How the heck did i end up with a keyboard collection?

[Glod]

Very nice! With the HHKB, Trying to enjoy the full "Thock" sound are ya? *Typed on my HHKB* MMM Sounds soo damn good! 

Pretty much, but i think i may mod again. my |\ key sometimes doesn't respond which makes me think the rubber cup isn't seated correctly after i reassembled it, so i have to open it up anyways...

More than doubled your boards within one year.

I guess if you count the un-assembled and KIA boards, this is very true

[Glod]

NECRO a post all about Glod

SO why not update this?
I have collected around all my non-destroyed keyboards and keyboard parts
I haven’t cleaned them up yet and some need repairs but at least the picture visualizes things for now
Once I have a few more built and cleaned up I will do like others have done and showcase each keyboard.



I wont go over my keycap collection but its overfiling a tub at this point.

The Glod Collection

Working
1.   CMStorm QFR Rapid with Frosty Flake Controller, 62g(Korean) Krytox-mix Lubed Ergo MX Clear, Stock QFR case
2.   KBT Race, backlit mod and key caps with lubed MX Red (like butter)
3.   KBC Poker X, IMSTO Red Plate, MKC Grey Case, Krytox-mix lubed (like butter) MX Linear Grey with 68g(Korean) springs, has some key registering issues, likely damaged PCB from too much modding.
4.   Acrylic ErgoDox, Black metal top plate, Krytox-mix lubed MX Red (like butter)
5.   Razer 2012 Black widow Tournament with MX Red Switches (custom installed) and ****ty paint job on case
6.   Keypad - GHPad (red scarf) with MX Black, 68g(Korean) springs, No Lube
7.   Orbi Touch booby keyboard
8.   1991 IBM blue label Model M
9.   1995 Lexmark blue label Model M
10.   1989 IBM grey label Model M SSK
11.   Unicomp Model PC 122 5250
12.   PFU HHKBPro2 – Has some controller issues I think but works
13.   Keypad - Cherry G80-3700 stock MX Black
14.   GH36x2 Prototype, No Case, MX Clear with 62g (Korean) springs and Silicone spray lubed (removes grit but is not like butter)
15.   Cherry G80-11900-USB – Stock MX Black as it should be

Needs Repair
16.   Full metal ErgoDox, unfinished spring swap MX Clear, Left hand 62g (Korean) springs and Silicone spray lubed (not like butter), Right hand stock MX Clear un-modded, needs right hand to match left hand, The keyboard I still use though even which the uneven switches
17.   Keypad - Red GONpad – currently has broken KittyPad PCB, needs replacement GONPad PCB swapped in which isn’t finished soldering SMB parts
18.   Red GON Nerd60 HHKB, has stock MX Clear switches with sip sockets, needs switches completely removed as I messed up the switches putting the sip sockets in (its hard to explain other than the sliders get stuck on almost every switch), this is not an easy task because the switches mount so tight inside GON’s cases, needs complete de-soldering of switches and LEDs. Missing a few switch LED resistors. Was going to replace with MX Blue with Heavy (70g+) Korean springs, no sip sockets just white LEDs.
19.   Phantom ANSI125, stock MX Brown switches, a few switches need to be re-soldered as they don’t register, was going to Krytox thick lube with 55g Korean springs. Stock QFR Case

Needs Assembly
20.   Acrylic ErgoDox with Blue Metal Top Plate – Everything soldered except switches, No switch decision made, will likely sell with a huge loss instead of keeping.
21.   Phantom ANSI150 – MK.com white PCB Already have a Red Vortex case ready for it, this was to get MX Black switches stock but may end up getting Gateron Blue switches with 45g Korean springs if I don’t end up building the keyboard any time soon.
22.   Phantom PCB No Plate – Original Group Buy Black PCB, Not sure if I will ever build this, it’s kind of a memento, I wont sell it.
23.   ErgoDox PCB No Case, No Switches, No Diodes, All other parts soldered. Like the black Phantom, I don’t think im going to ever build this and I’m not going to sell them
24.   GHPad (Red Scarf 1) PCB – No plans yet, so cheap no reason to sell

