Abs m1 $20 shipped

[didjamatic]

ABS M1 for $20 shipped from NewEgg with $10 off discount code.

[elbowglue]

Nice find... What switch does this have again?  And it has transposition errors correct?

[itlnstln]

Wow, they can't seem to give them away.  Looking back on it now, it was a pretty crappy 'board.  Well, the switches are anyway.

[didjamatic]

XM?  

I couldn't turn down one at this price.

[elbowglue]

Clicky?

[didjamatic]

Sounds like they're non-clicky, very tactile  from this review.

[Half-Saint]

Surely you mean $30 shipped?

Ah, my bad.. didn't notice the discount coupon.

[Tr0j4nM4x1mus]

can the simplified ALPS be modded to be clicky??
& for 20 bucks I pulled the trigger on one too

[itlnstln]

I'm not so sure they are Fukka; I think they are XM.  I had the early model that looked exactly like the Filco (the "second revision" has a different font on the keycaps), though, so they may have different switches.  The two I had (as indicated in my review) had very tactile, non-clicky switches.  They were pretty cool at first, but they were stiffer than the real ALPS in the Dell, thus they were very tiring to type on for long stretches.  They are certainly better than a rubber dome 'board, but they aren't as nice as I made them out to be in that review.  I was still a young geekhacker at the time.  Now that I have tried all of the "popular" switches, I would say that the switches in the M1 are pretty unrefined.

[wellington1869]

fukka abs m1 - its a fantastic keyboard so long as you dont type like 100wpm (or game). If you do you may find some transposition annoyances. unless they fixed that - which i doubt. I've lost all faith in mech controller manufacturers in general. they just dont care.

yup, dome boards all the way for me for now.  its not that they're better; its that my expectations are reduced (and yea they're still quite functional), so either way i'm happier therefore

[elbowglue]

Welly - you should have gotten a filco Zero with clicky fukka switches, done a controller swap with a blue cherry filco tenkeyless, then sell the blue cherry with faulty controller on ebay!

You would then have your ultimate non-transposing clicky fukka board in tenkeyless layout.

[wellington1869]

Welly - you should have gotten a filco Zero with clicky fukka switches

er...

done a controller swap with a blue cherry filco tenkeyless, then sell the blue cherry with faulty controller on ebay!

i think i seriously considered that!  [iirc, the possibility of swapping out its controller was discussed, but ultimately rejected because it was theorized that debouncing algorithms would be way off even if the keymap was the same, so a straight controller swap was unlikely to work without new firmware]

ultimate non-transposing clicky fukka board in tenkeyless layout.

I'm still waiting for someone to build it bro waiting patiently...

[mrbill]

I thought the M1 was great until I got a Filco.  Now the M1 sits on the guest computer in the living room.

[elbowglue]

If anyone gets in on this deal, let me know if the transposition issue still exists on this keyboard.  There's no reason to think it won't but maybe they fixed it?  (wishful thinking)

I'm not willing to buy it / return it if it continues transposes, as return shipping is like 15 bucks.

[ruumis]

at this price, not to mention 3% Bing cash back, I'm going to get a second M1 as a spare.

[nowsharing]

Thanks for sharing this deal, I bought one for the heck of it.

[Otterclock]

Wow, they can't seem to give them away.  Looking back on it now, it was a pretty crappy 'board.  Well, the switches are anyway.

But..but..you raved about it.

I've spent 20 bucks on worse things, so I picked one up.

[hyperlinked]

I went and bit on this. I figured it could qualify as a GeekHack wallet sacrifice for the year that might take the place of a more expensive sacrifice later on.

[microsoft windows]

I'd rather spend the ten bucks on an IBM keyboard than some piece of crud from Newegg that doesn't work properly like that ABS M1.

[wellington1869]

everyone who bought one, can you let us know if you think transposing is improved or fixed? Just type "note" as fast as you can (at artificially high speed if necessary) and see if it prints 'ntoe'. thanks! If its improved or fixed i'll pick one up too.

[D-EJ915]

I'd rather spend the ten bucks on an IBM keyboard than some piece of crud from Newegg that doesn't work properly like that ABS M1.

yet your username is microsoft windows

[erricrice]

everyone who bought one, can you let us know if you think transposing is improved or fixed? Just type "note" as fast as you can (at artificially high speed if necessary) and see if it prints 'ntoe'. thanks! If its improved or fixed i'll pick one up too.

