still waiting for my M

[wellington1869]

I have to admit, waiting is, indeed, the hardest part.

[bigpook]

: ) you will have it soon enough.

[wellington1869]

 Sadly I only ordered it 2 days ago, so I figure I have another 3 or 4 days possibly to wait. All I can say is it better come before the thanksgiving break! I'll need something to draw me away from the relatives

[wellington1869]

[oh, this is the "slow friday afternoon lunch break" thread, by the way ]

[bigpook]

On another note, I was curious about the Scorpius M10 you have. I was wondering if you would open it up to inspect the quality of construction.
Someone else here had done this I think and had noted that the quality of the soldering was not so good. I was wondering if that was just a fluke or if it was something common.

[bigpook]

I just got back from lunch, we went to a Chinese buffet. I am so done.

[wellington1869]

I just got back from lunch, we went to a Chinese buffet. I am so done.

lol, I know that feeling
Next week is a lovely short week too. Half the people where I work already left for vacation and wont be in on mon and tues.

[bhtooefr]

I had Chipotle for lunch.

(And, I didn't work this week. I was supposed to be on a 4 week project, but the company that I was doing the project for ran out of funding, and ended the project after a week.)

[wellington1869]

On another note, I was curious about the Scorpius M10 you have. I was wondering if you would open it up to inspect the quality of construction.
Someone else here had done this I think and had noted that the quality of the soldering was not so good. I was wondering if that was just a fluke or if it was something common.

I could open it up (and prolly will at some point), though at the moment I'm still basking in its clickety shiny glory and dont have the heart to do it just yet. I know, call me sentimental. But actually I think the construction issues are valid. I've seen those complaints all over the place, on geekhack but also for instance on an amazon.com review as well. I wouldnt be surprised if I open mine up and gag at the soldering mess. (Thats partly why I dont want to do it just yet, I'm fairly certain I wont like what I see, and for the moment since I'm just so happy with it, I'd like to keep the illusion for a few days at least )

[wellington1869]

I had Chipotle for lunch.

hmmm, chipotle!

I had a hankering for pizza, having two slices. One is plain cheese with hot sauce on it. The other is olives/mushrooms with hot sauce on it. And an orange soda (Fanta!).

(And, I didn't work this week. I was supposed to be on a 4 week project, but the company that I was doing the project for ran out of funding, and ended the project after a week.)

boy this economy is brutal.

[lowpoly]

I have to admit, waiting is, indeed, the hardest part.

Anticipation is the best.

[wellington1869]

Anticipation is the best.

I suppose its giving me something to look forward to

[lexicon]

 Sadly I only ordered it 2 days ago, so I figure I have another 3 or 4 days possibly to wait. All I can say is it better come before the thanksgiving break! I'll need something to draw me away from the relatives

And if they get really out of line, you'll be able to whack them with it!

[itlnstln]

I had pizza for lunch, I just need to go home.  The departments I support are under activity freezes until the end of the year, so I don't have jack to do for a while.  Fortunately, I am going to take 3 weeks of vacation between now and then.  My first week starts in about 3 and a half hours.

[wellington1869]

And if they get really out of line, you'll be able to whack them with it!

An excellent way to introduce them to the wonders of the M

[wellington1869]

I had pizza for lunch, I just need to go home.  The departments I support are under activity freezes until the end of the year, so I don't have jack to do for a while.  Fortunately, I am going to take 3 weeks of vacation between now and then.  My first week starts in about 3 and a half hours.

doing anything special on your time off?

[bhtooefr]

boy this economy is brutal.

Indeed.

(In this case, a levy that they needed for operating funds failed.)

(Now that I actually got my Belkin adapter to accept my M13's TrackPoint, I'm giving the M13 a go. It definitely feels... weird. I'd almost say that it's not smooth, especially near the beginning and end of a key's travel.)

[wellington1869]

on another note, I just sold a broken down toshiba laptop for parts on ebay and surprisingly got enough for it to cover my various keyboarding adventures during the last month!
Geez, what else have I got around here that doesnt work? Its garage sale time!

[bhtooefr]

Hey, I've got a whole car for parts that doesn't work that I'm trying to sell in pieces.

Anyone want a VW diesel engine?

[itlnstln]

doing anything special on your time off?

Plenty of disc golf and some time with both my and my fiancee's family for Thanksgiving.  I return to work for three weeks, then I have 12/22 (my birthday) until 1/5 off.  Again, more disc golf (depending on the weather; I hate the cold, therefore, I live in Texas), more family time for Xmas, and sleep.  I will be on vacation by myself since my fiancee will be working during that same stretch, so I won't be taking any major trips or anything.

[bhtooefr]

Mmm, can't wait for a nice layer of black ice and plenty of snow on a Sunday... then I can hit up a local college's parking lots and have some fun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS4__2mHuRs

Unfortunately, I won't be getting that this Sunday.

[wellington1869]

Still waiting for this damn thing.  Maybe I should prod the guy with an email to find out when it was mailed. It better come today or tomorrow cuz else I wont get it till the following monday (going to be out of town). Argh.
well it wasnt in the usps today, so last chance for today would be the ups guy who comes by around 5pm.  Else i've got my hopes pinned on tomorrow...

