My keyboards (graphic intensive thread)

[megnin]

A while back someone requested that I post pictures of my keyboards.  My collection is not as extensive as some I've seen and I don't have any "exotics", but here are a few pics I took the other day at work.

All 48 end view.














Topre key cap colored sets.  All non-printed except for the white ones that are the originals from a Realforce 87U.

[aeta]

And whats your absolute favourite if you had to choose one?

[megnin]

And whats your absolute favourite if you had to choose one?

I only use the three HHKB Pro 2s.  Two on my desk at work and one at home.  The rest are in their boxes or on co-workers desks.  I loaned a few out because I can't stand to see an IT guy using a Dell rubber dome keyboard.  ;-)

If I HAD to pick ONE and get rid of all the rest I would keep the Filco 104 key Bluetooth.  It was my daily driver for several years but I only use it now with my iPhone from time to time.

[megnin]

Then I had to box them back up...

[imersa]

So much to look at!

[posthaste]

A true keyboard fancier (or fetishist).  I bow before you...

[megnin]

A true keyboard fancier (or fetishist).  I bow before you...

More like O.C.D.  ;-)  Thanks for looking.

[thegunner100]

Oh damn... awesome.

[singaporean123]

oh my keycaps?! what do you work as?!

[DanGWanG]

lol crazy amount of keyboards

[ra7c7er]

WOW, just wow.  Someday I want a collection like that.

[metalliqaz]

Awesome

[absyrd]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, megnin.

Amazing collection.

[boost]

That's a very very very sick collection.


No Korean keyboard love?

[metalliqaz]

That's a very very very sick collection.


No Korean keyboard love?

If only one could just go out and buy one...

Boost is hoarding them all!

[Matt3o]

awesome collection 

I'd like to take an HHKB pro2... but I use the arrows a lot to navigate through source code, don't know if I can live with the weird layout. How is it for coding? Any experience in that sense? Was also considering the hhkb pro js, but even weirder layout I'll problably end up with a realforce

[MMB]

You paid $1000 for that wood keyboard =/

Anyways... crazy collection bro

[Rafen]

Man that is a nice collection. I think once I get a job after school I will probably be buying a lot more keyboards.

[The_Beast]

And I thought I had a lot at 3 keyboards

[Kuroneko]

Can't imagine having so many. I think 2 is already a lot.

[wiredPANDA]

And I thought I had a lot at 3 keyboards

Three isn't so bad.  That's what I'm sitting at, now, but I already know of at least 2 more that I'm going to be purchasing soon.

Amazing collection, megnin.  I can imagine you're popular with your co-workers for all the loaner boards.

[demik]

I hope you pick up a donating OCD. could make a lot of people and animals happy with the amount you spend

[litster]

nice collection you have there!

[hashbaz]

That is a staggering collection, man.  Sell me your stock 87U caps plz!

[xJaPx]

theres movement in my pants, is this normal?

[absyrd]

theres movement in my pants, is this normal?

Didn't you read the fine print about side effects from seeing his collection?

[bitshifter1001]

Wow. I find myself both entranced and dumfounded at the same time. Yet, I can not stop looking!   

[xJaPx]

theres movement in my pants, is this normal?

Didn't you read the fine print about side effects from seeing his collection?

there should be a large bold statement at the top saying something along the lines of "if your erection lasts longer than 4 hours, please see a doctor".  At first it was funny, now im scared 

[feng]

Wow, what a collection! o_O  Those look so nice.

[megnin]

That's a very very very sick collection.


No Korean keyboard love?

Sell me a Korean keyboard, love. 

[megnin]

awesome collection 

I'd like to take an HHKB pro2... but I use the arrows a lot to navigate through source code, don't know if I can live with the weird layout. How is it for coding? Any experience in that sense? Was also considering the hhkb pro js, but even weirder layout I'll problably end up with a realforce

Yeah, I'm a programmer.  Navigating code, copying/cutting/pasting code blocks and sections of text do take some getting used to.  And, it still slows me down a bit, but the trade-off is acceptable to me for the small form factor and the feeling of oneness with Topre rubber.    I use all three of the HHKBs daily.  Two at work for coding and the other at home for "normal" computing, web browsing and such.

[megnin]

You paid $1000 for that wood keyboard =/

Anyways... crazy collection bro

Heavens no!  It's a $50.00 Bamboo "Impecca" with "laptop style" flat keys over cheap rubber dome switches.  I would rather take a beating than have to type on it.
I think you are thinking of the custom wooden keyboards I've seen on eBay build around some Cherry MX switches. 

[megnin]

One last keyboard.  It's for programming in binary.  A dip switch on the bottom puts it into "Professional Mode" where the 1 becomes a FN key, then you hit "0" for "0" still and FN-0 for "1".

