Hello from Dallas/Plano

[A_Z]

Hello All,

I am Azhar, I have been a long time lurker but never put a post.

I have moved from north east tri-state area (NY/CT/NJ) about two years and made sure I moved my treasure 5 large boxes full of mechanical keyboards.

I have been interested in Mechanical keyboards for about 15 years, and of course first interaction was with IBM Model M.

Currently looking for a keyboard with on the fly macros, that do not require more than 2 key presses.

Just bought Genovation CP24 controlpad to play with it.

And my dream keyboard is Tex Kodachi, now on a journey trying to find it or something similar.

[Maledicted]

Hi Azhar. Welcome to Geekhack.

I think a lot of people lurk a long time. I did too.

What sort of goodies have you got in those boxes? I have a few Model Ms myself, among other things.

I don't really use any macros, so I can't help you there. I would post about it in the Keyboards section myself.

That CP24 looks pretty cool. Cherry MX black in it though, or are there other variants? Those are pretty stiff switches.

Tex makes some sweet-looking keyboards. Good luck tracking one down.

[A_Z]

Thanks Maledicted

I have quite a few model Ms. I had used one in office for few years. Very fortunate to be slightly away from other colleagues and they were not much bothered by the sound.
About 8 model Ms (two are 122 keys) two model Fs.
Three northgate Omni keys. 5 focus, and few others.
And the best of all switches I like Futaba MA switches. Light and extremely clicky. Two additional characteristics that I like, they are extremely smooth and the key bounces back quickly.

I was interested in macros earlier but the need is more now. Since I started working from home. I wanted to try smaller keyboards but cannot live without nav keys. Bought 3 recently in impulse buying I thought I had done enough research but it does not work the way I wanted.

[Maledicted]

Thanks Maledicted

I have quite a few model Ms. I had used one in office for few years. Very fortunate to be slightly away from other colleagues and they were not much bothered by the sound.
About 8 model Ms (two are 122 keys) two model Fs.
Three northgate Omni keys. 5 focus, and few others.
And the best of all switches I like Futaba MA switches. Light and extremely clicky. Two additional characteristics that I like, they are extremely smooth and the key bounces back quickly.

I was interested in macros earlier but the need is more now. Since I started working from home. I wanted to try smaller keyboards but cannot live without nav keys. Bought 3 recently in impulse buying I thought I had done enough research but it does not work the way I wanted.

Cool. What Model Fs have you got? I have two F ATs, an XT, a reproduction F77, and an F107.

What switches have you got in those Omnikeys and Focus boards? Any blue alps?

Futaba MA is your favorite? I do like them, when their tactility is right. They have that second bump on the upstroke, which is even bigger than on the downstroke. It is hard not to compare it to playing with the lid of a jar, which I always found very entertaining. My only MA board came with some very inconsistent switches, some clicked nicely, most not so much. I tried to fix that with the screwdriver trick posted in a thread on Deskthority and now 5 or so of my switches are linearized. I may have to crack them open to fix that, and I'm not sure how I'll try to fasten them again since the housings are held together with plastic rivets. It took me hours just to make most of the rest of the switches acceptably consistent and satisfyingly clicky.

Have you got any NEC blue ovals? They're also light, and smooth, and have a wonderfully amusing ping to them, almost like a Ukulele.

I think my favorites are SKCM blue alps, but the Model F's capacitive buckling springs are close.

You can go as low as 60%, with the right pcb and plate, and still have dedicated arrow keys. Cap options are pretty limited then though.

[A_Z]

>> Cool. What Model Fs have you got? I have two F ATs, an XT, a reproduction F77, and an F107.
I have got XTs but haven't used them it, they have been lying for about 6-7 years. I did buy teensy (2++ and two of them) but never got the chance to make a converter. I will buy the converter from Orihalcon.

