Author Topic: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?  (Read 2763317 times)

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Offline funkmon

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6700 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 02:42:54 »
Why the furniture polish?

Offline knightjp

  • Posts: 204
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6701 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 10:20:53 »
LOL every time I post my keyboard I currently use, it's the same one I have been using. Except I get told to dust off the desk or pick up the soda in the corner, so I will leave it to your imagination to know I am still using it.
#Respect.  :thumb:
Would love to get my brother one of those original IBMs; since he has been having trouble with his Razor gaming keyboard. Unfortunately those go for top money these days.
I did see a Unicomp on ebay for quite cheap. Just don't know if they hold up to the real thing.
« Last Edit: Sun, 17 May 2020, 10:23:46 by knightjp »

Offline SpinningHook

  • Posts: 92
  • "I can't know how to hear anymore about tables!."
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6702 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 11:11:54 »
Logitech Orion G610 w/ Cherry Red at work. GMMK full sized w/ Yok Holy Pandas, Kailh Coppers, Penny Pandas (Yok housing with K Copper Stems), and Cursed Pandas switches and Red Samurai 1800/Ortho sets for keycaps at home.
"Brevity is the soul of wit."

Offline Sepharis

  • Posts: 21
  • Location: Scotland
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6703 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 11:28:03 »
Very generic answer, but I'm using as someone fairly new to the hobby I'm using a drop alt w/ sakurios switches. Absolutely love it, my next board will hopefully be a 75% custom.

Offline Neostoic

  • Posts: 17
  • Location: London - England
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6704 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 11:50:03 »
Currently using a TGR Alice with Zealios V2 67g - Lubed with Krytox 205g0 - GMK Olive at work and since work is home at the moment it is really all what I am using on a daily basis.
Hope your all staying safe.
TGR Alice - Heavy-6 - HHKB Pro 2 stock - TGR 910 RE - HBCP - TMO V2 - Luna HHKB - HHKB Hybrid - Keycult 1/60 Rev01. - 45-ATS - KFE OG - Petrichor - Norbaforce - F1-8X - Whale SE - Kei - Clarabelle - Prophet - Unikorn - FLX Virgo - 7V - M60 A - Keycult 1/65 Rev01 - Keycult No.2 TKL Commission -Haus - Pneuma Rev1. - KFE CE - Frog - 2No. Haus - Adelie - Whale 75

Incoming - Dalco Mini 959 GT - Sagittarius - Box 75  - Keycult No.2/65 Commission - Campsite - HHKB Heavy Grail  - Iron 180 - Iron 165 - Kaze FnF

Notable Previously Owned - TGR Jane V2 - Infinitum

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6705 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 14:02:11 »
I'm at a corporate training environment today and I managed to grab the only computer without a **** tier chiclet keyboard. Got this Keytronic.

Offline bronzechin

  • Posts: 1
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6706 on: Sun, 17 May 2020, 15:20:48 »
Currently using the Monstargear Ninja 71 with H1s. It's portable enough for work and home.

Offline Maledicted

  • Posts: 2164
  • Location: Wisconsin, United States
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6707 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 10:12:12 »
LOL every time I post my keyboard I currently use, it's the same one I have been using. Except I get told to dust off the desk or pick up the soda in the corner, so I will leave it to your imagination to know I am still using it.
#Respect.  :thumb:
Would love to get my brother one of those original IBMs; since he has been having trouble with his Razor gaming keyboard. Unfortunately those go for top money these days.
I did see a Unicomp on ebay for quite cheap. Just don't know if they hold up to the real thing.

I see late 80s Model Ms go for $50-70 left and right on Ebay lately. They actually seem to be in a slump vs a year or two ago. In general, the older you go, the better as far as overall build quality. Even though I don't yet own one, I haven't heard of Unicomp boards having any particularly alarming quality concerns, and their customer service is usually great anyway.

I'm at a corporate training environment today and I managed to grab the only computer without a **** tier chiclet keyboard. Got this Keytronic.

It was actually kind of sad imagining you scramble for the least terrible rubber dome/chiclet board in the room. I hope that experience was short.

Offline Wamuu

  • Posts: 25
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6708 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 10:14:11 »
I’m using a minivan right now. It’s the only keyboard I have until my Thermal comes in.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6709 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 10:18:06 »
LOL every time I post my keyboard I currently use, it's the same one I have been using. Except I get told to dust off the desk or pick up the soda in the corner, so I will leave it to your imagination to know I am still using it.
#Respect.  :thumb:
Would love to get my brother one of those original IBMs; since he has been having trouble with his Razor gaming keyboard. Unfortunately those go for top money these days.
I did see a Unicomp on ebay for quite cheap. Just don't know if they hold up to the real thing.

I see late 80s Model Ms go for $50-70 left and right on Ebay lately. They actually seem to be in a slump vs a year or two ago. In general, the older you go, the better as far as overall build quality. Even though I don't yet own one, I haven't heard of Unicomp boards having any particularly alarming quality concerns, and their customer service is usually great anyway.

I'm at a corporate training environment today and I managed to grab the only computer without a **** tier chiclet keyboard. Got this Keytronic.

