Hello!
I've been lurking on the site for a few weeks now and decided to join because today marks the day my 'Geekdom' has reached it's peak... I've always been very particular about the tactile feedback a keyboard offers and preferred a louder click and tactile feedback. I never knew why every keyboard I would try never had the resistance and "feel" I was after. My standard of reference was the old IBM Model M I used in elementary school. I've worked in an office setting or from my home office for years and have tried more keyboards than I care to admit. What is more embarrassing is the fact that I never researched why I wasn't getting what I sought after which is because I was buying crappy rubber dome keyboards.
A few weeks ago I got fed-up with the options I had around the house and decided to get 'Google Smart' and researched the hell out of keyboards (including a lot of information sourced from this site). I learned about better key switch offerings, buckling spring, ALPS switches, blue, brown, red, black Cherry's... You name it, and I probably watched videos or read about it. lol
I couldn't find a legit IBM Model M locally in Charleston and didn't want to pay big money for a keyboard that wouldn't pass a hotel style, black-light test. I debated between a more basic Ducky keyboard with cherry blues because it is a bit more contemporary looking than the IBM style board and the Unicomp Ultra Classic (black/grey) but after countless sound comparisons and affirmation that most typists preferred the Unicomp; I decided to go for it.
It just came today (pics below of keyboard in my home office and a close-up) and I'm so thrilled with the incredible tactile feedback from the buckling spring set-up and the sturdiness of the board. After a short typing session; I did a 1 minute typing test and increased my speed from 82 wpm average to 95 on my first test! My only wish would be to have the option for black keys with white or grey legends for an even more modern look (although the more I look at the keyboard, the more I appreciate the black/grey contrast) but from my research, Unicomp's is still using either original IBM or Lexmark equipment and only had the capabilities for this type of key for a few years. I can't order the optional all black key caps because the keyboard will also be used occasionally by a peck-and-hunt typer.
Does anyone know of a company that sells black caps with white lettering for Model M/Unicomp? I don't want to dye the current caps because I'm scared of it looking like they are a DIY experiment gone wrong.Anyway, I've made this post about 3X longer than I originally intended because I want to keep typing! To wrap it up, thanks for this site for providing so much information and I'm glad to have joined the forum!