[AKIMbO]

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

[megnin]

I appreciate the nice feedback on the pics.  I took a couple of 20 or 30 second video clips as well.  I'll post those when I get a chance.

[swagpiratex]

Oh, so this is where the guy on reddit got that pic.

Sent from my HTC Sensation

[megnin]

Oh, so this is where the guy on reddit got that pic.

I don't know where it came from.  I just Googled it.

[Anynoupy]

Dear God ... Beautiful collection, congratz !

[megnin]

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

I need to raise some funds for a Large Micarta Sebenza Insingo so I may post a few things in Classified shortly.  The Topre caps are hard to get

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

Do you mean the printed ones that were originally one the keyboard or the NIB non-printed ones?

[zzAaron]

so.. so.. beautiful

[megnin]

Dear God ... Beautiful collection, congratz !

Thanks. 

[hashbaz]

That is a staggering collection, man.  Sell me your stock 87U caps plz!

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

I need to raise some funds for a Large Micarta Sebenza Insingo so I may post a few things in Classified shortly.  The Topre caps are hard to get

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

Do you mean the printed ones that were originally one the keyboard or the NIB non-printed ones?

Hey, I saw 'em first!

[megnin]

I hope these turned out okay.  Select the HD resolution for a larger video.

[rayuki]

And whats your absolute favourite if you had to choose one?

I only use the three HHKB Pro 2s.  Two on my desk at work and one at home.  The rest are in their boxes or on co-workers desks.  I loaned a few out because I can't stand to see an IT guy using a Dell rubber dome keyboard.  ;-)

If I HAD to pick ONE and get rid of all the rest I would keep the Filco 104 key Bluetooth.  It was my daily driver for several years but I only use it now with my iPhone from time to time.

wow thats absurd, and you reckon thats a "small" collection! crazy. also i didn't know filco made a wireless mech keyboard! gonna have to look for one of those, any ideas where i can get one? lol

[megnin]

i didn't know filco made a wireless mech keyboard! gonna have to look for one of those, any ideas where i can get one? lol

Um, Japan and about eight years ago.  I had to get a purchasing agent to buy it from Diatec for me.  It's a fantastic keyboard. 

[sth]

One last keyboard.  It's for programming in binary.  A dip switch on the bottom puts it into "Professional Mode" where the 1 becomes a FN key, then you hit "0" for "0" still and FN-0 for "1".

(Attachment Link)

this is the coolest keyboard i've seen on geekhack in months. where can I get one?!

[rayuki]

i didn't know filco made a wireless mech keyboard! gonna have to look for one of those, any ideas where i can get one? lol

Um, Japan and about eight years ago.  I had to get a purchasing agent to buy it from Diatec for me.  It's a fantastic keyboard. 

yeah looks like another thing to add to my list of "rare ridiculous things" to keep an eye out for lol.

dont suppose you want to sell it

[rowdy]

48?  (Excluding key pads.)  Almost enough for a different one each week.

Fantastic collection, variety, quality, colours, style, and lots of other similar words

Thank you for taking the time to unpack, arrange, photograph and repack this wonderful collection.

[metalliqaz]

Yeah, I'm a programmer.  Navigating code, copying/cutting/pasting code blocks and sections of text do take some getting used to.  And, it still slows me down a bit, but the trade-off is acceptable to me for the small form factor and the feeling of oneness with Topre rubber.    I use all three of the HHKBs daily.  Two at work for coding and the other at home for "normal" computing, web browsing and such.

A tenkeyless is pretty small, and I don't have to give up the slightest bit of speed

Megnin, tell me how it works having two keyboards at work.  Do you just randomly switch back and forth?  Do you have different keyboards for specific tasks?

[megnin]

i didn't know filco made a wireless mech keyboard! gonna have to look for one of those, any ideas where i can get one? lol

Um, Japan and about eight years ago.  I had to get a purchasing agent to buy it from Diatec for me.  It's a fantastic keyboard. 

yeah looks like another thing to add to my list of "rare ridiculous things" to keep an eye out for lol.

dont suppose you want to sell it

I'm a frayed knot.  Filco, Cherry MX Brown switches, Bluetooth, three months on two AA batteries, pairs with my iPhone... I'd sell all the others first. 

[megnin]

Yeah, I'm a programmer.  Navigating code, copying/cutting/pasting code blocks and sections of text do take some getting used to.  And, it still slows me down a bit, but the trade-off is acceptable to me for the small form factor and the feeling of oneness with Topre rubber.    I use all three of the HHKBs daily.  Two at work for coding and the other at home for "normal" computing, web browsing and such.

