Simple Questions, Simple Answers (FAQ in the OP)

[safian]

So I finally got the keyboard I asked about before and I still don't know what model it is. I really like sound of that keyboard, do you recognize the switches?  I have new photos here: http://imgur.com/a/7fJAl

[nubbinator]

Looks like a spring over membrane or rubber dome with Alps slider to me.  I could be wrong and it could be something like a TEC switch.

[itskuroi]

So I was thinking about getting a 75% keyboard, but I have no clue how to solder or anything. My question is there a 75% keyboard that already has Gateron switches ? Or am I going to have to order a custom board 

[azhdar]

So I was thinking about getting a 75% keyboard, but I have no clue how to solder or anything. My question is there a 75% keyboard that already has Gateron switches ? Or am I going to have to order a custom board 

custom only.

[Blaise170]

So I had another mini-DIN-5 keyboard come in today and this is one of the true mini-DIN-5 that won't fit into a PS/2 socket. Anyone know how to convert it? It's a NeXT station keyboard with Black SKCM.

[fohat.digs]

So I had another mini-DIN-5 keyboard come in today and this is one of the true mini-DIN-5 that won't fit into a PS/2 socket. Anyone know how to convert it? It's a NeXT station keyboard with Black SKCM.

I thought that PS/2 was mini-DIN-6

[Hzza]

NeXT boards speak a strange protocol, I think almost all versions with alps are non-adb; TMK might have a converter that speaks NeXT but can't remember for certain.

The non-alps versions of these boards speak standard ADB IIRC which TMK definitely has a converter for.

[Blaise170]

I thought that PS/2 was mini-DIN-6

Well there are two kinds, a 5 pin that is incompatible with PS/2 sockets and another that looks like PS/2 but with a missing pin 6.

[fohat.digs]

In this scenario both 2 and 6 are not doing anything.

[E3E]

Hey guys. Preparing for my first SA set! Do SA 6.25u Spacebars have centered stems or are they offset like some Cherry boards? I'm guessing they are centered, but I can't be sure without feedback.

[stoic-lemon]

Do 3 unit keys ever come up on the SP key shop? There aren't any there now, but I was wondering if that ever changes.

[CPTBadAss]

Hey guys. Preparing for my first SA set! Do SA 6.25u Spacebars have centered stems or are they offset like some Cherry boards? I'm guessing they are centered, but I can't be sure without feedback.

They're made by SP so they're centered.

Do 3 unit keys ever come up on the SP key shop? There aren't any there now, but I was wondering if that ever changes.

I've never even heard of a 3 unit key

[Blaise170]

In this scenario both 2 and 6 are not doing anything.

Appreciate the help but I have the kind that isn't even socket compatible. 

[alf]

I've got a problem with a Majestouch Ninja 2 Filco keyboard. Basically something is wrong with the Backspace key where I will be typing for anywhere from seconds to up to 5 minutes, and at some point when I hit the Backspace key, the whole keyboard just dies. The Blue lights flicker dimly, and I have to unplug the keyboard, wait for a seemingly random period of time before plugging it in again. It'll start working again, but then do the same thing a few minutes later. (it never works to just unplug it and plug it back in).

I got the keyboard off Amazon and it worked when I first opened and used it. Then I put it away for a period of time and moved, then this started happening when I set it up in my office to use seriously. I tried contacting Filco themselves but they won't service it due to the Amazon seller I bought it from not being on their list of approved vendors or whatever, and it's long past the Amazon return by date (a special request message to the seller awaits a reply).

Any idea what would be causing this or if it would be possible to have fixed?

[E3E]

Hey guys. Preparing for my first SA set! Do SA 6.25u Spacebars have centered stems or are they offset like some Cherry boards? I'm guessing they are centered, but I can't be sure without feedback.

They're made by SP so they're centered.

Thanks, that's what I figured.

As far as 3u space bars go, I've been seeing them featured in recent sets (ie, Carbon), but I'm not sure if they're usually available to buy alone.

[stoic-lemon]

As far as 3u space bars go, I've been seeing them featured in recent sets (ie, Carbon), but I'm not sure if they're usually available to buy alone.

Yes, I should have been clearer, space keys is what I meant. Having seen them in a few buys recently, I was hoping they would be around somewhere.

