TECK reliability these days

[rsantos97]

Anyone know what the reliability is with the Truly Ergonomic Keyboards these days?  I am interested in getting one but they've had too many issues in the past.  On their site they claimed that by switching from Cherry switches to Kahlil they resolved the issues people had with some keys not registering or with double typing.  I always thought their problems were due to their controllers not switches, and I've never heard of anyone having issues with cherry mx switches, so I find that very odd.

Anyways I have the itch to get another non-staggered ergo board.  I was also thinking about the TypeMatrix, but a lot of people complain about the high actuation force of the keys.  I already owned a Kinesis Advantage and an Ergo Dox in the past.

[davkol]

Avoid Truly Ergonomic. They may, or may not have eventually fixed the chatter problems, but their reputation as a business remains: unprofessional behavior, lack of communication, not honoring trial/warranty period.

[naz]

I have one of the last batch they made with cherry switches. It's weird... some of the buttons don't register or double register... sometimes. It's not a constant thing, but it is there. It mainly happens on the number and function rows (buttons you don't use that much); also after a vacation, when the keyboard hasn't been use for a few weeks, the problem is present on letter keys for a few days and then is back to normal.

I like the keyboard and layout, but the quality does not match the price tag.

My advice: don't buy it, just wait a few months for the keyboardio.

Regards

[tp4tissue]

Ergodox.. at least 50x as ergonomic as the Truly Ergonomic..


Which would make it at least 2000x more ergonomic than traditional flat qwerty boards.


Point is..  Ergodox = 1000000000x better than keyboard..

Yup.. totally scientific right here..

I learned my math from -user  digi  , he best @ math

[Vladimir]

If the problem remains, do it yourself a better one. With teensy and hookers. In fact, forget the teensy.

Also, is dangerous to go alone! Take this:
https://goo.gl/OOMkW9

There may be a few mistakes.
Use the opportunity to improve the layout to your needs.

Ergodox.. at least 50x as ergonomic as the Truly Ergonomic..

Believe or not, Ergodox is not the answer for everything.
Even been much better than standard, which I agree.

EDIT: Color caps bonus

[rsantos97]

Ergodox.. at least 50x as ergonomic as the Truly Ergonomic..


Which would make it at least 2000x more ergonomic than traditional flat qwerty boards.


Point is..  Ergodox = 1000000000x better than keyboard..

Yup.. totally scientific right here..

I learned my math from -user  digi  , he best @ math

I already built an ErgoDox a couple years ago and sold it.  I did not like the thumb cluster spacing, especially since I have small hands.

[davkol]

B-but tenting…

[rsantos97]

If the problem remains, do it yourself a better one. With teensy and hookers. In fact, forget the teensy.

Also, is dangerous to go alone! Take this:
http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/#/gists/db53a900a9808a3db4572e920a580840

There may be a few mistakes.
Use the opportunity to improve the layout to your needs.

Ergodox.. at least 50x as ergonomic as the Truly Ergonomic..

Believe or not, Ergodox is not the answer for everything.
Even been much better than standard, which I agree.

EDIT: Color caps bonus
(Attachment Link)

Thanks man! I am really liking the layout especially since all of the keys I use are already on the main layer.

[Sc0tTy]

I've now replaced both my TECK's twice and one is already starting to fail... Again (read: not registering key presses).
Sadly getDigital stopped supplying TECK's, they wouldn't tell me why, but that's gonna be an issue

Even worse there is no keyboard around that has all the properties I love about the TECK.
The only feature missing on the TECK is tilting.

For me this is the final straw though and I'm now looking for a different keyboard and I'm eying the Ergodox EZ as its replacement.
It even has macro support.

Hope this helps!

[Sc0tTy]

Looks like the TECK is back to Cherry Browns
You are not able to choose Blues either

https://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/mechanical-keyswitches--cherry-mx-brown-red-blue-black-clear--truly-ergonomic-mechanical-keyboard

Weird...

[Vladimir]

Looks like the TECK is back to Cherry Browns
You are not able to choose Blues either

https://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/mechanical-keyswitches--cherry-mx-brown-red-blue-black-clear--truly-ergonomic-mechanical-keyboard

Weird...

It's funny because the photo shows Kailh.

[tp4tissue]

Ergodox.. at least 50x as ergonomic as the Truly Ergonomic..


Which would make it at least 2000x more ergonomic than traditional flat qwerty boards.


Point is..  Ergodox = 1000000000x better than keyboard..

Yup.. totally scientific right here..

I learned my math from -user  digi  , he best @ math

I already built an ErgoDox a couple years ago and sold it.  I did not like the thumb cluster spacing, especially since I have small hands.

The issue comes down to rotation caused by flat orientation..

If you properly tented the ergodox, you should have no issues with the thumb cluster regardless of you hand size.


When keyboards are flat, in order to use a thumb key, if it is far away this requires significant wrist rotation to reach, this is uncomfortable.


However, when rotated,  all thumb keys become easy to reach because the arm only has to engage biceps in a curling motion, which is a very light and fast motion.

