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geekhack Marketplace => Great Finds => Topic started by: didjamatic on Mon, 19 July 2010, 16:20:48
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Good Price Here (http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-Keyboard-Model-MX-11800-built-in-Trackball-/180535030021?cmd=ViewItem&pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2a08b9f105#ht_1404wt_1137)
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Wow, here's an even cheaper one (http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-MX-11800-PS-2-Keyboard-w-Trackball-Server-Rack-/200498230136?cmd=ViewItem&pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2eaea03378#ht_3784wt_993) with a best offer option.
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Good Price Here (http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-Keyboard-Model-MX-11800-built-in-Trackball-/180535030021?cmd=ViewItem&pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item2a08b9f105#ht_1404wt_1137)
I pulled the trigger on that one. thx!
(first post btw!)
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Welcome to Geekhack. Getting a brown cherry is a great first or last mechanical board.
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I am currently searching the site and wiki for which USB HID to use for it, connecting to a first generation mac pro (2x2.8gz quad core cpu, usb & firewire only).
I am hoping one will support basic NKRO - any advice from somebody with one of these boards would be immensely appreciated.
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As far as I know the 11800's and 11900's will not have nkro. mine only has 2 key rollover.
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So switches on these cheap boards should feel no different from lets say Browns on a Filco? (i.e., would this be a great keyboard to sample Browns with before pulling the $100+ trigger).
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Correct, depending on how much they've been used. I've had several of them and they have all felt very good. Some argue they were made better than the current Cherry Browns but I've never experienced that personally.
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Would it be possible to buy one of these, and assuming the switches all test good, yank them and repopulated the deck gaming backlit board, retaining the backlight too?
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You can, if you're handy with a soldering iron, solder pump and/or desolder braid.
IIRC you can't just open the Deck's switches while they still have LEDs in them.
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So switches on these cheap boards should feel no different from lets say Browns on a Filco? (i.e., would this be a great keyboard to sample Browns with before pulling the $100+ trigger).
On my 11800 some keys actually feel different than others, seems like they're not as smooth.
But they do work fine besides that.
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i prefer the filco plate mounted browns to plain pcb mounted, but thats just me.
as to the deck.. good luck swapping out those leds if you want to retain the back light
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I'm just the opposite. I tolerate the plate mounted Filco by putting thick vintage double shot caps on it because I love the layout. But PCB mounted is my favorite.
Cherry blues with thick double shots pcb mounted (like Dolch keyboards) are a completely different experience than thin caps on plate mounted Filcos.
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i prefer the filco plate mounted browns to plain pcb mounted, but thats just me.
as to the deck.. good luck swapping out those leds if you want to retain the back light
IDK, having never seen them in person, but I'd imagine I'd just chuck the old LEDs and replace them, since LEDs are cheap and available everywhere. The important thing would be the deck board has traces for the LEDs and current limiting resistors, and the keycaps are cut for the light.
They do encourage you to mod your board, right? ;)
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I received a Compaq MX 11800 in the mail today that I had bought on eBay for 1 Euro + s/h.
:)
But at that price, I got one that was well used. The case and the keys were quite dirty and the inside was full of dust and grime.
One switch was broken, stuck in the down position. Edit: No, scratch that. The spring was missing!
This is the first time that I test brown switches. I can not feel much tactility in them, really. People who are looking to buy expensive Cherry Red keyboards from east Asia should save their money and get a really well-used Cherry Brown keyboard instead for one hundredth the price!
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IDK, having never seen them in person, but I'd imagine I'd just chuck the old LEDs and replace them, since LEDs are cheap and available everywhere. The important thing would be the deck board has traces for the LEDs and current limiting resistors, and the keycaps are cut for the light.
They do encourage you to mod your board, right? ;)
I wouldn't do that. I hear the leds they use are very high quality.
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IDK, having never seen them in person, but I'd imagine I'd just chuck the old LEDs and replace them, since LEDs are cheap and available everywhere. The important thing would be the deck board has traces for the LEDs and current limiting resistors, and the keycaps are cut for the light.
They do encourage you to mod your board, right? ;)
Eh? Why would they be ruined if you just desolder them?
Or weren't you talking about swapping Cherry switches?
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I oughta get one of those Compaq trackball keyboards. My computer area's so cramped I use my M5-2 and still don't have much room for the mouse on the neighboring computer.
By the way, speaking of brown Cherry's, I saw some of these while at the car parts store.
(http://www.gettechdirect.com/shop/published/publicdata/TECHSHOP2/attachments/SC/products_pictures/Cherry-808113_thm.gif)
I pressed down on some of the keys and they had that light feel of brown cherry switches.
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I am typing/mousing with it now on my Mac. It looks brand new - better than in the photos.
And I cannot stand the spacebar. It's just plain awful. I opened it up to see if there was something wrong with the stabilizer and there is not, but they used cherry "grey?" switches for the spacebar, and a couple others as well. Other than the 4x pressure required to space it, it's pretty nice to type on. The brown audible sound must be the keys bottoming out.
Inside it was clean as a whistle. Being I had to void compaq's warranty to open it (like they would honor warranty on this, lol), I don't think he opened and cleaned it. So it's just a pretty new board with nice keycaps.
NKRO does not exist here, and I cannot WASD in any game and use any other key; the movement keys stop registering until I lift and repeat.
He charged too much for shipping, though I am not sure I have regrets. Other than the spacebar it's pretty good to type on.
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Switch the spacebar for a cherry brown (like use printscreen for switch donor)
In regards to your NKRO comment stickmeup, are you using it via Ps/2 or a USB adapter? I can game just fine with the MX11800 unless I am using a bad Ps2 to USB adapter, you should try a diff. adapter or go straight through PS2.
Check my sig "Compaq 84u" for a great MX 11800 mod to make it super elite ;)
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Check my sig "Compaq 84u" for a great MX 11800 mod to make it super elite ;)
... and check further down in the thread for a mod that does almost the same but requires no soldering.
Btw. I just got a MX 11801 (german layout) and noticed that there are places for four additional switches! Three between Esc and the F-keys and one under the Pause key. Has anybody tried soldering switches into these places and seen what scan-codes are produced?
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Well, I did solder switches into the unfilled slots on the PCB. The controller did not handle it, it produced only gibberish: multiple scan-codes, different each time.