geekhack

geekhack Community => New Members => Topic started by: Ludovician on Mon, 09 February 2015, 00:05:58

Title: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Mon, 09 February 2015, 00:05:58: So, a little while ago, something prompted me to start looking for a mechanical keyboard. I really don't even remember what that was, now. Maybe it's because I just got a new mouse and wanted to revamp something else as well. I don't know.

Anyway, what I first thought would be a simple affair (find a switch that feels good, buy keyboard and enjoy annoying people around me with constant loud clicking) has become fairly complicated, doubly so because it's been hard to find any way to try before buying a keyboard. Also, new options keep showing up, such as Buckling Springs and Topre. Will be checking out my first BS keyboard tomorrow, have a Cherry sampler kit (wasn't too fond of them) but I don't know how I would find a Topre switch, and I haven't even begun learning the difference between all the ALPS switches either. Too many options.

Regardless, it's been an interesting experience learning and finding these sites full of enthusiasts. I'll probably end up buying a few different types anyway.

TL;DR: Hi.

Edit: Also, I'm from Australia. Makes some options less accessible than others.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: infiniti on Wed, 11 February 2015, 08:39:47: Welcome to GH! :cool:
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Wed, 11 February 2015, 08:57:17: Thank you...

My wallet was warned but I didn't listen. I now have about 600 fewer dollars than I did last week. I regret about half of it. This has been a fun week.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: infiniti on Wed, 11 February 2015, 09:24:21: I see you've discovered that WalletHack is real.

Wait until you get into artisan caps and GMK key sets. :'(
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Wed, 11 February 2015, 09:38:38: Already requested a couple of custom keycaps ;D
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sat, 14 February 2015, 22:35:44: Welcome to Geekhack!

If only you'd joined the end of last year. One of the guys down here graciously allowed his HHKB (Topre 45g) to tour Australia so people could try it. Perhaps another tour will be arranged when there is some more interest.

but the fact that there has been one tour is a good sign that there might be others.

Now if only we could get a good keycap manufacturer down here too :))
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sat, 14 February 2015, 22:38:14: Haha. Wish I hadn't missed that, yeah. Mine should arrive at my front door in about 2 weeks, I think. Hopefully it's worth it.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sat, 14 February 2015, 23:32:37: Your HHKB? Congratulations!

By the way I didn't realise when your original post was made (been a while since I've been through New Members). Did you end up trying the BS keyboard? Did you like it?
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sat, 14 February 2015, 23:36:18: Typing on it right now, and loving it. Also, I was wrong. The guys over at Akihabara sent over my HHKB by express mail, so I should have it on my desk in a few days.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sat, 14 February 2015, 23:51:24: Model M, perchance?

Model M and HHKB are about opposites of the keyboard spectrum!

I get so much desk space back with I switch from M to HHKB.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sat, 14 February 2015, 23:59:19: Yes, it's a 1991 M 1391401. While I don't game much, I intend to have another home keyboard, probably tkl with Cherry Clears, for gaming. The HHKB is coming with me to uni.

I also bought my HHKB with blank keycaps so the learning curve should be fun.

So you're in Melbourne? Perhaps you might have some knowledge in acquiring good deals despite the insane shipping costs. If you have any tips, tricks or helpful sites, let me know :)
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sun, 15 February 2015, 00:54:34: Learning curve on HHKB is fun even with printed keycaps :))

My keyboards have been purchased from PCCaseGear (in Melbourne), and CPL (also in Melbourne). Others came from eBay, Classifieds here, qtan and one from mechanicalkeyboards.com. If you can't find what you want locally, the next best is to find an obliging and friendly GH member who might be able to ship you a keyboard for slightly less than some of the (online) stores would, or perhaps find a few mates who also want to buy keyboards and share the combined shipping.

Same for keycaps - a full set usually costs $10 to $15 to ship from the US (that's AUD), although slightly cheaper from the UK. Most keycap manufacturers are in the US.

There is also http://www.mechkb.com/ who have a few things you can't get elsewhere.

There are other Aussie keyboard vendors, but most of them stock only the commodity gaming keyboards (like Razor), and/or have drastically reduced their mechanical keyboard stocks in the last year or so.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sun, 15 February 2015, 01:02:45: Ah, thanks.

