Selectric thread here: (http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:6657)
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(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3443&stc=1&d=1248932001)
Ron Mingo could type super fast using just a baseball bat. Here he is with the SF Angels.
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(http://www.sfangels.com/images/Ron-Mingo-swings-thru-112005.jpg)
Not quite sure what you're trying to say, but about the fastest typist in the world using a selectric... I wonder if it is because the keys were powered that it allowed that speed, you only have to lightly hit them, where even the lightest key in a keyboard still takes some pressure not to mention time to actuate. It may be that a standard layout keyboard with no keypress or actual switch would be the fastest.
I'm coming to the theory that actual relative keyboard speed, keyboard to keyboard is about keys design like the round ones that allow for accuracy, and the actual pressure it takes to activate each key. If the pressure it takes to activate the key is a definite part of the formula then I'm not sure green alps will be the right choice, there may be better choices for a switch, like nmb's, montereys, or even acers.
You mentioned how many grams it took to activate a Selectric key before right?
It may be worth time to break this down to a more analytical way, not simply by feel, and time the exact amount of milliseconds it takes to put one or a measured amount of say one word on screen.
I wonder if there's some kind of utility that could time me rather than having to do it by hand...?
A utility like that would be good to use to test layouts too. For instance how long it takes in qwerty to type the word "the" vrs dvorak.
Do you have any pictures of that spring keytop? I'll have to look for those. Maybe it would be possible to cut or take them off and use them with an alps switch somehow?
Yes the results I was able to get on my steampunk hack, which uses old typewriter keys was what made me discover that the rounded keys help speed a lot.
Hmm
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(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3013/2918772158_e6d1558a83.jpg)
Here's the underside of those keys (sorry for the dust bunnies, but at least they're not board chow ;)
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=6066&stc=1&d=1259918358)
Note that even the Shift Keys are sprung.
The keys on your pic were black and mine are green is the only difference as yours is a definitely a pic of an SG-1.
The spring is housed inside the double-shot plastic key caps, with a steel key shaft coming down through the bottom of a steel cup that is attached to the key bar and cradles the bottom of the spring, so the spring is trapped between the cup and the key cap. There is a slot in that key shaft that allows the key cap to go up and down (and limits the travel). It also appears to be the attachment method for the whole assembly.
I haven't measured it, but I'd say the limit of travel is around 1-2mm with a medium stiff spring action (significantly heavier than an Alps).
BTW - that's all stainless steel - shame they didn't make all the screws in the housing SS as well :(
Here's the underside of those keys (sorry for the dust bunnies, but at least they're not board chow ;)
Show Image
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=6066&stc=1&d=1259918358)
Note that even the Shift Keys are sprung.
The keys on your pic were black and mine are green is the only difference as yours is a definitely a pic of an SG-1.
The spring is housed inside the double-shot plastic key caps, with a steel key shaft coming down through the bottom of a steel cup that is attached to the key bar and cradles the bottom of the spring, so the spring is trapped between the cup and the key cap. There is a slot in that key shaft that allows the key cap to go up and down (and limits the travel). It also appears to be the attachment method for the whole assembly.
I haven't measured it, but I'd say the limit of travel is around 1-2mm with a medium stiff spring action (significantly heavier than an Alps).
BTW - that's all stainless steel - shame they didn't make all the screws in the housing SS as well :(
Wow that's really interesting, so what happens? What triggers the spring? The little locks? How does it get trapped? I may have to really watch for one of these on ebay. I did look them up and couldn't find any.
I still like the keyfeel of a Selectric. Whiiiiiiiirrrrrrr...... SLAP. Someday on Ebay I'm hoping one of the rare Selectric Terminal INPUT (not printer) ones like in this link. (http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=124965&postcount=27)
It is a cam driven 110VAC motor that does all the work and your fingers just glide along hippity hoppity.
So in other words - if you want the ultimate FAST keyboard you have to motorize it.
Show Image
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3442&stc=1&d=1248930967)
I know, I was thinking about a motorized keyboard for a long time now, but I don't see any feasible way to do it unless I really get into the mechanics of electrics and find some way for the arms to actuate a keyboard switch instead of typing a letter. lol I think that'd be the easiest way to make a prototype.
I spent almost all day today typing on that darn test and didn't break 103 wpm all day. I can't even reach my high score yesterday which is frustrating.
At this point I've started trying to learn dvorak more. I'm still gaining speed but still in the low teens or high single digit area for speed. My thought is this has to be the key to get a lot closer to 200. Qwerty just isn't cutting it. Even if I do a perfect run on the shortest of passages my speed doesn't go past 120. For 200, there's no way I physically can do it. It would be a whole nother two or three levels beyond what my hands are capable of moving with my current boards.
I hope the green alps will take me up another step, and the dvorak will take me up at least another step, at least then I should hopefully be in the 120-130 average range.
My mantra right now is, "What one man can do another can" from "The Edge" lol There's just something I'm missing. lol
I still like the keyfeel of a Selectric. Whiiiiiiiirrrrrrr...... SLAP. Someday on Ebay I'm hoping one of the rare Selectric Terminal INPUT (not printer) ones like in this link. (http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=124965&postcount=27)
It is a cam driven 110VAC motor that does all the work and your fingers just glide along hippity hoppity.
So in other words - if you want the ultimate FAST keyboard you have to motorize it.
Show Image
(http://geekhack.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=3442&stc=1&d=1248930967)
Oh I didn't read that link. So there's a conversion kit for selectrics? How would that work I wonder? All you need is to be able to turn the keypresses into a switch somehow, and I would be able to rig a matrix to it...
I need to reread your explanation of how the selectric generates a keystroke again. Is there already a part that acts as a switch? As I recall it uses cams to decide what key has been activated?
Maybe not in a competition where the atomic unit is agreed to be a latin character. But typing for competition is useless ;) If you'd speed type for business it is just another paradigm and who cares how you get your wpm. I was looking at it from that point of view. Sure it has been done before. Chord keyboards. Velotype, etc. Goes back decades (stenotype).
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(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Velotype.jpg)
Unlike most countries, Dutch TV subtitles foreign languages. This is what they use for live translations.
So that's an interesting point, how does a stenotype keyboard work. Why doesn't everyone use it? What's the fastest typist with a stenotype type keyboard? lol
So wikipedia says the highest speed is 375 wpm with a stenotype keyboard. But it's in shorthand? So it's not full english words?