Full size/1800 keyboards

[nickyteddy]

Hello people of Geekhack,

I was doing some homework when I was looking for ICs/GBs for some keyboards and I noticed the extreme lack of any keyboards larger than TKLs.
Is there any reason for that or does the entire internet just prefer smaller keyboards. Thanks! 

[LightningXI]

Yes, generally speaking, the general preference for enthusiasts in keyboards is for a smaller form factor. Many reasons, really, but space-saving and functional efficiency are the main ones.

Not everybody has a humongous desk, and as the nature of their work changes over time, people end up realizing they don't require the numpad, F-row, etc... PCBs for custom keyboards are also fully programmable so these keys can also be accessed with function layers and keybinds that are optimized for each person who uses them. All in all, it just makes for many more reasons for why full-size isn't as advocated.

That said, there are occasional times that 1800/full-size-like layout boards do come out (e.g. TX1800, Austin, Duck Jetfire, Duck Blackbird, cypher, Rekt1800, Sar, Odin, etcetera), but indeed they are less common compared to the layouts with higher demand (normally anything between 60% and TKL is preferred by most).

[nickyteddy]

Yes, generally speaking, the general preference for enthusiasts in keyboards is for a smaller form factor. Many reasons, really, but space-saving and functional efficiency are the main ones.

Not everybody has a humongous desk, and as the nature of their work changes over time, people end up realizing they don't require the numpad, F-row, etc... PCBs for custom keyboards are also fully programmable so these keys can also be accessed with function layers and keybinds that are optimized for each person who uses them. All in all, it just makes for many more reasons for why full-size isn't as advocated.

That said, there are occasional times that 1800/full-size-like layout boards do come out (e.g. TX1800, Austin, Duck Jetfire, Duck Blackbird, cypher, Rekt1800, Sar, Odin, etcetera), but indeed they are less common compared to the layouts with higher demand (normally anything between 60% and TKL is preferred by most).

I suppose I can understand that, not everyone wants a massive block of aluminium or brass case taking up a huge proportion of their desk space, nor do they need the extra keys that are seldom used normally, though it is a shame that because of this, full/1800 group buys are few and far between and some seemingly dying not long into the IC process (AI03 x Ion Parallax comes to mind).

[Faceman76]

The Key Company replenishes the TKC1800 stock every few months.  Drift Mechanics will be selling more Austin 1800's soon.

I cannot live without a number pad or F Row.  I do play around with a few different 40's at home, but for Excel and Mainframes, I need a full size or 1800 board.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[ddot]

I need my number pad too, but I've discovered that a 60% etc + separate numpad give me more flexibility.  As I use my mouse (trackball actually) far more than the numpad, can position it between the keyboard and numpad.  This way I still have access to all the keys, but my arm gets to spend more time in a less stretched position when I'm using the mouse.

[Entropia]

Some people like tiny keyboards because they look cute. Others like them because they feel like pros using layers. Aesthetics is a subjective thing, but in my opinion, having to resort to key combinations for useful keys such as the function keys or the navigation keys is not comfortable nor a sensible decision. I understand the ergonomic benefits of a smaller board for a better position of your mouse but, honestly, a tenkeyless or even a 1800 board are not wide enough to be a problem at all. Why do they remove the function keys row from 60% keyboards if not for aesthetic reasons alone, when everybody has plenty of room in between their keyboards and monitor?

A 100% board was fine back in the days when nobody had a mouse by its side, but not the best nowadays, unless you like vintage. I think that the perfect boards today are tenkeyless and 1800, depending on your preferences. In my case, I have never ever used the navigation cluster, but the numpad for that function. Actually, I always found the navigation cluster redundant in 100% boards. For that reason, apart from the fact that you can easily change the function of the numpad for easy numeric input, the rare 1800 layout is my favourite. I also find the enter key on the numpad quite handy when sometimes I reach it with my right hand thumb.

The only drawback of the 1800 layout (at least in my Leopolds) is the position of the delete key. I exchanged it and reprogrammed it with the numlock key, so that it sits to the right of the backspace, which makes sense and feel easy to reach. The redundant keys on the top right of the board (ins, pgup/home, pgdn/end) are used for other tasks: printscreen, music player and pause.