It was actually kind of sad imagining you scramble for the least terrible rubber dome/chiclet board in the room. I hope that experience was short.

Basically this is correct about Unicomp. I consider the boards to be basically 95% of an IBM. Easily the best $100 board you can buy right now new, IMO.

In terms of scrambling, I sat down at a computer, started, then walked out of the room to go to a printer. On my way back in, I saw another computer in the corner. "Oh **** a Keytronic!" And straight up unplugged it and put the HP Chiclet on that other one. They all thought I was weird.

Offline Maledicted

  • Posts: 2164
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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6710 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 11:43:51 »
Basically this is correct about Unicomp. I consider the boards to be basically 95% of an IBM. Easily the best $100 board you can buy right now new, IMO.

In terms of scrambling, I sat down at a computer, started, then walked out of the room to go to a printer. On my way back in, I saw another computer in the corner. "Oh **** a Keytronic!" And straight up unplugged it and put the HP Chiclet on that other one. They all thought I was weird.

Situations like that are why I kind of want a 60-65% board just to carry around. My Ajazz AK33 was the initial result, but those switches are terrible.

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6711 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 11:59:27 »
To an extent, I agree with you, but on the other hand, you, at that point, look a little too weird, you know what I mean?

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6712 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 12:02:12 »
To an extent, I agree with you, but on the other hand, you, at that point, look a little too weird, you know what I mean?

I am pretty weird regardless. I stopped caring about how people think many years ago. lol

Offline Moitoy

  • Posts: 2
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6713 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 12:14:56 »
Now im Using the MOITOY-85Kb (post coming soon)



Handwired 60%+numpad+1 extra row and ISO Spanish Layout, khail box whites for alphas, box pale blue for modifiers and box orange for numpad and arrows

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6714 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 12:36:14 »
Now im Using the MOITOY-85Kb (post coming soon)

Show Image


Handwired 60%+numpad+1 extra row and ISO Spanish Layout, khail box whites for alphas, box pale blue for modifiers and box orange for numpad and arrows

Cool. That looks great.

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6715 on: Mon, 18 May 2020, 15:18:37 »
Now im Using the MOITOY-85Kb (post coming soon)

Show Image


Handwired 60%+numpad+1 extra row and ISO Spanish Layout, khail box whites for alphas, box pale blue for modifiers and box orange for numpad and arrows

Wow! That looks amazing! How do you like having multiple switches in the board?

I'm back to the Matias btw.



Speaking of which, mal, have you seen this?

https://www.amazon.com/Matias-Mini-Tactile-Pro-Keyboard/dp/B00FW7FHFE/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=matias+keyboard&qid=1589833232&sr=8-4

I might buy it, but I'm waiting for the Unicomp SSK to come out and we'll see.
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 May 2020, 15:22:25 by funkmon »

Offline ddrfraser1

  • Posts: 515
  • Location: Smashville
  • RIP Neil
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6716 on: Wed, 20 May 2020, 16:36:56 »
Behold!

This was by far the most time consuming 'build' ever. I started resembling this thing at 9 am. It is now 4:30. I encountered a problem at nearly every step of the process.

Well worth it though. It's.been my dream to own one of these ever since Chyros did his review.






And oh yes, I powdercoated the plate gold  :D




There will be a nice thick coily cable at some point.

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6717 on: Wed, 20 May 2020, 18:27:15 »

Offline ddrfraser1

  • Posts: 515
  • Location: Smashville
  • RIP Neil
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6718 on: Wed, 20 May 2020, 20:37:46 »
Can’t tell if you think it’s ugly or if you’re salivating over its delicious beauty.

Offline Maledicted

  • Posts: 2164
  • Location: Wisconsin, United States
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6719 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 11:51:48 »
I'm back to the Matias btw.

I have seen boards like that for relatively cheap ($60-70) on auction websites, but never pulled the trigger because of what I had always read about their potential chatter problems, and Matias' apparent lack of concern when people encountered issues. I do really want to be able to compare Matias clickies against SKCM though.

Speaking of which, mal, have you seen this?

https://www.amazon.com/Matias-Mini-Tactile-Pro-Keyboard/dp/B00FW7FHFE/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=matias+keyboard&qid=1589833232&sr=8-4

I might buy it, but I'm waiting for the Unicomp SSK to come out and we'll see.

I have not. That looks really cool other than the Mac-specific caps. It doesn't look like they make a general purpose one. That price, and form factor, with the successor to the mighty Alps, is very tempting regardless.

Can’t tell if you think it’s ugly or if you’re salivating over its delicious beauty.

That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

Offline ddrfraser1

  • Posts: 515
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  • RIP Neil
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6720 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 13:27:48 »
That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

What have you got in mind? My options are basically black, white, grey or the og caps. Out of all those, I think grey and white looks the best.

Offline Maledicted

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  • Location: Wisconsin, United States
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6721 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 14:08:53 »
That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

What have you got in mind? My options are basically black, white, grey or the og caps. Out of all those, I think grey and white looks the best.

