SNKB-B1981-58T-83
| Full Name | IBM 5281/5282/5285/5286 Data Station Typewriter Keyboard |
| Part NumberPart Number The number used to describe this keyboard's specific release; usually specific for a target region, language or SKU, etc. |
2658984 |
| 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 5281/5282/5285/5286 Typewriter Keyboard |
| NicknameNickname A [keyboard enthusiast] community given name for this keyboard. It can be a shortening of its name and properties, a more abstract term, a real-life reference, or metonymy. |
Beamfoot |
| Key-switchesKey-switches The name of the known switching mechanism that lies under this keyboard's keys. |
IBM beam springs |
| Original KeycapsOriginal Keycaps The keyboard's original keycaps' material and text/symbol printing technique. |
SAN with double-shot legends |
| 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. |
Grey straightened-style fixed DB-25 cable |
| Production Date | 1983-03-00 |
| Acquisition Date | 2023-07-28 |
About this keyboard type
The IBM 5281 Data Station, 5282 Dual Data Station, 5285 Programmable Data Station and 5286 Dual Programmable Data Station were terminals for the IBM 5280 Distributed Data System announced in January 1980. The IBM 5280 family was a diskette-based system for distributed processing and data entry. The 5281 was an auxiliary display station with no internal controller and may or may not have a diskette drive, whereas the 5285 had an internal controller that was programmable and had one or two diskette drives as standard. The 5282 and 5286 were dual-operator (two screens from a single optically-split CRT and two keyboards) versions of 5281 and 5285 respectively. Despite not being in the same family, all IBM 5280 terminals resembled IBM 5250 family products.
The 83-key keyboard was the larger of the two 5280 keyboards, and like their host terminals, [in physical layout] they resembled IBM 5250 products (in this case, a 525X-83 type Model B) though the outer case was distinctly different. Compared to 5251/5252 keyboards, 5280 keyboards had a larger area below the keyboard that could serve as a palm rest and the cut-out for a card with function legends printed on it extended to the rear edge instead of being an island within the top bezel. The 83-key keyboard was intended for [data] typewriter usage, thus was used to input both lower and upper case characters into its host terminal and had a shift lock. Two variants of the 5280 typewriter layout existed; #4600 EBCDIC Typewriter-like Keyboard and #4604 ASCII Typewriter-like Keyboard. All 5280 keyboards connected to their host terminal via a short grey cable terminating in a DB-25 connector with just 11 pins present. 5280 keyboards also had a P/N 1165661 or 7363808 speaker that for the former part number was rated 32Ω, 0.2W and was 2" (~5.1cm) diagonal and 0.75" (~1.9cm) deep. The speaker was likely used to simulate a clicker (a solenoid in other Model B keyboards) that would provide increased audible cues for typing.
