How are rubber dome Ms?

[Pylon]

There's a guy locally in my area selling a 71G4644 for $5. I'm thinking about getting it, though it isn't a proper mechanical. But it's better than what I have now (gray HP w/ rubber domes) So how are rubber domed Ms?

Also, is it possible to convert a rubber dome M to buckling springs?

The only mechanical keyboard I've used is some third-party Apple keyboard with some sort of black Alps, and a Model F 5291.

[microsoft windows]

Rubber dome Model M's are decent keyboards. But they can't be easily converted to buckling springs.

[didjamatic]

It's a good keyboard, but you can get a mechanical model m for not much more, even on ebay you can find them in the $10-15 range all the time

[aegrotatio]

I love Model Ms and I love rubber dome keyboards.  I do not like the feel of the Model M rubber dome in the incarnation of the Galactex Smartrex GALII11 keyboard.  The keys feel very shallow, and I think it's because the dome collapse "tactile" bump happens way, way too high up in the keystroke.  It's also quite stiff.  Less of a problem but the keys (that you're not typing on) have a loud, sympathetic rattle while typing on it.

I would like to try a real life Unicomp Enhanced Quiet Touch model some day but nobody wants to pay $70 for a rubber dome keyboard.  Thing is nobody is 100% sure that the Unicomp Enhanced Quiet Touch is the same as the Smartrex.  The Smartrex is heavy and solid and looks pretty good in spite of some nonstandard key arrangements.  I very much prefer the Key Tronic 3600 which you can get new in random places for $10-$30.

[kishy]

There's no logical reason why the SmarTrex would be unlike any other rubber dome Model M in any significant way. That said, it is true, nobody is 100% sure if it's completely the same.

Someone give Unicomp a ring? Should take all of 5 minutes to get the answer to that. Describe the keyboard, surely someone in the building will remember, then ask if it's the same design as the other rubber dome units.

[aegrotatio]

Kishy, that's right.  I'm curious myself, but since the keycaps and the domes are such a custom build for Smartrex, I would assume the "Enhanced Quiet Touch" are the same.  After typing on a Model M, I have to say that I think the "tactile bump" of the rubber dome version is at the same point as a bucking-spring Model M, so it's a reasonably good assumption that the "Enhanced Quiet Touch" is the same as the Smartrex.

It's still a cool keyboard!!  Black and solid and has colors and a telephonic inverted numeric keypad.  Nice!!