Simple Questions, Simple Answers (FAQ in the OP)

[jdcarpe]

And again another personal preference being marketed as the gospel.  There really is not best or worst switch with the possible exception to cheap rubber domes.  Try the stock clears, if you find them two stiff or would like to feel a bit more of the tactile bump then go ahead and mod them.

Or try Blacks. Or Blues. Whatever, but decide for yourself. Don't just believe the hype that something is good because some people say it is. There are probably a great many people using MX Browns, Reds, etc. who never claim their favorite switch to be the "best," they just use them.

[Pacifist]

You won't get off the shelf ergo clear soon. I am not aware of any PCB mounted TKL on the market right now, but you can get a phantom and just PCB mount the switches and have a case cut

G80-1800 comes close. And Phantom PCB doesn't have holes for PCB-mounting the switches.

Is it possible to drill holes in the PCB for mounting switches? Or are there traces in those places?

[Melvang]

What sort of mods are available to unicomp BS keyboards?

[CPTBadAss]

What sort of mods are available to unicomp BS keyboards?

The same ones that you can do to Model Ms:

Bolt mod
Floss mod
Grease mod
65% mod
Foam/blanket replacement
Layout changes

I can provide links if you want.

[Melvang]

What sort of mods are available to unicomp BS keyboards?

The same ones that you can do to Model Ms:

Bolt mod
Floss mod
Grease mod
65% mod
Foam/blanket replacement
Layout changes

I can provide links if you want.

A link would be nice for the floss mod.

[SpAmRaY]

Does anyone know if this has mechanical switches?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintage-Nickelodeon-Keyboard-by-Brain-Works-1994-Tested-w-USB-adapter/181322784654

[Zeal]

Does anyone know if this has mechanical switches?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintage-Nickelodeon-Keyboard-by-Brain-Works-1994-Tested-w-USB-adapter/181322784654

Well...That's a colourful keyboard. 

I can say for sure that it's not Cherry switches  )

[epzy]

To remove and add a detachable cable to my Filco, would that require soldering? (Never opened up one before.)

[riotonthebay]

To remove and add a detachable cable to my Filco, would that require soldering? (Never opened up one before.)

No, you just have to open the case.

[CommonCurt]

To remove and add a detachable cable to my Filco, would that require soldering? (Never opened up one before.)

This video from WFD shows it pretty well.  Go to 4:47

[epzy]

Thanks guys.

[riotonthebay]

What are the highest-quality ANSI Alps keycaps available? For example, for MX switches, OG Cherry keycaps are regarded as best-in-class.

[CPTBadAss]

What are the highest-quality ANSI Alps keycaps available? For example, for MX switches, OG Cherry keycaps are regarded as best-in-class.

The bad thing about Alps is that you'll probably have to harvest caps from a keyboard. You can't pick up aftermarket ones at the moment. I really like the caps on the Apple AEKII, Dell AT101W, and Focus FK-2001. Unfortunately, none of these are the modern ANSI layouts we're used to.

The only two boards that have that board are the Filco Zero and Ducky 1087XM. The Ducky caps are really bad in my opinion; they're thin and low quality. The Zero caps are the standard Filco caps but with an Alps stem; problem is they're almost impossible to find.

To remove and add a detachable cable to my Filco, would that require soldering? (Never opened up one before.)

This video from WFD shows it pretty well.  Go to 4:47

Along with WFD's video, I also have some pictures from when I swapped cables in my Majestouch 2 here.

What sort of mods are available to unicomp BS keyboards?

The same ones that you can do to Model Ms:

Bolt mod
Floss mod
Grease mod
65% mod
Foam/blanket replacement
Layout changes

I can provide links if you want.

A link would be nice for the floss mod.

