Long Version (detailing the progression of my illness):
So here I am, all content and finally feeling some relief from that "Need to try THAT one" switch envy. I start to take some inventory notes on what is still en route and what is actually not going to be staying for my own purposes as well as to answer the question posed to me on another thread in most accurate fashion. I was reading through the days posts about Filco's and I began reflecting on how much I enjoy the Adesso I ended up with as a result of the "Last but not least" blue mx wtb query, specifically how I had not developed this prevailing interest concerning quality keycaps. I can't think of any board that the actual cap itself was a source of any torment, excepting the ones on my Ma's ibook which are worn down to "Otaku" style blanks. It doesn't even bug me that the fk 8000 refurb I got has a G key from some other kind of board entirely which doesn't match the shape of the rest. Now as it happens, two of the "just because they were cheap enough and moderately interesting for whatever reason" boards weighed in yesterday (the chicony 5181, and less expensive Laser that was suggested as substitute for the Blue MX. ) Imagine my surprise when I, upon inspection of the goods after rescueing them from nearly being eternally bound with stringy packing tape, found that one of the first things I noticed about the Laser was the solid contrast and feel of its, you guessed it, double-shot keycaps! Keycaps are still not a deal maker or breaker for me, but I was intrigued that I discovered an appreciation for something I previously didn't give a hoot about one way other the other...
Anyway, back to the point, which was examining exactly what the hell I was buying that has cost me plenty in a short amount of time: Oddly enough, though extra cash is anything but abundant lately, I cannot even feel paticularly guilty about these purchases, since some of them have come despite the really slim odds of actually finding something once I conceived of doing so. Even the SO is reasonably OK with this new fetish of mine, and I really can't see him being equally so if I had spent the same amount on say, PS3 games that even BOTH of us could play with. With many of these acquisitions has come a certain feeling of alignment with destiny, as all of this came about from a decision I made to find some way to write for a living. With that decision came the natural discovery that my then current tool was inadequate for all but the most rudimentary purposes, and somehow through an indirect association of story, memory, and well timed reading of certain articles about clicky keyboards, I was led back to the beginning of it all, then and now: The Model M.
Dansdata mentioned the 42H1292; With all the other info being too overwhelming to figure out when I was so impatient to be able to TYPE again, this became my first purchase. It was also one of only two M's to arrive without its keys rattling around in the box with it like so many loose teeth after being subjected to the journey with only its little keyboard carboard for protection! (Not just keyCAPS, mind you - actual KEYS were dislodged w exposed springs! God knows what kind of treatment to do that to a Model M - I think the USPS guys are using them as wheel stops for extra brakes on steep hills!) Anyway it took another 3 or 4 purchases (under 50 bucks anyway) to end up with one that was in usable condition as I tried and rejected various interations of the 401 model, but by this time I had also officially joined GH and the quest was on for the M5-1. This I miraculously acquired within 36 hours of deciding that I would continue to search for years if necessary to find one. I was the first board to arrive double boxed which indicated that the seller had some respect for such things - and it was the easiest and smoothest transaction I ever made, despite my initial concerns that I was being scammed since I hadn't expected to actually find one so quickly. What ended up convincing me it was for real was the absolute absurdity of trying to concoct a situational scam technique based on such an obscure thing; The probability that I had actually gotten that lucky was more conceivable than any scenario I could imagine and so I sent the guy the money and prayed. It immediately became the daily driver upon arrival. (Typing with my new BS M's instead of the wireless MS craptastic pos with real delight, I had noticed the lack of being able to adjust my PC volume through the keyboard, though. While it is really the ONLY extra function that I ever made use of on any board with bells andwhistles and buttons, it was an extra function that got used OFTEN in my case.)
As you know, once you go Geekhack, you just can't go back: now I found myself looking at odd ads where I found them in odd places and came across a site that might have been several years since it was updated, but it had a pic in his random stuff for sale of an old Datadesk keyboard with a calculator LCD (asking 35$) on it that looked really kind of neat, so I sent that guy an email. Unfortunately he either no longer had or was unable to find that one and for me that now meant a new quest was born! (And actually I've yet to run into anything that even mentions the Datadesk version of the FK3001 he had, other than part references for a keyboard cover that would fit it - I would imagine someone might be able to get quite a bit more than $35 for it wherever it is now...) But since mine was a functional fetish as opposed to a rarity fetish, the Focus boards that had a working lcd would suffice for me and I got a questionable condition 3001 off ebay for 40 bucks Best Offer on the listed $114.99 which was actually accepted. After tapping the keys a bit when it arrived, it appeared that I was definitely a fan of the White Alps switch. Plugging it in showed that there were some issues and that the switches themselves were very well worn (perhaps past the point of usefulness) and so still I required a better example of one in more usable condition to get a fair representation of them (A NIB would be likely impossible, but worth the $ if I should find one, though.) At this point I noticed some talk of the fk 5001/ fk9000 and thought, "hhmmmmm,... programmable?" A white alps incarnation including a calculator LCD and a way to possibly control volume from they keyboard? OH YEAH... (Cue music, the "alley-oop"-ish baseline of "Searchin'" and the opening vocals of the backing singers "Gonna find her....")
