Unicomp model M $19 plus shipping

[kalrand]

Looks like they pulled the listing when they got into the office on Monday.

[SpAmRaY]

Wonder if any of these will actually ship?

[digi]

Wonder if any of these will actually ship?

I just got an email that my order shipped..

[ShawnMeg]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

[digi]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

Yea that was a bad move. When the price is already way low you should have just used BIN.

[rowdy]

"This listing was ended by the seller because there was an error in the listing."

Maybe he has worked out there is huge demand for these, so he can sell them for more

[Vanilla]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

I almost did that but figured that it would sell out or the seller would pull it.

Good news is he honored the sale and shipped it this morning via FEDEX.

[halfkiller]

I got mine shipped as well. I look forward to using the new board

[E TwentyNine]

I got mine shipped as well. I look forward to using the new board

Did you end up BIN or did they accept your $15 offer?

[Thechemist]

Received tracking for my purchase.

[halfkiller]

I got mine shipped as well. I look forward to using the new board

Did you end up BIN or did they accept your $15 offer?

I ended up using BIN just in case he would pull the listing

[ShawnMeg]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

Yea that was a bad move. When the price is already way low you should have just used BIN.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20.  Oh well, I didn't really need it, but I thought I'd give it a shot.  Anyways, back to my Model F's.

[Jeremy Lin]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

Yea that was a bad move. When the price is already way low you should have just used BIN.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20.  Oh well, I didn't really need it, but I thought I'd give it a shot.  Anyways, back to my Model F's.

If you are already in the F, don't bother to get a unicomp...

[Vanilla]

Just received mine. Great news:
Buckling spring. USB. Not terminal. All* (including F13 - 24) F keys are registered properly by windows when triggered. 

[digi]

Just received mine. Great news:
Buckling spring. USB. Not terminal. All* (including F13 - 24) F keys are registered properly by windows when triggered. 

Show Image

Nice!! This was a great score.

[halfkiller]

WOOOO. I did good XD

[clacktalk]

Fedex dropped mine off someone else's doorstep. I called them and they got back to me telling me they'd investigate the matter and ask the driver what's up. Thanks, Fedex!

[halfkiller]

Mine actually got shipped usps priority for some reason. Fine by me. 

[RED-404]

WTF mine shipped USPS why would you use so many different shipping companies.

Sadly for me USPS has rarely delivered to my address on time it says 2 day shipping and it will be here tomorrow, but trust me it will be at least another week.

[ShawnMeg]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

Yea that was a bad move. When the price is already way low you should have just used BIN.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20.  Oh well, I didn't really need it, but I thought I'd give it a shot.  Anyways, back to my Model F's.

If you are already in the F, don't bother to get a unicomp...

I just liked the 122 key configuration.  I can't afford a Model F 122 right now.  I'm kind of intimidated by the restoration of those things anyways.  It looks like a lot of skill is involved in disassembling, reassembling, making a new foam layer, etc.

Anyways, good luck with the Lakers, Jeremy.  I hope Linsanity emerges again in L.A.

[1391406]

Damn, I missed out.  I put in an offer, but then I saw that the listing was pulled.

Yea that was a bad move. When the price is already way low you should have just used BIN.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20.  Oh well, I didn't really need it, but I thought I'd give it a shot.  Anyways, back to my Model F's.

If you are already in the F, don't bother to get a unicomp...

I just liked the 122 key configuration.  I can't afford a Model F 122 right now.  I'm kind of intimidated by the restoration of those things anyways.  It looks like a lot of skill is involved in disassembling, reassembling, making a new foam layer, etc.

Firstly, don't worry about the foam mat. You don't even have to disassemble the F-122, that is unless you want to perform an ANSI mod. I own two Model F 122's and the only reason I disassembled one of them was to perform the ANSI mod. I never replaced the foam layer during the process and it works just fine. I mean, you can do that but it certainly isn't required. I mean, some people might consider unscrewing the case to clean the inside, but putting that back together is simple. The only semi-technical challenge might be creating the adapter, and even that is really simple once you understand what's involved. Before I bought mine, I was highly intimidated, but aside from the ANSI mod, I didn't have any real problems. Buy one when you get the funds! They're so totally worth it! In fact, there are a couple on eBay right now.  Neither one is in great condition but they look like all they need is a little TLC.