I would probably go with a grey or black myself. It looks like you've got the standard IBM pearl and pebble theme at the moment? You could also try to get some custom colors, etc:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4d4k04/options_for_model_mf_keycaps/

Then there's also the option of trying to dye modifiers or something, so you could have maybe black and gold/yellow caps.

Offline ddrfraser1

  • Posts: 515
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  • RIP Neil
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6722 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 14:33:17 »
That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

What have you got in mind? My options are basically black, white, grey or the og caps. Out of all those, I think grey and white looks the best.

I would probably go with a grey or black myself. It looks like you've got the standard IBM pearl and pebble theme at the moment? You could also try to get some custom colors, etc:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4d4k04/options_for_model_mf_keycaps/

Then there's also the option of trying to dye modifiers or something, so you could have maybe black and gold/yellow caps.

These actually are white with grey mods. Maybe the colors look weird in the picture. I do have black caps but I don't think it looks as cool.

The only thing I think might look better than Grey and white would be something like this:

243168-0

Offline Maledicted

  • Posts: 2164
  • Location: Wisconsin, United States
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6723 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 15:10:40 »
That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

What have you got in mind? My options are basically black, white, grey or the og caps. Out of all those, I think grey and white looks the best.

I would probably go with a grey or black myself. It looks like you've got the standard IBM pearl and pebble theme at the moment? You could also try to get some custom colors, etc:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4d4k04/options_for_model_mf_keycaps/

Then there's also the option of trying to dye modifiers or something, so you could have maybe black and gold/yellow caps.

These actually are white with grey mods. Maybe the colors look weird in the picture. I do have black caps but I don't think it looks as cool.

The only thing I think might look better than Grey and white would be something like this:

I did wonder if it could be white and grey, but I chalked that up to the intense light in the right side of the picture.

That would look sweet. That's the Red Samurai set, right? I can't count how many times I have been tempted to buy that, and I don't even normally get the super fancy cap sets.

Offline ddrfraser1

  • Posts: 515
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  • RIP Neil
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6724 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 15:25:14 »
That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

What have you got in mind? My options are basically black, white, grey or the og caps. Out of all those, I think grey and white looks the best.

I would probably go with a grey or black myself. It looks like you've got the standard IBM pearl and pebble theme at the moment? You could also try to get some custom colors, etc:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4d4k04/options_for_model_mf_keycaps/

Then there's also the option of trying to dye modifiers or something, so you could have maybe black and gold/yellow caps.

These actually are white with grey mods. Maybe the colors look weird in the picture. I do have black caps but I don't think it looks as cool.

The only thing I think might look better than Grey and white would be something like this:

I did wonder if it could be white and grey, but I chalked that up to the intense light in the right side of the picture.

That would look sweet. That's the Red Samurai set, right? I can't count how many times I have been tempted to buy that, and I don't even normally get the super fancy cap sets.

Yep. I make beautiful keyboards, not photos. However, I suppose I really ought to rectify that if I want to do them justice  ;D I actually closed the blinds but my spaceship sized monitor still lit it up like day   :eek:

You got it. Red Samurai would be a pretty sweet set to have on an IBM  :cool:

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6725 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 15:58:37 »
That F107 is beautiful. I love the subtle accents you did.  :thumb: You need some matching caps now though.

What have you got in mind? My options are basically black, white, grey or the og caps. Out of all those, I think grey and white looks the best.

I would probably go with a grey or black myself. It looks like you've got the standard IBM pearl and pebble theme at the moment? You could also try to get some custom colors, etc:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/4d4k04/options_for_model_mf_keycaps/

Then there's also the option of trying to dye modifiers or something, so you could have maybe black and gold/yellow caps.

These actually are white with grey mods. Maybe the colors look weird in the picture. I do have black caps but I don't think it looks as cool.

The only thing I think might look better than Grey and white would be something like this:

I did wonder if it could be white and grey, but I chalked that up to the intense light in the right side of the picture.

That would look sweet. That's the Red Samurai set, right? I can't count how many times I have been tempted to buy that, and I don't even normally get the super fancy cap sets.
You got it. Red Samurai would be a pretty sweet set to have on an IBM  :cool:

Indeed they would. Maybe Unicomp, or another custom cap shop that does buckling spring caps, could accommodate you if you ask.

Offline atarione

  • Posts: 176
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6726 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 17:08:49 »
needed a ten key for a little bit.   Broke out my $25 (crazy newegg combo deal of lame old intel cpu and mech keyboard years ago) Rosewill RK-9000RE (reds) ... it is ok..this keyboard sees little use being broken out at those rare times when a ten key is needed for whatever reasons.

« Last Edit: Thu, 21 May 2020, 17:10:32 by atarione »

Offline ddrfraser1

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  • RIP Neil
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6727 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 17:38:17 »
needed a ten key for a little bit.   Broke out my $25 (crazy newegg combo deal of lame old intel cpu and mech keyboard years ago) Rosewill RK-9000RE (reds) ... it is ok..this keyboard sees little use being broken out at those rare times when a ten key is needed for whatever reasons.