Unfortunately, neither of these was anywhere at all. The road got a little rocky on the quest for the white alps board, and some less desireable things were acquired by accident in the experiment. I tried Fk-7200 with the trackball in the middle of the spacebar, but it was an inelegant solution (which was sort of expected given the inexpensive NIB price) and that one is no longer with us due to being the unfortunate victim of a fit of frustration and constructed of fairly flimsy materials to boot. The same period also yeilded one truly regrettable purchase of one used NMB Tech RT-6251T which is a slider/dome combo and while better made than todays junk, not of any particular use to me for a typing workhorse. But then agian, it was also around this time that we unearthed the Model F (xt-unfortunately) here in our very house under the same roof without us knowing! I also got the Dell At101W during this portion of the quest, and while they were not what I was looking for, the black alps were pleasant enough until the big boys really started to weigh in. Actually the entire last 6 weeks were a combination of miracles and curses given what transpired in my keyboard quest being paired with the unfortunate vonage snafu which resulted in my losing access to my INGdirect checking which was the only financial gateway I had between real and eworlds.
I was still mildly curious about the MX blues, but this was before I saw the "Shoe" analogy so my primary target was still the white alps boards, preferably one of the lcd calc models, maybe one programmable like the one Kishy posted, and wouldn't you know it? Along comes the fk5001 put up by spolia on ebay. I was afraid that it would be unobtainable, though; Due to its rarity I was thinking the competion would be pretty stiff, and it would come to who wanted it more and could afford to pay for it. I dashed a message off the seller (who I didn't even realize was a Gher until later) inquiring about the reserve since i HATE bidding on something I can't have at all, and though they declined to disclose it, they at least knew I was seriously interested. I did lose hope though, and set about looking for another solution because even though I was the lead bidder for most of the auction, I still hadn't hit the reserve with a bid that was a good 20 bucks over how much I was wanting to pay.
Suddenly though, its miracle time! There's an AT model F up that is mislabeled as 83 xt and looking affordable, and then I find Bob Northgate site through a google and fate conspired to leave me unable to Alt-F4 my way out of being aurally assaulted by the patriotic music at FULL VOLUME (remember what I said about the media keys?) as well as unable to identify the offending page among the open tabs and windows. What happened next was either my reward for enduring that or some new manifestation of mental summoning superpowers that I had not been aware I possessed because once I did find the offending page that sent me frantically pressing key combos to summon the task manager, I nearly dropped dead when I saw what was listed in the middle of the page and had to read it twice and then checked the date of the site to make sure I wasn't somehow stuck in a time warp (as the music did nothing to reassure me this was not the case!) I very nearly didn't see the NEXT item after it, a refurbished FK8000 for sale, which was one of the grail models I had been seeking as well because the NIB Fk-3001 with all retail doohickeys et al sent me running to compose an email straightaway, daring to hope it was not something left over from 10 years ago that he never bothered to update off the site! Within hours though I received a phone call from Bob who confirmed its non-mythical existance and I had shortly secured both Focus boards on a promise since I had no access to efunds, finally paid off the balance on the deposit couple weeks past and just received them Friday. =D
Meanwhile, I won the AT for 87 and shipping, and then out of nowhere I was suddenly in a position to obtain the 5001 as well since the seller had lowered the reserve at some point, now to within my range of budget! Though getting everyone paid without access to a way to send funding was challenging, it mostly worked out with the exception of the model F, and all three other boards have affirmed the definite white alps happy space. I am even considering keepin the first 3001 though it is in much need of some overhaul; it has a different layout than the NIB 3001 and a solar panel instead of a battery for the Lcd. Last week I rounded out the collection with a replacement F-AT, the adesso, Chicony 5191 for the mystery "lady chatterly" switch (NIB but on a cross-country detour atm - stupid flat rate shipping ) and the 5181 for the blue monteys that have been so surprisingly acclaimed, and the laser board with the imitation MXs just cause the price was right. I'd like to hug the lot of em, though the Blues are my top pick for typing nirvana. ( I am thinking semi-seriously about snagging another of the mkb-135b. I DO dig it alot just for the damn volume control...) The Blue Monties are also high up there. The white ALPS are very similar but with just a bit less bounce on the release, which makes them seem a tad less energizing than the blues.
