Author Topic: New computer or new keyboard? (Read 11845 times)

zwmalone · « **on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 21:32:05 »

I'm getting about $300USD this year for Christmas and I'm wondering what would be better in the long run, a new computer or the Filco ZERO Tenkeyless with white ALPS?
Keep in mind I build my own computers so I can get much better value.
Keyboard: http://www.diatec.co.jp/shop/det.php?prod_c=579

New Computer Specs:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+ 3.0GHz (1MB L2, AM2+)
8GB DDR2 800 5-5-5-15

768MB GeForce 9600 video card
ECS Black series GeForce 8200 MoBo
+ the stuff I already have (320GB Caviar, 200GB Barracuda, 120GB Barracuda, DVD+RW, 500W PSU, Zalman CNPS7700 copper cooler, Lian Li case, etc)

I know the will computer become antiquated faster than the keyboard but I'm fine with my M for now I just want to try something new...

wellington1869 · « **Reply #1 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 21:38:55 »

well, a keyboard like that is going to outlast any given computer. (Computers come and go... but a good keyboard is forever?) And I doubt the tenkeyless is going to get any cheaper in time

I vote tenkeyless.

Oh, didnt see this part:

Quote

I just want to try something new...

I dont think I'd drop 300 bucks on something you just want to try out of curiosity. So I change my vote, go for computer I guess.

bigpook · « **Reply #2 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 21:40:19 »

What do you have for a computer now?

If its relatively current and you are happy with it, then go for the filco.

zwmalone · « **Reply #3 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 21:59:29 »

Quote from: bigpook;15079

What do you have for a computer now?

If its relatively current and you are happy with it, then go for the filco.

It's ~3 1/2 years old now. I built it right before the C2Ds came out, not even thinking...
SPECS:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz @ 3.8GHz (HT, 2MB L2, LGA775)
1GB DDR400
640GB spanned across 3 HDs
Radeon x700 128 (the worst video card ever, no support in linux + terrible Windows drivers)
MSI 915PL Neo-V MoBo

I do web design (HTML/CSS/PHP/JS, and I'm learning Ruby!), graphic design (Photoshop CS3, Illustrator), light gaming (:source games I usually get 60FPS with VSync disabled, 100+ in WoW in wilderness, 20-30FPS in Stormwind), and I write SF...

I could live with this rig for another year or two if I had too...

Quote from: wellington1869

I dont think I'd drop 300 bucks on something you just want to try out of curiosity. So I change my vote, go for computer I guess.

As per the thread, it's only $130 shipped, and I've really wanted a Filco and a White ALPS board for a while so it's a win-win situation there...

Chloe · « **Reply #4 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 22:03:35 »

Get the Filco. The answer is always to buy more keyboards.

zwmalone · « **Reply #5 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 22:13:12 »

Quote from: Chloe;15085

Get the Filco. The answer is always to buy more keyboards.

Honestly I'm leaning towards the filco. Any hardware I can buy now will be crap soon anyway. The i7s are already out and Phenom IIs are supposed to be out in '09, so that meaty 6000+ will be crap (even though AMD is already being beaten on hard right now by Intel).

philodox · « **Reply #6 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 22:24:16 »

Get the keyboard and wait to see if AMD has something good with the Phenom II. If they don't, the i7 motherboards should come down in price soon and you can do a nice build with a 920.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #7 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 22:27:55 »

The filco will increase your enjoyment of any computer you get later.

zwmalone · « **Reply #8 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 22:38:22 »

I think I'm going to go with the Filco. It's my 16th Birthday in March so I'll have a car so I can get a real job to buy the computer at a later date! Thanks for helping everyone!

bhtooefr · « **Reply #9 on:** Tue, 16 December 2008, 22:42:47 »

I'm picking the computer side of this argument, only because... I'm gonna have about $50 that I can use to buy stuff... so... Scorpius M10, or motherboard for my IIGS.

I've wanted the motherboard a lot longer, I do have a 1391401, and I can't use the M10 with the IIGS without a PS/2 to ADB adapter. A couple exist, but they're very hard to find.

andb · « **Reply #10 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 03:27:54 »

Actually, it seems you should really be able to do both. Because I'd lean towards the keyboard, but I know working with a crap machine is no fun. You've mentioned that you have $300...

If you are working in web dev, then you dont need a killer machine. For example, scrap Gnome or KDE in favor of Fluxbox, and your machine will fly. I can work on a Pentium 3 1ghz with 2gig RAM with no problem as long as I dont need to do graphics work.