[rowdy]

Just received mine. Great news:
Buckling spring. USB. Not terminal. All* (including F13 - 24) F keys are registered properly by windows when triggered. 

Show Image

Nice one :)

Let's hope everyone else's is as good.

[dorkvader]

Firstly, don't worry about the foam mat. You don't even have to disassemble the F-122, that is unless you want to perform an ANSI mod. I own two Model F 122's and the only reason I disassembled one of them was to perform the ANSI mod. I never replaced the foam layer during the process and it works just fine. I mean, you can do that but it certainly isn't required. I mean, some people might consider unscrewing the case to clean the inside, but putting that back together is simple. The only semi-technical challenge might be creating the adapter, and even that is really simple once you understand what's involved. Before I bought mine, I was highly intimidated, but aside from the ANSI mod, I didn't have any real problems. Buy one when you get the funds! They're so totally worth it! In fact, there are a couple on eBay right now.  Neither one is in great condition but they look like all they need is a little TLC.

Most of the ones I own (AT, XT in box, two unsavers, three 4704 keyboards, one 3178, one NIB 122-key FRU assembly) have the foam in good shape. Sadly, the first 122-key model F I got had the foam in terrible shape. It depends on how it was used / stored (likely heat kills the foam) if you get one with foam in good condition or bad condition.

I know from the experience above that it is not unreasonable to want to replace foam in bad condition.

Just received mine. Great news:
Buckling spring. USB. Not terminal. All* (including F13 - 24) F keys are registered properly by windows when triggered. 

Show Image

Nice one :)

Let's hope everyone else's is as good.

"   

    Expected Delivery Day:   Wednesday, August 20, 2014
"

"Your item departed our USPS facility in RENO, NV 89510 on August 18, 2014 at 10:43 pm. "


Hopefully I'll see it in the morning! They usually deliver at about 9:00 AM, so we'll see.

[1391406]

Firstly, don't worry about the foam mat. You don't even have to disassemble the F-122, that is unless you want to perform an ANSI mod. I own two Model F 122's and the only reason I disassembled one of them was to perform the ANSI mod. I never replaced the foam layer during the process and it works just fine. I mean, you can do that but it certainly isn't required. I mean, some people might consider unscrewing the case to clean the inside, but putting that back together is simple. The only semi-technical challenge might be creating the adapter, and even that is really simple once you understand what's involved. Before I bought mine, I was highly intimidated, but aside from the ANSI mod, I didn't have any real problems. Buy one when you get the funds! They're so totally worth it! In fact, there are a couple on eBay right now.  Neither one is in great condition but they look like all they need is a little TLC.

Most of the ones I own (AT, XT in box, two unsavers, three 4704 keyboards, one 3178, one NIB 122-key FRU assembly) have the foam in good shape. Sadly, the first 122-key model F I got had the foam in terrible shape. It depends on how it was used / stored (likely heat kills the foam) if you get one with foam in good condition or bad condition.

I know from the experience above that it is not unreasonable to want to replace foam in bad condition.

Not unreasonable at all, just not really necessary, in my opinion, assuming you don't tear down the board and facilitate irreparable damage. The foam in the one I modded was falling apart, but I was able to cobble it together enough to reassemble everything without incident.

[clacktalk]

Neighbors delivered it to my doorstep after FedEx did a terrible job at that. I'm very happy with the buy! I don't have much experience with BS keyboards, but I can say that this keyboard feels amazing to type on and looks sleek. *THUMBS UP*

[halfkiller]

Mine is coming in today!!!  Can't wait to try it out!!  This black widow Hasan enter key that only registers half the time...  Time to get rid of it.