I'd heard of (and used) PCCaseGear and MechKB already, hadn't seen CPL. I'll check that out now. Before bringing my search online, I had tried wandering around and contacting local electronics vendors. I typically went in and asked "Do you sell mechanical keyboards?" and the usual response was either a blank stare or a "Yes, the GAMING keyboards are over here *points to Razer Blackwidow collection*". My favourite response (at **** Smith's) was "What are those?".

Umart seems to have a respectable stock of mech kbs, nothing that particularly caught my eye though.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sun, 15 February 2015, 01:23:21: http://cplonline.com.au/index.php/keyboards/keyboards.html?kb_type=735&p=1

There's also AusPCMarket, although their prices are a bit higher, and I had a Filco on order form them for many months, and they eventually decided they couldn't get that one in stock and cancelled my order for me.

http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/clicky/

Oh, and qtan provides reasonable prices and reasonable shipping to Aus:

http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sun, 15 February 2015, 01:32:30: I see. Thanks for your advice.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Mon, 16 February 2015, 18:04:36: Both my HHKB and my Das have arrived today. I'm currently trying to adjust to the HHKB. Keys feel extremely light (Been using buckling springs for the past week) and the layout will take some getting used to. So far the only thing causing problems is the backspace key, which I am sure I'll adjust to in due time. I did some typing tests just now and I did an abysmal job on them thanks to the numerous typos.

Thus my adventure begins.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sun, 22 February 2015, 00:24:15: Adjusting TO the backspace key is not the problem.

Typing \\\\\\\ when you switch back to a more conventional layout and try to erase something is :))
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sun, 22 February 2015, 00:27:54: Currently on my Das kb. Using an AHK script to change the layout to how I now like it.

BS::\
\::BS
Capslock::Ctrl
LControl::Capslock
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sun, 22 February 2015, 01:33:49: Quote from: Ludovician on Sun, 22 February 2015, 00:27:54
Currently on my Das kb. Using an AHK script to change the layout to how I now like it.

BS::\
\::BS
Capslock::Ctrl
LControl::Capslock

That could make it worse when you try to use someone else's keyboard, who doesn't have the AHK script running ;)
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sun, 22 February 2015, 02:00:07: Perhaps. That's something that doesn't happen often, fortunately.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Sun, 22 February 2015, 03:08:52: Quote from: Ludovician on Sun, 22 February 2015, 02:00:07
Perhaps. That's something that doesn't happen often, fortunately.

Lucky you :p

I have dozens of other computers that I look after, at work and home, that have standard and, for the most part, rubber dome keyboards. Actually that might explain why it's taken me so long to get used to the HHKB layout!
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Thu, 19 March 2015, 18:10:14: A month and a half later:

(http://i.imgur.com/BXDM6en.jpg)

Send help.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Snowdog993 on Fri, 20 March 2015, 21:55:50: Quote from: Ludovician on Thu, 19 March 2015, 18:10:14
A month and a half later:

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/BXDM6en.jpg)

Send help.

Time for an SSK!
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Sat, 21 March 2015, 01:10:11: I haven't seen a single SSK being sold in Australia since I got started here, and I'm not keen to pay for international shipping for something so bulky.

The smaller size doesn't really have any benefit for me considering my desk setup anyway. I'm more keen to find a Model F.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Snowdog993 on Sat, 21 March 2015, 09:28:07: Quote from: Ludovician on Sat, 21 March 2015, 01:10:11
I haven't seen a single SSK being sold in Australia since I got started here, and I'm not keen to pay for international shipping for something so bulky.

The smaller size doesn't really have any benefit for me considering my desk setup anyway. I'm more keen to find a Model F.

Who knows? Maybe someone will point you in the right direction! Imagine what your keyboard collection will be after a year! Just one more.....
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Mon, 23 March 2015, 05:08:01: Two HHKB? And a RealForce? Yikes!

SSK costs around $60 to $80 to get shipped from the US.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: Ludovician on Mon, 23 March 2015, 05:57:34: One of them is a Type-S. I was trying to sell the regular one for a while but now I might as well keep it and silent-mod it, for science.

Of all those boards the Realforce is easily my favourite (55g silenced), but I'm using my HHKB S right now.
Title: Re: Hello
Post by: rowdy on Tue, 24 March 2015, 04:51:16: A 55g RealForce (probably not silenced as I like noisy keyboards) is one of the very few keyboards left on my wish list.