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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: ykno on Tue, 15 March 2016, 11:08:03

Title: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Tue, 15 March 2016, 11:08:03
New to geekhack
and new to model Ms

so i just brought a model m and want some opinions on it and what you would say its worth or would pay for it so i can see if i paid to much before telling you what i paid for it

so here is some pictures

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NzUwWDEwMDA=/z/qTMAAOSwvgdW55IU/$_57.JPG)
(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3NTA=/z/HcAAAOSwh-1W55F1/$_57.JPG)

it does come with the converter thrown in free so make sure tahts included in ur price that u feel its worth

(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3NTA=/z/w9MAAOSwyjBW55Fv/$_57.JPG)

Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: Touch_It on Tue, 15 March 2016, 14:35:39
Assuming you like the ISO layout and it comes fully functional with a converter,  Id say ~$50 is a reasonable price.  Anything over that, I don't think it would be that great of a deal. 
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Tue, 15 March 2016, 14:56:21
Assuming you like the ISO layout and it comes fully functional with a converter,  Id say ~$50 is a reasonable price.  Anything over that, I don't think it would be that great of a deal.

ye so £50 uk is a good deal then as we all know tech dosnt convert well from us to uk xD
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: fohat.digs on Tue, 15 March 2016, 15:27:30
That price is good if you like ISO-style (I love the "Return" instead of "Enter").

I gauge prices against the cost of a new Unicomp. Complete keys, unusual legends  ghetto converter box, I say it's good.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: chyros on Tue, 15 March 2016, 18:24:19
I sell most UK model Ms I find that are in good condition for £40. They go quickly.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Wed, 16 March 2016, 04:14:12
That price is good if you like ISO-style (I love the "Return" instead of "Enter").

I gauge prices against the cost of a new Unicomp. Complete keys, unusual legends  ghetto converter box, I say it's good.

it is the US layout with the long return button converted to the uk style with teh fat enter button ( but that dosnt bother me) maybe one day ill change it back to original before i come to sell it on if i decide to

I sell most UK model Ms I find that are in good condition for £40. They go quickly.

and really including shipping?
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: chyros on Wed, 16 March 2016, 04:16:24
I sell most UK model Ms I find that are in good condition for £40. They go quickly.

and really including shipping?
No.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: rowdy on Wed, 16 March 2016, 04:24:42
Also consider that this is a terminal keyboard (right?), but includes the converter.

So normally it would go for slightly less than a conventional Model M, but add extra cost for the converter
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Wed, 16 March 2016, 04:30:49
I sell most UK model Ms I find that are in good condition for £40. They go quickly.

and really including shipping?
No.

so about £50 with shipping

Also consider that this is a terminal keyboard (right?), but includes the converter.

So normally it would go for slightly less than a conventional Model M, but add extra cost for the converter

an ye but i think there a certian charm about it having to be converted but ye im gonna test it when it arrives and if i like it keep it if not sell it and buy a TK less mechanical of some sort
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: Myk! on Wed, 16 March 2016, 05:02:47
At 50 GBP, that is already a steal price and it comes with a adapter.

My Model M arrived last Thursday with a free adapter too but I dont use it anymore because it causes random chattering. But if plugged on PS2 port, no issue at all.

(http://i.imgur.com/iUQAoJG.jpg)
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: chyros on Wed, 16 March 2016, 05:36:46
I sell most UK model Ms I find that are in good condition for £40. They go quickly.

and really including shipping?
No.

so about £50 with shipping
Pretty much, shipping a Model M inside the UK is £13.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: fohat.digs on Wed, 16 March 2016, 07:20:09

My Model M arrived last Thursday with a free adapter too but I dont use it anymore because it causes random chattering. But if plugged on PS2 port, no issue at all.

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


A terminal requires more than an "adapter"
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Wed, 16 March 2016, 07:44:59

My Model M arrived last Thursday with a free adapter too but I dont use it anymore because it causes random chattering. But if plugged on PS2 port, no issue at all.

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


A terminal requires more than an "adapter"

being?
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: fohat.digs on Wed, 16 March 2016, 08:12:57
being?

What you received with the keyboard, one of Orihalcon's cables with built-in chip, or a "Soarer's Converter" that you build yourself.

Go all-in and build one of these!

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58941.msg1348717#msg1348717 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58941.msg1348717#msg1348717)

Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Wed, 16 March 2016, 08:21:43
being?

What you received with the keyboard, one of Orihalcon's cables with built-in chip, or a "Soarer's Converter" that you build yourself.

Go all-in and build one of these!

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58941.msg1348717#msg1348717 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=58941.msg1348717#msg1348717)

i have a Soarer's Converter thats with the keyboard a home built one that im going to clean up and update  a bit
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: xtrafrood on Wed, 16 March 2016, 08:28:24
Aw, ISO and you're missing a keycap cover :(

$70 USD seems like a steep price imo
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: Myk! on Wed, 16 March 2016, 08:39:19

My Model M arrived last Thursday with a free adapter too but I dont use it anymore because it causes random chattering. But if plugged on PS2 port, no issue at all.

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


A terminal requires more than an "adapter"

Oh! That is the reason why I am having problems when using the adapter.

