keyboard evaluation

[Manyak]

That's the one I'm most curious about.  Should be fun to compare with your Brown Cherry Compaq.

I really wanna see how the 16 key rollover is implemented. If it works 100% properly over USB that'll be a good achievement for them. Of course I've got my doubts but I guess we'll just have to wait and see

[IBI]

My son showed me that one

I don't usually object, but don't you think obscene references in this particular thread is going a bit far?

[itlnstln]

Sorry, but I consider the posting of actual names to be a major mistake. The OP deserved to get some ribbing for that one. Could have easily be handled through PM or email.
 
The site admin had to XXX them out.
 
Usually I'm a lot more considerate of vendors (at least I like to think I am).

I guess, but other than state, it's unlikely any of us would have known who they were.  I think name security is overrated (although, I respect other people's privacy even if I don't care).  Hell, in the Military, you throw around your Social Security Number like it's a nick name.  I mean if my name is James Smith, how many others are there, and how would oine narrow me down.  IMO, I think people are a little over-paranoid on identity-related issues (I wouldn't throw around my SSN like I did when my dad was in the Military, though).

[itlnstln]

Thank you 567-392-4791 for that comment. Somehow I don't think the military is the model I'm striving for.

Dude, the SSN format is ###-##-####.  You posted my phone number.

[itlnstln]

Haha - insert dirty joke here -->

Yeah, I got your good time.

[ricercar]

I'm CA or VA with the backlit keyboard review, depending on where that other guy lives. It arrived today UPS. The packaging is NOT excessive (excellent!), neither over packaged in shipping nor in the retail box. It's USB (unexpected pleasure). I've just plugged it in ....

And this is the first typing. It's key action is firmer than I expected (good). The orange color is nice, more appealing than I expected. More later after thorough punishment ...

[wellington1869]

I'm P or M with the backlit keyboard review, depending on that other guy's initials are. It arrived today UPS. The packaging is NOT excessive (excellent!), neither over packaged in shipping nor in the retail box. It's USB (unexpected pleasure). I've just plugged it in ....

And this is the first typing. It's key action is firmer than I expected (good). The orange color is nice, more appealing than I expected. More later after thorough punishment ...

gotta love a freshly unwrapped board.  Its like opening a new can of tennis balls.

[ricercar]

gotta love a freshly unwrapped board.  Its like opening a new can of tennis balls.

Yea, exactly. I won't be eating my escargot, chips and dip, or jelly tortes with my fingers while I type ... until at least until tomorrow.

[huha]

And remember, guys: Reviewing something without opening it up is not reviewing. It's just taking pretty pictures.

-huha

[ricercar]

In order to please huha I plan to drop test it multiple times. I'll definitely do the drop-tryToCatch test with outstretched fingers raking across the keys, to see if any keycaps get ripped off the 'board--my Macbook failed that particular test when it was less than a month old.

EDIT
The viewing angle of the backlit keyboard is adequate for side to side variance, but I have to be almost directly overhead before the vertical angle no longer dims parts of the letters.

[IBI]

Thank you 567-392-4791 for that comment.  Somehow I don't think the military is the model I'm striving for.

Oh, and IBI, I will be sensitive when you're the OP.  If anyone ever has a problem just PM me.  There is a delete post key available at all times.

Oh don't worry about me, I've been reading stuff on the internet long enough to stop wincing every time such colourful language is used. I just felt that the ... private parts reference in the post of yours I quoted and Itlsln's one above might be going too far in an official PCUSA/I-Rocks thread. This may be my culturial bias speaking so if you feel nobody at i-rocks/PCUSA will care then leave it.

[ironcoder]

is there anyone wants to try i-rocks new KR-6280E/RF-6520/KR-6230? i-rocks US branch is looking for all feedback.

If you are interested, please feel free to email to jeffrey.hsieh@pcusacorp.com

Jefffrey

Damn I can't believe I missed this thread. Is this offer still valid?

I'm a software developer and I'm on the machine all day long.

[chimera15]

I'm CA or VA with the backlit keyboard review, depending on where that other guy lives. It arrived today UPS. The packaging is NOT excessive (excellent!), neither over packaged in shipping nor in the retail box. It's USB (unexpected pleasure). I've just plugged it in ....