1. Pick up more RAM, maybe on Ebay, its probably old DDR1 right, which is unfortunately going to be more expensive then new DDR2... 4x1gb sticks at tigerdirect: $17x4= $68
2. Get a workable graphics card. max $60
3. Buy the keyboard! $170?

Here is the most important thing to consider, which I'm surprised no one has mentioned: As has been written, the 'board will last, computers come and go. As a Christmas present, get something that you'll have a long time, that will remind you of the person who gave it to you each time you use it. In 20 years time when you pull out the keyboard, you'll have fond memories of a great Christmas.

itlnstln · « **Reply #11 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 06:05:32 »

I really need a new computer, but I hardly do anything on my PC at home anymore. Usually when I am off, I go out to play disc golf, and I tend to get a little stir crazy if I am at my PC for too long. That, and I do not want to spend the mass amounts of money needed to keep my PC able to run games at a decent framerate. My desktop at work is a monster, so I do some processor intensive stuff there (since it would be mainly for work, anyway), and my office gives me a laptop, too, so I use it at home when I do use a PC at home. About the only thing my home PC does is download music and act as an SNES/N64 emulator when I do feel the need to play games.

Usually, I would go for the PC, but, in this case, since you are only going to throw about $300 at it, I would go for the keyboard, then save up some additional funds for a better spec'ed rig.

zwmalone · « **Reply #12 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 07:53:25 »

I've made my decision.
I'm going to get the Filco, and I'm going to keep my current PC since it's almost good enough for everything I do. I'm also gonna get this videocard, and this RAM.
Thanks for all the help everyone, this keyboard sounds great!

megarat · « **Reply #13 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 09:44:14 »

Quote from: zwmalone;15087

Honestly I'm leaning towards the filco. Any hardware I can buy now will be crap soon anyway.

This is my opinion exactly.

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't get excited about computers (as hardware) much anymore, although I do get excited about what I use them for. And honestly, for most of what I use computers for (work notwithstanding) I can get by just fine with a Mac G4, or five-year-old Pentium III.

megarat · « **Reply #14 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 09:44:47 »

Quote from: zwmalone;15127

I've made my decision.
I'm going to get the Filco, and I'm going to keep my current PC since it's almost good enough for everything I do. I'm also gonna get this videocard, and this RAM.
Thanks for all the help everyone, this keyboard sounds great!

Bravo, I think you made the right choice.

bigpook · « **Reply #15 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 10:05:47 »

Thats one of the nice things about building your own pc. You can make incremental upgrades. I have done this over the years and its a great way to save money yet get the hardware you really want.

zwmalone · « **Reply #16 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 15:17:42 »

Quote from: megarat;15132

This is my opinion exactly.

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't get excited about computers (as hardware) much anymore, although I do get excited about what I use them for. And honestly, for most of what I use computers for (work notwithstanding) I can get by just fine with a Mac G4, or five-year-old Pentium III.

I know what you mean. I was going about the GeForce 9 series for a while and then they released the GTX260/280 literally three months later! I haven't been excited about anything for a while. The last thing I was excited about was the Pentium 4 with HT, and that turned out to be a bust (I bought one anyway

) I've actually still got a Pentium III 900/640MB/40GB setup and a PowerMac G4! (QuickSilver 733,1.5GB RAM, 60GB-currently dead HDD, waiting for my SATA card to arrive so I can use my spare 120GB). I do semi-heavy gaming every once in a while when I'm in the mood, but mostly I'm working on a web design project or I'm here. I don't need a high end system, just something adept at multitasking.

zwmalone · « **Reply #17 on:** Wed, 17 December 2008, 15:24:14 »

Quote from: bigpook;15135

Thats one of the nice things about building your own pc. You can make incremental upgrades. I have done this over the years and its a great way to save money yet get the hardware you really want.

This system started off with a Pentium 4 at stock speed with stock cooling, 512MB of RAM, and a GeForce FX 5500, 2x 40GB IDE drives and a DVD-ROM drive. There is no way I'd have been able to survive with a prebuilt. Everything is locked down. I went from the second lowest (630, 3.0GHz) Prescott and overclocked it to 3.8GHz (Highest Prescott, has the same L2 cache as mine, 2MB) and it still runs at 32C. I spent several hundred dollars less building this custom than I would have if I would have bought it retail. Everything in this setup is OEM/Open Box/got it on special. It isn't the hardware I want now, but it was very close to what I wanted a few years ago.

karlito · « **Reply #18 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 01:08:08 »