Ordered and Needs Assembly once it arrives
25.   GH60 #1 – Already planned to replace Poker X PCB with GH60 PCB, will inherit all of Poker X parts with a more desirable layout. Will Keep
26.   GH60 #2 – Tex Acrylic Case Ready, No Switch or plate choice made yet, will likely sell on classifies assembled for profit
27.   GH60 #3 – Vortex Silver Aluminum case, will use Stock MX Black switches and NO PLATE
28.   GH60 #4 – will give to a friend
29.   Red Scarf III (lightsaber-clone) – Already planned, No switch choice made but likely some gateron blue mod, my hope is to make this my primary-secondary keyboard so I will build this very high quality and with great care choosing switch.

RIP - Keyboards lost in action, either on purpose for science or accident
1.   Kinesis Freestyle - I have no clue where this is anymore but I found a bunch of its key caps in a box
2.   Adesso MKB-125B – Harvested
3.   Rosewill RK9000, killed during de-soldering, did a really bad paint job on the case and plate, totally embarrassing
4.   Ergodox Assembled PCB, completely stopped working, teensy and expander are like impossible to get off, saving pcb for a rainy day recovery project
5.   Cherry G80-11900-USB – I stepped on the PCB :O I mean its one sided I could do some miracle put together hardwire but **** that ****.

Coming Soon?
1.   Something ALPS
2.   Model F – AT maybe?
3.   Bluetooth 60%
4.   New Ergo Board, the one keyboard to rule them all and get me to sell my entire collection

[SpAmRaY]

How about the Matias ergo board?

 Great collection thanks for sharing!

[katushkin]

Wow. And I thought I was bad with 9.

That's an impressive collection.

[Glod]

How about the Matias ergo board?

 Great collection thanks for sharing!

i have thought about the Matias board, i have so much invested in cherry mx though, but who knows.

[SpAmRaY]

How about the Matias ergo board?

 Great collection thanks for sharing!

i have thought about the Matias board, i have so much invested in cherry mx though, but who knows.

Have you tried topre?

[fohat.digs]

Have I re-posted this again for 2015?

I feel ashamed when I see a grown up man say things like "...a sharp drop at the actuation point at around 2/3 - 3/4 way down the..."

Don't you have anything better to do with your life than yammering away on the minute details of a keyboard? I have both an M and an F that I picked up at goodwill for nothing 15 years ago and for the first time yesterday I googled about them and found 'enthusiast' (here an euphemism for retarded) websites where idiots bounce off the walls telling each other about the orgasms per second they have when using them. And 'using' is an overstatement with 90% of those morons. Most are busy opening them, cleaning the last atom of dirt off them, 'restoring' what doesn't need any restoration, 'upgrading', thinking of names for them, 'modding', taking photos, showing them off, in general jerking off about the clicky sensations and the superb accuracy of their typing and other general uber-dorkiness. What I never found there was anything useful to do with them, ie. actually program a computer.

Go type 'messenger lectures' in youtube and see what smart people look like, then kill yourself disassembling your One True Keyboard(TM) for the nth time and swallowing all the buckling springs.

And then mail one of your remaining model Fs to me.

[/quote]

[Glod]

Lolol

[steve.v]

You sir have a keyboard hoarding problem. To save you from this mess, I am willing to help you rid of this evil; I think the HHKB one is the culprit, send it my way

[hwood34]

That... is one large collection

[katushkin]

You sir have a keyboard hoarding problem. To save you from this mess, I am willing to help you rid of this evil; I think the HHKB one is the culprit, send it my way

No, no, no, the SSK is the problem.

Gimme gimme.