And this is the first typing. It's key action is firmer than I expected (good). The orange color is nice, more appealing than I expected. More later after thorough punishment ...

I haven't gotten mine yet.  I didn't get a ups tracking number from them either..I hope everything's ok still.

[ricercar]

Did you get an email confirmation, chimera? I had a UPS tracking number in the email confirmation from Jeffrey.

more K-6820E observations:

• it is good to have an extra pgup and pgdn key between the alt and ctrl on the right. That scroll menu key on most keyboards is worthless to me.
• Cursor arrows without a plastic "home row" nibby to feel (or empty space around them) are very hard to locate by touch. There's no space between the right arrow and the numeric keypad 0 to use for locating the arrows by feel.
• The (compact) width of the keyboard is nice. It's no wide than the 17" laptop I use it with. I've taken to placing the KR-6820E over the laptop keyboard, where it happens to lie without pressing any keys on the laptop.
• The feel of the keyswitches is better than the toshiba laptop. It has greater travel (as I hoped), and is firmer and provides more tactile feedback.
• As expected, one can trigger a keystroke fairly easily without feeling the rubber collapse. However, the relatively large key travel has me in the habit of hitting the keys pretty firmly, and I'm not getting any typos from miskeying or dexterity issues.

Don't worry Jeff. I _will_ be collating my thoughts into a concise review article. This is just thoughts as they occur to me, to back up my notes later.

[ricercar]

I just discovered this on another thread
http://random.xem.us/rollover.html

KR-6820E has 6 key rollover.

There's something special "Anti Ghost Key" about the WASD cluster, spacebar, and arrow keys on the box cover (no printed booklet documentation), so they may test differently than the rest of the keys when I get down to the serious review.

KR-6820E makes of anti-ghosting technology extended gaming sessions user had no issues with ghosting while playing games."

sic. Looks Like a poor translation. I'll be proofing the box copy, for my review.

[ricercar]

If the web page test is valid and accurate, then the keyboard has no 6-key rollover. I made a bad assumption in the rollover definition. Henceforth I shall be better.

When I mash down large numbers of keys, I get seemingly random results from 0 to 6 keys. Zero appears more often than any other number.

When I type and hold, the timing is significant. Pausing will end the keypress reception.

Example
   human press a,s,d,f,g,h
test result count 6

human press a,s,d, [pause], f,g,h
test result count 3

human press [numeric keypad ]
test result count 3 (maximum, all tests)

human press [anti ghosting keys q w e a s d {space} and {arrows}] any sequence
test result usually count 6, with pauses having almost no effect

human press [anti ghosting keys] + z x, any sequence
test result usually count 6, with pauses having almost no effect

This is not meant to represent scientific (or even consistent) testing at this point.


EDIT: clarified human touch parameters, and specified ghosting keys as shown on box.

[jeffrey]

Did you get an email confirmation, chimera? I had a UPS tracking number in the email confirmation from Jeffrey.

more K-6820E observations:

• it is good to have an extra pgup and pgdn key between the alt and ctrl on the right. That scroll menu key on most keyboards is worthless to me.
• Cursor arrows without a plastic "home row" nibby to feel (or empty space around them) are very hard to locate by touch. There's no space between the right arrow and the numeric keypad 0 to use for locating the arrows by feel.
• The (compact) width of the keyboard is nice. It's no wide than the 17" laptop I use it with. I've taken to placing the KR-6820E over the laptop keyboard, where it happens to lie without pressing any keys on the laptop.
• The feel of the keyswitches is better than the toshiba laptop. It has greater travel (as I hoped), and is firmer and provides more tactile feedback.
• As expected, one can trigger a keystroke fairly easily without feeling the rubber collapse. However, the relatively large key travel has me in the habit of hitting the keys pretty firmly, and I'm not getting any typos from miskeying or dexterity issues.

Don't worry Jeff. I _will_ be collating my thoughts into a concise review article. This is just thoughts as they occur to me, to back up my notes later.

Appreciate that! all pros and cons are welcome.

[ricercar]

So in a real life example if you're playing a FPS and crawling SW, throwing a grenade, and jabbing the "call for help" button you're dead.

If i was using a walkie talkie while throwing grenades and crawling PLUS trying to play a computer game, I'd likely die.

Thanks for your patience with the edits. I should know by now that people on this board reply in real-time, so I need to complete ALL my edits before posting.