Quote from: zwmalone;15127

I've made my decision.
I'm going to get the Filco, and I'm going to keep my current PC since it's almost good enough for everything I do. I'm also gonna get this videocard, and this RAM.
Thanks for all the help everyone, this keyboard sounds great!

i find it hard to believe you have a PCI-e graphics slot in a P4 system... if you actually do then by all means just upgrade the vid card and system memory. Otherwise it's a tough choice. Also I would not go w/ AMD processor. Get the intel pentium duo.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-dual-core,1683.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-graphics,2086.html

bhtooefr · « **Reply #19 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 01:11:53 »

Here's the mobo: http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=179&maincat_no=1

I recall it being a huge cluster**** when the LGA775 chips came out, along with the i915, that there was no native AGP on any of them, and it was PCIe only, before there really were many PCIe cards.

My mom's got an LGA775 Celeron D (read: Pentium 4 Preshott-based Celeron, although the Preshott Celerons actually don't suck as badly as the idea sounds, because they actually have a not horrible amount of cache) with a VIA chipset, and I recall when I ordered that mobo that AGP was actually hard to find, but this had it. (It's got a PCI (no e) graphics card in it now, as all she needed was 2D, and she needed something to quickly get back up and running after a power surge... which meant Intel architecture and VIA chipset, so I didn't have to reinstall the OS.)

andb · « **Reply #20 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 10:07:53 »

One thing about graphics cards, I tend to pick up passively cooled ones if possible. I really hate computer noise, to the point even my harddrives are suspended in the case with thin bungie cords to reduce noise caused by vibration. With that chaintech, Id be concerned about fan noise. Of course, you can always spend money later on an aftermarket fan, lol. I don't game much and usually don't even use compiz, so I don't need much from a card. For reference, the card I have in my work desktop is similar to http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121093.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #21 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 14:37:58 »

Quote from: zwmalone;15092

I think I'm going to go with the Filco. It's my 16th Birthday in March

Must be nice to have such a fine keyboard when you're only 15. Kids these days are so spoiled. When I was 15 I was using a... er... a model M.

nevermind. (although thats because thats all there was

)

bhtooefr · « **Reply #22 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 14:43:04 »

When I was 15 I had two Model Ms.

zwmalone · « **Reply #23 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 14:54:39 »

Quote from: wellington1869;15246

Must be nice to have such a fine keyboard when you're only 15. Kids these days are so spoiled. When I was 15 I was using a... er... a model M.

nevermind. (although thats because thats all there was )

It's all about what you spend your money on. I'm not interested in clothes, video games, tv, etc. I put all of my money into one pot. That's how I've got some of the things I've got. I'm lacking in other gifts, last year I asked for cash, and this year is the same. I've been asking for one large gift (or money for one large gift) for a few years now. It's a better value than something I wouldn't like. It's just easier to say "I want cash" than saying "I want a Filco Zero tenkeyless" and everyone saying "what?".

When I was younger I had an iMac so I had Apple's crappy rubber dome board that was like 90% full size. It was horrible.

Quote

Must be nice to have such a fine keyboard when you're only 15

I spend a few hours everyday handcoding in HTML/PHP/CSS so a quality keyboard isn't a luxury, it's a near requirement, regardless of age.

bhtooefr · « **Reply #24 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 14:58:17 »

See, I just ask for people to not get me anything, and to not expect anything, and just try to avoid Christmas altogether.

bigpook · « **Reply #25 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 15:38:11 »

Quote from: wellington1869;15246

Must be nice to have such a fine keyboard when you're only 15. Kids these days are so spoiled. When I was 15 I was using a... er... a model M.

nevermind. (although thats because thats all there was )

When I was 15 I did not have a computer. : (

cchan · « **Reply #26 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 15:57:54 »

Quote from: bhtooefr;15248

When I was 15 I had two Model Ms.

Well, when I was thirteen I had four Model Ms! (; My middle school was getting ready to move to a different building, so we had to get rid of all of our computer crap. We had two rooms full of 1985-1995 stuff, and there was a pile of about ten Model M's. Not knowing what a quality keyboard was at the time (I think I was still typing on a Dell rubber dome board, and a Mitsumi rubber dome board before that), I just took a few under the thought process that "Hey, these are big heavy boards, I can kill my little cousin with one of these!"

zillidot · « **Reply #27 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 17:55:22 »

Quote from: andb;15222

One thing about graphics cards, I tend to pick up passively cooled ones if possible. I really hate computer noise, to the point even my harddrives are suspended in the case with thin bungie cords to reduce noise caused by vibration.