[wellington1869]

argh, just heard from the seller, he hasnt mailed it yet! Something about his staff being out sick. Gah.
Says he is going to put it in the mail today. What that means (in addition to a much longer wait) is that I'm going to have to actually interact with relatives this weekend.
Gah, again.

[lam47]

Oh that's no fun at all!
Just keep prepping for the new arrival.

[wellington1869]

its here! its here!  Havent opened it yet, will do that right after dinner...

[bigpook]

its here! its here!  Havent opened it yet, will do that right after dinner...

I don't think I could wait that long.....every keyboard that came in the mail was opened straight away : )

[wellington1869]

I don't think I could wait that long.....every keyboard that came in the mail was opened straight away : )

Ok I couldnt wait either! Hahahahaha! I just took it out of the box, took a deep breath, and hit the "A" key - and OMG it was like a religious experience
I had really forgotten what M's are like (last one I had in my hands was 6 years or so ago). OMG its different from everything else, *no question about it*

Ok so I'll write up a detailed review with pics some time after dinner...

(and while I hate to say it, its likely that I'm going to have a barely used M10 with blue cherries for sale soon... )

[lam47]

Pics as soon as you can.
Also let me know if you think the bottom row is softer.
Such a long wait I'm glad its got to you at last.

[wellington1869]

Pics as soon as you can.
Also let me know if you think the bottom row is softer.
Such a long wait I'm glad its got to you at last.

bottom row -- you mean the spacebar row? or the zxcv row?

[wellington1869]

the board is fantastic in terms of sound and tactile feel just like I remember. However this particular board has a few issues, which I'm trying to figure out if they're fatal or not.
-Not so fatal is 3 missing keycaps. I emailed the seller about that.
-possibly fatal is missed characters and ghost characters, I'm trying to figure out if this has anything to do with my ps2-usb adapter or with the board itself...

But what this board has already shown me is how much I miss BS switches

The nice thing about this board also is it is the low-toned click which I like so much (ie, I know some BS switches can be higher-toned and lighter; this one is low-toned and relatively stiff keys, which is just what I was looking for).

(also, strangely, the entire keyboard smells like laundry detergent  (actually I think its fabric softener!)

[lam47]

the zxcv row on mine is a lot quieter.

[itlnstln]

Wellington, it's probably your adapter.  PS2 to USB adapters have been known to cause odd behaviour with Ms.

[bhtooefr]

The Bytecc BT-2000 is dirt cheap on Newegg, and works, although the ones I've had reset every 10 minutes or so with a Model M.

The Belkin F5U119vE1 (which Wal-Mart sells for $15) works perfectly, in my experience. With a Model M13, I had to plug in the mouse first, but otherwise, it worked with that, even.

[wellington1869]

the zxcv row on mine is a lot quieter.

hey lam, my zxcv row seems to be same loudness as the other keys.
Could it be that someone tried to grease your zxcv springs?

The spacebar on this one was way louder than the other keys. A touch of grease did wonders for it, now its about the same loudness. Also interesting in this case is I didnt grease the spring itself to bring down the volume of the bottoming-out "rattle". I merely greased the sides of the plunger on the underside of the key itself. I was suprised that that affected volume quite nicely.

Overall, the springs themselves seem quieter than I remember (but in a good way for me since I have noise issues). I actually used the board for most of the night and did not get any complaints  I know with certain BS boards I did get complaints, so it does seem to be that different makes and models even of BS boards throw off different sound tonalities (different in both pitch and volume). I think (my best guess so far) it has a lot to do with the weight and heft of keys, keycaps, and overall board.   On the louder ones I do have to grease the springs to tamp down click tone and volume, on this one I may not need to.

[Chloe]

I wonder if this mod helps when using USB adapters:
http://www.geocities.com/jszybowski/keyboard/index.htm

On my hubs there is 500mA available per port, but maybe external power (regulated) might help.

[wellington1869]

The Bytecc BT-2000 is dirt cheap on Newegg, and works, although the ones I've had reset every 10 minutes or so with a Model M.

The Belkin F5U119vE1 (which Wal-Mart sells for $15) works perfectly, in my experience. With a Model M13, I had to plug in the mouse first, but otherwise, it worked with that, even.

thanks Bht, i'll look into those.

[itlnstln]

This is the USB adapter I have for my Model M, and it works great:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10404&cs_id=1040401&p_id=173&seq=1&format=2

I use it with a KVM switch with no issues.

[wellington1869]

This is the USB adapter I have for my Model M, and it works great:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10404&cs_id=1040401&p_id=173&seq=1&format=2

I use it with a KVM switch with no issues.

Thanks. Looks like I should probably pick up one of these.  Also as an update, the board didnt work in a ps2 port ("keyboard failure") so I'm getting a replacement from the seller...

