Split with great keys?

[Hairball]

Once I get the keyboard I certainly plan on writing up a review and posting it here. I'm surprised nobody has done that it since I would have expected the folks who made the first batch to already have their keyboards by now.

From what I know about the Matias Ergo Pro the first batch *just* finished production in China and is shipping out now or very soon so buyers have them yet.

[davkol]

Somebody has posted pictures from unboxing yesterday/today at Reddit.

[5Uus03mo88G7]

Found the post davkol referred to - https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/2witnw/review_matias_ergo_pro_unboxing_and_mini_review/

[vivalarevolución]

With the wait, the Matias Ergo Pro better have some great quality control.

[hoggy]

With the wait, the Matias Ergo Pro better have some great quality control.

I'll second that, it just oozes quality. Well worth the wait.

[5Uus03mo88G7]

The universe has conspired to keep me from writing a review until now but here I go.

Matias Ergo Pro - Over all - Not happy

I've been looking forever for a really nice quality QWERTY keyboard with good quality keys and I thought the Matias Ergo Pro was it and it turned out not to be.

Problems:
Mushy Keys - The Matias Alps, compared to cherry browns, feel very mushy

Technical Issue #1 - Confused Caplock - I regularly get a problem where the keyboard thinks that the caps lock key is activated when it isn't. If I actually hit the caps lock key that will flip case but all the number keys will still stay on the upper position (e.g. ^ instead of 6). The only fix I have found is to yank the usb cable and re-insert at which point things will work again.

Technical Issue #2 - Double Ts - This one just started recently. Maybe 1 t out of 20 will come up double. I've actually repo'd it doing this against two different machines.

Having paid this much money for a mushy keyboard with technical issues does not leave a good taste in my mouth. So I'm on the hunt for another keyboard to replace it.

[xtrafrood]

Welp, I guess I'll scratch the Ergo Pro off my list

[Niomosy]

What would be fantastic is a lower priced, assembled, VE.A in a tented/split (or tentable / splitable) case.  Lesser materials and such in a more wallet-friendly price would be fantastic, particularly since the layout is great with the extra side keys and 6 in the left.

[xtrafrood]

What would be fantastic is a lower priced, assembled, VE.A in a tented/split (or tentable / splitable) case.  Lesser materials and such in a more wallet-friendly price would be fantastic, particularly since the layout is great with the extra side keys and 6 in the left.

The UHK is tentable, but for some reason, that module is buried under all the other stuff they offer for that beast of a keyboard. I only say that because it's similar to the VE.A (not as flashy though)

[Niomosy]

What would be fantastic is a lower priced, assembled, VE.A in a tented/split (or tentable / splitable) case.  Lesser materials and such in a more wallet-friendly price would be fantastic, particularly since the layout is great with the extra side keys and 6 in the left.

The UHK is tentable, but for some reason, that module is buried under all the other stuff they offer for that beast of a keyboard. I only say that because it's similar to the VE.A (not as flashy though)

My main problem with the UHK is that it's a 60% board where I'd rather stick more to ~75% boards.  Personally, I'd love to have a board in a permanent tent/split case ala the MS Ergo, Kenisis, and Maltron boards.  Someone did that with one of the VE.A predecessors and it looked fantastic.

[xtrafrood]

What would be fantastic is a lower priced, assembled, VE.A in a tented/split (or tentable / splitable) case.  Lesser materials and such in a more wallet-friendly price would be fantastic, particularly since the layout is great with the extra side keys and 6 in the left.

The UHK is tentable, but for some reason, that module is buried under all the other stuff they offer for that beast of a keyboard. I only say that because it's similar to the VE.A (not as flashy though)

My main problem with the UHK is that it's a 60% board where I'd rather stick more to ~75% boards.  Personally, I'd love to have a board in a permanent tent/split case ala the MS Ergo, Kenisis, and Maltron boards.  Someone did that with one of the VE.A predecessors and it looked fantastic.

Oh right, I would love to see a full 108+ key split keyboard

[Niomosy]

What would be fantastic is a lower priced, assembled, VE.A in a tented/split (or tentable / splitable) case.  Lesser materials and such in a more wallet-friendly price would be fantastic, particularly since the layout is great with the extra side keys and 6 in the left.

