Author Topic: Filco tenless with white alps switches (Read 4904 times)

bigpook · « **on:** Fri, 19 December 2008, 14:53:56 »

Hey, the filco arrived today. I had it sent to my workplace.
I will take pictures of it when I get home and post them.

wellington1869 · « **Reply #1 on:** Fri, 19 December 2008, 14:57:29 »

Eeeexcellent.

sashomasho · « **Reply #2 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 02:38:18 »

mine is in the customs

. i can't wait to get my hands on it (this will not happen until monday), waiting to hear your first impressions

ops, i just saw your mini review..

bigpook · « **Reply #3 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 07:49:05 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15487

mine is in the customs . i can't wait to get my hands on it (this will not happen until monday), waiting to hear your first impressions

ops, i just saw your mini review..

Sorry man, I think I started 2 threads on this, maybe iMav can kill this one.

bigpook · « **Reply #4 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 08:25:03 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15487

mine is in the customs . i can't wait to get my hands on it (this will not happen until monday), waiting to hear your first impressions

ops, i just saw your mini review..

I suppose no thread is truly dead.
My first impressions are very postive. The white switches, or should I say, the switches that are not truly white alps, are clicky and noisy. They are the closest thing that I have to a BS keyboard and it is a good thing. If you don't like noise or a real tactile feel this keyboard is not for you. I am digging it now and will use it as my daily keyboard for the next month or so. I figure by then the keys will be somewhat broken in and my initial euphoria will have worn off. I can be more objective then.

fkeidjn · « **Reply #5 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 12:39:04 »

Where did you get it?

bigpook · « **Reply #6 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 12:42:25 »

Quote from: fkeidjn;15529

Where did you get it?

I ordered it through Crescent Shopping. This is my second keyboard through them. Aside from the high cost( I ended up paying twice what it was worth), the experience is positive. I received the keyboard 2 days after it left Japan. I live in Florida. I thought that was impressive.

xsphat · « **Reply #7 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 12:55:53 »

So are they cheeper than BeNippon?

bigpook · « **Reply #8 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 13:14:49 »

Don't know. I didn't check with BeNippon. FYI, the keyboard was 109.77. This price included the "touched by Crescent, thank you very much" handling charge. The keyboard itself was 89.89. The shipping via EMS was 46.71.

So Crescent charged me 19.88 for handling. I paid 156.48 to get this keyboard. Thats 66.59 over the top. But I can't get the Filco here in the states.
I suppose I could have went to NewEgg and got this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126008

Nahh!, I think not.

xsphat · « **Reply #9 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 13:19:40 »

"Touched by Cresent?" Your keyboard was delivered to you unpure? Wow, maybe they shouldn't have a sex offender write their ad copy.

xsphat · « **Reply #10 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 13:20:16 »

Ahh! the di-oh-Novo you didn't!

bigpook · « **Reply #11 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 13:26:50 »

Quote from: xsphat;15547

"Touched by Cresent?" Your keyboard was delivered to you unpure? Wow, maybe they shouldn't have a sex offender write their ad copy.

Well the person that I was dealing with was named Migumi. I have a vivid imagination. So yes, I can only hope that Migumi touched my keyboard. Alot, and rolled around on the floor with it for a little while to boot.
I wouldn't say that it was unpure at all. Quite the contrary.

bigpook · « **Reply #12 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 13:29:15 »

Quote from: xsphat;15548

Ahh! the di-oh-Novo you didn't!

That would be like blasphemy around here wouldn't it?

I can see iMav running for the pitch fork, xsphat going for the rope, and wellington with the fire brand....

But just for the record, I would never buy, much less consider, a Logitech denovo keyboard. I mean really, the mere thought of it puts me off.

fkeidjn · « **Reply #13 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 16:42:35 »

Quote from: xsphat;15534

So are they cheeper than BeNippon?

At BeNippon, the price for the keyboard is 10300 yen, EMS shipping 4000 yen, PayPal fee 644 yen, coming to a total of 14944 yen or roughly $175 US.

sashomasho · « **Reply #14 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 17:55:53 »

Quote from: bigpook;15516

I suppose no thread is truly dead.
My first impressions are very postive. The white switches, or should I say, the switches that are not truly white alps, are clicky and noisy. They are the closest thing that I have to a BS keyboard and it is a good thing. If you don't like noise or a real tactile feel this keyboard is not for you. I am digging it now and will use it as my daily keyboard for the next month or so. I figure by then the keys will be somewhat broken in and my initial euphoria will have worn off. I can be more objective then.