Haha, I have that board! Got it for cheap off eBay. Mine has blues in it. It seemed like nice cheap metal board. I’m planning on putting some better clicky switches in it one day.

Offline Maledicted

  • Posts: 2164
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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6728 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 18:40:26 »
needed a ten key for a little bit.   Broke out my $25 (crazy newegg combo deal of lame old intel cpu and mech keyboard years ago) Rosewill RK-9000RE (reds) ... it is ok..this keyboard sees little use being broken out at those rare times when a ten key is needed for whatever reasons.

Haha, I have that board! Got it for cheap off eBay. Mine has blues in it. It seemed like nice cheap metal board. I’m planning on putting some better clicky switches in it one day.

Agreed. Those old Rosewill boards are great. You can even get replacement controllers for them to make them programmable. They were apparently made by Costar, who apparently also makes Filcos, so they're really well made for their price.

I actually really like Costar stabilizers, although I'm also almost exclusively a clicky guy, so I imagine I'll dump the browns eventually and put something I like in it.

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6729 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 19:16:27 »
Welp, I apparently bought another New Old Stock M122 from 1999 and have exactly no memory of it, so I opened the box thinking it was going to be my Focus FK-2001, but I got surprised/disappointed/excited that it was another terminal M122.



It's very similar to my other NOS IBM UK boards, and indeed all my Models M in good condition, with one exception. The feet. These are the wobbliest feet I've ever had on an IBM. Extended, you can shake them around when locked at maximum height. Very strange.

I also can't find a record of this purchase anywhere so I must have done it so long ago on some obscure place I don't remember.

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6730 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 19:26:54 »
Welp, I apparently bought another New Old Stock M122 from 1999 and have exactly no memory of it, so I opened the box thinking it was going to be my Focus FK-2001, but I got surprised/disappointed/excited that it was another terminal M122.

It's very similar to my other NOS IBM UK boards, and indeed all my Models M in good condition, with one exception. The feet. These are the wobbliest feet I've ever had on an IBM. Extended, you can shake them around when locked at maximum height. Very strange.

I also can't find a record of this purchase anywhere so I must have done it so long ago on some obscure place I don't remember.

Nice. I think I understand your real intentions now. You're amassing a battle fleet in order to amphibiously invade the UK with the aim of forcing IBM UK to resume Model M production. Good luck, and Godspeed.

« Last Edit: Thu, 21 May 2020, 19:46:23 by Maledicted »

Offline atarione

  • Posts: 176
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6731 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 19:32:15 »
needed a ten key for a little bit.   Broke out my $25 (crazy newegg combo deal of lame old intel cpu and mech keyboard years ago) Rosewill RK-9000RE (reds) ... it is ok..this keyboard sees little use being broken out at those rare times when a ten key is needed for whatever reasons.

Haha, I have that board! Got it for cheap off eBay. Mine has blues in it. It seemed like nice cheap metal board. I’m planning on putting some better clicky switches in it one day.


Agreed. Those old Rosewill boards are great. You can even get replacement controllers for them to make them programmable. They were apparently made by Costar, who apparently also makes Filcos, so they're really well made for their price.

I actually really like Costar stabilizers, although I'm also almost exclusively a clicky guy, so I imagine I'll dump the browns eventually and put something I like in it.


yeah Costar definitely built these, I don't think rosewill paid for the level of QC that filco does.. but at first galance other than the (ugh) red backplate and "stylish" rosewill logo it is physically nearly identical to the filco... They aren't exactly the same ..annoyingly the feet on the rosewill don't have rubber tips.. making it slightly easier to slide the rosewill on accident... but it is probably 90%+ quality of a filco  my main daily keyboard is a MT2 MX Reds, which I finally tore down to clean all the fuzz out after 5.5yrs or so now..   For $25 I paid for the rosewill it was well worth the money.

my Filco looking pretty fresh after a good cleaning.
« Last Edit: Thu, 21 May 2020, 19:33:58 by atarione »

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6732 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 19:46:43 »
I want to type on that with no keycaps. Has anyone done that ever? And did he turn out to be a serial killer?

Offline atarione

  • Posts: 176
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6733 on: Thu, 21 May 2020, 20:02:16 »
I want to type on that with no keycaps. Has anyone done that ever? And did he turn out to be a serial killer?

I've tried it (once) it isn't so great... but so far no murdering... maybe if you daily it... murder would ensue?

Offline VP

  • Posts: 40
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6734 on: Fri, 22 May 2020, 05:57:12 »
Unicomp Ultra Classic. I like it. Unicomp with fresh buckling springs is much better than old Model M which I had tried.

Offline ddrfraser1

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6735 on: Fri, 22 May 2020, 08:52:50 »
Unicomp Ultra Classic. I like it. Unicomp with fresh buckling springs is much better than old Model M which I had tried.

lol, see this thread from yesterday: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=106210.0

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6736 on: Fri, 22 May 2020, 18:24:11 »
Unicomp Ultra Classic. I like it. Unicomp with fresh buckling springs is much better than old Model M which I had tried.

YES. I TELL PEOPLE THIS. It's a little bit heavier, but much smoother to me, even than NOS boards from the 90s.