[IBI]

Damn I can't believe I missed this thread. Is this offer still valid?

I'm a software developer and I'm on the machine all day long.

I assume it'll be open until jeffery or some other I-rocks representative makes a post saying that this batch of testers have all been picked. I won't be sending my application in until after I've posted the review of my current keyboard in a day or two.

OK, so it is 3-key for most keys but 6 if you use CERTAIN keys.

I'd imagine the highlighted keys are simply ignored for the purpose of blocking so it's 3-"plus however many of those you are holding down"-key minimum blocking.

[chimera15]

Did you get an email confirmation, chimera? I had a UPS tracking number in the email confirmation from Jeffrey.

more K-6820E observations:

• it is good to have an extra pgup and pgdn key between the alt and ctrl on the right. That scroll menu key on most keyboards is worthless to me.
• Cursor arrows without a plastic "home row" nibby to feel (or empty space around them) are very hard to locate by touch. There's no space between the right arrow and the numeric keypad 0 to use for locating the arrows by feel.
• The (compact) width of the keyboard is nice. It's no wide than the 17" laptop I use it with. I've taken to placing the KR-6820E over the laptop keyboard, where it happens to lie without pressing any keys on the laptop.
• The feel of the keyswitches is better than the toshiba laptop. It has greater travel (as I hoped), and is firmer and provides more tactile feedback.
• As expected, one can trigger a keystroke fairly easily without feeling the rubber collapse. However, the relatively large key travel has me in the habit of hitting the keys pretty firmly, and I'm not getting any typos from miskeying or dexterity issues.

Don't worry Jeff. I _will_ be collating my thoughts into a concise review article. This is just thoughts as they occur to me, to back up my notes later.

 I got an email saying I was selected.  I wrote back and said Great! Then nothing after that...

[chimera15]

oops

[chimera15]

Got it today! yes! Thanks a bunch!  I just read the news that there's going to be another downloadable content pack for fallout 3 too! Should be fun to use with it.  Thanks a bunch!!!

[itlnstln]

Mine should be arriving tomorrow at my office.  I can put it through its paces Tuesday and Wednesday, and write something up on Thursday.

[jeffrey]

thank you all and look forward to seeing your valuable feedback soon. take your time

[poonsmjj]

is it too late to join in?

[Manyak]

Well I just got the board last night

I think I'll give it about a week of use before writing the whole review.

[Manyak]

Question:

The two USB ports on the back of the KR-6230: does the keyboard itself set a limit to how much power each port can provide (like, max of 200mA per port) or can you just use a single port with as much power as available from the PC?

[jeffrey]

is it too late to join in?

all available keyboards are all assigned and shipped to selected reviewers for this month. I will be posting if any model or qty become available.

Thank you all,

[jeffrey]

Question:

The two USB ports on the back of the KR-6230: does the keyboard itself set a limit to how much power each port can provide (like, max of 200mA per port) or can you just use a single port with as much power as available from the PC?

I will post the detailed spec on USB ports tomorrow, Manyak.

Thank you,

[jeffrey]

Question:

The two USB ports on the back of the KR-6230: does the keyboard itself set a limit to how much power each port can provide (like, max of 200mA per port) or can you just use a single port with as much power as available from the PC?

Hi Manyak,

The two USB ports on KR-6230 can provide 250mA~300mA (at least) in total and here is how it works:

(generally) 500mA from USB port on system
KR-6230 needs 50mA and the Hub IC (inside of KR-6230) needs 200mA. Therefore:

500-50-250=250(mA) for two USB ports on KR-6230.

In fact, most of systems can provide 650-750mA to each USB ports, so 250mA is the minimum power provided by two USB ports on KR-6230.

Any further questions, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you,

[chimera15]

Hi Manyak,

The two USB ports on KR-6230 can provide 250mA~300mA (at least) in total and here is how it works:

(generally) 500mA from USB port on system
KR-6230 needs 50mA and the Hub IC (inside of KR-6230) needs 200mA. Therefore:

500-50-250=250(mA) for two USB ports on KR-6230.

In fact, most of systems can provide 650-750mA to each USB ports, so 250mA is the minimum power provided by two USB ports on KR-6230.

Any further questions, please feel free to let me know.

Thank you,

Why are the macro keys covered over on the 6820?