I have macally mk96 and I am using it very often, so my colleges and I are prepared for the noise, but I can't wait to see if there is any difference between these two boards, the filco mini layout will definitely help me like the alps switches even more, but as it looks I'll have to wait yet two more days to know that for sure.

bigpook · « **Reply #15 on:** Sat, 20 December 2008, 18:02:06 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15593

I have macally mk96 and I am using it very often, so my colleges and I are prepared for the noise, but I can't wait to see if there is any difference between these two boards, the filco mini layout will definitely help me like the alps switches even more, but as it looks I'll have to wait yet two more days to know that for sure.

While I have not used a mk96 I can't make the comparison, but I really like the mini layout of the filco. It also seems to be very well made, you will notice the fit and finish when you get yours.
I haven't figured out how to pop it open yet. I would like to see what it looks like on the inside.

sashomasho · « **Reply #16 on:** Tue, 23 December 2008, 17:59:57 »

Quote from: bigpook;15595

While I have not used a mk96 I can't make the comparison, but I really like the mini layout of the filco. It also seems to be very well made, you will notice the fit and finish when you get yours.
I haven't figured out how to pop it open yet. I would like to see what it looks like on the inside.

i got mine today, and i feel very pleased for now, still need some time to appreciate the form factor and the keys. for now i can say that it's exactly the same as the mk96, maybe the sound is a bit different, but this may be due to the keycaps and the different case... there is one little problem though, the keboard can register a key press without the click, i mean that sometimes, i just gently put my finger on a key and voiala - a letter pops on the screen, this thing bothers me a little, but not much - this can be seen when tapping softly on a key of the hhkb pro, eventually one of the touchings will be registered even though the force used can't have been enough for this. my other filco is 104M/EB (brown cheries) and I can say that filco really makes great boards, probably i'll buy blue and black cherries with this form factor (tenkeyless) from them next year (after i make my wet dream come true - realforce 86).

wellington1869 · « **Reply #17 on:** Tue, 23 December 2008, 18:03:55 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15977

i got mine today

congrats!

bigpook · « **Reply #18 on:** Tue, 23 December 2008, 19:11:12 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15977

i got mine today, and i feel very pleased for now, still need some time to appreciate the form factor and the keys. for now i can say that it's exactly the same as the mk96, maybe the sound is a bit different, but this may be due to the keycaps and the different case... there is one little problem though, the keboard can register a key press without the click, i mean that sometimes, i just gently put my finger on a key and voiala - a letter pops on the screen, this thing bothers me a little, but not much - this can be seen when tapping softly on a key of the hhkb pro, eventually one of the touchings will be registered even though the force used can't have been enough for this. my other filco is 104M/EB (brown cheries) and I can say that filco really makes great boards, probably i'll buy blue and black cherries with this form factor (tenkeyless) from them next year (after i make my wet dream come true - realforce 86).

I noticed that too, I can barely press the "o" and "a" key and it will register without the click. Actually, I think I can do it with all keys, for some reason I just noticed it more with the "a" and the "o" key.

andb · « **Reply #19 on:** Fri, 26 December 2008, 03:39:57 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15977

...there is one little problem though, the keboard can register a key press without the click... eventually one of the touchings will be registered even though the force used can't have been enough for this.

That the activation and the click are separate events is something that I find disconcerting about the Alps whites. One of the amazing things about the M's buckling springs is that the sound is a function of the activation, not the product of a secondary mechanism like the Alps. With tactile switches, such as the Cherry browns or Alps black, is the tactility a function of the activation mechanism or something else?

bigpook · « **Reply #20 on:** Fri, 26 December 2008, 07:23:31 »

That is odd with the key click. It seems like it has been added for affect. ( effect/affect, I get so confused). If so then that seems somewhat disingenuous to me. Its funny, but its the little things like that that bother me. It almost seems like poor design.

There are these 2 engineers going over the design. They get the key feel right but at the last minute some PHB steps in and says the design has changed, it needs to be noisy. The engineers look at each other, noisy?
Its too late to re-engineer the keyboard, they need to make the ship date, but we may be able to add noise as an afterthought. So they add an extra leaf, or modify the existing leaf, and eureka, let there be noise. No bother that it has nothing to do with the actual actuation of the key. Shhh..maybe no one will notice...