The UHK is tentable, but for some reason, that module is buried under all the other stuff they offer for that beast of a keyboard. I only say that because it's similar to the VE.A (not as flashy though)

My main problem with the UHK is that it's a 60% board where I'd rather stick more to ~75% boards.  Personally, I'd love to have a board in a permanent tent/split case ala the MS Ergo, Kenisis, and Maltron boards.  Someone did that with one of the VE.A predecessors and it looked fantastic.

Oh right, I would love to see a full 108+ key split keyboard

Hell, I think there needs to be a full tent split 122 board as well because that would be awesome.  We were tossing the idea around a bit in the original GH-122 thread before it turned into just PCBs for 122.

[xtrafrood]

What would be fantastic is a lower priced, assembled, VE.A in a tented/split (or tentable / splitable) case.  Lesser materials and such in a more wallet-friendly price would be fantastic, particularly since the layout is great with the extra side keys and 6 in the left.

The UHK is tentable, but for some reason, that module is buried under all the other stuff they offer for that beast of a keyboard. I only say that because it's similar to the VE.A (not as flashy though)

My main problem with the UHK is that it's a 60% board where I'd rather stick more to ~75% boards.  Personally, I'd love to have a board in a permanent tent/split case ala the MS Ergo, Kenisis, and Maltron boards.  Someone did that with one of the VE.A predecessors and it looked fantastic.

Oh right, I would love to see a full 108+ key split keyboard

Hell, I think there needs to be a full tent split 122 board as well because that would be awesome.  We were tossing the idea around a bit in the original GH-122 thread before it turned into just PCBs for 122.

I could definitely make use of a split 122 key keyboard

[hoggy]

I contacted UHK about a split tenkeyless - I can't remember the exact words, but they didn't rule it out.
Ducky posted pictures with a split 60% recently.

[Niomosy]

I contacted UHK about a split tenkeyless - I can't remember the exact words, but they didn't rule it out.
Ducky posted pictures with a split 60% recently.

That would be awesome if UHK would make a 75% or TKL split board.  I would love if Ducky did one as well.  The Ducky 60% split pics have been floating around for a while so we'd likely need to wait until that was out before seeing them try out a larger split board.

[5Uus03mo88G7]

In further news I contacted Mathias about my busted ErgoPro (constantly having all the Ts doubled up is just sooooo much fun) and since I bought it in 2014 I'm out of warranty. So after having spent $200 on a keyboard, in less than 2 years, I'm out of luck. They did offer me a 25% rebate on a new keyboard but given my experience with their current keyboard I can't say that idea particularly excites me.

So now what do I buy? Looking around the only split ergo keyboards with a qwerty layout with good quality mechanical keys looks to either be the ErgoDox ($300?!?!?!) or the UHK ($250 w/palm rest). Does anyone know what keys UHK uses? I found an old article that says they use Gaterons except for clears which are actual Cherry MX. Does anyone know if that is still the case?

I have to admit that I'm unlikely to get the UHK. After being an early adopter of the ErgoPro and getting burned I'm not sure I want to be anyone else's early adopter.

Thoughts?

[xtrafrood]

In further news I contacted Mathias about my busted ErgoPro (constantly having all the Ts doubled up is just sooooo much fun) and since I bought it in 2014 I'm out of warranty. So after having spent $200 on a keyboard, in less than 2 years, I'm out of luck. They did offer me a 25% rebate on a new keyboard but given my experience with their current keyboard I can't say that idea particularly excites me.

So now what do I buy? Looking around the only split ergo keyboards with a qwerty layout with good quality mechanical keys looks to either be the ErgoDox ($300?!?!?!) or the UHK ($250 w/palm rest). Does anyone know what keys UHK uses? I found an old article that says they use Gaterons except for clears which are actual Cherry MX. Does anyone know if that is still the case?

I have to admit that I'm unlikely to get the UHK. After being an early adopter of the ErgoPro and getting burned I'm not sure I want to be anyone else's early adopter.

Thoughts?