Oh I do that too! My (desktop) computer is practically silent, to the point that noise from a computer in the next room drowns it out.

Is it contradictory to like quiet computers and noisy keyboards?

Back on the topic of video cards - last week I got a passively cooled Radeon HD4850. It runs WoW nicely at 1920x1200, and it's dead silent.

zwmalone · « **Reply #28 on:** Thu, 18 December 2008, 18:05:45 »

The noise really doesn't bother me. I have 3 80mm fans, a 120mm fan on my zalman, the fan on my video card, and 60mm fan (modded into the rear of the top panel). With all that noise the fan on my current video card really doesn't bother me.

andb · « **Reply #29 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 03:28:29 »

Quote from: zwmalone;15270

With all that noise the fan on my current video card really doesn't bother me.

With all that noise, your video card doesn't have a chance to be heard! lol

Its a matter of habit. If you start using silent PCs its tough to go back. Just like if you have a decent membrane kybd you'll be happy. Until the day you try something better. The only noise I don't mind too much is harddrive seek. I had a scsi array in my server for ages, which sits in my workroom (swapped for a bunch of seagate satas, performance way down but silent).

I think its more an issue of the passive whine. Keyboards, like the harddrive seek are a satisfying mechanical sound that reminds you that the machine is doing its work. Constant whine, like fans, is just a headache waiting to happen.

If you really want a quiet PC, I can really recommend this company as really being some of the best ventilation products out there: http://noctua.at/main.php?show=start, they have the most amazing products. I use the big coolers with the fans slowed down. You have to check the LEDs to see if the computer is on. No sound at all, and with the suspended disks, no vibration at all when you touch it.

iMav · « **Reply #30 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 06:38:20 »

Most of my Mac's have been pretty silent. (although the G5 iMac's I've owned could ramp up like a jet engine at times)

My current Macbook (glassbook) has been the most silent one yet. I have yet to hear the fan (and I do a lot of VM work...so it does get taxed).

That being said...I don't mind fan noise at all.

lowpoly · « **Reply #31 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 07:06:07 »

Quote from: bigpook;15256

When I was 15 I did not have a computer. : (

Same here. The Commodore 4032 was still 3 years away.

bigpook · « **Reply #32 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 07:13:31 »

Quote from: lowpoly;15655

Same here. The Commodore 4032 was still 3 years away.

Its even worse for me, my first computer was a 486/33 w/ 4M ram. Early 90's IIRC. It was all so expensive back then too. Nowadays, the bang for the buck is ludicrous. Todays 20 somethings don't have a clue as to how good they got it.

itlnstln · « **Reply #33 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 09:20:03 »

My first rig was a Commodore 64 in 1984-1985 when we lived in the UK. When we moved back to the US (1988), we got a Commodore Colt (XT clone)

bhtooefr · « **Reply #34 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 12:40:47 »

Quote from: bigpook

Todays 20 somethings don't have a clue as to how good they got it.

Hey, some of us 20-somethings grew up below the poverty line, and had to use Apple IIs well into the 90's when we were little ****s.

bigpook · « **Reply #35 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 13:05:43 »

Quote from: bhtooefr;15682

Hey, some of us 20-somethings grew up below the poverty line, and had to use Apple IIs well into the 90's when we were little ****s.

Something tells me I don't want to google the Apple II........ : )

Ok, so I googled it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_II

They are some ugly looking machines.

bhtooefr · « **Reply #36 on:** Sun, 21 December 2008, 13:07:30 »

It's just a 6502-based, 1MHz, 8-bit computer.

(Of course, the one I used was a //c, at least, so I did have lowercase, and 128 kiB of RAM. An original ][ or ][+ didn't have lowercase, and maxed out at 48 kiB of RAM without the expensive language card.)

zwmalone · « **Reply #37 on:** Wed, 31 December 2008, 16:06:54 »

I ended up with a used keyboard and the same PC. I just couldn't stomach spending $130 on a keyboard with switches I've never tried before. Instead I bought a PC Accessories Split Ergo board with white ALPS on ebay for $33.58!

zwmalone · « **Reply #38 on:** Wed, 31 December 2008, 19:33:17 »

If I don't like this new board anybody want first dibs if I sell it?

cchan · « **Reply #39 on:** Wed, 31 December 2008, 19:54:50 »

Depends. Real or fake ALPS? How much would you sell it for?

