P/N 7362353 - Model B Keyboard Details & Specs
Provided by the ASK Keyboard Part Number Database
| Known Assembly Part NumbersKnown Assembly Part Numbers Possible numbers found inside this keyboard used to indicate its internal assembly and the keycaps on it. |
1752710 |
| 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 B 5251/5252 Typewriter Keyboard |
| OEMOEM Possible companies responsible for making this keyboard for the company marketing it. |
IBM |
| Key-switchesKey-switches The name of the known switching mechanism that lies under this keyboard's keys. |
IBM beam 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. |
1979 Q2 |
| Original KeycapsOriginal Keycaps The keyboard's original keycaps' material and text/symbol printing technique. |
SAN with double-shot 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. |
None |
| 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. |
None |
| 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. |
White straightened-style fixed DB-25 cable |
| Key CountKey Count The number of keys that this keyboard originally had. |
83 |
Layout/LanguageLayout/Language The original regional/language layout this keyboard was configured as. Both the language and the standardised key layout may be listed, and in the case of both being known or defined, it will be styled as language then standard. |
French Canadian |
| Accessories & Other FeaturesAccessories & Other Features Other notable features you may want to know about such as charging cables (if keyboard is wireless), fingerprint reader, card reader, solenoid, DIP switches, etc. |
Clicker assembly (internal solenoid) |
| 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 5251 Display Station Models 1 and 11 Parts Catalog (#S131-0620-4) [source: bitsavers] Doc: IBM 5251 Display Station Models 1 and 11 Parts Catalog (#S131-0620-5) [source: VT100.net] |
| Data Last Updated | 2023-12-27 |
More on this type of keyboard...
The IBM 5251 Display Station and 5252 Dual Display Station were the original terminals for the IBM 5250 Information System that launched in April 1977 alongside the IBM 5340 System/34 computers it initially operated with. The 5250 was a block-orientated terminal system that alongside the earlier 3270 family were IBM's two most prominent terminal families, though unlike the 3270 which used coaxial cables and connected to IBM's big mainframes, the 5250 used twinaxial cables and connected to IBM's midrange computers such as the aforementioned System/34 and its long line of successors such as the 536X System/36, 538X System/38, AS/400 family and currently IBM Power Systems running IBM i. The IBM 5251 was the most common terminal, a single-operator station that could have a 960-character (Models 1 and 2) or 1920-character (Models 11 and 12) display. The IBM 5252 was a dual-operator station that was available in a single model with two screens (via an optically split single CRT inside) and two keyboards. 5251 was designed for "interactive data entry and inquiry applications" for locations that only need a single terminal, whereas 5252 was designed for "high-production data entry applications" or places that need multiple terminals in a "specified location".
The 83-key keyboard was the larger of the two IBM 5251/5252 keyboards. It was exclusively a [data] typewriter keyboard with a dedicated numeric keypad for "rapid entry of numeric data" and was used to input both lower and upper case characters into its host terminal and had a shift lock feature. A variant with 85 keys was available for Hebrew/Latin and Japanese/Katakana versions of the 5251/5252 Typewriter Keyboard. Compared to the standard 83-key keyboard, the 85-key keyboard had a 2.25-unit ANSI-like left shift key, two new 1-unit keys placed leftmost and rightmost (before 0) on the bottom row resulting in a slightly reduced spacebar, the right shift key and the 1-unit key normally right to it before the numeric keypad were swapped, and the 3-unit key above the numeric keypad was split into a left-side 1-unit key and a right-side 2-unit key. Presumably, the Katakana layout came first as original year documentation for the IBM 5250 family referred to the 85-key layout as simply the "Katakana" layout. The 5251/5252 Typewriter Keyboard and its 5250 typewriter layout were notable for serving as the basis for many future IBM Model F family keyboard designs such as the IBM System/23 Datamaster Keyboard, IBM PC & PC/XT Keyboard, and also 5250-family IBM 5291/5292 Display Station Keyboard.
IBM 5251/5252 keyboards collectively had relatively short grey cables terminating in a female DB-25 plug used to transmit scancodes in parallelised bits. The keyboards contained a P/N 7362212 solenoid clicker assembly that under normal conditions clicked on key presses and only stopped clicking to indicate when the host terminal or a program has disabled keyboard input. Above the keys, there is a large debossed area to hold a Keyboard Template (document code GX21-9266) that can allow the user to write down names of commands for various keys.