[jeffrey]

Why are the macro keys covered over on the 6820?

Hi Chimera,

I will get back to you tomorrow too. Thanks for your detailed review.

[jeffrey]

Mine should be arriving tomorrow at my office.  I can put it through its paces Tuesday and Wednesday, and write something up on Thursday.

Hi itlnstln,

You may give it a try on Wii, PS3 or Xbox; i tried RF-6520 on my Wii and PS3 without problem.

Let me know if any other questions. thanks

[itlnstln]

Hi itlnstln,
 
You may give it a try on Wii, PS3 or Xbox; i tried RF-6520 on my Wii and PS3 without problem.
 
Let me know if any other questions. thanks

Unfortunately, I am not a gamer.  I would rather go outside and play (Hell, I barely use my PC at home).  I will try to loan it to someone I know with a Wii and see what they think.

[o2dazone]

Unfortunately, I am not a gamer.  I would rather go outside and play.

This is the reason I don't play The Sims. It's a game that revolves around me doing chores I normally do anyways. TF2 on the hand...well, let's just say there's more strings attached killing someone with a bat to the head in real life than a video game.

[wellington1869]

This is the reason I don't play The Sims. It's a game that revolves around me doing chores I normally do anyways.

lol

[o2dazone]

I play mostly jump maps nowadays. At least until the "OMG THE HUNTSMEN OWNS LETS PLAY SNIPER THE WHOLE ROUND" dies off a little...

[itlnstln]

This is the reason I don't play The Sims. It's a game that revolves around me doing chores I normally do anyways. TF2 on the hand...well, let's just say there's more strings attached killing someone with a bat to the head in real life than a video game.

Disc golf is more fun, anyway.  I gotta get geared up for a tourney in Kyle next weekend.  My girlfriend and I are going to play after work.

[jeffrey]

Why are the macro keys covered over on the 6820?

Hi Chimera,

Yes. there is a set of macro keys on the top of KR-6820E; we have plan to launch programmable gaming keyboard in the near future.

Thank you,

[jeffrey]

Please tell the engineers to make it a truly 6-key rollover gaming keyboard.  We're kinda picky around here.

you got it.

[chimera15]

Hi Chimera,

Yes. there is a set of macro keys on the top of KR-6820E; we have plan to launch programmable gaming keyboard in the near future.

Thank you,

Ah, that's really interesting,  will this version be upgradable? lol

[chimera15]

Please tell the engineers to make it a truly 6-key rollover gaming keyboard.  We're kinda picky around here.

I think it is? What's the test for that?

[ch_123]

Check the stickey at the top of the keyboard section.

[IBI]

I think it is? What's the test for that?

try U+I+K+L

[chimera15]

Alright, I'll try both of them..

[chimera15]

Yup, it passed both on usb.

[chimera15]

Hmm.... Ricercar got different results here.

The other thing that makes me skeptical is why did they only highlight certain keys as being "anti-ghosting'.

I'm confused.

Show Image

Maybe you could PM Ricercar or something to compare thoughts on the 6820.

I  noticed the arrow keys  on  the n-key rollover test in the n-key rollover thread weren't registering at all, that's probably why.

[chimera15]

So you push UpArrow and don't get ?  All my keyboards register fine with the test, numpad or aux arrows.

That's really strange.

Or you mean you push some combo of other keys and don't get UPARROW?

The pause thing is a possible gotcha since in normal gaming your're crawling, running, so a bunch of keys are mashed and THEN you hit another key to throw the grenade or call for help.  I'm not trying to trash results here, just trying to understand the inconsistencies.  In the end  it may not matter to anyone and "Close enuf" is "good enuf".

No problem with the Filco Blue Cherry board BTW for any combo I throw at it.  Pauses or no pauses.  Up to 6 key on USB.  Relief.

You push uparrow, and get 0.  You push uparrow and any other combination of key and get 0.  I didn't see any indication of the pause he was talking about, unless it was in relation to the arrow keys.  The keys are functioning fine and working as an arrow keys, but they're not registering in the rollover test.

With the rollover test you gave me in the prior post they work fine though.  I don't see any delay or anything that stops 6 keys from registering immediately in any combination on the board.

[ricercar]

I'm still here. Mostly. I need to digest the N-Key tests and perform a controlled experiment before I respond with meaningful data.