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Author Topic: Daily Driver Spruce-Up  (Read 1396 times)

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Online rknize

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« on: Tue, 06 March 2012, 14:26:18 »
Just got the parts from Unicomp to spruce/fix-up my work keyboard.  I bought this new in 1994.  It has a lot of miles and needed a new left-ctrl and a couple of springs fixed (that I jacked-up over the years while experimenting with some mods).  This is the one that is grease-modded.

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 42874[/ATTACH]

What you see is:

- RGB modifiers.  They don't yet offer a "1.7 unit" (their words) green Alt modifier to fit their 104-key models.
- Red Esc
- Lilac WASD.  I will probably take these home, but you get the idea.
- Ctrl from the anticapslock kit (I don't actually swap caps lock...I just remove it)
- Edit: on a 60G3571 ;)

Thanks Unicomp!
« Last Edit: Tue, 06 March 2012, 16:30:37 by rknize »
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Russ    
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Offline bazemk1979

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 06 March 2012, 23:32:49 »
tomorrow im receiving from unicomp: rgb set, red esc, yellow wasd, yellow arrow keys for my new ibm blue logo
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Online hashbaz

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« Reply #2 on: Tue, 06 March 2012, 23:36:39 »
What's grease modded?
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Online rknize

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:03:05 »
Added a small amount of grease to the springs, which is not unlike what Lexmark did to their "Soft Touch" variant.  There is a Wiki article here as well, though they took a different approach.  I do it by insertiing a small amount of silicone grease into the spring itself, which stops the ringing and softens the click without affecting the feel of the key too much.  My coworkers were getting cranky a few years back after I moved to a different cube, so I did the mod.

You can see the grease I used in the pic, since I had to grease the springs that I replaced.
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Online tsangan

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #4 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:06:58 »
They sell a anti capslock key?!?!
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Online rknize

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« Reply #5 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:08:36 »
They do now...  ;)

...well they probably always did, but now it's on their website.

Edit: note that it is still a stepped key.  They don't offer a non-stepped key in that position.  Also, i see they just posted a command-option-function kit to their lineup.  Progress!
« Last Edit: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:11:55 by rknize »
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Russ    
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Online tsangan

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:24:13 »
great more stuff to buy
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fossala

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:38:50 »
Quote from: rknize;537539
They do now...  ;)


I got a dvorak covertion kit, anticaps kit and a red esc for $10 from unicomp abount 2 months ago.
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Online tsangan

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« Reply #8 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:42:21 »
no mention of this when I ordered a bijillion things from them
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Offline whiskerBox

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #9 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:45:26 »
Hmm I might have to order some keys as well they look really good
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fossala

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #10 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:48:28 »
Two things I didn't like was that there fonts were thicker than the originals and one of my dvorak keys the printing wasn't strait.
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Online rknize

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« Reply #11 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 01:55:02 »
Hehe...yeah no kidding.  This place is killing me.

A bit of advice if you get the anti-capslock kit for an older Model M: see if you can get the tab key as well.  The color of the key is close, but it's not really possible to exactly match ~20 year old plastic.  Also, the size of the legend is somewhat smaller than the key it replaced and those around it.  This might be a Unicomp thing, as my Unicomp boards also have smaller legends on all of the modifiers.

Here are the same WASD keys, another red ESC, and the grey anti-capslock key on my EnduraPro.  The lilac is more understated against the grey keys here, and the smaller font on the new Ctrl key matches it's neighbors.  I also replaced the LED overlay with their more understated black version.  Sorry about the mess, but that keyboard is doing duty in my shop now.  I tried the "floss mod" on this one a few weeks ago (you can still see the box sitting there :tsk:).

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 42941[/ATTACH]
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Online rknize

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 02:04:32 »
Quote from: fossala;537565
Two things I didn't like was that there fonts were thicker than the originals and one of my dvorak keys the printing wasn't strait.

The thickness of the fonts on the WASD match both boards perfectly.  The position was also matched well to the Model M, but a little too high and to the left for the EnduraPro.  There is defiantely some drift in the legend positions between boards.  For example, the new "Ctrl" is a little below center and also a tad crooked.  However the Caps Lock it replaced has the exact same issue.  I didn't really notice it until I did the swap.  Even between my Model M's the legends are not always in the same spot.

Queue ripster...
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Offline dorkvader

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 06:30:00 »
Quote from: fossala;537562
I got a dvorak covertion kit, anticaps kit and a red esc for $10 from unicomp abount 2 months ago.
"Dvorak conversion kit"? Can't you just swap the keycaps around?

Also, I think they've had ANTIcapslock for a while: Look at their "unix keyboards". Pretty sweet, though.
---
When I ordered a full blank black set, the capslock was broken. I have the F5-F8 black, as well as most of the mods, etc in sort of a modern retro style. The capslock is unicomp gray due to the black one being broken, so it's really not unlike imsto's thick PBT set :p
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Online rknize

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 11:08:06 »
Yes, I believe it is nothing more than the keys from their "Linux" custom layout.
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Offline bazemk1979

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 21:09:08 »
Quote from: rknize;537065
Just got the parts from Unicomp to spruce/fix-up my work keyboard.  I bought this new in 1994.  It has a lot of miles and needed a new left-ctrl and a couple of springs fixed (that I jacked-up over the years while experimenting with some mods).  This is the one that is grease-modded.

(Attachment Link) 42874[/ATTACH]

What you see is:

- RGB modifiers.  They don't yet offer a "1.7 unit" (their words) green Alt modifier to fit their 104-key models.
- Red Esc
- Lilac WASD.  I will probably take these home, but you get the idea.
- Ctrl from the anticapslock kit (I don't actually swap caps lock...I just remove it)
- Edit: on a 60G3571 ;)

Thanks Unicomp!
you can look look, but dont dare to touch lol [ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ] 43035[/ATTACH]
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Online rknize

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« Reply #16 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 21:19:41 »
You know, I think that in all of the years I've had mine at work I've had maybe a dozen people say anything about it.  Only one or two people actually knew what it was.  I've only had the RGB keys on for a day and a half and I've had at least a dozen people comment on it, LOL.
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Russ    
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B/S: Model M 1391401, 60G3571 | M13 | SSK 1391472, 1397681 | Model F XT, AT, 122 | Unicomp Classic Trackball, EnduraPro | Ergo-clear: Filco MJ2 TKL | Ergo-white: KBC Poker | Vintage black: Phantom v1 | Rosewill | Noppo Choc Mini | G80-1819 | CM Storm QFR | WASD V1 | KBC Race

Offline bazemk1979

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Daily Driver Spruce-Up
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 07 March 2012, 23:19:31 »
the colored keycaps make the board stick out big time, im so glad i went with yellow combo in it
« Last Edit: Thu, 08 March 2012, 06:56:47 by bazemk1979 »
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