I'm grabbing one, I'll let you know if it's any different than the older ones.

[Phaedrus2129]

Sold out. I think half the members of OCN bought one.

[wellington1869]

Sold out. I think half the members of OCN bought one.

whats ocn?

I'm grabbing one, I'll let you know if it's any different than the older ones.

thanks dude

[Phaedrus2129]

whats ocn?



thanks dude

Overclock.net. Computer enthusiast site. Me and a few other people have been extolling the virtues of mechanical keyboards on there for months now, and as soon as a new, non-beige one became available for under $20 (just now), it seems like everyone on the site went and bought one. The thread about the deal is over twenty pages long.

[Phaedrus2129]

Regrettably true.

[elbowglue]

Anyone get this keyboard yet / any transposition errors?

[kohan69]

I just got this keyboard, LOUD AS FFFK (from a filco w/ black switches)
keys rattle, the switches used in shift and possibly some modifier keys feel differnt, num enter and num plus, and backspace sound and feel VERY different almost like cherries.
keyboard seems to have a slight latency to my input. maybe im not pressing the switches the same way.


What are transposition errors?


I tested with this:
http://www.microsoft.com/appliedsciences/AntiGhostingExplained.mspx

and i got 2-6 NKRO w/ usb
i say 2-6 because if i press ASDF  i press G and nothing
i can press ASDF+H and nothing after that registers (except modifiers, space is a modifier!)
i can press ASDF+J+K is ok, wierd.

if i press WAD = Q, S, E, Z, C dont register.

[Phaedrus2129]

if i press WAD = Q, S, E, Z, C dont register.

Note that in no game will you strafe left and right at the same time.

[NOMiS]

Note that in no game will you strafe left and right at the same time.

If you alternate quickly from left to right, this will help. Like while strafe jumping for example.

[wellington1869]

kohan, thanks for the update.

What happens if you type "note" really fast, like artifiically fast. Do you get "ntoe"? Thats the kind of error i most care about, one that simply comes from fast typing. (Similarly try "list" and see if you get 'lsit'.)

If you dont, i'll be in the market for one I guess.

Also maybe someone can open up a key at some point to verify these are still fukka switches...

LOUD AS FFFK

yea, put some aekii rubber-dampened sliders in it tho and she's a beauty.

[kohan69]

Try ASX.

yea, put some aekii rubber-dampened sliders in it tho and she's a beauty.

wa??

regatrding note:

i think i get ntoe!
ntoe
ntoe
note
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
no3e
noet
ntoe
note
ntoe
note
note
noet
note
nmtop
tneo
tnoe
ntoe

i suck at this, i think i get ntoe

ntoe
note
ntoe
ntoe
note
note
ntoe
ntoe
note
ntoe
note
ntoe
note
ntoe
noe
nmore
ntoe
noet
note
ntoe
note
ntoe
note
note

i cant really judge this objectively, i dont have a highspeed camera to test this, sorry.

i maek this mistaek often wehn typign anyway, so im not a very goodd judeg!!!1

[elbowglue]

Was that last line you typed in jest?  It's full of tranpositions heh

[wellington1869]

regatrding note:

i think i get ntoe!


ntoe
ntoe
note
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
no3e
noet
ntoe
note
ntoe

yea, you probably get ntoe

Thats a pity. Still, if you're not a "super-fast" typer (ie, faster than 100wpm or higher), it should be fine for you.  People averaging 80wpm and etc didnt report any real issues with this board, at least for normal typing.  YMMV of course.

[kohan69]

Was that last line you typed in jest?  It's full of tranpositions heh

obviusyl!!!!!! im jsut tpying liek this cuz i suck at tpyign
typing
tpyinmgh
tpyoi
typintyping
tpying
typing
typing
ryping
typiinh
typing
typing
typingh
tpying
typing
typing
typingh
tpyng
typing
typing
typing
typinmh
typingt
typingt
typiongt
typing

hm..

note
ntoe
note
ntoe
note
ntoe
ntoe


ntoe
ntoe
note
ntoe
ntoe
note
nmote
note
note

on my ficlo black cherries:
noter
note
note
note
note
nbot
e
bnote

note
note
note
note
ntoe
note
note
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe
ntoe

yeah its ME, lol

[Phaedrus2129]

note
note
note
note
notem
note
note
note
ntoe
note
note
note
note


This is my perfectly worthless contribution, because I don't have an M1.