Floss mod for BS keyboards

Does anyone know if this has mechanical switches?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintage-Nickelodeon-Keyboard-by-Brain-Works-1994-Tested-w-USB-adapter/181322784654

Unfortunately I can't figure out what switches it uses. I did find out some background history here. It was made at the same time as the Alps Kidboard, and the company Brainworks actually made the Star Trek keyboard. Here is[url] a link from the catalog that sold the Nickelodeon keyboard. But no helpful hints about it being mechanical.

My best guess is that since it's a competitor to the Kidboard, it's some form of Alps, but I'm *totally* guessing. It's also priced at $69.99 as opposed to the $99 for the Kidboard. That might be a clue one way or another.

[riotonthebay]

What are the highest-quality ANSI Alps keycaps available? For example, for MX switches, OG Cherry keycaps are regarded as best-in-class.

The bad thing about Alps is that you'll probably have to harvest caps from a keyboard. You can't pick up aftermarket ones at the moment. I really like the caps on the Apple AEKII, Dell AT101W, and Focus FK-2001. Unfortunately, none of these are the modern ANSI layouts we're used to.

The only two boards that have that board are the Filco Zero and Ducky 1087XM. The Ducky caps are really bad in my opinion; they're thin and low quality. The Zero caps are the standard Filco caps but with an Alps stem; problem is they're almost impossible to find.

The Dell AT101W is a standard layout, no? (With stepped caps.)



What's the quality like on Matias' caps? You mentioned that he's theoretically running a group buy or making them available at some point in the future.

[CPTBadAss]

The Dell AT101W is a standard layout, no? (With stepped caps.)

Show Image

What's the quality like on Matias' caps? You mentioned that he's theoretically running a group buy or making them available at some point in the future.

Yes besides the caps lock it's standard. You can actually snip the step off, it just makes the cap look weird. Since the caps lock is stepped and is hard to replace, I would say it's not the standard ANSI. However, I really do like the AT101W caps.

I've actually never seen Matias' keycaps alone. They've always been on the keyboards. From what I remember, I liked the Matias' keyboards overall, keycaps included. You can check out the Matias schedule for aftermarket keycaps and their 60% Matias GB here.

[riotonthebay]

Great, thanks CPT!

[SpAmRaY]

Are there any US cable makers left?

[jdcarpe]

Are there any US cable makers left?

tjcaustin's MiMiC Cables

[SpAmRaY]

Are there any US cable makers left?

tjcaustin's MiMiC Cables

Can't buy from TJ he blocked me 

[jdcarpe]

Are there any US cable makers left?

tjcaustin's MiMiC Cables

Can't buy from TJ he blocked me 

TheFlyingRaccoon is making cables for Bunnylake's Ctrl Alt Store.

[SpAmRaY]

Are there any US cable makers left?

tjcaustin's MiMiC Cables

Can't buy from TJ he blocked me 

TheFlyingRaccoon is making cables for Bunnylake's Ctrl Alt Store.

Yeah only for those sets. He doesn't have time for other stuff.

I'll just buy a cable off ebay.

[CPTBadAss]

Are there any US cable makers left?

tjcaustin's MiMiC Cables

Can't buy from TJ he blocked me 

TJ blocked you on mimic-cables.com too? Should still be able to order from the website there.

[SpAmRaY]

Are there any US cable makers left?

tjcaustin's MiMiC Cables

Can't buy from TJ he blocked me 

TJ blocked you on mimic-cables.com too? Should still be able to order from the website there.

Now why would I do that? If I can't PM a vendor on geekhack and ask them questions about a product I would like to purchase then why bother.

[CPTBadAss]

TJ blocked you on mimic-cables.com too? Should still be able to order from the website there.

Now why would I do that? If I can't PM a vendor and ask them questions about a product I would like to purchase then why bother.

It was a suggestion. No need to be defensive.

[SpAmRaY]

/Back on topic.

Many modern PC's don't have PS2 and the PS2 port on my workstation's PS2 port is in an awful location.