[M4R5]

I have a TECK. Like all TECKs it's unusable, and on top of that it's got some important ergonomic oversights. Even if it worked I would not recommend the design.

Maltron keyboards are good. Kinesis cloned their design, but omitted the numberpad to work around Malton's patent. I understand that Maltron's products slightly less concave key bowls than the Kinesis keyboards, and many people prefer the less concave design (I read that last week somewhere).

[Phenix]

I still want to get my hands on a cheap kinesis or maltron.. they could be better than my dox. nevertheless will build a Mitosis ergo board soon.

[Sciurid89]

That's somewhat troubling to hear that the newer ones have reliability issues. I'll have to be prepared to find a different main axe if either of mine go bad.

[Sc0tTy]

Well my ErgoDox EZ just arrived a week early \0/ and I'm already liking it a lot Even if I havent found a place for every key yet.
Hopefully I can return my TECK soon

[tufty]

TECK aren't going to get anywhere by blaming their switches.  They've tried switching manufacturers and models, and nothing has actually fixed the problem.  The problem is in their firmware, but they've got their heads so far up their corporate *******s they can't possibly admit that.  Probably because admitting the fault is in firmware would mean opening themselves to all sorts of corporate liability issues.

If you must have the TECK's layout (and it seems pretty OK, I can see why people would like it), get one cheap off some disillusioned sucker and wire in a teensy or similar running some working firmware.  Don't worry about voiding the warranty, because TECK aren't going to honour their warranty anyway.

[RominRonin]

Have you considered an atreus62 as an alternative?

[daerid]

The issue comes down to rotation caused by flat orientation..

If you properly tented the ergodox, you should have no issues with the thumb cluster regardless of you hand size.


When keyboards are flat, in order to use a thumb key, if it is far away this requires significant wrist rotation to reach, this is uncomfortable.


However, when rotated,  all thumb keys become easy to reach because the arm only has to engage biceps in a curling motion, which is a very light and fast motion.

This may be true for some, but not all. I owned 3 ErgoDoxes, and tried tenting them at varying degrees, for months at a time. Invariably the thumb cluster caused me excruciating pain, regardless of tenting angle. Hands come in different sizes, but the ErgoDox does not.

[F2a]

The issue comes down to rotation caused by flat orientation..

If you properly tented the ergodox, you should have no issues with the thumb cluster regardless of you hand size.


When keyboards are flat, in order to use a thumb key, if it is far away this requires significant wrist rotation to reach, this is uncomfortable.


However, when rotated,  all thumb keys become easy to reach because the arm only has to engage biceps in a curling motion, which is a very light and fast motion.

This may be true for some, but not all. I owned 3 ErgoDoxes, and tried tenting them at varying degrees, for months at a time. Invariably the thumb cluster caused me excruciating pain, regardless of tenting angle. Hands come in different sizes, but the ErgoDox does not.

Try a Kinesis Advantage 2 . Flat tenting is not the answer and in fact for me it was painful for the thumbs. Unfortunately they are expensive because they have no actual competition. I can never use anything else now and I type all day long.

[davkol]

Try a Kinesis Advantage 2 . Flat tenting is not the answer and in fact for me it was painful for the thumbs. Unfortunately they are expensive because they have no actual competition. I can never use anything else now and I type all day long.

Except Maltron, Katy, Dactyl or ManuForm.

Kinesis Advantage is the cheapest out of the four, because it's not custom, but still expensive, because (a) economy of scales, (b) a contoured shell and PCBs will never be as cheap as flat.

I'm not too fond of kinesis' thumb clusters though. Yes, they are on a different plane than the keywells, but still a bit too far and I'd prefer an entirely different angle: a vertical thumb cluster, which can be achieved by modifying a cheap ErgoDox/ErgoDone as well.

[yellowfour]

Thumbs are built for strength, not flexibility and reach. Don't try to use it for too many common functions on many keys. In other words, use the thumb for one or two important keys. For other thumb keys in the cluster, they should be accessed very infrequently, and you should move your whole hand toward them. So do not be too concerned about those keys being too far away.

If you're on ErgoDox anyway, try to learn and accustom to the advantages of layers instead. Put those distant thumb keys onto layers that could then be accessed by home fingers.

[Boerta]

Seems like I'm in the minority here, but I have two TECKs - one at work and one at home. Been using them for years. I don't remember when i bought them, but they are the first and second iterations of the board. Brown cherry, 209 layout. Been working flawlessly for me the whole time, and I absolutely love them. A bit bummed to see that they are only selling it to the USA these days. Also, I don't like they changes they've made to the layouts through the years. I use the extra 4 kanji (or whatever) buttons for my extra Norwegian letters and hotkey for my window manager.
2 more people at my office followed suit and have been using only the TECK for the last 4-5 years or so.
The one issue I've had is that some of the keycaps are a bit loose and sometimes bounce off the stem if i release the button in a certain way.
I guess I got lucky.