[halfkiller]

Wonderful..... Mine is lost after it left Reno.... USPS is tracking it down... *sigh*

[halfkiller]

I am just not meant to get a keyboard.

[Vanilla]

Wonderful..... Mine is lost after it left Reno.... USPS is tracking it down... *sigh*

Don't worry, it should arrive by tomorrow if the seller shipped it priority.

[kalrand]

Wonderful..... Mine is lost after it left Reno.... USPS is tracking it down... *sigh*

I think this happened to mine too. No updates after the Reno location on the 18th...

Did you call USPS?

[halfkiller]

Wonderful..... Mine is lost after it left Reno.... USPS is tracking it down... *sigh*

I think this happened to mine too. No updates after the Reno location on the 18th...

Did you call USPS?

Yes I did.  My local post office said they would contact the Reno sort facility and they should call me back sometime tomorrow morning with an update,  and if it doesn't arrive by tomorrow they told me to call back.

[dorkvader]

Wonderful..... Mine is lost after it left Reno.... USPS is tracking it down... *sigh*

I think this happened to mine too. No updates after the Reno location on the 18th...

Did you call USPS?

Mine was last spotted in Reno on the 18'th as well. Maybe I'll give them a call if it's not here tomorrow.

[halfkiller]

Wonderful..... Mine is lost after it left Reno.... USPS is tracking it down... *sigh*

I think this happened to mine too. No updates after the Reno location on the 18th...

Did you call USPS?

Mine was last spotted in Reno on the 18'th as well. Maybe I'll give them a call if it's not here tomorrow.

Yup, same as mine

[kalrand]

So which one of you geekhackers works for the USPS in Reno?

[dorkvader]

So which one of you geekhackers works for the USPS in Reno?

Probably Ripster.

[Hak Foo]

Well, mine's apparently dead.

I plugged it in, it does all the normal happy new-device-on-USB stuff, and the LEDs synch with those on the other keyboard, but it's not sending any keystrokes at all.

I installed a USB sniffer, and it just isn't even sending traffic.  The device identifies correctly (Surf Ruffian 122 Keyboard v2.50 apparently... what a name )

Even removing the controller and shorting the membrane contacts pins on its edges directly does nothing.

The only thing I can think is "defective controller" or "wildly messed up internals somehow"


Update... it seems to be loose membrane contact... after some finagling, I can get it to respond to *some* keys, and map others to complete nonsense.

I suspect what's gone wrong is the little piece of soft foam that tensions the membrane against the PCB has become soft and distorted, making it provide poor contact and shorts.

For whatever respect I have for Unicomp and their products, this is the second board I've had difficulty with the membrane attachment.  Bought a used Customizer 104 in 2009, ended up wrecking the holes that held the membrane in line at the connector.  The old style "edge connector" used on 1391401s seems much more bulletproof.

[rowdy]

So which one of you geekhackers works for the USPS in Reno?

Probably Ripster.

)

Well, mine's apparently dead.

I plugged it in, it does all the normal happy new-device-on-USB stuff, and the LEDs synch with those on the other keyboard, but it's not sending any keystrokes at all.

I installed a USB sniffer, and it just isn't even sending traffic.  The device identifies correctly (Surf Ruffian 122 Keyboard v2.50 apparently... what a name )

Even removing the controller and shorting the membrane contacts pins on its edges directly does nothing.

The only thing I can think is "defective controller" or "wildly messed up internals somehow"

[Hak Foo]

One thing that's weird about this board is the controller has a LOAD of different sockets on it.  There are, notably, two four-pin sockets, either of which *could* accept the USB connector.

Part of me, figuring I'm stuck with it now, is considering trying the other connector, but the rest of me remembers "Hey, let's take the bracket off the disc controller card and mount it backwards" experience.

[rowdy]

One thing that's weird about this board is the controller has a LOAD of different sockets on it.  There are, notably, two four-pin sockets, either of which *could* accept the USB connector.

