBranding The possible branding and logo styles found on this keyboard part number. This could be multiple styles at once or possible styles found over time. |
IBM silver square badge |
| FeetFeet The style of this keyboard's flip-out or extendable feet. If applicable, this may also state how many levels of height adjustment are available and whether the feet could be rubberised. |
Dual-setting riser feet |
| ConnectionConnection The keyboard-to-host connection. This is could be a description of a cable (its colour, whether its coiled, whether its detachable, and what connector is at its end) or the name of a wireless technology. |
Grey straightened-style fixed DA-15 cable |
| Key CountKey Count The number of keys that this keyboard originally had. |
25 |
| Form FactorForm Factor The standardised or universally acknowledged name for this keyboard's layout form factor. |
Keypad |
| Source(s)Source(s) Documents ("Doc"), websites and/or webpages ("Web") that were used as a source of information for this keyboard part number. Examples of this keyboard part number I own ("ASK") will also be included as sources. |
Doc: IBM 3290 Information Panel Brief Description of Announcement, Charges, and Availability (#183-033) [source: IBM] |
| Data Last Updated | 2023-08-01 |
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The 24/25-key Model F keypad was a peripheral component to 104-key Model F Converged Keyboards, designed to work in tandem with such host keyboards. They are the smallest known Model F based keyboards. They were first introduced for the IBM 3290 Information Panel, a unique plasma-screen terminal in the IBM 3270/coaxial display station family announced in March 1983. In November 1983, the IBM 5080 Graphics System - another host system - was announced as a compatible replacement to the IBM 3250 Graphics Display System that was suited for CAD/CAM work and capable of attaching to IBM System/370, 30xx and 43xx processors using 3270 protocol. When IBM announced the 3290 Model 2 in October 1985, the company directed customers to choose the Model 230 version with a 122-key Model M Converged Keyboard if they wished to continue receiving the 24/25-key Model F's functionality.
The 24/25-key Model F was designed to match the same depth profile of the 104-key Model F ("F104"), resulting in a tall, skinny keypad. The keypad was available in two functional layouts, program function and numeric (also referred to as "calculator layout"), with the latter also having several regional and World Trade Country (WTC) variants. All program function and WTC numeric 24/25-key Model Fs had 25 keys, whereas standard numeric keypads had a 2-unit width "0" key resulting in 24 usable keys. Like the "F104", the 24/25-key Model F also had two-setting feet to adjust typing angle, but they were wider and spun most of the keypad's width and weren't side-accessible like the F104's. The keypad had a short, fixed cable with a DA-15 plug, which allowed it to connect to a host 3290-1 or 5080 keyboard (the keypad never connected to a host terminal or graphics system directly). In 1988, IBM introduced the Model M-based IBM Screen Reader Keypad (SRK) that was believed to been produced using modified (cut-down) 24/25-key Model F keypad assembly tooling as the newer keypad's assembly design bears many shared traits such as the barrel plate retaining the holes needed for the 24 or 25-key layout despite the SRK not requiring them.