[Grill3dCh33z]

You sir have a keyboard hoarding problem. To save you from this mess, I am willing to help you rid of this evil; I think the HHKB one is the culprit, send it my way

No, no, no, the SSK is the problem.

Gimme gimme.

Taking donations to the Ch33z foundation. All keyboard hoarders feel free to send me some stuff!

I jest.  )

[Glod]

I know for a fact there are people here with much larger collections, I think the biggest problem is I never sell anything and that clearly makes me a hoarder

[demik]

I know for a fact there are people here with much larger collections, I think the biggest problem is I never sell anything and that clearly makes me a hoarder

well, look on the bright side! you are among your people.. we don't judge.

[katushkin]

I know for a fact there are people here with much larger collections, I think the biggest problem is I never sell anything and that clearly makes me a hoarder

well, look on the bright side! you are among your people.. we don't judge.

In fact, I'm sure many of us are jealous. I know I am.

[Sencha]

the amount of keyboards you have coming makes no sense. why would you need multiples of the same board

Due to the Ron Swanson Avatar I read that with Ron Swanson's voice.....and it works well! say something else!

[ideus]

This is insanely insane.

[Glod]

Necro Time

So I have been on Geekhack now for over 5 years, not really active on the forum lately, but 5 years ago i kicked off this hobby with a HHKBPro2 and a RACE and then everything snowballed due to being on geekhack.

I figured I'd give an update on my collection

Current "plug-and-play" collection (ready to plug in and use). another dozen loaned out or not build or broken






1. Unicomp Model PC 122 5250
2. 1989 IBM grey label Model M SSK
3. Keypad - Cherry G80-3700 stock MX Black
4. Cherry G80-11900-USB – Stock MX Black as it should be. With GMK Plum
5. Red GON Nerd60, rev1 "HHKB-like" - Zealios 65g Round 1 with GMK Yuri, Red side lighting, Orange in switch lighting
6. Red GONPad, Very early revision, technically a Aikon Keypad, with ergo clears and no lighting, with GMK Yuri
7. Phantom ANSI125, CHerry brown Stock, Calm Depths SA, Vortex Red Case
8. Keypad - GHPad (red scarf) with MX Black, 68g(Korean Springs) with Solid Aluminum Cast Case, with GMK Hypefuse
9. Satan GH60, with Red IMSTO Plate, MKC Grey Case, Gateron Brown with 68g springs, Krytox Lubed, White Backlighting, with Ducky Doubleshot backlight caps
10. Infinity I.C. ErgoDox with Data Mancer Wood Case, Gateron Brown with 68g springs, Krytox Lubed, White Backlighting, G80-11900 POM Caps with some DSA caps. Tented!!!
11. Atreus62, Wood pattern Vinyl Case, Zealios 65g Round 1, with Mito PuLSE SA Keycaps
12. Atreus with actual wood case, stock gateron brown, Retro DSA Caps
13. TeamWolf "ZHUQUE+" TKL, with Outemu Blue Swithes, with GMK Hyperfuse
14. KBT Race, backlit mod and key caps with lubed MX Red (like butter)
15. PFU HHKBPro2, Piano Style, with Hasu Bluetooth custom controller
16. Acrylic ErgoDox, Black metal top plate, Krytox-mix lubed MX Red (like butter), Granite DSA Caps, Noko wrist wrest

Some of the ones not plug and play include:
3 x un-built Phantoms
Loaned out Pok3r with stock cherry blacks and vortex pure cnc case
2 x Model Ms Loaned Out
Red Scarf II RS96, awaiting LEDs, pretty much plug and play
Unbuilt ErgoDox
Broken "Full Metal" ErgoDox. needs full switch replacement
Orbitouch "Boob" Keyboard
Unbuilt DZ60 (Coming VERY SOON)
4 GH60s that will never come, given up hope
Matias Atreus62, in suitcase
Another G80 trackpad somewhere
Early revision GH36x2, Not broken but just useless without case.
Dell AT101W Beige. Lost
CMStorm  Quickfire TKL with Frosty Flake, Tons of Broken Traces during bad desolder, Needs Hand Wiring

I also mentioned 2 years ago i have a few boards lost in action such as Rosewill RK9000, Adesso MKB-125B, a ErgoDox, and some others

I also have a large collection of keycaps and a small handful of novelties and tons of parts.