I just picked up a NOS Gen 2 though just to be sure.

Offline Debido666

  • Posts: 13
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6737 on: Fri, 22 May 2020, 21:26:01 »
Hansung TFG ART.
Almost perfect.  :blank:

Offline funkmon

  • Posts: 451
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6738 on: Sat, 23 May 2020, 17:53:48 »


This is the Drakken Technologies Prothero Spectrum or some **** like that. Look, I bought it for $40 on Amazon a few months ago because it was a full sized board with hot swappable switches that would support Kailh, so I can pop the Box clicky switches in there, the tactility of which I enjoy.

Now, this board comes with Kailh Blacks to start with, which surprisingly are very good for linears in my opinion. I've had smoother, and I think they should be ever so slightly lighter, but they're significantly better than Cherry in my opinion, at least in smoothness, which is something about which I'm surprised. I am typically of the opinion that Cherry switches are better than the clones (though I prefer Outemu blues to all the other blue clones), but these are in fact smoother. Maybe the quality of Kailh has gone up recently, or they lube their switches, or I've only really had bad blacks.

Now, the big problem with blacks, in my opinion, is the blandness. If you want to know what it feels like to type on a Point of Sale terminal keyboard, this is it. I do say that of course, owning 4 Unicomp Model M POS variants, but still. It's okay. It will serve its purpose as a cheap full size hot swappable board.

And when I say it's cheap, I mean that it just didn't cost me very much money. The board itself is actually very nice. It's got a soft touch rubber finish, and it's quite heavy. Sturdy, no flex at all, really.

All that being said, even when I load this bad lad full of Box Jades, which are a good switch in my opinion due to the high tactility, I still think I'm sticking with the Matias as my daily driver, or, believe it or not, the terminal Gen 3 Model M in my signature.

Offline Deduce2612

  • Posts: 16
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6739 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 06:35:38 »
My HHKB Hybrid Type-S hasn't left the desk since I got it last week. What can I say, I'm addicted to Topre now  ;D

Offline alessiodd

  • Posts: 3
Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6740 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 06:58:12 »
Mainly Varmilo VA88M with MX Browns, 2x Model M (1988&1994) and a M122 waiting to be fixed.

Offline ddrfraser1

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6741 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 07:38:23 »
Mainly Varmilo VA88M with MX Browns, 2x Model M (1988&1994) and a M122 waiting to be fixed.

What’s wrong with it?

I’ve got one that I just finished bolt modding. I put everything together only to find the spacebar doesn’t work. I’ve been too demoralized to go back and fix it  :'( :rolleyes:

Offline funkmon

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6742 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 12:01:15 »
Mainly Varmilo VA88M with MX Browns, 2x Model M (1988&1994) and a M122 waiting to be fixed.

What’s wrong with it?

I’ve got one that I just finished bolt modding. I put everything together only to find the spacebar doesn’t work. I’ve been too demoralized to go back and fix it  :'( :rolleyes:

This is my biggest fear. I am willing to pay some guy to bolt mod my keyboard so I don't have to troubleshoot it.

Offline ddrfraser1

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6743 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 13:12:36 »
Mainly Varmilo VA88M with MX Browns, 2x Model M (1988&1994) and a M122 waiting to be fixed.

What’s wrong with it?

I’ve got one that I just finished bolt modding. I put everything together only to find the spacebar doesn’t work. I’ve been too demoralized to go back and fix it  :'( :rolleyes:

This is my biggest fear. I am willing to pay some guy to bolt mod my keyboard so I don't have to troubleshoot it.

Nah. It’s actually pretty easy, just labor intensive and time consuming. The fix will take me all of 3 minutes.

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6744 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 13:58:27 »
This is the Drakken Technologies Prothero Spectrum or some **** like that. Look, I bought it for $40 on Amazon a few months ago because it was a full sized board with hot swappable switches that would support Kailh, so I can pop the Box clicky switches in there, the tactility of which I enjoy.

Now, this board comes with Kailh Blacks to start with, which surprisingly are very good for linears in my opinion. I've had smoother, and I think they should be ever so slightly lighter, but they're significantly better than Cherry in my opinion, at least in smoothness, which is something about which I'm surprised. I am typically of the opinion that Cherry switches are better than the clones (though I prefer Outemu blues to all the other blue clones), but these are in fact smoother. Maybe the quality of Kailh has gone up recently, or they lube their switches, or I've only really had bad blacks.

Now, the big problem with blacks, in my opinion, is the blandness. If you want to know what it feels like to type on a Point of Sale terminal keyboard, this is it. I do say that of course, owning 4 Unicomp Model M POS variants, but still. It's okay. It will serve its purpose as a cheap full size hot swappable board.

And when I say it's cheap, I mean that it just didn't cost me very much money. The board itself is actually very nice. It's got a soft touch rubber finish, and it's quite heavy. Sturdy, no flex at all, really.

All that being said, even when I load this bad lad full of Box Jades, which are a good switch in my opinion due to the high tactility, I still think I'm sticking with the Matias as my daily driver, or, believe it or not, the terminal Gen 3 Model M in my signature.

