New to fancy keyboards, starting at the top(re) and looking for some guidance

[Timichango]

Hiya!  Just joined up after acquiring a barely-used Topre Realtouch 87u for about $180 canadian ($144 USD at the moment), and after looking around the site and not quite tracking down the info I've been looking for, I'm hoping that someone here can point me in the right direction on a few areas of inquiry.

1) Am I just completely nuts, or are the only available full keycaps sets for these things the ones that seller widebasket is selling on ebay?  After trying to type in the dark with this thing for 2 days (I'm fine on alphanumerics, but was missing symbols like crazy, which was making sass development a complete pain in the butt), I wound up ordering a set of orange keys, but I'm still feeling like I got robbed... the price of the bloody keys was more than I paid for the keyboard itself! It couldn't be helped, though... I also bought a coolermaster quickfire rapid-i thinking that the backlighting would bail me out, but as much as it's satisfying to use for a bit, I work in a shared office space, and it generated 2 inquiries (*ahem* complaints) in the first hour of using it. And the Topre *does* feel substantially better to me. Tried other cherry switched boards at the store too, but didn't like the feel of them. The coolermaster is getting returned.

2) Just to calm my own sense of insanity on the subject: if I do decide to flip the keyboard and keycaps set in a few months (ie. if the topre winds up not being for me), I'm realistically going to be able to resell this stuff, right?  I'm $300+ into this thing (closer to $360 Canadian!!!), and feeling a bit crazy.

3) Perma-attached cord: not super stoked on the cord being attached, as it's cable-managed into a cable channel under my desk, and I'd like to be able to disconnect it more easily. I've seen shots of some mini usb "pigtail" cables with a female mini-usb socket around the forum and on google image search, but I can't figure out where to buy one. I can theoretically solder one up myself, but I'm insanely busy, and would rather throw a bit of cash at someone for a quick fix.

4) The realforce seems to slide around a bit more than I'd like — anyone able to recommend some thin rubber sticky material that's pretty thin, but really grippy? Don't want to elevate this thing, but don't want it walking away from me under my tempestuous typing tsunamis.

5) I'm on a mac and have flipped the alt/os keys in software (it's really crappy that there's no dipswitch for this on such an expensive piece of hardware!), but I *hate* the domed win keys and strongly dislike having alt labelling under where my thumbs go.  Is there anywhere that sells *just* the command+alt keypairs for a HHKB in order to replace them, before it sends my OCD off of a cliff? Everytime my fingernail slides into the groove around the win bubble logo, my temper flares up a little. Unnerving.

6) I'm using karabiner.app to remap things a bit (ie. in order to get the numlock to work properly in order to enable the embedded numpad, as well as other tweaks) — but does anyone know if it's possible to configure this remapping permanently at the OS level on OS X rather than needing to load a 3rd party widget forevermore?

7)  Any other must-do configurations or mods that you can recommend to get the most out of a realforce board?

Thanks in advance!!! Thockitty thock thock...

[byker]

Hello there, and welcome to Geekhack! Good to see another Vancouverian on GH!


I will try to answer your questions as best as I can, but I am no expert. I also love topre


1. Topre keys are much harder to find then regular MX keys, due to the lower demand likely. elite keyboards also sell some small packs, but currently the classifieds and wide basket are the main places to find full keysets.


2. If you end up not liking topre, I think you can definitely make most, if not all of your money back. It seems like you got a really good deal on the 87U!


3. I am not too sure about this one sorry. You could ask Zeal or Pexon, and check their web stores to see if they have anything.


4. Again, I don't have any immediate solutions for this one. You might be able to find something if you do some searching. A lot of people look for something similar for their HHKBs as the HHKB is very lightweight.


5. Check elite keyboards for some caps I believe. I am on mobile right now or I would check for you.


6. Unfortunately I am a windows guy, only using a macbook air which I don't use an external keyboard for.


7. Enjoy! A lot of people love realforce boards. I hate to possibly make you spend more money, but a lot of people love the feel of 55g topre, which realforce makes a model of. Your board is 45g so a little softer.


Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.


Cheers!

[Timichango]

Thanks for the reply!!  In particular, thanks for the heads-up on zeal — looks like they're based in BC, which is rad. Love to support the local economy. And glad to add another lef-coaster to the mix

Elite Keyboards doesn't seem to just sell command/alt sets from the HHKB Going to have to keep my eyes peeled for another source.  Realistically, once my orange set shows up, I'll likely wind up using the red arrows in the directional section, and then repurpose 2 of the black arrows in place of the windows bubble keys, but still not ideal from a visual standpoint. Better than the bubbles, however.

I'm still shaking my head about what I paid for that orange keyset. Talk about a 3600% markup. I grew up in a family where the family business was injection molding (I worked in my dad's factory on weekends and throughout the summer, right up until college), and if we hadn't sold the damned business back in 2000, I'd be making a serious point of getting a mold made to pump out topre keys. What a goldmine.