[pr0ximity]

I've got a problem with a Majestouch Ninja 2 Filco keyboard. Basically something is wrong with the Backspace key where I will be typing for anywhere from seconds to up to 5 minutes, and at some point when I hit the Backspace key, the whole keyboard just dies. The Blue lights flicker dimly, and I have to unplug the keyboard, wait for a seemingly random period of time before plugging it in again. It'll start working again, but then do the same thing a few minutes later. (it never works to just unplug it and plug it back in).

I got the keyboard off Amazon and it worked when I first opened and used it. Then I put it away for a period of time and moved, then this started happening when I set it up in my office to use seriously. I tried contacting Filco themselves but they won't service it due to the Amazon seller I bought it from not being on their list of approved vendors or whatever, and it's long past the Amazon return by date (a special request message to the seller awaits a reply).

Any idea what would be causing this or if it would be possible to have fixed?

I think the first course of action would be to open the board and take a look inside, around the Backspace key, and see if anything jumps out at you (having to wait for a random time sounds like waiting for a capacitor to discharge). Unfortunately a Filco is plate-mounted, so without desoldering all of the switches you'll only really be able to look at one side of the PCB (the side without the actual components unfortunately). If you're serious about investigating this further it might be pertinent to create a new thread, as it doesn't sound like a question with a "simple answer" to me.

You might also try it on a different computer if you haven't already.

[CPTBadAss]

I've got a problem with a Majestouch Ninja 2 Filco keyboard.

More

Basically something is wrong with the Backspace key where I will be typing for anywhere from seconds to up to 5 minutes, and at some point when I hit the Backspace key, the whole keyboard just dies. The Blue lights flicker dimly, and I have to unplug the keyboard, wait for a seemingly random period of time before plugging it in again. It'll start working again, but then do the same thing a few minutes later. (it never works to just unplug it and plug it back in).

I got the keyboard off Amazon and it worked when I first opened and used it. Then I put it away for a period of time and moved, then this started happening when I set it up in my office to use seriously. I tried contacting Filco themselves but they won't service it due to the Amazon seller I bought it from not being on their list of approved vendors or whatever, and it's long past the Amazon return by date (a special request message to the seller awaits a reply).

Any idea what would be causing this or if it would be possible to have fixed?

Like pr0ximity said, I would open the keyboard up and check it visually and with a multimeter to see if there are any cold or bad solder joints. If you can't find any major issues, I would suggest breaking out your own thread to get more targeted help.

[apolotary]

Any simple remedies for uneven height of the pads on the corners of a keyboard? Besides tossing in a folded piece of paper

[heedpantsnow]

Sorry for the n00b question:  What's the cheapest MX TKL with an aluminum case and plate?

[heedpantsnow]

Any simple remedies for uneven height of the pads on the corners of a keyboard? Besides tossing in a folded piece of paper

I usually just buy new pads.  The problem is usually the pads, not the board.

[CPTBadAss]

Any simple remedies for uneven height of the pads on the corners of a keyboard? Besides tossing in a folded piece of paper

What pads are you talking about? I'm not quite following.

Sorry for the n00b question:  What's the cheapest MX TKL with an aluminum case and plate?

Probably a phantom in a tex case or any stock board that fits in a tex case.

[ajx]

Hey, i received my HHKB yesterday, and the bottom case fits a bit loose, when you press around HHKB logo, you ll feel the case little bit cracking
Does anyone meet any similar issue?

[rowdy]

Hey, i received my HHKB yesterday, and the bottom case fits a bit loose, when you press around HHKB logo, you ll feel the case little bit cracking
Does anyone meet any similar issue?

Yes.

RealForce keyboards (PFU) in general seem to have cases that are not clamped and superglued together, but held together with love and kindness.

[apolotary]

Any simple remedies for uneven height of the pads on the corners of a keyboard? Besides tossing in a folded piece of paper

I usually just buy new pads.  The problem is usually the pads, not the board.

Yeah I figured I'll just get a pack of new ones too.

Any simple remedies for uneven height of the pads on the corners of a keyboard? Besides tossing in a folded piece of paper

What pads are you talking about? I'm not quite following.

The rubbery things they put on the bottom of the case so it won't slip around your desk. In my case I have a couple of them with uneven height which makes my keyboards a little unstable on the desk

---

Another thing: I'm looking for online shops in Taiwan that ship to the neighboring countries (i.e. Japan). What's the best place on geekhack to ask about that?

[CPTBadAss]

The rubbery things they put on the bottom of the case so it won't slip around your desk. In my case I have a couple of them with uneven height which makes my keyboards a little unstable on the desk

Ah ok. I was thinking it was somewhere inside the board haha. I'd suggest what heedpantsnow said.