: )

sashomasho · « **Reply #21 on:** Sun, 28 December 2008, 03:24:25 »

Quote from: bigpook;16197

Its too late to re-engineer the keyboard, they need to make the ship date, but we may be able to add noise as an afterthought. So they add an extra leaf, or modify the existing leaf, and eureka, let there be noise. No bother that it has nothing to do with the actual actuation of the key. Shhh..maybe no one will notice...

: )

this sounds like one of my fridays (programmer's deadlines)

about the separate action/click I can't say for sure atm since I don't have my mk96 in front of me, but I haven't experienced such behavior from it, here it happens way too often for my taste.
I don't think that this can happen with the blue cherries (judging from my scrorpius) where the click is tightly connected with the action...

bigpook · « **Reply #22 on:** Sun, 28 December 2008, 15:38:12 »

Quote from: sashomasho;16261

this sounds like one of my fridays (programmer's deadlines)

about the separate action/click I can't say for sure atm since I don't have my mk96 in front of me, but I haven't experienced such behavior from it, here it happens way too often for my taste.
I don't think that this can happen with the blue cherries (judging from my scrorpius) where the click is tightly connected with the action...

I am liking the key feel more and more, while typing at speed its not noticeable to me. It is only obvious when I type very slow. Which is not very often. Don't know if it will nag at me though, in the end, it still seems dishonest. This is where being a keyboard maniac comes into play. For any normal person this would not even be an issue. But for those like us it can be a deal breaker.

alpslover · « **Reply #23 on:** Sun, 28 December 2008, 15:52:26 »

Quote from: bigpook;16291

I am liking the key feel more and more, while typing at speed its not noticeable to me. It is only obvious when I type very slow. Which is not very often. Don't know if it will nag at me though, in the end, it still seems dishonest. This is where being a keyboard maniac comes into play. For any normal person this would not even be an issue. But for those like us it can be a deal breaker.

does it bother you when you type on your hhkb pro 2? because the tactile feedback of topre switches is also independent of switch actuation.

i bottom keys when i type, so it's not an issue for me. the only time it ever became an issue was when some of the fake alps switches in a focus 2001 started to act up by becoming hypersensitive - the softest touch would cause them to actuate.

bigpook · « **Reply #24 on:** Sun, 28 December 2008, 15:58:27 »

Quote from: alpslover;16293

does it bother you when you type on your hhkb pro 2? because the tactile feedback of topre switches is also independent of switch actuation.

i bottom keys when i type, so it's not an issue for me. the only time it ever became an issue was when some of the fake alps switches in a focus 2001 started to act up by becoming hypersensitive - the softest touch would cause them to actuate.

The HHKB pro does not bother me at all. That is one smooth keyswitch, btw.
I try to not to bottom out. It will take a bit of time to adjust to this filco but I try to get away with the least amount of energy when depressing the key. Having said that, yes, I still bottom out : )

The filco I have is not even a month old. It may take some time before/if it gets to the point of being hypersensitive. To be fair, by the time that happens I will be on to another keyboard anyways. : )

eugenius · « **Reply #25 on:** Mon, 29 December 2008, 10:52:21 »

Are the keys damped?

bigpook · « **Reply #26 on:** Mon, 29 December 2008, 10:54:25 »

Quote from: eugenius;16401

Are the keys damped?

damped?

If I read you correctly, I would say no.

Chloe · « **Reply #27 on:** Mon, 05 January 2009, 05:43:11 »

Quote from: sashomasho;15977

there is one little problem though, the keboard can register a key press without the click, i mean that sometimes, i just gently put my finger on a key and voiala - a letter pops on the screen

I haven't experienced this with white ALPS. I wonder if this is an issue with simplified ALPS only.

bigpook · « **Reply #28 on:** Mon, 05 January 2009, 05:50:31 »

Quote from: Chloe;17110

I haven't experienced this with white ALPS. I wonder if this is an issue with simplified ALPS only.

I can see where it would be annoying. Not sure how it is even actuating without pressing down at least half-way.
I eye-balled the switch when I had one of them taken apart. It seems that you would have to press at least halfway to even actuate the switch.
But yet it can be done by barely pressing the key.

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Author Topic: Filco tenless with white alps switches (Read 4904 times)