Nice one, what sort of hot swap sockets does it have in it? I couldn't find any boards that didn't have Outemu sockets anywhere near that price. Are they regular Kailh black switches? Now you'll have to try box blacks and Gateron blacks. Smoothest of the usual OEM switches in that category I have felt, though it gets better from there. Even the Geekmaker switches are noticeably smother than regular Gaterons. You've got box jades, great. You're well on your way to swearing off Cherry MX for good. lol

That rubberized finish is probably going to start tacking up and wearing off in a few years. They usually get pretty nasty. Just a heads up. Who really cares though for a $40 hot swap board?

Offline funkmon

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6745 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 19:32:49 »
Quote
Nah. It’s actually pretty easy, just labor intensive and time consuming. The fix will take me all of 3 minutes.

That doesn't quite sound internally consistent.

This is the Drakken Technologies Prothero Spectrum or some **** like that. Look, I bought it for $40 on Amazon a few months ago because it was a full sized board with hot swappable switches that would support Kailh, so I can pop the Box clicky switches in there, the tactility of which I enjoy.

Now, this board comes with Kailh Blacks to start with, which surprisingly are very good for linears in my opinion. I've had smoother, and I think they should be ever so slightly lighter, but they're significantly better than Cherry in my opinion, at least in smoothness, which is something about which I'm surprised. I am typically of the opinion that Cherry switches are better than the clones (though I prefer Outemu blues to all the other blue clones), but these are in fact smoother. Maybe the quality of Kailh has gone up recently, or they lube their switches, or I've only really had bad blacks.

Now, the big problem with blacks, in my opinion, is the blandness. If you want to know what it feels like to type on a Point of Sale terminal keyboard, this is it. I do say that of course, owning 4 Unicomp Model M POS variants, but still. It's okay. It will serve its purpose as a cheap full size hot swappable board.

And when I say it's cheap, I mean that it just didn't cost me very much money. The board itself is actually very nice. It's got a soft touch rubber finish, and it's quite heavy. Sturdy, no flex at all, really.

All that being said, even when I load this bad lad full of Box Jades, which are a good switch in my opinion due to the high tactility, I still think I'm sticking with the Matias as my daily driver, or, believe it or not, the terminal Gen 3 Model M in my signature.

Nice one, what sort of hot swap sockets does it have in it? I couldn't find any boards that didn't have Outemu sockets anywhere near that price. Are they regular Kailh black switches? Now you'll have to try box blacks and Gateron blacks. Smoothest of the usual OEM switches in that category I have felt, though it gets better from there. Even the Geekmaker switches are noticeably smother than regular Gaterons. You've got box jades, great. You're well on your way to swearing off Cherry MX for good. lol

That rubberized finish is probably going to start tacking up and wearing off in a few years. They usually get pretty nasty. Just a heads up. Who really cares though for a $40 hot swap board?

It's got Kailh hot swaps! YES! No keyboard at this price has anything but Outemu, so I'm really pleased. I'm considering buying a custom with an Alps mount PCB, but I have an omnikey, so if I'm going to drop $100 on a board for some alps, I might as well just learn to solder and put some NOS switches on that bad lad.

I've got some box navies and box jades, but I like those blues, even though they sound cheap. I'm pretty much just an Alps boi, but buckling spring (Model M, not F, sue me) is such a close second, my insane and stupid collection of Model Ms keeps me from bothering with them a huge amount. I mean, at some point you just have to accept that you're never going to be happy with an MX housing. lol

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6746 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 19:58:10 »
It's got Kailh hot swaps! YES! No keyboard at this price has anything but Outemu, so I'm really pleased. I'm considering buying a custom with an Alps mount PCB, but I have an omnikey, so if I'm going to drop $100 on a board for some alps, I might as well just learn to solder and put some NOS switches on that bad lad.

I've got some box navies and box jades, but I like those blues, even though they sound cheap. I'm pretty much just an Alps boi, but buckling spring (Model M, not F, sue me) is such a close second, my insane and stupid collection of Model Ms keeps me from bothering with them a huge amount. I mean, at some point you just have to accept that you're never going to be happy with an MX housing. lol

That's awesome. Maybe we should be recommending that board to new members just for testing out switches. I too have thought a lot about an Alps kit board. Omnikeys are nice. I need to clean mine up still. I should have bought up some NOS SKCM blues when there were tons of them on Ebay for a reasonable price some months back.

I dislike the feel more than the sound with MX blues, they're not crisp, or all that consistent in their lack of crispness. Do you have any Model Fs yet? I imagine you'll change your tune on that as well with time. MX was out the window for me as soon as I felt a Model F. It was what finally propelled me into looking at all of the alternatives available. When I first felt an M that was previously cleaned very well, but probably not bolt modded ... I went back to MX blues of all things.

Offline funkmon

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6747 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 20:12:12 »
Yeah, I have a couple XTs. One found organically, which was cheeeeeaaaaaaaaaap, and the other one from clickykeyboards since I knew it was going to be perfect when I bought it. I overpaid at $200, but I mean, if clickykeyboards has it it's basically new, so I'm fine with that. I paid for the assurance with the name.