Another thing: I'm looking for online shops in Taiwan that ship to the neighboring countries (i.e. Japan). What's the best place on geekhack to ask about that?

Just make a thread in off-topic. You can also see if there's anyone in that area who will help you proxy.

[Melvang]

The rubbery things they put on the bottom of the case so it won't slip around your desk. In my case I have a couple of them with uneven height which makes my keyboards a little unstable on the desk

Ah ok. I was thinking it was somewhere inside the board haha. I'd suggest what heedpantsnow said.

That or give the case a twist from opposite ends.  I have had to do that after having one end of a keyboard that was propped up on a mouse pad.  The pads on the keyboard were not the same distance from the edge of the board, so after a year or so I developed a slight twist.  I changed up some of the setup on my desk and it brought the keyboard down to the desk all the way around.  Just took some twisting of the whole keyboard and it sat flat.

[mason]

Would a Filco usb cable from Pexonpcs work with my cherry g80-1800?




my guess is no but I just want it to be confirmed

[CPTBadAss]

Would a Filco usb cable from Pexonpcs work with my cherry g80-1800?

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

my guess is no but I just want it to be confirmed

From those pictures it looks like it might. Definitely worth a try.

[MJ45]

Would a Filco usb cable from Pexonpcs work with my cherry g80-1800?

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

my guess is no but I just want it to be confirmed

From those pictures it looks like it might. Definitely worth a try.

The pinout looks different to me. If the plug fits make sure wire order is correct. Otherwise you risk try and fry.

[alf]

I've got a problem with a Majestouch Ninja 2 Filco keyboard. Basically something is wrong with the Backspace key where I will be typing for anywhere from seconds to up to 5 minutes, and at some point when I hit the Backspace key, the whole keyboard just dies. The Blue lights flicker dimly, and I have to unplug the keyboard, wait for a seemingly random period of time before plugging it in again. It'll start working again, but then do the same thing a few minutes later. (it never works to just unplug it and plug it back in).

I got the keyboard off Amazon and it worked when I first opened and used it. Then I put it away for a period of time and moved, then this started happening when I set it up in my office to use seriously. I tried contacting Filco themselves but they won't service it due to the Amazon seller I bought it from not being on their list of approved vendors or whatever, and it's long past the Amazon return by date (a special request message to the seller awaits a reply).

Any idea what would be causing this or if it would be possible to have fixed?

I think the first course of action would be to open the board and take a look inside, around the Backspace key, and see if anything jumps out at you (having to wait for a random time sounds like waiting for a capacitor to discharge). Unfortunately a Filco is plate-mounted, so without desoldering all of the switches you'll only really be able to look at one side of the PCB (the side without the actual components unfortunately). If you're serious about investigating this further it might be pertinent to create a new thread, as it doesn't sound like a question with a "simple answer" to me.

You might also try it on a different computer if you haven't already.

Well, it appears that I have fixed the problem. Hallelujah! I got up my nerve and opened up the board finally and it seemed like the connector where the USB cable connects to the board was slightly ajar or loose. I jammed that sucker back in there firmly, and now it seems to be working perfectly (so far).

Turned out to be fairly simple after all! Thanks for the advice.

[mason]

The pinout looks different to me. If the plug fits make sure wire order is correct. Otherwise you risk try and fry.

Yeah I noticed that after I uploaded it. Maybe I'll try asking for a custom order

[108]

Quick question, can someone explain to me the difference between plate mounted and PCB mounted switches and how it will effect the process of building a keyboard?

[Melvang]

Quick question, can someone explain to me the difference between plate mounted and PCB mounted switches and how it will effect the process of building a keyboard?

The only difference is pcb mount have two extra plastic pins that fit into holes of the pcb.  If the pcb allows it, try and use them when ever possible.  If you are not going to use a plate, PCB mount are required for them to be straight.  Also, the soldered pins don't really have enough strength to facilitate the stresses of being typed on for very long.  If you are hand wiring, it doesn't matter, though the pins might prove a pain.

If you have PCB mount switches, and the PCB you are using doesn't have them, you can cut them off with flush cutters.  Just don't cut the large middle one.

Also, Alps switches to my knowledge are never PCB mounted only, they have all had plates.  Though there might have been a few obscure ones that were PCB mounted only, but I haven't seen any examples.

[MJ45]

The pinout looks different to me. If the plug fits make sure wire order is correct. Otherwise you risk try and fry.