zwmalone · « **Reply #40 on:** Wed, 31 December 2008, 19:57:57 »

I believe they are real ALPS but I haven't got it yet. I'll let you know in the next few days when I get it. I'd only want out of it what I paid for it + shipping.

zwmalone · « **Reply #41 on:** Wed, 31 December 2008, 20:08:35 »

If you are willing to pay $54 with $10 shipping you can get the same model keyboard here
There was a sale on ebay and the price of mine got knocked to $34 with free shipping

End date is Jan 30th so if you want to wait I can tell you if it has real or fake ALPS.

cchan · « **Reply #42 on:** Wed, 31 December 2008, 23:21:05 »

Eeeh, I'll pass.. Just noticed the truncated backspace and hueg L-shaped return key.

iMav · « **Reply #43 on:** Thu, 01 January 2009, 06:29:31 »

Quote from: zwmalone;16835

If I don't like this new board anybody want first dibs if I sell it?

Well, you obviously already know the layout...so I'm guessing that won't be a deal-breaker (otherwise, why would you buy it in the first place??). The only variable then is the key switch. And if those white "alps" switches are in good shape (regardless if they are the real deal or not), you will likely love them.

zwmalone · « **Reply #44 on:** Thu, 01 January 2009, 12:23:23 »

Thanks iMav. How do the white ALPS feel compare the buckling springs? Lighter? More tactile?

I know the layout well. I can switch from a standard keyboard to an ergo board with no problems at all. I actually wanted an Evolution but I can't afford that so this was the next best thing. (I don't know of any other ergo boards with ALPS except for the Omnikey Evolution)

iMav · « **Reply #45 on:** Thu, 01 January 2009, 13:23:50 »

Quote from: zwmalone;16902

Thanks iMav. How do the white ALPS feel compare the buckling springs? Lighter? More tactile?

I know the layout well. I can switch from a standard keyboard to an ergo board with no problems at all. I actually wanted an Evolution but I can't afford that so this was the next best thing. (I don't know of any other ergo boards with ALPS except for the Omnikey Evolution)

Have you looked into the SmartBoard from DataDesk?

zwmalone · « **Reply #46 on:** Thu, 01 January 2009, 15:22:24 »

I've heard of it but I've never looked into it. What switches does it have? I'd look for the price but DataDesk's online store is offline right now.

iMav · « **Reply #47 on:** Thu, 01 January 2009, 15:36:52 »

Quote from: zwmalone;16914

I've heard of it but I've never looked into it. What switches does it have? I'd look for the price but DataDesk's online store is offline right now.

They use white Alps.

You have to call them for a price and for ordering. They don't have their online stuff together.

zwmalone · « **Reply #48 on:** Thu, 01 January 2009, 18:34:24 »

Apparently it's $99.99 direct from Datadesk. I found an eBay listing for $30 here though. No pictures in the auction but it's only $30 so whatever. Now I just need to find another $15... (The PC Accessories Split Ergo cleaned me out

)

zwmalone · « **Reply #49 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 17:36:22 »

I just got the keyboard today. I love the white ALPS switches! Ergonomic layout is nice. The solder for the right spacebar was broken so I used aluminim foil and scotch tape to fix it

I'll upload pics in a bit.

zwmalone · « **Reply #50 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 17:43:12 »

I just got the keyboard today. I love the white ALPS switches! Ergonomic layout is nice. The solder for the right spacebar was broken so I used aluminim foil and scotch tape to fix it

I'll upload pics in a bit.

zwmalone · « **Reply #51 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 17:44:49 »

Whoops Double Post. Also, these are genuine ALPS with the logo on top.

zwmalone · « **Reply #52 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 19:51:57 »

I bought this expecting it to be in a lot better condition than it was. I had to repair two solder joints on this, remove mildew from the top plastics, fabricate stabilizer bar holders for the right spacebar and disassemble the switch under the right spacebar so that the spring would set correctly. It was more of a keyboard restoration project than a purchase.

I bought this keyboard from RNS Auctions (they deal in a lot of Vintage keyboards and misc computer equipment on eBay) and I'm sad to say my experience was atrocious. I was looking at also buying a Chicony keyboard with white ALPS from them but it's not worth the trouble anymore IMHO.

Also, this keyboard also goes by the name Chicony KB-7001. The cheapest I've seen it sell on eBay for under that name is $162.99:eek:

It's a decent enough board but the sellers aren't worth dealing with. I'm gonna put up a real review soon, this is just testing the newly fixed spacebar.