>> What switches have you got in those Omnikeys and Focus boards? Any blue alps?
Almost all the ALPS are white. But I do have one Leading Edge with Blue Alps. Again it needs a converter and cable. I have asked Orihalcon for the discount if I buy three of them.

Yes Futabas are one of my favorites also used Model M (with old grey logo) a lot and a Das model S with brown switches in office.
One the futaba keyboard I replaced keycaps from Cherry board that has black double shot keycaps.

I just bought one Zenith (with gold logo) just yesterday from Ebay for 70$ with free shipping hoping it will have green switches, very anxious to try it out.
I also bought Maxi Switch programmable keyboard again that was yesterday, want to use for macros. hoping it will serve my needs. (in my opinion macros buried in layers defeat the purpose, max 2 key presses, imagine ctrl+alt+del on poker3 or any other keyboard that has del buried under a layer)
I do have poker2 and poker3. Macros on poker 2 are more useful, just pn+key, but that has a limitation of 14 keys (I believe )
Finding it frustrating to use pokers, I need nav keys, the arrows and home+end and also the del. I do need to make far too many edits while I type.

[Maledicted]

>> Cool. What Model Fs have you got? I have two F ATs, an XT, a reproduction F77, and an F107.
I have got XTs but haven't used them it, they have been lying for about 6-7 years. I did buy teensy (2++ and two of them) but never got the chance to make a converter. I will buy the converter from Orihalcon.

I can't blame you on that, the XT layout is weird as all hell. I wish I typed more on mine, since it sounds wonderful to me, and wasting capacitive buckling springs seems almost like a crime.

>> What switches have you got in those Omnikeys and Focus boards? Any blue alps?
Almost all the ALPS are white. But I do have one Leading Edge with Blue Alps. Again it needs a converter and cable. I have asked Orihalcon for the discount if I buy three of them.

Sweet. What model Leading Edge? How do the switches feel? I have two DC-2014s, which I love. One's switches are perfect ... the other, not so much, unfortunately.

Yes Futabas are one of my favorites also used Model M (with old grey logo) a lot and a Das model S with brown switches in office.
One the futaba keyboard I replaced keycaps from Cherry board that has black double shot keycaps.

You've got a board or two that's lasted all of these years with Futabas without losing tactility? Must have been stored really well, or maybe the fact that you use it reguarly has helped to keep the rubber mats inside the switch housing from curling or something.

I have a Das Pro 4 I swapped Kailh box navies into myself. Do you like MX browns, or were you maybe looking at other tactile/silent options?

I just bought one Zenith (with gold logo) just yesterday from Ebay for 70$ with free shipping hoping it will have green switches, very anxious to try it out.

Sweet. What's the model number? I think that gold text was common with Zenith boards. I could be anything from a ZKB-2 to a Z-150 variant. I have a ZKB-2, ZKB-2R, and white/beige label Z-150. All of them need a little TLC before I use them too much and start ruining the switches, but I have always loved Zenith as a brand since I was a kid, and will certainly use the heck out of them.

I also bought Maxi Switch programmable keyboard again that was yesterday, want to use for macros. hoping it will serve my needs. (in my opinion macros buried in layers defeat the purpose, max 2 key presses, imagine ctrl+alt+del on poker3 or any other keyboard that has del buried under a layer)
I do have poker2 and poker3. Macros on poker 2 are more useful, just pn+key, but that has a limitation of 14 keys (I believe )
Finding it frustrating to use pokers, I need nav keys, the arrows and home+end and also the del. I do need to make far too many edits while I type.

I agree. Macros would be useful when kept to a maximum of 2 keys. I don't have anything that doesn't have, at least, dedicated arrow keys though. If it doesn't have those, I don't want it. Then I can usually get away with native hotkeys.

[macclack]

And my dream keyboard is Tex Kodachi, now on a journey trying to find it or something similar.

Welcome 

Tex Kodachi is a very interesting keyboard. I hope to try one at a meetup if those ever start happening again.