[andb]

Wellington1869, its a shame that you had such a bad experience with delivery and quality. If anyone else is interested in IBM Model M keyboards, I can highly recommend this seller, he has a truckload of them: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/ncbound10_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ  Look for the refurbished M, which is a "buy it now" for $39. Between me and my friends we've bought four of these. Mine is from '89, so one of the really well made ones. Perfect condition, you'd think it was new. Was mailed the next day.

For me, the coolest are the oldest type, which is before the drainage holes and the blue ibm logo. Look for or ask for the grey IBM logo anytime you buy and you have a good chance it will be one of these.

The sound Ive found can often be a function of the resonance of your table. No joke. Try it on your lap. How is the sound? In my lap, my M is quieter than a membrane 'board on my desk. In this position I also use less force typing, probably because Im more directly above the keys. I'm thinking to get a dampening material, like that asphault paper used in car doors to deaden the sound to put under the board, see how that changes things.

Or maybe I just have a bad desk?

[iMav]

The keyboard drawer I use from Ikea helps dampen the sounds quite a bit (and is as solid as having it sit ON the desk).

As far as Model M's are concerned...now that I know you can get replacement frame assemblies (with keys included) from Unicomp for $25, I wouldn't be all that worried about condition as long as the shell is in good shape and the controller works.  (unfortunately, they don't have/won't make 84-key spacesaver frame assemblies)  

Also a great way for our UK members to get a Model M in their layout.  Buy a standard Model M and then buy a new frame assembly with the UK layout from Unicomp for $25.

[lam47]

So they have the UK frames! Nice one!!!!
Im going to be after one with blank keys
Any idea on shipping iMav?

(I'm excited now )

[iMav]

So they have the UK frames! Nice one!!!!
Im going to be after one with blank keys
Any idea on shipping iMav?

(I'm excited now )

I've got a post office about two blocks from my house.  

[wellington1869]

So the saga continues... the seller is going to mail me a replacement. So you figure another week or 10 days...
On the bright side, he let me keep the busted one, which I think I'll be able to use for parts... I'll probably try an experiment where I take an endurapro or unicomp and try to transplant it into the model M casing (which is heavier and nicer) (kind of like how iMav did with the M2 casings recently).  That would give me the usb connex within an old M case.  I'd also definitely transplant the heavier keys and keycaps, and eventually (when I have the time) maybe even transplant the springs  If all that works out basically I'd have newer unicomp electronics and USB connection within an old M board, which would be nice.

[wellington1869]

The sound Ive found can often be a function of the resonance of your table. No joke. Try it on your lap. How is the sound? In my lap, my M is quieter than a membrane 'board on my desk. In this position I also use less force typing, probably because Im more directly above the keys. I'm thinking to get a dampening material, like that asphault paper used in car doors to deaden the sound to put under the board, see how that changes things.

Or maybe I just have a bad desk?

andb, if you find a place that sells a nice sound dampening sheet for cheap, pls post the link here

[iMav]

On the bright side, he let me keep the busted one, which I think I'll be able to use for parts... I'll probably try an experiment where I take an endurapro or unicomp and try to transplant it into the model M casing (which is heavier and nicer)

Be aware that the frame assemblies from an "old" Model M are different than a "new" Model M (Unicomp)...so they likely won't fit properly.  Unicomp refers to these as the "old manufacturing process frame assemblies" and the "new manufacturing process frame assemblies".  

(which is why it is important to give them the P/N off the 'board you want to order a new frame assembly for)

[itlnstln]

andb, if you find a place that sells a nice sound dampening sheet for cheap, pls post the link here

You might just want to try a old-school foam mousepad under your keyboard.  I put one under my Evolution, and it helped a little with resonance within the keyboard.  It will also help greatly with any desk resonance you might have.

[bhtooefr]

Of course, that keyboard failing may not have been the keyboard.

PS/2 ports can be picky, too. (My mom's ASRock board can't handle a Model M over PS/2.)

[itlnstln]

Of course, that keyboard failing may not have been the keyboard.

PS/2 ports can be picky, too. (My mom's ASRock board can't handle a Model M over PS/2.)

That's good to know.  I have an ASRock board in my PC at home, but I have my M connected via USB through a KVM switch.  I was thinking about connecting directly to the PC via PS2 since I don't use my laptop's docking station that much.

[wellington1869]

Of course, that keyboard failing may not have been the keyboard.

PS/2 ports can be picky, too. (My mom's ASRock board can't handle a Model M over PS/2.)

I ordered the ziotek ps2-usb adapter, so when it gets here I'll try it out on the old board just in case... tho my feeling is in this case it is the board, because on those same dell computers I know one of my work colleagues had previously used a model M on the ps2 port and it had worked fine...

[wellington1869]

You might just want to try a old-school foam mousepad under your keyboard.  I put one under my Evolution, and it helped a little with resonance within the keyboard.  It will also help greatly with any desk resonance you might have.

I've also been considering the sheets of sound absorption material they sell to stick on the underside of stereo speakers. (like these). peel and stick and made for just that purpose (to kill resonance).

there's also stick-on felt pads like these that might work for this purpose.

i also want to use house insulation spray foam (comes in a can) to fill up any empty spaces within the casing I think that would further reduce echoes and resonance.