Also Pics!:

Therac-25 · « **Reply #53 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 21:38:19 »

Quote from: zwmalone;17682

Show Image

Show Image

Dude, you know your camera has a macro mode, right?

zwmalone · « **Reply #54 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 21:50:59 »

Not my camera. Review pictures will be done with my SLR so they will have much better picture quality. I was just snapping a few pics for reference.

Therac-25 · « **Reply #55 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 22:28:21 »

Quote from: zwmalone;17689

Not my camera. Review pictures will be done with my SLR so they will have much better picture quality. I was just snapping a few pics for reference.

Well, then your EXIF data is lying. It says HP Photosmart M22, which does have a Macro mode (manual).

zwmalone · « **Reply #56 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 23:22:54 »

I realize it does. Did you think I meant I took those pictures with the SLR? I'm gonna take the review pictures with my SLR. These pictures were taken with the M22 but they were just quick shots when I was doing the repairs on this keyboard. It wasn't my camera (borrowed it) so I didn't feel comfortable messing with the settings.

Therac-25 · « **Reply #57 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 23:25:05 »

Quote from: zwmalone;17696

I realize it does. Did you think I meant I took those pictures with the SLR? I'm gonna take the review pictures with my SLR. These pictures were taken with the M22 but they were just quick shots when I was doing the repairs on this keyboard. It wasn't my camera (borrowed it) so I didn't feel comfortable messing with the settings.

Sorry, misunderstood what "not my camera" was referring to.

zwmalone · « **Reply #58 on:** Fri, 09 January 2009, 23:34:48 »

My fault. Definately better *less confusing* ways to word that.

Chloe · « **Reply #59 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 07:28:57 »

The presence of ALPS logo on upper housing isn't enough to confirm it is real ALPS. The only way to know is to take it apart to examine the switching mechanism.

lowpoly · « **Reply #60 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 08:53:34 »

Sometimes used boards need a little care. It could have been worse. Nothing is missing for ex. And the spiral cable is still tightly wound. I hate it when those are stretched. Impossible to fix.

Nice 'board all in all.

xyzzy · « **Reply #61 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 08:59:40 »

Quote from: lowpoly;17744

And the spiral cable is still tightly wound. I hate it when those are stretched. Impossible to fix.

I remember reading somewhere that you could fix a streched spiral cable by wrapping it around a pencil and submerging it in boiling (or nearly boiling) water for a few seconds, then taking it out and letting it cool down (still wrapped).

Not sure if it works or it's just an urban legend, I never dared doing it to my Model M cables.

lowpoly · « **Reply #62 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 09:12:06 »

Quote from: xyzzy;17747

I remember reading somewhere that you could fix a streched spiral cable by wrapping it around a pencil and submerging it in boiling (or nearly boiling) water for a few seconds, then taking it out and letting it cool down (still wrapped).

Not sure if it works or it's just an urban legend, I never dared doing it to my Model M cables.

That sounds good. Thanks for the tip.

zwmalone · « **Reply #63 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 11:36:16 »

Quote from: Chloe;17737

The presence of ALPS logo on upper housing isn't enough to confirm it is real ALPS. The only way to know is to take it apart to examine the switching mechanism.

OK, and what am I looking for exactly?

Chloe · « **Reply #64 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 13:29:21 »

With the upper housing removed you should see one of the following:
http://sandy55.fc2web.com/keyboard/alps_sw2.html

zwmalone · « **Reply #65 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 13:48:11 »

It has the same internals as the Focus 2001 so I'm assuming it's Simplified?

zwmalone · « **Reply #66 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 13:50:32 »

According to google this keyboard is a rebranded Chicony KB-7001.

Chloe · « **Reply #67 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 13:52:33 »

They are original "complicated" ALPS, not simplified.

zwmalone · « **Reply #68 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 13:54:04 »

So these are original ALPS?

EDIT: 200 Posts Woo!

zwmalone · « **Reply #69 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 14:25:08 »

Quote from: lowpoly;17744

Sometimes used boards need a little care. It could have been worse. Nothing is missing for ex. And the spiral cable is still tightly wound. I hate it when those are stretched. Impossible to fix.

Nice 'board all in all.

Thanks LowPoly

lowpoly · « **Reply #70 on:** Sat, 10 January 2009, 14:50:13 »

Quote from: webwit;17756

http://park16.wakwak.com/~ex4/kb/restore_cable.htm

Thanks.

I'll be more cautious with the word 'impossible' from now on.

News:

Author Topic: New computer or new keyboard? (Read 11845 times)