[wellington1869]

my worthless contribution on my ms 7000 rubber dome:
ntoe ntoe ntoe ntoe
but i'd expect nothing less

phaedrus, are you on an M? Its much harder to get ntoe on an M, even tho its not n-key. THere was a thread on that at some point, i think it was chalked up to a high clock speed on the controller or something like that.  
Its not the most scientific test in the world obviously, but you can bring out the controller's limitations and patterns if you play around with it long enough. Eventually you can dig up controller specs to back up what you're seeing. And eventually get the manufacturer to acknowledge the limitations. Eventually...

But for most typists it shouldnt really be an issue. (ANd if it is -- guess what, newegg takes returns, and problem peacefully solved).

Gamers are another story, may not like it for not being n-key.

[kohan69]

ASX




A-S-X has been reported as being blocked on the ABS M1 as a 3 key combo on the Microsoft test.  Try  A-S-Z.   Both are pretty reasonable combos for a FPS game.

yeah AS+X nor AS+Z works.

hence the 2KRO

[Phaedrus2129]

my worthless contribution on my ms 7000 rubber dome:
ntoe ntoe ntoe ntoe
but i'd expect nothing less

phaedrus, are you on an M? Its much harder to get ntoe on an M, even tho its not n-key. THere was a thread on that at some point, i think it was chalked up to a high clock speed on the controller or something like that.  
Its not the most scientific test in the world obviously, but you can bring out the controller's limitations and patterns if you play around with it long enough. Eventually you can dig up controller specs to back up what you're seeing. And eventually get the manufacturer to acknowledge the limitations. Eventually...

But for most typists it shouldnt really be an issue. (ANd if it is -- guess what, newegg takes returns, and problem peacefully solved).

Gamers are another story, may not like it for not being n-key.

No, Compaq MX-11800

[Tr0j4nM4x1mus]

I picked up two of these since they were so cheap, gave one to my son & broke out the other last night (didn't work)the "L" doesn't work ... I took the switch apart & tried to trip it manually still no go...but it's not worth my time to spent 10 bucks to send it back so I'll just salvage parts from it....oh the one I gave my son works fine

[itlnstln]

One of the 2 I sold awhile back had a broken Esc key.  It was the one that was practically NIB.  I used it maybe twice, and certainly not enough to know that the Esc key didn't work.

[kohan69]

First thing I do when I get a keyboard is use PCCHECK (part of hirens bootcd) to test every key.

[Phaedrus2129]

List of OCN members with the ABS M1, most of them recent acquisitions, and more on the way:

Skylit
AsAnAtheist
Waylo88
Clownfart
Riou
MeatloafOverdose
RMP459
Fshizl
Jyr
DefoLinY
chatch15117
88EVGAFTW
Ez12a
Craiga35
Pbpenguins412
Redmist
Matt*S.
Paio
GanjaSMK
TheWolfe
Fireman
Otterclock
MatthewK
garricktlee
r34p3rex
smartasien
jemping
sexybastard
xToaDx
Bandrew
not2bad
Forum
Jplaz
paquitox


This just the ones who bothered to post in the thread. So far there's only been one who didn't like it, because of the noise.

[hyperlinked]

note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note
note

It seems to be working mostly just fine for me. There may be some transposition errors, but it's really hard for me to tell because these keys are so much stiffer than the Cherry Brown feel that I'm used to so I'm at least partly responsible for some of the transposition errors. When I concentrate on striking the keys hard, the errors pretty much go away. Of course, my typing speed drops too when I do that.

I tried to type as fast as I could on Key Hero and made a ton of errors. That was when I was failing to press some of the keys hard enough.

Then I slowed down to focus on hitting each key hard. My final speed was 105wpm with one error on that test. The one error wasn't likely the result of a transposition.

