I'm finally giving the venerable Model M a chance. I spent 3 or 4 days straight using a 1989 manufacture M and for the last 3 or 4 I have been using a new Unicomp Mini M. This is the first Unicomp board I have ever had my hands on in person.
The original was too inconsistent in feel, the inconsistency in sound was entertaining. The Mini M, being brand new with no broken rivets (or 30 years worth of abuse), is much more predictable with each keystroke. Both are more muted than I would like in terms of sound, although I have heard multiple outside observers mention in the past that they prefer the sound of the M to the F when I have demonstrated them side by side. The Mini M seems to be lacking the characteristic twang of other buckling spring boards. It seems to me that the springs buckle lower in the Unicomp than on an original M, which buckle a touch higher than an F (probably more of a difference in cap design). The Unicomp and most Fs buckle virtually at the bottom of travel, which I have always loved. The Unicomp is scratchier than the OG M, neither of which compare to an F, but I do imagine the Unicomp needs some heavy wear to be a fair comparison. Both seem to have more of a tendency to want to bind than an F. I like a firm bottom out, and the M lacks that.
Both are stiffer than I would like for a buckling spring board ... though I seem to love typing on box navies. I still feel like I may not be using enough force to reliably actuate the switches even with the time spent trying to acclimatize, and I do make way more mistakes with an M than I normally would with other switch types. I may even be able to confidently say that I have had less difficulty acclimatizing to MX reds from stiff clickies than from other stiff clickies to membrane buckling spring. I think it is a general imbalance between the stiff spring weighting, the relatively light amount of tactility and the relatively low tactile event in the overall travel.
I took a file to the right Alt key. Works for me. Quality control seems good. The molds are obviously not perfect, but I don't care. The only glaring imperfections are on the bottom of the case, where you'll never see it. The plate isn't nearly as thick as an early M, or even a lot of cheap MX plates. That also seems just about irrelevant, especially since you're going to destroy the plastic rivets before you manage to damage the plate anyway. A little more flexibility there may even help prevent the rivets from breaking in the first place. The case isn't as thick or solid as an old IBM board, but it isn't unreasonably thin or creaky either (though I'm not picky) for the price. Seems like a good board for the membrane buckling spring crowd.
Does anyone recognize this?
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If someone knows what a Model F is, they'll probably at least assume it is something pretty uncommon/odd. Probably the best you could do for a stealth mode F though. Nice.
Have been using a Datacomp DFK-102 with blue Alps which I got few days ago.
That looks great. I have tried to snag a few of those. They always eluded me. I wish SKCM blue in good shape weren't like winning the lottery.
My DD. (Daily Driver)
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Also great, that leather cover is an awesome touch. The Wyse caps fit right in.
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Zebrawood GH60 casing and wrist rest. Makerdiary m60 - so I can use HJKL as arrow keys. Kailh silent box browns. SA ASCII code caps.
Keyboards always look right at home in wood cases for some reason.
Modern Dasher D60
That's absolutely beautiful.
First post, so hello! Here is a 40% build that I just finished, and the little bit of feedback that I have gotten has been negative of my aesthetic choices. What do you think?
You made it your own, and it looks good to me. It doesn't matter how it looks to anyone else if you like it.
This is a EDC:
My choc based "orthDIY" i am exploring for the many options of QMK before i settle with a layout i will dye sub on the MBK caps
The other TKM-2021 that is undergoing dye subbing of the XDA keycaps on Matias silent click switches (ALPS stem) - daily driver on PC #3
Looking good. I wish there were more experimentation and options for both Choc and Matias switches.
When it became apparent that Rukia wasnt going to ship anytime soon (if ever), I went out and bought an AV3.
Board is basically done, other than I will be looking for blank spacebars to replace the OG fix. Feel and sound are excellent, IV Works has an active community with an engaged creator. Very happy with it.
Potato Pic:
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Looks great. One of the few ergonomic designs I might not mind trying, and those contrasting colors are very sharp.