Possible Model M / Unicomp clone?

[philodox]

http://www.weirdstuff.com/cgi-bin/item/24214

Has anyone tried this keyboard?  Not sure if it is a buckling spring type or of the same quality [how can it be at that price?], but it looks very similar to the Model M's and has a couple extra linux keys.

[lowpoly]

With the exception of the LED label the case is very different?



Look at how high the keycaps are on an M and how wide the case is left and right of the keys.

[itlnstln]

That site does have some weird stuff.  I saw an ISA ISDN modem as well as other ISDN modems.  I appreciate that they are recycling old/surplus computer equipment, but some things should just be put out to pasture.  I guess it would be great if you are looking for vintage parts for a collection, though.  ISDN modems?  Seriously?  I don't think ISDN was very popular even when it was supposed to be popular.  My dad had an ISDN line for a while, but anything faster than dial-up back then (and ISDN was not much faster than dial -up) was prohibitively expensive (my dad's was paid for by work) until cable and DSL came out.  In this day and age, I think weirdstuff.com is going to have a hard time getting rid of those ISDN modems unless it is to collectors, especially the ISA ones.

[philodox]

Yeah, it's not identical or anything.  I'm typing on a Model M at the moment, and the design differences are apparent, but this could be a nice cheap option for linux users if it turns out to use a mechanical switch of some kind.

[xsphat]

but this could be a nice cheap option for linux users if it turns out to use a mechanical switch of some kind.

What makes you think it's mechanical?

And BTW, buckling springs are not mechanical. Neither are Topre switches.

[philodox]

I just thought it was a possibility given the design.  Who knows what they are making out of the old IBM plants.

Sorry for the terminology error, I meant buckling springs.

[xsphat]

Just letting you know. Sometimes people around here get particular about things.

[lowpoly]

And BTW, buckling springs are not mechanical. Neither are Topre switches.

I know that that's the going definition but I'm not too happy with it. IMHO the Model M qualifies as mechanical.

In fact, every keyboard is mechanical, even rubber domes. Those laptop laser projection keyboards are not mechanical. Or an on-screen keyboard.

So we actually use this word (wrongly) to separate the keyboards we like (mostly micro switches) from those we don't (rubber domes). When it comes to crossover technologies like the M or the Topre it gets difficult.

Why is a Cherry switch mechanical? Because a plastic part pushes two metal contacts together? And pushing two carbon contacts on a plastic membrane together is not mechanical? This can't be the criterium.

I think the actuator is more important. The M contains a spring and a moving lever. This is as mechanical as it can get. A rubber dome OTOH is just being deformed, so that's where I would draw the line.

This would make a Cherry MY mechanical as well. And the Topre probably not.

[fkeidjn]

Shouldn't the Model M be called somewhere along the lines of a mechanical membrane keyboard?  I believe that membranes could be activated through mechanical means and not simply rubber domes as the only means.

I thought Topre switches are capacitor switches?

I think the keyboard listed above could be using Chery MX or MY switches.

[iMav]

As long as the terminology is standardized, it doesn't really matter.

"Mechanical keyswitches" are self-contained switches that are soldered onto a circuit board of some sort.  

"Capacitive switches" use a change in capacitance to register a keystroke...the key mechanism is not at all attached to the circuit board.

"Buckling springs" are, well, springs that buckle and cause a membrane switch to be actuated.

[lowpoly]

As long as the terminology is standardized, it doesn't really matter.

Of course. Just thought that the terminology left room for improvement.

[alpslover]

i simply prefer not to use the term 'mechanical' at all when describing keyboards.

[alpslover]

As long as the terminology is standardized, it doesn't really matter.

"Mechanical keyswitches" are self-contained switches that are soldered onto a circuit board of some sort.  

"Capacitive switches" use a change in capacitance to register a keystroke...the key mechanism is not at all attached to the circuit board.

"Buckling springs" are, well, springs that buckle and cause a membrane switch to be actuated.

but the original pc and at keyboards use buckling spring mechanisms that actuate capacitive switches....

[iMav]

but the original pc and at keyboards use buckling spring mechanisms that actuate capacitive switches....

And you've correctly categorized them using two of the types of keyboards I listed above.

See?  The current common lingo is more than sufficient.  

[xsphat]

It's better to be accurate, though.

[wellington1869]

It's better to be accurate, though.

ya i'd agree with that. The typing test program I use tells me the "effective typing speed" after discounting for typos. On the smk I thought I was typing at 90wpm (same as on the browns), but apparently I made more typos - the "effective speed" turned out to be 84!  (As compared to the browns where it remained 90).  its better to type slightly slower but more accurately.

[CX23882]

That looks like a Fujitsu keyboard.