I like this board, but it's a bit too heavy of a strike for me. If I'm going to get something this heavy, I'd rather get a buckling spring. I'm not going to give this thing a full test because I don't think my hands will survive.

In the quick spin that I'm giving it now, it mostly performed fine. It's loud as all hell and has a crazy loud ping. I don't really mind that, but it's probably not fun for my wife and if I'm going to be this loud, I'd rather have a buckling spring.

[J888www]

Phaedrus - great job!  It was fun to read through how excited many of the OCN members are.

I am NOT excited (told you so in my 1st Post), that KBD does NOT excite me, then again maybe I'm way past the age for excitements or maybe the other members are all young pups and become easily excited.


@ Phaedrus : I AM excited by your red Escape key. How much are you charging with Shipping to EU ?

[hyperlinked]

What's with this "note" thing.

Monkey see. Monkey do.

I'll do the guillotine test later tonight and post results.

[hyperlinked]

BTW, the Monkey see, Monkey do comment was in reference to me typing "note note note." I didn't even see the monkey related post that came immediately before I submitted. Hahha.

Anyway, so here are the results from the guillotine test.

I got consistent transposition errors only on the letters Q and W. If I did the test quickly, the 2KRO status of the board was immediately apparent as I only got "TR" or sometimes "TRRRRRRR" or "TTTTRR" with keys repeating.

At a fast, but even speed, I got a lot of "TREQW" over and over again. Note the switching of the letters Q and W in the string. On most of my runs I either got blocked after the second letter or the whole string came out fine until the final two letters. I don't believe the error is coming from my technique because I get the correct results on my Filco Cherry Brown.

So far I'm not seeing any deal breakers on the M1 if you're an average or a somewhat above average typist. I'm sure it won't be as reliable as a Filco, but if you get a good one, it's a steal at $20.

[hyperlinked]

Ah, I couldn't post actual results because I had to ditch the text editor window in a hurry when my power went out and I was running on backup battery.

So to engage in some historical re-enactment....

ABS M1:

tr (too fast)
tr
tr
trrr
treqw
tr
treqw
treqw
trreqw
trrrr
tr
treqw

On the Filco (Brown):
(done at any speed)
trewq
trewq
trewq
trewq

[Otterclock]

yea, put some aekii rubber-dampened sliders in it tho and she's a beauty.

How does one go about this? Is there a thread or somethin that shows a step by step. Can it be done by not so bright people? Things I take apart tend to not work again.

[erricrice]

Funny, I just got mine in, and it has the old big-lettering.  I must have been hitting some old stock for sure.   Still has transposition problems.  Wow, yeah I got a really old one - has XMs in it.  Damn, got  screwed on that purchase.....still like the feel though!  

Anyone have one that has the small lettering on it?  Would be nice to see if they have improved it!

[erricrice]

Ooops, nope, looked again and they are the Fukkas, I forgot what they looked like it's been so long since the 'fiasco'!!  lol

Still the big text though, which is weird since they have updated pics on newegg with the small text for nearly a year now...

[Otterclock]

This mod post shows ALPS assembly/reassembly.  Given that these M1s are simplified switches I found the assembly procedure tricky.  There are double notches that the switch has to fit into.

Bummer if some of these are Type 2 (XMs) not Type 1 (Fukkas).

Many thanks, Ripster.:smile: I'm assuming the slider just comes out after pooping the top off. Well it's a $20 board so I guess the risk isn't too high. I'm gonna keep the pooping typo as is.

[bitflipper]

I knew I bought that AEKII for a reason. I think I'll try this.

[wellington1869]

How does one go about this? Is there a thread or somethin that shows a step by step. Can it be done by not so bright people? Things I take apart tend to not work again.

Re: aekii rubber-dampened sliders into the fukka switch, these alps mod links might help:

Once you have the donor board, the following are useful, tho not necessary, to have:

-a keypuller from hooleon (see links below for details/info), $6
-a "splinter forceps" is the fastest way to open up the alps casing, see links below for deets. Ebay, few bucks.
-a tube of silicon grease (helps with reassembly of the alps switch), ebay, few bucks.
-a few small containers to store the alps switch components during assembly/dissembly; I use a $1 muffin baking pan from the supermarket for its 6 "container" compartments.
-a magnetic picker-upper thing (telescoping magnet on a stalk) is helpful to pick up springs and leafs quickly after you remove the upper housing, and also can help with reassembly of the alps housing later on. See below links for deets. Is a few bucks on ebay.
-a copy of aquakeytest.exe or its equivalent is helpful, to rapidly test the keys and isolate any problematic ones.