I will give it a try later but this time I will plug it on USB2.0. I mistakenly plugged in on 3.0  ;D
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Wed, 16 March 2016, 08:41:47
Aw, ISO and you're missing a keycap cover :(

$70 USD seems like a steep price imo

£50 not $70 dont do currency converter s tech dosnt convert propperly like a gtx 970 is $270 in the us and £265 in the uk so ye where it should be like £160 ish but they dont convert it like that so ur looking at $55 in the us be the equivelent price

but ye its missing the key caps to make it a working us layout board but im in uk and used uk layout all my life so it dont bother me (i will change it to us and replace the missing keys if i was to sell it on tho)
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: xtrafrood on Wed, 16 March 2016, 09:25:51
Aw, ISO and you're missing a keycap cover :(

$70 USD seems like a steep price imo

£50 not $70 dont do currency converter s tech dosnt convert propperly like a gtx 970 is $270 in the us and £265 in the uk so ye where it should be like £160 ish but they dont convert it like that so ur looking at $55 in the us be the equivelent price

but ye its missing the key caps to make it a working us layout board but im in uk and used uk layout all my life so it dont bother me (i will change it to us and replace the missing keys if i was to sell it on tho)
If I were to order that board from ebay using my paypal account and the price was £50, my final cost excluding shipping, customs, etc. would be ~$70.

I live in the USA. I'm at the mercy of big bank currency conversion.

This is the only way I can accurately gauge the price. Maybe one day I'll meet a lady that wants to travel to Europe, so far my travels have been limited to the western hemisphere  :-[
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: fohat.digs on Wed, 16 March 2016, 09:43:11

My Model M arrived last Thursday with a free adapter too but I dont use it anymore because it causes random chattering. But if plugged on PS2 port, no issue at all.

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


A terminal requires more than an "adapter"

Oh! That is the reason why I am having problems when using the adapter.

I will give it a try later but this time I will plug it on USB2.0.

The OP showed a terminal Model M that requires a converter because it does not have native PS/2 protocol.

A standard M has PS/2 (or AT that can be "adapted" to PS/2) and does not need anything else. Some people have reported problems with cheap PS/2-to-USB adapters but they have always worked for me.

Model Ms do not have NKRO but I am not a rollover expert.

My experience is that USB 3.0 is often flaky with older gear.

Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: chyros on Wed, 16 March 2016, 09:53:37
Model Ms do not have NKRO but I am not a rollover expert.
Indeed, it's got 2KRO. All membrane keyboards without a PCB technically have 2KRO.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: ykno on Wed, 16 March 2016, 11:00:32
Model Ms do not have NKRO but I am not a rollover expert.
Indeed, it's got 2KRO. All membrane keyboards without a PCB technically have 2KRO.

ye its 2KRO but the common used combos like ctrl alt delete ect :)
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: chyros on Wed, 16 March 2016, 11:32:27
Model Ms do not have NKRO but I am not a rollover expert.
Indeed, it's got 2KRO. All membrane keyboards without a PCB technically have 2KRO.

ye its 2KRO but the common used combos like ctrl alt delete ect :)
2KRO doesn't mean combinations of more than 2 keys aren't possible. It just means they're not guaranteed; i.e. 2 is the lowest amount of keys you can be certain to press at any given time ;) .
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: Touch_It on Wed, 16 March 2016, 13:18:05
Model Ms do not have NKRO but I am not a rollover expert.
Indeed, it's got 2KRO. All membrane keyboards without a PCB technically have 2KRO.

ye its 2KRO but the common used combos like ctrl alt delete ect :)
2KRO doesn't mean combinations of more than 2 keys aren't possible. It just means they're not guaranteed; i.e. 2 is the lowest amount of keys you can be certain to press at any given time ;) .

IIRC I remember reading somewhere, that M's have a pretty good layout and you can usually achieve a fair amount more than 2 keys in a lot of scenarios.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: fohat.digs on Wed, 16 March 2016, 16:39:11
Aren't Control, Alt, and Shift generally exempted from the RO limit?
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: chyros on Wed, 16 March 2016, 17:36:29
Aren't Control, Alt, and Shift generally exempted from the RO limit?
Matrices are usually laid out in such a way that modifier keys don't suffer from the rollover limit in practice, yes. They work by the same physical principles that drive the rollover limit though.
Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: klennkellon on Thu, 17 March 2016, 00:55:50

My Model M arrived last Thursday with a free adapter too but I dont use it anymore because it causes random chattering. But if plugged on PS2 port, no issue at all.

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


A terminal requires more than an "adapter"

Oh! That is the reason why I am having problems when using the adapter.

I will give it a try later but this time I will plug it on USB2.0.

The OP showed a terminal Model M that requires a converter because it does not have native PS/2 protocol.

A standard M has PS/2 (or AT that can be "adapted" to PS/2) and does not need anything else. Some people have reported problems with cheap PS/2-to-USB adapters but they have always worked for me.

Model Ms do not have NKRO but I am not a rollover expert.

My experience is that USB 3.0 is often flaky with older gear.

At least for me, with, the popular blue cube does not like to be daisy chained to other adapters

When I convert AT to PS/2 and then PS/2 to USB via the blue cube, the keyboard does not function properly (it sometimes will work for like 5 seconds)

I also tried USB to PS/2 then back to PS/2 and it still didn't work (there was some serious lag between keystrokes and half of them didn't register)

However, straight PS/2 to USB works fine.


BTW, couldn't you just buy a cable from another Model M with a detachable cable and then use it in place of the SDL to RJ-45 cable on a terminal M? Or does it have to do with the firmware on the board.


Title: Re: Advise on A Model M
Post by: fohat.digs on Thu, 17 March 2016, 08:44:43

a cable from another Model M with a detachable cable and then use it in place of the SDL to RJ-45 cable on a terminal M?


No, but I never knew that terminals had detachable cables.