Part of me, figuring I'm stuck with it now, is considering trying the other connector, but the rest of me remembers "Hey, let's take the bracket off the disc controller card and mount it backwards" experience.

One big thing back in the day was reusability.

A PCB would have a bunch of different sockets, only some of which would be populated for any given application.

This saved money, in that you'd only have to do one run of PCB, and just solder on the components you needed.

[Hak Foo]

I noticed a mention that the "Ruffian" labelled PCBs are apparently also used in the trackball models; the extra sockets may well be to connect parts of the trackball and potentially even trackpoint assembly.
Also, it's not USB-implementation dependent; same problems on the USB 2.0 and 3.0 controllers of my 990FX board, and on my Atom tablet's lone full-sized USB 3.0 port.

[RED-404]

I noticed a mention that the "Ruffian" labelled PCBs are apparently also used in the trackball models; the extra sockets may well be to connect parts of the trackball and potentially even trackpoint assembly.
Also, it's not USB-implementation dependent; same problems on the USB 2.0 and 3.0 controllers of my 990FX board, and on my Atom tablet's lone full-sized USB 3.0 port.

If that's the case I may have to try and give my 122 a nipple when I get it.

I will always call a trackpoint a nipple mouse.

[kalrand]

Looks like my package got dislodged from the Reno facility, and will just be a day or so late.

[clacktalk]

Mine chatters on the O key. I messed up the spring trying to daftly fix it, so I ordered 50 pivot plates and springs from Unicomp. I'm not too bummed because I did want to do more DIY stuff with keyboards, and what better subject than a budget BS board that's actually pretty nice? I still hope the problem isn't too serious though. I'm fairly certain it's the spring. that's at fault.

[Vanilla]

Mine chatters on the O key. I messed up the spring trying to daftly fix it, so I ordered 50 pivot plates and springs from Unicomp. I'm not too bummed because I did want to do more DIY stuff with keyboards, and what better subject than a budget BS board that's actually pretty nice? I still hope the problem isn't too serious though. I'm fairly certain it's the spring. that's at fault.

Dat $10 minimum order works everytime! 
I use it as an excuse to stock up on model m consumables.

I appreciate Unicomp refunding the difference in shipping though.

[dorkvader]

I will always call a trackpoint a nipple mouse.

With unicomp I am amassing a lengthy list of keys and parts I want from them.

[E TwentyNine]

Mine chatters on the O key. I messed up the spring trying to daftly fix it, so I ordered 50 pivot plates and springs from Unicomp. I'm not too bummed because I did want to do more DIY stuff with keyboards, and what better subject than a budget BS board that's actually pretty nice? I still hope the problem isn't too serious though. I'm fairly certain it's the spring. that's at fault.

It's pretty simple to pull a spring off a lesser-used key and transfer it to your bad one without pulling the keyboard apart.

[RED-404]

I got my Battle Ship Also, WTF USPS on time that almost never happens.
Everything works, no problems, springs are all good.


Edit: tracking still shows "August 18, 2014 , 10:43 pm Departed USPS Facility RENO, NV 89510"

[dorkvader]

I got my Battle Ship Also, WTF USPS on time that almost never happens.
Everything works, no problems, springs are all good.

Show Image

Edit: tracking still shows "August 18, 2014 , 10:43 pm Departed USPS Facility RENO, NV 89510"

same. I bet they update it tomorrow.

I'm glad it arrived. Mine was packed really well and was indeed NIB.

[ShawnMeg]

I got my Battle Ship Also, WTF USPS on time that almost never happens.
Everything works, no problems, springs are all good.

Show Image

Edit: tracking still shows "August 18, 2014 , 10:43 pm Departed USPS Facility RENO, NV 89510"

Beautiful, congrats.  Do the six keys to the left of the keypad and above the cursor keys work as insert/delete/home/end/page up and page down?

[RED-404]

In order
LShift+Tab, Insert, PgUp
LCtrl+F6, Delete, PgDn