A tenkeyless is pretty small, and I don't have to give up the slightest bit of speed

Megnin, tell me how it works having two keyboards at work.  Do you just randomly switch back and forth?  Do you have different keyboards for specific tasks?

Oh, I have two computers / three monitors.  I need lots of screen realestate and I'm usually working on a couple of projects or have Outlook and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) running on one PC and Visual Studio and Photoshop and a couple of web browsers running on the other PC w/dual monitors.

[megnin]

A tenkeyless is pretty small, and I don't have to give up the slightest bit of speed

Yeah, it's hard to beat a good tenkeyless.  You can't go wrong with either a Filco or a Realforce.  I like the Realforce because, well, Topre, but also it has an embeded tenkey if you need real numpad codes.  You don't have to do any funky stuf to get "Manufacturer" and "Copyright" symbols and such.

[AKIMbO]

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

I need to raise some funds for a Large Micarta Sebenza Insingo so I may post a few things in Classified shortly.  The Topre caps are hard to get

Megnin....you know you want to sell me those 87U white keycaps.  Right?

Do you mean the printed ones that were originally one the keyboard or the NIB non-printed ones?

I mean the printed ones.

[Matt3o]

is the all grey one waterproof?

can't stop watching your collection... I feel less guilty owning just two keyboards

[megnin]

is the all grey one waterproof?

The all grey one is a Leopold FC700R and yeah, it's spill proof.  The "dust cover" is thin soft rubber that fits over the entire keyboard and snugly over the edge.  It's soft enough to type comfortably through.  I imagine that if the keys were printed you could see the legends through it, but this one has non-printed key caps.

[jdcarpe]

One last keyboard.  It's for programming in binary.  A dip switch on the bottom puts it into "Professional Mode" where the 1 becomes a FN key, then you hit "0" for "0" still and FN-0 for "1".

This is my favorite.

But then I like to use Gmail Tap for sending emails on my Android phone.

"You can tap it in the morning. You can tap it at night. You can tap it in the bathroom."

http://mail.google.com/mail/help/promos/tap/index.html

[megnin]

LOL!  They are all so serious, too.    My dad was a Radioman in the Navy in the 60s.  He told me how hard it is to learn Morse Code.  Try to remember just three or four letters.  I only remember one, "V".  Hint: Beethoven's Fifth. 

[DanGWanG]

I only know S-O-S

[rowdy]

The camera work in the first video is particularly smooth (apart from a slight wobble right near the end).

Fantastic!

[megnin]

The camera work in the first video is particularly smooth (apart from a slight wobble right near the end).

Fantastic!

Thanks, but the credit for the smooth video goes to YouTube.  I'm 52 and drink nothing but coffee and alcohol.  All my videos were pretty shaky, sorry about that, but that one was so bad, I guess, that YouTube detected it and automatically fixed it.  When I uploaded the video I got a message saying that YouTube detected a shaky video and did I want to let them fix it.  I turned out looking like the camera was on a skid or track.  I wish it had "fixed" the others as well. 

[metalliqaz]

Thanks, but the credit for the smooth video goes to YouTube.  I'm 52 and drink nothing but coffee and alcohol.

 )

[rowdy]

Thanks, but the credit for the smooth video goes to YouTube.  I'm 52 and drink nothing but coffee and alcohol.  All my videos were pretty shaky, sorry about that, but that one was so bad, I guess, that YouTube detected it and automatically fixed it.  When I uploaded the video I got a message saying that YouTube detected a shaky video and did I want to let them fix it.  I turned out looking like the camera was on a skid or track.  I wish it had "fixed" the others as well. 

On a track (or a rail) - yeah, that's exactly what I thought, and my first impression was that you went to so much trouble to make a video of your keyboard, but anyway.

Great pics, great videos, great collection.

[megnin]

Thanks, but the credit for the smooth video goes to YouTube.  I'm 52 and drink nothing but coffee and alcohol.  All my videos were pretty shaky, sorry about that, but that one was so bad, I guess, that YouTube detected it and automatically fixed it.  When I uploaded the video I got a message saying that YouTube detected a shaky video and did I want to let them fix it.  I turned out looking like the camera was on a skid or track.  I wish it had "fixed" the others as well. 

..., and my first impression was that you went to so much trouble to make a video of your keyboard, but anyway.

Great pics, great videos, great collection.

Thanks.    Well, it did take my wife and I about six hours to unbox, arrange, photograph and then rebox them all.  Most are still stacked up in my office.  I've been bringing them home a handful at a time.

[phetto]

You are a god!
Very nice collection, both keyboards and some nice gb sets.

Oh btw, I'm female and we should probably get married and write contract on that if you have an accident I will be owner of your tresure. xD

[megnin]

You are a god!

You are the second woman, other than my wife, to say that this week.  No, no, no... I just helped her get her MacBook on another friends Wi-Fi.