Thanks for the loss of thousands of dollars geekhack!

ps. in case anyone is wondering, my daily driver is the Infinity ErgoDox, though I rotate in my other keyboards from time to time, I was using the Atreus 62 for a good month, My SSK, and Nerd60 the last 3 weeks, but eventually I always go back to the ErgoDox.

EDIT

Added Red Scarf III RS96 Back to the Working Collection with Robotech set. Brings Number to 17

[SpAmRaY]

That #4 is about the best use of an aftermarket keyset I've seen.

Very awesome collection and glad to see you posting.

[Glod]

That #4 is about the best use of an aftermarket keyset I've seen.

Very awesome collection and glad to see you posting.

Ha, Hey man

Yeah, got the G80 board years ago for 20$+ship in trash condition, Plum GMK Costed like $200 haha. Its actually a great board.

[SpAmRaY]

That #4 is about the best use of an aftermarket keyset I've seen.

Very awesome collection and glad to see you posting.

Ha, Hey man

Yeah, got the G80 board years ago for 20$+ship in trash condition, Plum GMK Costed like $200 haha. Its actually a great board.

 Yeah I've got a NIB one, but I think my cherry logo is red. I think I've got a white one to.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[ojrask]

Imagine my confusion seeing a post from 2013 with images that show GMK Yuri. "Oh yeah maybe OP just updated it".

[Azmodan]

I started about a year ago because I wanted to see what the hype was with the mechanical keyboards, so I go a Logitech G610 with Cherry MX browns after a bit of a research and I loved the tactility. A few weeks later I really start hatting my rubber dome keyboard at work, so I bought a cheap Chinese ten-keyless with Outemu MX Blue clones, which by the way I know now that they feel better than the Cherry MX blues!

I was happy with those, but I wanted to see what the fuss was with Cherry MX reds, so I ended up with another Logitecg G610 but with Chrerry MX reds, which I liked as well but preferred the browns and the blues for typing and the reds for gaming. Then, since I basically write a lot of code daily for work and for hobby I wondered what was the perfect keyboard for typing and after research and testing I ended up owning 2 grey badge IBM model M keyboards, both bolt modded. I use now both at office and at home the Model M.

Future plan is to build a black (clicky) APLS ten-keyless with vintage spherical keycaps, because I want to try clicky ALPS and I love the look of vintage spherical keycaps. I am also actively looking for a DELL AT101W, because it looks nice and it is a nive APLS platform.

My point is that it does not take a lot to get addicted to keyboards especially if your spend 8 to 16 hours a day typing on them. They become an extension of your fingers and a productivity tool. Since I got the IBM model M I have noticed that I am more productive, cause I actually enjoy typing on that thing!

 

[jcoffin1981]

I don't fault anybody for a hobbyist obscession, though I may find the concept of some difficult to grasp. I have about 10 keyboards and I use two of them 90 percent of the time- a Leopold and a Poker with minor mods.  I rotate the others to feel like they get use and have a slightly different typing feel. 

I have 50 watches, well probably more since some are not working or are in various stages of repair.  Now while I have spent maybe 1500 or more on keyboards, but have probably spent 10 or 12K on watches in the last 7 years, and many many thousands on tools.  These are all vintage and I enjoy the tools possibly more than the watches.  This may be hard for many to understand as most people now just use their phone, or an iWatch which is a computer that just happens to tell the time.

I am itching to try a new switch and am worried that I'll like it better than what I have now, or use it once or twice and say "Meh" and put it in a pile with the rest of them.