They're good. I think the keyfeel is a little bit better than Ms. A bit lighter, a bit smoother, but I prefer the sound of the Ms. I like the thockier sound. The Model F and a good set of Alps clickies are about even to me, but to me the sound is a fairly big deal, and, combined with the normal ****ing layout, I do prefer the Models M to the Models F, and I prefer the Alps to the rest, including that Matias that I talk about all the time. You know what does it for me on the Matias? The USB hub built in. I love that, and, considering the feel is basically the same as good Alps white, I'm okay with that.

I sadly still have never had blue Alps, but I don't feel like I'm missing much, so I'm not up for dropping $200 for one of those boards when white are available for like $50, but still.

If I ever get enough money for a 122 key, it might change my mind, but I like all them keys I get on the Model M, and the XT layout isn't appreciably worse than the AT in my book. To me, it's about the number of keys. The F107 is the holy grail.

Offline Maledicted

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6748 on: Sun, 24 May 2020, 20:43:43 »
Yeah, I have a couple XTs. One found organically, which was cheeeeeaaaaaaaaaap, and the other one from clickykeyboards since I knew it was going to be perfect when I bought it. I overpaid at $200, but I mean, if clickykeyboards has it it's basically new, so I'm fine with that. I paid for the assurance with the name.

You found it organically? Where did you find an IBM XT keyboard lying around?

They're good. I think the keyfeel is a little bit better than Ms. A bit lighter, a bit smoother, but I prefer the sound of the Ms. I like the thockier sound. The Model F and a good set of Alps clickies are about even to me, but to me the sound is a fairly big deal, and, combined with the normal ****ing layout, I do prefer the Models M to the Models F, and I prefer the Alps to the rest, including that Matias that I talk about all the time. You know what does it for me on the Matias? The USB hub built in. I love that, and, considering the feel is basically the same as good Alps white, I'm okay with that.

I would have to compare sounds again, but I do believe that the F ATs are the thockiest of the Fs, since the entire case is plastic like an M. Not sure how those might compare to an M in sound. You can modify F ATs and F122s to be ANSI, if you so desired. I do also love USB hubs built into keyboards. It is one of the reasons I like my Das Pro 4 and my K70s. The Das Pro 4's hub is even USB 3.0, which I wish I saw more of.

I sadly still have never had blue Alps, but I don't feel like I'm missing much, so I'm not up for dropping $200 for one of those boards when white are available for like $50, but still.

I do not honestly think that you are missing much at this point, now that I have been able to feel Matias switches for myself. The difference is marginal, and it is primarily noticeable in sound more than feel, with the Matias switches lacking the characteristic crisp but high-pitched SKCM click (all other characteristics of SKCM blues are usually bassy).

If I ever get enough money for a 122 key, it might change my mind, but I like all them keys I get on the Model M, and the XT layout isn't appreciably worse than the AT in my book. To me, it's about the number of keys. The F107 is the holy grail.

I could never type on an F XT. I tried, since it was the one board I had with significantly better switches than MX blues for a good period of time. The layout, and stepped caps, was just too weird. Even AT boards took me a while to get used to, since I use ctrl quite a bit.

I agree on the F107. They weigh 10 pounds or more, they're completely unnecessarily long, but they're a thing of simultaneous beauty and ruggedness. Completely impractical, but there's nothing I would rather use regardless at the moment. Not to downplay the rest of the 4704 family.

Offline funkmon

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Re: What Keyboard Are You Using Now?
« Reply #6749 on: Mon, 25 May 2020, 04:23:40 »
Yeah, I have a couple XTs. One found organically, which was cheeeeeaaaaaaaaaap, and the other one from clickykeyboards since I knew it was going to be perfect when I bought it. I overpaid at $200, but I mean, if clickykeyboards has it it's basically new, so I'm fine with that. I paid for the assurance with the name.

You found it organically? Where did you find an IBM XT keyboard lying around?

Well, surprisingly, back in the day, even back only 10 years ago, IBM PCs weren't thatdifficult to find. At my elementary school, we had PS/2s, I remember the mouse and keyboard, which guided me to apprehending my first Model M a couple years later. BUT, we also had 2 IBM PCs. I don't remember what exactly they were, but they did have that stepped layout and a metal cage. While that could mean keyboards from any number of people, I think it shows that these things were around. It also means I still have a slight bit of muscle memory on that layout, so it's not jarring.

Also, being vaguely interested in this kind of stuff my whole life, I always used to check out the old computers and keyboards wherever I was if they had some lying around, and as you know, many did.

I saw the IBM Personal Computer at my ex girlfriend's dad's work or something in their server room back in 09 or 10, along with a lot of old enterprise stuff. I pilfered an Optiplex, a video card, and a few keyboards from that place. It's where I got a couple of my old dome with sliders I break out occasionally (but not that often; small backspace). The PC didn't work and my basic troubleshooting didn't fix it. I opened it up and it was old enough that I didn't know what anything in there was, so it was dead to me. I dropped the keyboard in the box because I recognized the din plug, and at that time didn't know keyboards didn't all use the same protocol. Well, I brought it home and it didn't work, and I did a bit of research. The limited research I gathered was that these couldn't communicate with modern PCs, and there was no point in keeping it around. I checked out prices on ebay and we're talking like $15. To me, it wasn't worth selling, so I didn't sell it. I just never used it.

