Hello All. Opinions / Input Welcome...

[BigWopHH]

Hi All.  Just found this board recently and have been hooked.  I've been an input device junkie forever, and totally dig that there's others out there like me.  I'm also a tech writer, so having a solid keyboard is important to me.

Anyway.  I found this forum because I was getting many more typos than usual on my Das III Pro.  I did some googling to see if anyone else was having the same problems as me, and here I am.  But, over that past year or so, I've burned through a number of other keyboards as well trying to find the "right" one.  I've used Enermax's Auroras (not bad), a Unicomp Customizer, a Steelseries 7G, the Das III, the ABS M1 (I'm currently typing on it), a vintage Dell, and the Scorpius M10.

Of them all, I typed fastest on the 7G, but hated that it didn't have a left Windows key--hence the current ABS.  I liked the sound of the Das III the best, but as I mentioned earlier I would typo like crazy on it, presumably because of the issue that's been well documented on here.  I think I liked the Scorpius M10, but the spacebar started sticking after 2 days, and the right Windows key never worked.  I'm waiting on a replacement which hopefully won't have any issues.

I don't think there's an easy answer, but maybe this will spur some interesting discussion.  What keyboard would you recommend to someone who likes the sound of the Cherry blues in the Das III, but the feel of the Steelseries 7G / ABS M1?

And as an interesting aside, I've found that the ABS M1 suffers from the same n-key rollover issue as the Das III (if you press ASDF simultaneously, it'll always register as ASDF), but it doesn't seem to cuase the same transposition typos as the Das III.  Did anyone every really get to the bottom of that issue and receive an official response from Metadot?

[skriefal]

The Das III and ABS M1 both have a rather light touch, but the Das has a nicer "clicky" sound.  The Scorpius M10 is probably your best bet -- it should sound & feel very much like the Das III, as they both use the same type of switches made by Cherry.  You might also like used keyboards with white Alps or Alps-clone switches -- e.g. Northgate Omnikey, some of the Focus models, etc.  These will have a more pronounced click sound than the M10 or Das III, and will require a bit more force to depress the keys -- probably closer to the 7G, but still lighter than your Unicomp Customizer.

[wellington1869]

I'll do my usual thing and recommend silicon grease on an endurapro, lol.

But seriously, what skriefal said. It sounds like you want a light click and light feel. That pretty much puts you in blue cherry range, or finding an alps/strongman switch with a light click. (There are some mods you can do for that if you're into some light modding).

The only other similar board that comes to mind is the smk85 with gray strongmans which has a lighter/softer click than the newer alps (XM). I also thought the matias tp2 had a lighter/softer click than the XM switch.

And as Skrie says, the older alps (omnikey, focus, etc) also supposedly have a lighter/softer click.

[BigWopHH]

I loved using an Omnikey BITD.  I should have pointed out I'm also a gamer, and have had problems with vintage PS/2 keyboards not behaving well when multiple keys are held down for too long.

Which keyboards specifically use the Alps white switches?  Which model Focus boards have a standard layout?

Thanks!

[wellington1869]

I dont know about focus boards...
by alps do you mean original or do you mean alps clones as well including XM and strongmans? (the alps family is huge, unfortunately).

[skriefal]

You need to be careful with the Focus boards (FK-2000, FK-2001, etc).  Some have real Alps switches; others have clones.  The ones with clone switches should still be decent boards -- just not as good as the real Alps switches.  For real Alps, the earlier the better.  FK-2000 instead of FK-2001, etc.

Any of the Northgate Omnikeys should have real white or blue Alps switches.  I believe blue is just an earlier version of the white switches, but will have to defer to others with more knowledge on this subject.

You won't find any new keyboards with real Alps-made white switches.  But the clones are still good choices, although perhaps a bit louder and stiffer than the originals.

[lam47]

The 7G uses blacks wich are smooth and have no bump or click. The Blues have the click and the bump. There are switches with just the bump and no click but none I can think of with a click but no bump.

I've confused myself.

What is more important to you the feel of the 7G or the click of the das/m10?

[lowpoly]

Like lam said linear switches won't click. Maybe a software solution will do?

[BigWopHH]

I think I need to spend a couple of weeks with the Scorpius M10 to figure out what I really want.  Hopefully the replacement isn't broken.

I've seen posts on here about the board dying prematurely.  Other than that, what other "quality issues" have come up regarding the M10?