The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is a split mechanical keyboard which utilizes Cherry MX-style switches

https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/

I think I read somewhere that they went with Cherry MX Clears because of the weight/popularity but yea, they haven't changed that line on the front page. Probably Gateron other than the clears. I'm sorry to hear about your Matias Ergo Pro experience - tough break

[suicidal_orange]

In further news I contacted Mathias about my busted ErgoPro (constantly having all the Ts doubled up is just sooooo much fun) and since I bought it in 2014 I'm out of warranty. So after having spent $200 on a keyboard, in less than 2 years, I'm out of luck. They did offer me a 25% rebate on a new keyboard but given my experience with their current keyboard I can't say that idea particularly excites me.

So now what do I buy? Looking around the only split ergo keyboards with a qwerty layout with good quality mechanical keys looks to either be the ErgoDox ($300?!?!?!) or the UHK ($250 w/palm rest). Does anyone know what keys UHK uses? I found an old article that says they use Gaterons except for clears which are actual Cherry MX. Does anyone know if that is still the case?

I have to admit that I'm unlikely to get the UHK. After being an early adopter of the ErgoPro and getting burned I'm not sure I want to be anyone else's early adopter.

Thoughts?

Since you asked for thoughts my first was 'why did (s)he wait two years to complain?' followed by 'I wonder if it's ISO, I'd pay 50% for the broken one even with the annoying first gen caps lock'.  I borrowed an Ergo Pro for a week and loved it, if it had nice caps or was cheaper I would have bought one.

As the warranty's gone anyway hve you tried reflowing the solder joints on the T switch?  That may well solve the chattering.  There's also a way to disable caps lock but I read it sometime last year I think so it won't be easy to find.

[jacobolus]

In further news I contacted Mathias about my busted ErgoPro (constantly having all the Ts doubled up is just sooooo much fun) and since I bought it in 2014 I'm out of warranty. So after having spent $200 on a keyboard, in less than 2 years, I'm out of luck. They did offer me a 25% rebate on a new keyboard but given my experience with their current keyboard I can't say that idea particularly excites me.

You should get a soldering iron and fix the keyboard yourself, or find someone nearby with a soldering iron who can fix it for you; it should be a fast and easy fix. If you want to get fancy, you could even replace the switches with sweet old Alps switches and thereby guarantee the chatter goes away.

Or if you don’t want to do that, you should sell this on Geekhack/Deskthority or a similar forum (or even ebay if you want more exposure), with an explanation of what the issue is. I’m sure there are folks around here who would pay you maybe 70% of the new price for it, even with a few broken switches.

[5Uus03mo88G7]

Wait, seriously? I can sell a broken keyboard?

The T switch finally died completely so I'm typing this on an old keyboard. I yanked the key cap and can't see anything obviously wrong but now if I press the switch nothing happens.

When I get some free time (bahahahahahahha) I'll have to post a classified.

[jacobolus]

You might have a harder time selling the keyboard if e.g. the controller is fried, or if you dropped it and broke the case in half. If it’s just a few dodgy switches, that should be an easy fix for anyone with a soldering iron.

[profet]

Would you be interested in buying a custom Ergodox? I have a couple of slots open in my queue.

[mod edit: removed imgur link and replaced with recent sales thread in classifieds]
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=82495.msg2184976#msg2184976

[5Uus03mo88G7]

@profet I love the custom keyboards, especially having the wood trim. Much nicer than the usual plastic. Do you handle adding wrist pads? What about some kind of tilt mechanism? I find a negative inclination makes for a more comfortable typing experience. Also could you put on whatever key caps I want? My current plan is to buy http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keycap-cherry-mx-switch-gateron-switch-o-ring-ultimate-sampler-tester-kit.html and finally try out the different key caps and see which ones I want. After buying the Ergo Pro and finding out that I actually don't like Alps keys I want a chance to actually try keys out. And of course... um... how much does all of this cost?
              Thanks,
                       Yaron

[hoggy]

Just a gentle reminder that we have a classifieds section. 
Profet, I tweaked your post, hope you don't mind.

[5Uus03mo88G7]

Understood and no problem. Sorry about that.

[hoggy]

No worries.  Smiley face.