Now, and I don't know if this was actually the case 10 years ago and I just didn't see anything about it, we have tiny chips and can convert the different protocols, so old keyboards suddenly have become useful, like the Model F. My old one dropped in the box isn't in great condition, and I popped it out and played with it a bit, but the feel not too much better than the Models M and I can see rust on the backplate. I figured I'd just keep it as a museum piece.

The clickykeyboards F is fairly recent. I was over there just looking, and I saw it. He actually said something like "the only way I know this was used is there is some dust under the keys," and he put up pictures and the thing looks immaculate. So I bought it. And a Lexmark branded Model M because I'm insane and think I need to have one of every part number or something. Those don't come up that often, and for $125 I'm willing to pay the extra money to have one in perfect condition with missing rivets replaced.

Quote
They're good. I think the keyfeel is a little bit better than Ms. A bit lighter, a bit smoother, but I prefer the sound of the Ms. I like the thockier sound. The Model F and a good set of Alps clickies are about even to me, but to me the sound is a fairly big deal, and, combined with the normal ****ing layout, I do prefer the Models M to the Models F, and I prefer the Alps to the rest, including that Matias that I talk about all the time. You know what does it for me on the Matias? The USB hub built in. I love that, and, considering the feel is basically the same as good Alps white, I'm okay with that.

I would have to compare sounds again, but I do believe that the F ATs are the thockiest of the Fs, since the entire case is plastic like an M. Not sure how those might compare to an M in sound. You can modify F ATs and F122s to be ANSI, if you so desired. I do also love USB hubs built into keyboards. It is one of the reasons I like my Das Pro 4 and my K70s. The Das Pro 4's hub is even USB 3.0, which I wish I saw more of.

I do hear that about the ATs. From videos I can hear on the internet, it's still got that pingyness I don't like. The sing songy metal on metal noise. Ick. It's definitely the deepest seeming according to the videos, but it's like lipstick on a pig, so to speak.

I don't need the ANSI layout. I didn't always live here in the US of A! I'm about to give you guys some really boring information. In Luxembourg, 3 layouts tend to be common, in descending order of appearance.

1. German qwertz. It's the one you usually find, and it's second nature to me.
2. Swiss German layout. This is one you often find at peoples' homes, since the Swiss German layout allows people to type accents and characters available in French more easily, but they still type in, of course, mostly Luxembourgish (a Moselle Franconian dialect; informally) or German (more formally, or for the web outside of Luxembourg).
3. French azerty. Holy **** what maniac would willingly type on this awful layout. You have to hit SHIFT FOR THE ****ING PERIOD. Ugh. Default is colon and semicolon like ****ing absolute mentalists. Even though the country's only like 30 miles wide, you do tend to see a geographic distribution on the French layout. On the extreme west of the country you tend to get more Azertys, and they're becoming more popular in high school, as they've changed the instruction language at the high school level to be predominantly French. To me the dividing line between azertys and sensible layouts is at Differdange where you get about 50/50. In Rodange, you're about 70% azerty. In Virton in Belgium, despite speaking Luxembourgish, it's like 100% azerty.

Anyway, all have the ISO enter and short left shift, which I never use anyway, though I thought the AT was basically in ANSI anyway, just with a BAE. I had a qwertz keyboard in my rotation as recently as 3 or 4 years ago.

Quote
I sadly still have never had blue Alps, but I don't feel like I'm missing much, so I'm not up for dropping $200 for one of those boards when white are available for like $50, but still.

I do not honestly think that you are missing much at this point, now that I have been able to feel Matias switches for myself. The difference is marginal, and it is primarily noticeable in sound more than feel, with the Matias switches lacking the characteristic crisp but high-pitched SKCM click (all other characteristics of SKCM blues are usually bassy).

Is that what it is? I couldn't figure out what it was that I liked more about the Matias than my Alps boards, you know, besides the USB. The build quality is meh, the keycaps are meh, I just didn't know. It must be the lack of pinginess.

Quote
If I ever get enough money for a 122 key, it might change my mind, but I like all them keys I get on the Model M, and the XT layout isn't appreciably worse than the AT in my book. To me, it's about the number of keys. The F107 is the holy grail.

I could never type on an F XT. I tried, since it was the one board I had with significantly better switches than MX blues for a good period of time. The layout, and stepped caps, was just too weird. Even AT boards took me a while to get used to, since I use ctrl quite a bit.

Presumably, you could just remap the control, caps, and alt keys to do whatever you wanted, right?

Quote
I agree on the F107. They weigh 10 pounds or more, they're completely unnecessarily long, but they're a thing of simultaneous beauty and ruggedness. Completely impractical, but there's nothing I would rather use regardless at the moment. Not to downplay the rest of the 4704 family.

Well, I performed your suggestion, let's see what happens!