Yeah I noticed that after I uploaded it. Maybe I'll try asking for a custom order

If the plug fits the socket you can rearrange wires. If you carefully release the pins from the plug and reset the wires to match what you need.

[mason]

If the plug fits the socket you can rearrange wires. If you carefully release the pins from the plug and reset the wires to match what you need.

I didn't even think of that.. thanks 

[apolotary]

The rubbery things they put on the bottom of the case so it won't slip around your desk. In my case I have a couple of them with uneven height which makes my keyboards a little unstable on the desk

Ah ok. I was thinking it was somewhere inside the board haha. I'd suggest what heedpantsnow said.

That or give the case a twist from opposite ends.  I have had to do that after having one end of a keyboard that was propped up on a mouse pad.  The pads on the keyboard were not the same distance from the edge of the board, so after a year or so I developed a slight twist.  I changed up some of the setup on my desk and it brought the keyboard down to the desk all the way around.  Just took some twisting of the whole keyboard and it sat flat.

Thanks I actually haven't thought of that. Will be twisting my KBs all day today

[Bucake]

is there a difference, in quality perhaps, between US-made IBM Model Ms and UK-made IBM Model Ms? (pre-1990)

[chyros]

is there a difference, in quality perhaps, between US-made IBM Model Ms and UK-made IBM Model Ms? (pre-1990)

I wouldn't think so, but Greenock did employ some alternate production specifications. For instance, on many Greenock models, the spacebar is grounded and made out of ABS rather than PBT (not all of them though).

[fohat.digs]

is there a difference, in quality perhaps, between US-made IBM Model Ms and UK-made IBM Model Ms? (pre-1990)

The only Greenocks that I have had were late-late-1990s and they were crap.

It would be gratifying to know that quality was high in the early days.

[jcoffin1981]

I want to pick up a poker II still though, I really want that "Enjoy Your Feeling" spacebar hahaha

You know, I wonder if it didn't say something in the native language wherever the keyboard was designed, China or Thailand.  "Enjoy Your Feeling" may simply be the closest way to translate, but the essence was "lost in translation."

I mean really, what the frack does that mean?  It makes no sense.  It's like when you look at an Ebay listing from an Asian seller and the sentences are hardly coherent.  You can just tell they used Google Translate.

[ajx]

Hey, i got a special HHKB since few days 
This HHKB has Hasu's BT mod which allow you to make your own layoutd to learn it properly
Layout is disturbing but i take time to get use it
Give me your ideas about layout

I would probably
- turn shift into double tap shift (you dont have to hold shift while pressing x key)
- switching tilde and delete
- left_gui to another fn
- fn+space turn into layout 2 with dedicated arrows (WASD)

My questions, how you find original HHKB 's layout?
I like the idea of CTRL instead of Capslock
But i got confused alot with delete/tilde/return
Moreover, fn+dedicated arrows doesnt work that good for a left handed like me

[apolotary]

A friend of mine helped me in replacing broken capacitors on my Realforce board. Though the new ones have lower voltage and capacitance values, he told me it should be fine, as the signal would just get a bit more noisy than it used to be.

Is there anything else I should be aware of? It would take me a couple more weeks to get all the parts so I can't fully test it right now.

[108]

How would one go about making the space bar tilted?
Like in this picture

[hwood34]

How would one go about making the space bar tilted?
Like in this picture

just turn it around, "flip" it

[user 18]

How would one go about making the space bar tilted?
Like in this picture

Mount the keycaps on the board upside-down

[108]

How would one go about making the space bar tilted?
Like in this picture

Mount the keycaps on the board upside-down

Thanks, that was way too obvious of answer 
One more random question regarding gateron switches. I've been looking at the clears for my build, but does anyone know how long they last?

[CPTBadAss]

One more random question regarding gateron switches. I've been looking at the clears for my build, but does anyone know how long they last?

I've never seen a datasheet so I'm not sure what the lifespan is.

[hwood34]

One more random question regarding gateron switches. I've been looking at the clears for my build, but does anyone know how long they last?

Somewhere in the area of Cherry's estimated lifespan, so a ridiculous number that I doubt anyone will hit anytime soon

[Phirr]

So I was thinking about getting a 75% keyboard, but I have no clue how to solder or anything. My question is there a 75% keyboard that already has Gateron switches ? Or am I going to have to order a custom board 

Mechanicalkeyboards.com has one coming out, if you can wait ~ a month

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/incoming.php