Keytronic E06101NPB-C for $25

[SamirD]

http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/sys/5222345026.html

Not sure how good a keyboard this is, but I know keytronic has made some decent feeling stuff, although never a clicking one to my knowledge.  Still for $25 including the mouse is it a deal?

I'd actually buy it and try it if it wasn't so far away.

[thelectronicnub]

pretty sure its a dome

[SamirD]

I'm thinking that's the case as well, but I do like their domes quite a bit.

I found some older gh threads that discussed this same board and it was being compared to a Topre.

[Kazekumiho]

Using a KeyTronic KT800 right now. While I've never tried Topre, It's the nicest dome I've ever used. Nothing particularly special about it, it just's looks nice and feels nice. I found it in a box almost brand new in the medical school on campus. I think you can get them for like $20.

[ander]

Samir: While this forum's emphasis is on mechanical boards, I join a number of other people here who agree that good RD boards can also be quite fun.

You can find some threads here about "favorite RB boards". My particular favorite RD is the HP C5738.

And of course Topre boards, which are widely enjoyed in the MK community, are technically RD boards with a mechanical element.

[SamirD]

Yep, a good keyboard is a good keyboard (even says it in the logo 'keyboard enthusaists').  It just happens to be that most are not rubber domes.

Good to hear the kt800 is pretty nice.  My wife's got some amx points to burn and I noticed a few keytronic keyboards, so I may get one of those.  Or I will be smart and get the points converted to cash and use them to get sparkplugs for the car like we need.

Thank you for the link to the HP board!  For some reason I think I have a love for well-made rubber domes as a break from the M.  Another good typing experience, but then I get to feel what I'm missing when I come back to the M.

[ander]

Yep, a good keyboard is a good keyboard (even says it in the logo 'keyboard enthusaists').  It just happens to be that most are not rubber domes.

That's true. Most of the cheap keyboards you see these days have a single rubber membrane with switches printed on it:





So of course, they don't feel like anything special.

Rubber domes are better, because each key has its own little dome you can feel when you press it. They're usually on one sheet like this:





...but in the high-quality RD boards, each dome is separate, and bigger:





(That's a Dell QuietKey, from our discussion of them here.) With parts like that, you really feel like something's happening as you type.

Good to hear the kt800 is pretty nice.  My wife's got some amx points to burn and I noticed a few keytronic keyboards, so I may get one of those.  Or I will be smart and get the points converted to cash and use them to get sparkplugs for the car like we need. :D

What a choice to have to make!

Key Tronic has been making keyboards a long time. They were the first company that made RD keyboards that looked like IBM's expensive mechanical keyboards, so more people could afford them. (Model M's were around $200 when they were new!)

Thank you for the link to the HP board!  For some reason I think I have a love for well-made rubber domes as a break from the M.  Another good typing experience, but then I get to feel what I'm missing when I come back to the M.

Exactly—it's fun to have that contrast. I love my Model M, but when I've been typing on it for a while, then I switch to an RD board, everything's suddenly so quiet... That can be pleasant too.  :?)

[SamirD]

Very informative post!  I always wondered what made a 'good' rubber dome better than a 'bad' one.

I actually still have a Keytronic that we bought brand new in the early 1990s.  We used it for several years on our custom 486 that we built.  I'll have to try it again just to feel the feel again.  I should also try out the several IBM rubber domes I have.  So many keyboards, so little time, haha.

[Kazekumiho]

Yup! There's nothing particularly spectacular about the board, it's just a good board considering it's only $20. Is it better than a Model M? No. Is it going to make you grieve over your lack of a Model M? No. It's just a nice vintage-style board. I guess my perspective is skewed, since I found this one basically new, but my friends agree - it's the nicest rubberdome we've ever used.

[ander]

Very informative post!  I always wondered what made a 'good' rubber dome better than a 'bad' one... actually still have a Keytronic that we bought brand new in the early 1990s.  We used it for several years on our custom 486 that we built.  I'll have to try it again just to feel the feel again.  I should also try out the several IBM rubber domes I have. 

If you want one of IBM's best RD boards, find one of the "quiet" Model M's that were made for places like libraries and medical offices, where buckling-spring boards were too noisy. They look like normal Model M's, but their part numbers always start with "71" (71G4622, 71G4643, 71G4621, etc.).

They often turn up on eBay. They usually cost only about half as much as regular Model M's—and because they had to meet IBM's high standards, they're considered some of the best RD boards ever made. Don't expect them to be silent, though. With those big cases and metal backplates, their keys still make a healthy clonk—it just doesn't include the sproing!

So many keyboards, so little time, haha.

Yep! But it's fun to have at least one example of the major KB designs—RD, BS, Alps, Cherry MX, etc. Then it's always fun to type, because you don't get tired of a particular touch. And IMHO, it's all about encouraging yourself to keep writing. (Hey, we're doing it right now!)

[yomammary]

They are great rubberdomes.