I realize that the G80-3700 needs to be connected through the PS2 interface to program but is there some sort of adapter that would make USB work for this?  I know two different protocols etc but I've seen magic happen around here.

[CPTBadAss]

Many modern PC's don't have PS2 and the PS2 port on my workstation's PS2 port is in an awful location.

I realize that the G80-3700 needs to be connected through the PS2 interface to program but is there some sort of adapter that would make USB work for this?  I know two different protocols etc but I've seen magic happen around here.

If you program it on PS/2 first then use a PS/2 to USB adapter, does it lose it's programming? I'm not 100% on how the 3700 works. If not, you could just program it then use the adapter. Or maybe you can find a PS/2 to USB cable like how the Orihalcon cables are. Otherwise wouldn't a Teensy conversion work as well?

[Melvang]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

[CPTBadAss]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

I have a Ducky in my apartment right now that I could take apart to look at. I'll look at it tonight. But since I'm forgetful, PM me if you don't see a post on this by tomorrow. Hopefully someone else knows though ^__^.

[Melvang]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

I have a Ducky in my apartment right now that I could take apart to look at. I'll look at it tonight. But since I'm forgetful, PM me if you don't see a post on this by tomorrow. Hopefully someone else knows though ^__^.

Will do Cpt.  The board is in MN right now and I live in IA so I can't really just take a quick look.

[SpAmRaY]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

I have a Ducky in my apartment right now that I could take apart to look at. I'll look at it tonight. But since I'm forgetful, PM me if you don't see a post on this by tomorrow. Hopefully someone else knows though ^__^.

Will do Cpt.  The board is in MN right now and I live in IA so I can't really just take a quick look.

Melvang what model year is it? The newer boards are coming with clipped stabs according to laffindude.

[Melvang]

I bought it last fall

[SpAmRaY]

I bought it last fall

Ok it was one of the ducky boards with thick pbt caps right?  i'm not sure what those have.

[CPTBadAss]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

I have a Ducky in my apartment right now that I could take apart to look at. I'll look at it tonight. But since I'm forgetful, PM me if you don't see a post on this by tomorrow. Hopefully someone else knows though ^__^.

Will do Cpt.  The board is in MN right now and I live in IA so I can't really just take a quick look.

Melvang what model year is it? The newer boards are coming with clipped stabs according to laffindude.

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

Ray, Laffindude says the clipped stabilizers go forward from his post. So does that mean the Shine 3s only have clipped stabilizers starting in Winter of 2013? I'm not sure. And the post only pertains to the Shine 3. If Melvang has a nonbacklit Ducky, then it wouldn't be a Shine model.

[SpAmRaY]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

I have a Ducky in my apartment right now that I could take apart to look at. I'll look at it tonight. But since I'm forgetful, PM me if you don't see a post on this by tomorrow. Hopefully someone else knows though ^__^.

Will do Cpt.  The board is in MN right now and I live in IA so I can't really just take a quick look.

Melvang what model year is it? The newer boards are coming with clipped stabs according to laffindude.

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

Ray, Laffindude says the clipped stabilizers go forward from his post. So does that mean the Shine 3s only have clipped stabilizers starting in Winter of 2013? I'm not sure. And the post only pertains to the Shine 3. If Melvang has a nonbacklit Ducky, then it wouldn't be a Shine model.

I bought it last fall

Ok it was one of the ducky boards with thick pbt caps right?  i'm not sure what those have.

^^ yeah i dunno, i've only got a shine 2

And I'm assuming all shine 3's and any models released since they were released will have the factory clipped stabs.

[Melvang]

This is the exact model.

[Zaskar]

Curious if anyone knows what happens when you enable dip switch 4 and 5 together on a HHKB? (4 changes the meta key to a Fn key, and 5 swaps the meta and alt keys)

Does the Fn key replace the new or original meta key's spot? (Also does it replace both meta keys giving you a total of 3 Fn keys, or just the left one, leaving the right alone?)

Thanks!