Very nice collection, both keyboards and some nice gb sets.

Thank you. 

Oh btw, I'm female and we should probably get married and write contract on that if you have an accident I will be owner of your tresure. xD

[metalliqaz]

lol.  Of all the things I'd expect to elicit a marriage proposal from a woman, a keyboard collection would probably be near the end of the list.

[daerid]

I'd probably be rocking HHKB's if I weren't coding in Visual Studio all day long. Kinda need the arrow keys for that.

OP: Nice collection. I'd be curious to see what it comes to all priced out (would probably be a little scary).

[megnin]

I'd probably be rocking HHKB's if I weren't coding in Visual Studio all day long. Kinda need the arrow keys for that.

OP: Nice collection. I'd be curious to see what it comes to all priced out (would probably be a little scary).

I code in Visual Studio all day long.  It just takes an extra finger on the FN key to use the arrows.  You get use to it.

About $8K I think.  I'm thinking about selling about 80-90% of them.  There are a few I won't sell and then I'm undecided on a few.

[metalliqaz]

About $8K I think.  I'm thinking about selling about 80-90% of them.  There are a few I won't sell and then I'm undecided on a few.

  Sale of the decade

[rayuki]

I'd probably be rocking HHKB's if I weren't coding in Visual Studio all day long. Kinda need the arrow keys for that.

OP: Nice collection. I'd be curious to see what it comes to all priced out (would probably be a little scary).

I code in Visual Studio all day long.  It just takes an extra finger on the FN key to use the arrows.  You get use to it.

About $8K I think.  I'm thinking about selling about 80-90% of them.  There are a few I won't sell and then I'm undecided on a few.

but not the bluetooth filco (

why did i have to find out they made one ((

i've been searching ever since i found out and now i just wish i never found out lol

[swagpiratex]

You probably would have to go to Japan for that one, lol.

[jeroplane]

This is an amazing collection... I'm speechless.

[megnin]

i've been searching ever since i found out and now i just wish i never found out lol

You might have a better chance of getting a cart load of unobtainium drawn by unicorns.  ) )

Someone here has modded a HHKB Pro making it Bluetooth.  That's my grail keyboard.   

[rayuki]

i've been searching ever since i found out and now i just wish i never found out lol

You might have a better chance of getting a cart load of unobtainium drawn by unicorns.  ) )

Someone here has modded a HHKB Pro making it Bluetooth.  That's my grail keyboard.   

i saw that, but modifying a $350+ keyboard....  im not so sure i would risk it myself lol

[megnin]

I can solder okay, but I wouldn't either.  I'd like to get someone to do it for me though.

[mkawa]

this is amazing. i was the one who asked (nay, DEMANDED) these pics, and i'm beyond satisfied

one thing i will note though is that you don't have an ssk. i can fix that.

[Glod]

I code in Visual Studio all day long.  It just takes an extra finger on the FN key to use the arrows.  You get use to it.

I just got my "first"  ) HHKB last week and i have to say i am already used to how the arrow keys are and the home/end work. I work a lot in text editors on large files and do light programming (ruby scripts) which require the array keys and home/end and it seems to work out just fine. no complaints on that. what i haven't got used to is the placement for the backslash \ , i use a lot of basic regular expressions and UNC paths and it is really getting annoying that i keep pressing the backspace/delete when i want to type a \ OR |

[megnin]

this is amazing. i was the one who asked (nay, DEMANDED) these pics, and i'm beyond satisfied

one thing i will note though is that you don't have an ssk. i can fix that.

Oh, I just saw one on eh Bay for a pretty reasonable price.  I'm leaning more towards thinning them out than adding to them lately.  I could use some funds for a home improvement project. 

[megnin]

...what i haven't got used to is the placement for the backslash \ , i use a lot of basic regular expressions and UNC paths and it is really getting annoying that i keep pressing the backspace/delete when i want to type a \ OR |

Yes, that's my biggest issue as well.  I do like the Backspace right over the Enter key.  It's a bit closer and easier to hit, but I think I'd prefer to take those three corner keys and "rotate" them one position counter-clockwise.  That would put the Backspace key back up were I was used to it being on a standard keyboard, the backslash "\" back over the Enter key and the ~` key in that spot you can't reach and would never hit anyway. 
Now make it Bluetooth capable and with an embedded number pad like a Realforce TKL and it's the perfect keyboard. 

[Matt3o]

I'm leaning more towards thinning them out than adding to them lately.  I could use some funds for a home improvement project. 

I can help you getting rid of some Realforce if you want

[megnin]

I can help you getting rid of some Realforce if you want

I need to start listing them in the Classified section.  It's just so hard to start letting them go.  I'll try to start posting them this weekend.