If you have the above, the entire slider-swap takes literally 20 minutes, you can do it while watching your favorite sitcom. Otherwise can take a bit longer. Its mechanically simple to do though, either way.

-see the faq link below for most common donor boards for dampened sliders. Go down to the FAQ and MOD sections at the bottom of the wiki:
 http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=ALPS+switches#FAQs

-sound samples, before and after the mod:
http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:7217

-additional related threads from mods section:

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:7018 ("removing an alps keycap without killing yourself")

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:5452 ("tools for extracting alps switches")

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:4901 ("Instructions: removing alps switch") (alternate, slower way)

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:7121 ("Open/Re-assemble an Alps switch")

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:7157 ("make your fukkas even smoother") if you want

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:4999 ("Fun with AEKII") Some deets and info

The most important caveat is during reassembly: Dont force the top casing on, if you feel resistance, backoff and retry. The most common "issue" one sees after this mod is a key that doesnt seem to work after reassembly (on a given board, expect at least 2 keys to be that way). This is easily fixed tho, for those keys, you just separate the contacts on the alps switch slightly with a small flat screwdriver. Works every time. I have a pic of this somewhere on GH, i'll see if i can find it and link it here.

Ah, found it. Not a photo but a post in a helpful thread on "stuck fukka switch".  I can provide more details if anyone gets stuck, but dont panic if you find one or two switches not working afterwards, the fix is fairly reliable and simple unless you've totally crushed the contacts by forcing the upper housing back onto the switch. So yea, go gently during reassembly and everything will be okay.

[wellington1869]

oops

[erricrice]

Lol!  My mod got linked!

Also, it looks like everyone is getting the old big-text 'boards.  I wondering if ABS is even actually shipping the small lettered ones, and if not, how did newegg get one to take pictures of.....?

EDIT:

We're spreading......

Now i want a Tactile Clicky KB, this is a damn addiction.

Lol:

FYI, the ABS does not have a steel plate.

[nowsharing]

Oh god, not the giant lettering...I feel like I've been ripped off.

[TexasFlood]

First thing I do when I get a keyboard is use PCCHECK (part of hirens bootcd) to test every key.

Good idea, just burned the latest version to help recover a relatives PC.  Didn't think of using it to check keyboard keys but it works great for that.

[itlnstln]

The small-lettered, Filco-like 'boards were the earlier version (I had 2 of these).  The later revisions (shipping now) have the larger font.

[erricrice]

The small-lettered, Filco-like 'boards were the earlier version (I had 2 of these).  The later revisions (shipping now) have the larger font.

Oh that's funny I thought it was the other way around lol.  I guess I got the new revision for my first 'board.  I thought that they changed it to the small font after that, but it must be the other way around haha.

[Phaedrus2129]

Jesus fornicate.


Overclock.net M1 owners
Tator Tot
Skylit
AsAnAtheist
Waylo88
Clownfart
Riou
MeatloafOverdose
RMP459
Fshizl
Jyr
DefoLinY
chatch15117
88EVGAFTW
Ez12a
Craiga35
Pbpenguins412
Redmist
Matt*S.
Paio
GanjaSMK
TheWolfe
Fireman
Otterclock
MatthewK
garricktlee
r34p3rex
smartasien
jemping
sexybastard
xToaDx
Bandrew
not2bad
Forum
Jplaz
paquitox
nijikon5
Andy.Yung
The Master Chief
michaeljr1186
DaMirrorLink
wire
hubwub
PhRe4k
DUNC4N
liveify

[Phaedrus2129]

Tator Tot. I think you should send him a PM about how you want to show her how to really touch type...

[InSanCen]

That's a lot of potential GH members.

Please tell me the majority aint kids with attitude problems...

Jesus fornicate.


Overclock.net M1 owners
big list...

[aegrotatio]

I am pretty happy with the two I got for $20 each and free shipping.  My thoughts are in the other thread: http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=177274&postcount=81