[CPTBadAss]

Does the entire board need to be desoldered on the Ducky full size non back lit to clip the stabs?  Or does it have the cut outs so you can remove it just by desoldering those couple switches?

From what I saw on this Team OMG keyboard, which is a Ducky 2108S Zero Shine, and what I'm done on my KMAC I don't think that you can just desolder the switch and replace the stabilizer. The issue is the stabilizer wire and how it sits. I was able to tinker with my KMAC's spacebar stabilizers because it was at the edge of the keyboard so I could get tools inside. Because the backspace, enter, and shifts are slightly shifted away from the edges, it would be very hard to reset the wire I think.

[intelli78]

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

[SpAmRaY]

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

I don't remember where but I think we had an entire thread arguing about this once.

[dorkvader]

The oldest model M plates and model F backplates. What treatment do they have to make them that awesome colour?

also:

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

just a guess, but probably a few hundred times at least. If you run into issues, you can up plastic bags and use them.

[Pacifist]

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

I don't remember where but I think we had an entire thread arguing about this once.

IIRC that thread was about how long the stem lasts on the switch not the cap.

[intelli78]

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

I don't remember where but I think we had an entire thread arguing about this once.

IIRC that thread was about how long the stem lasts on the switch not the cap.

Sorry if I was unclear. I am indeed asking about stems.

[jdcarpe]

The oldest model M plates and model F backplates. What treatment do they have to make them that awesome colour?

I'm guessing here, but it's probably from the heat applied to melt the plastic rivets, at least in the case of the M.

I can't think of a good reason for it on the F, unless it was some sort of heat application like happened to that droid in Jabba's palace when they tortured him by applying red hot irons to his feet.

[dorkvader]

The oldest model M plates and model F backplates. What treatment do they have to make them that awesome colour?

I'm guessing here, but it's probably from the heat applied to melt the plastic rivets, at least in the case of the M.

I can't think of a good reason for it on the F, unless it was some sort of heat application like happened to that droid in Jabba's palace when they tortured him by applying red hot irons to his feet.

I think the discolourations around the rivets are because it's pre-drilled and then treated.

[Melvang]

That discolorations is distinctly from some from of heat treating.  My guess would be annealed to work with easier then hardened a bit to hold the shape.

[CPTBadAss]

The oldest model M plates and model F backplates. What treatment do they have to make them that awesome colour?

That discolorations is distinctly from some from of heat treating.  My guess would be annealed to work with easier then hardened a bit to hold the shape.

I'd agree with this. It definitely looks like a heat treat process.

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

I've had my Valentine's set since I started on Geekhack about a year ago. I've swapped it on and off different boards probably 10-20 times. I haven't had any issues with wear. I suspect it's negligible wear since you're only doing it say once a day.

If you really want, you can look up the material properties and then see what the durability, creep, and modulus of elasticity is. This will give you a general idea of how much wear and usage the material can take.

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

just a guess, but probably a few hundred times at least. If you run into issues, you can up plastic bags and use them.

Dorkvader is saying you can use cut up plastic bags as shims if the caps become loose.

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

I don't remember where but I think we had an entire thread arguing about this once.

IIRC that thread was about how long the stem lasts on the switch not the cap.

Links guys?

[SpAmRaY]

Approximately how many times can a set of doubleshot ABS caps be taken on and off a board before they'll start to get loose? Is it much different for other plastics? What variables, if any, affect the rate of wear?

I don't remember where but I think we had an entire thread arguing about this once.

IIRC that thread was about how long the stem lasts on the switch not the cap.

Links guys?

I think this was one of them -> http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=49060.0

I thought there was another but my search-fu is weak sauce this morning.

[intelli78]

Thanks for the info dudes 

[yasuo]

What is keyboard using 4.5 spacebar?

[CPTBadAss]

What is keyboard using 4.5 spacebar?

Pure Pro. I believe this is the only keyboard that has this spacebar size.