Author Topic: Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us  (Read 2802 times)

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Offline flavonoid

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« on: Tue, 24 August 2010, 16:00:41 »
Hi!

I'm new to mechanical keyboards and after lurking here on the forum for some time now I have decided to get one. Right now I'm typing on my Logitech ultra flat keyboard, which I'm starting to dislike more and more over time. http://www.logitech.com/assets/14305/14305.png

After exploring I decided I want a Tenkeyless or similar compact one with brown switches, I will be using it for gaming and geekdom in general :nerd: . I'm having a hard time finding something that'll fit my needs, I'm a Finn so I'd highly prefer a Scandinavian layout or similar adaptable.

I've found these, but they both have the bottom row of keys one key too much to the left. Am I making sense to you? Also, they'd cost about 150€+ with shipping and taxes.
http://www.diatec.co.jp/products/det.php?prod_c=395
http://www.diatec.co.jp/products/det.php?prod_c=568

My layout for reference: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/KB_Finnish_Multilingual.svg/1000px-KB_Finnish_Multilingual.svg.png

Bruce from the keyboardco is apparently getting what I want but not until Christmas or early next year it seems. You guys have any suggestions?

Offline Ekaros

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 24 August 2010, 18:22:09 »
Might have to wait till February for localised layout at Keyboardco.com if they are briging one out... I'm personaly going to order normal Filco with browns soon from them...
So I should add something useless here yes? Ok, ok...
Filco 105-key NKRO MX Browns Sw/Fi-layout|IBM Model M 1394545 Lexmark 102-key Finnish-layout 1994-03-22|Cherry G80-3000LQCDE-2 with MX CLEAR
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Dell AT102W(105-key SF) (Black ALPS)|Steelseries Steelkeys 6G(MX Black) ISO-FI-layout|Cherry G84-4400 G84-4700 Cherry MLs

Offline flavonoid

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 25 August 2010, 04:31:16 »
The blankness is less of an issue compared to the size issue. Haven't learned to touch type yet so I'd still prefer keys with some sort of printed letters.

By the way, some guy on IRC suggested I solve the tenkeyless issue by sawing off the numpad part off of a full-size keyboard. Was he just trolling or is there some truth to this?

Offline Sam

  • Posts: 189
Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 25 August 2010, 05:11:11 »
Leopold (http://www.leopold.co.kr/) just came out with a new tenkeyless with a choice of Cherry switches.  I know they have Hangul and non-Hangul versions but don't recall if they have any variations on the non-Hangul versions or not.  If I have time this weekend I'll stop in there and check out their new keyboard and ask about their various versions.

Truly Ergonomic is another one (http://www.trulyergonomic.com/), but they're only taking preorders now and estimate delivery in December, 2010, but who knows how realistic that is or if they'll have problems.

Offline ichirichi

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 26 August 2010, 09:52:15 »
I bought a Filco FKBN105M/UKB from keyboardco.com and am a very happy customer :)  I waited for almost 3 weeks for it!!

Similar to the logitech that you own favnoid, I had a Razer Lycosa for 1 week.  I returned it as it was £50 for pure rubbish.  Instead I paid £100, but  for "pure gold":)

Am already addicted and much like you, I am looking for tenkeyless but in UK layout for work heehe...  Would love it to be blank too!

Offline flavonoid

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 26 August 2010, 14:18:32 »
@Sam Didn't know what Hangul was before, had to google it :) I'm looking forward to your visit to the store, let's hope the answers are the ones I'm looking for. By "Hangul and non-Hangul versions" do you mean the lettering on the keycaps or the layout?

I've been looking at the Truly Ergonomic too, but I'm a little sceptical. The price is also somewhat high for someone like me who actually doesn't need an ergonomic keyboard.

@ichirichi Tenkeyless FTW!

Offline Sam

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 26 August 2010, 21:49:39 »
I just gave them a call but they said they're sold out at the moment and won't get the next shipment for about a month.  So I won't bother visiting the store.  I asked though and they do not have a European layout, only US layout.  So I guess that won't work for you.

Offline Sam

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 26 August 2010, 22:44:39 »
I'm not sure what they're payment options are.  I live in a suburb of Seoul, Korea so would just go to their store and pay cash/card there if I wanted to make a purchase.  When I called them, the guy I talked to spoke pretty good English, so any questions you might have should be easily answered by them.

For translating Korean to English via Google, it's quite common in Korean text to run certain words together without spacing.  If you know where to add a space, sometimes it's a big improvement on the translation.  Of course when they use graphics rather than text, as the Leopold site does, it won't help much using an online translator.

Offline flavonoid

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 02 September 2010, 07:54:01 »
OK I'm now thinking of ordering one of these:
FKB100M/JB
FKB100M/NB

The keys seem to be "100キー メカニカルMX tactile feel" so I'm guessing those are Cherry MX browns right?

Do they have anything other different than the keycaps? I'm forced to use AutoHotkey on some of the buttons, but I'd like to keep that mostly limited to special characters. Say I plug the JP version in on my computer and choose English or Finnish as the keyboard layout. Do you thing the letters will give me the English letters instead of the funky Japanese ones? If the jap version works somewhat hassle free, I'd prefer that for the geek factor.

Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 02 September 2010, 08:01:37 »
Quote from: flavonoid;216356
By the way, some guy on IRC suggested I solve the tenkeyless issue by sawing off the numpad part off of a full-size keyboard. Was he just trolling or is there some truth to this?

It can be done, but it depends on the design of the board/controller how much work it is.

There are a few examples on this board. Here's a particularly nice one
Current collection: HHKB Pro 2 black on black, HHKB Pro 2 white/grey blank, [strike]Dell AT101W[/strike] (sold to SirClickAlot), 1992 Model M, Key Tronic Ergoforce KT 2001, BTC 5100 C. Dead boards: MS Natural Elite, MS Natural 4000.

Offline flavonoid

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #10 on: Thu, 02 September 2010, 17:40:57 »
Dude, maybe you should tell me what to call it then.

I don't think I'll be going the mod way, I'm a pretty uncrafty person.

Offline chrs

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Beginner: tenkeyless, brown switches and non-us
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 22 September 2010, 20:21:11 »
Quote from: Sam;216360
Leopold (http://www.leopold.co.kr/) just came out with a new tenkeyless with a choice of Cherry switches.  I know they have Hangul and non-Hangul versions but don't recall if they have any variations on the non-Hangul versions or not.  If I have time this weekend I'll stop in there and check out their new keyboard and ask about their various versions.


Very nice.  Funny though that their website seems to advertise it as a good travel board, but it weighs in at 1 kg according to the spec sheet.  That's almost as much as my whole laptop.  I guess what everyone told me on another thread--that the HHKB is the best travel option--is true.