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Author Topic: OmniKey build quality  (Read 2336 times)

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Offline chyros

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OmniKey build quality
« on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 03:14:37 »
Inspired by the build quality topic raised recently, where many or most people seem to agree the model F is the toughest board ever, and many say the model M is the toughest after that.

But that got the thinking, the OmniKey has a reputation for sturdiness as well, right? How does its sturdiness compare? I mean, the model M has those stupid plastic rivets and a membrane sheet. I really want an OmniKey someday, so I wonder how it rates on the indestruct-o-meter.
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Offline jacobolus

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 04:05:55 »
Omnikeys (like mid-80s Zenith, etc. keyboards) are sturdy because they have a pretty thick plastic top, and a metal bottom. Otherwise, they’re internally similar to other Alps boards, with a steel plate and a PCB.

An Omnikey with your favorite Alps switches swapped in and some Alps PBT dyesubs for keycaps is basically the pinnacle of IBM PS/2 101-key ANSI layout Alps keyboards, outside of some custom board built from scratch.

I don’t think it’s too easy to directly compare it to IBM keyboards. It’s probably easier to break than any of the IBM boards if you start smashing it into rocks, pouring liquids into it, dropping it from second-floor windows, etc. Should still be a pretty effective weapon in hand to hand combat though.
« Last Edit: Thu, 05 February 2015, 04:29:39 by jacobolus »
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 07:17:52 »
Although I can't quote Jacobolus I concur with what he said.

The Northgate Omnikey, and the 101 in particular with its true-ANSI layout, is the best Alps chassis out there.

They just don't make 'em like that any more.

PS - doubleshot key caps, too

PPS - post #157 here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=49604.50 I showed how to replace the stupid cable with a conventional attached PS/2 cable
« Last Edit: Thu, 05 February 2015, 09:52:42 by fohat.digs »
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 07:42:55 »
Omnikey is a highly underrated keyboard and I've been hunting for one for a price I'm willing to pay. Wonderful keyboard.
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Offline chyros

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #4 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:32:26 »
Quote from: CPTBadAss on Thu, 05 February 2015, 07:42:55
Omnikey is a highly underrated keyboard and I've been hunting for one for a price I'm willing to pay. Wonderful keyboard.
Are they really underrated? All the ones I've seen on eBay recently were 100-160 quid not including shipping Oo .

Quote from: jacobolus on Thu, 05 February 2015, 04:05:55
Omnikeys (like mid-80s Zenith, etc. keyboards) are sturdy because they have a pretty thick plastic top, and a metal bottom. Otherwise, they�re internally similar to other Alps boards, with a steel plate and a PCB.

An Omnikey with your favorite Alps switches swapped in and some Alps PBT dyesubs for keycaps is basically the pinnacle of IBM PS/2 101-key ANSI layout Alps keyboards, outside of some custom board built from scratch.

I don�t think it�s too easy to directly compare it to IBM keyboards. It�s probably easier to break than any of the IBM boards if you start smashing it into rocks, pouring liquids into it, dropping it from second-floor windows, etc. Should still be a pretty effective weapon in hand to hand combat though.
Yeah I figured their chassis wasn't as strong as that of a model M, that's like a brick, so dense! But what in terms of actual longevity? This considering the more or less inherently shortened lifespan of the Model M due to the rivets and the membrane...

Quote from: fohat.digs on Thu, 05 February 2015, 07:17:52
Although I can't quote Jacobolus I concur with what he said.

The Northgate Omnikey, and the 101 in particular with its true-ANSI layout, is the best Alps chassis out there.

They just don't make 'em like that any more.

PS - doubleshot key caps, too

PPS - post #157 here: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=49604.50 I showed how to replace the stupid cable with a conventional attached PS/2 cable
Nice, cheers!

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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #5 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:58:51 »
Quote from: chyros on Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:32:26

I figured their chassis wasn't as strong as that of a model M,


What are you basing that opinion on?

Having completely disassembled and rebuilt several of each, I consider the Omnikey chassis to be considerably superior to the Model M. It is not up to the level of the Model F, of course, but it is substantially closer than the Model M, in my opinion.


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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01

Offline jacobolus

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #6 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 18:10:35 »
I’d still guess you could more easily do functional damage (breaking switches or electronics) to the OmniKey than to a Model M, if you drove a truck over it, chucked it out a window, whacked it with a hammer, or poured a can of soda over the keys.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #7 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 18:16:05 »
True, but that would mostly be because the Northgate has over 100 small individual mechanical switches, instead of some springs pushing down on enclosed membrane sheets.
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01

Offline chyros

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #8 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:14:31 »
Quote from: fohat.digs on Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:58:51
Quote from: chyros on Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:32:26

I figured their chassis wasn't as strong as that of a model M,


What are you basing that opinion on?

Having completely disassembled and rebuilt several of each, I consider the Omnikey chassis to be considerably superior to the Model M. It is not up to the level of the Model F, of course, but it is substantially closer than the Model M, in my opinion.
Well I don't own one of course fo it was only a guess, hence why I asked xD . But I do have two model Ms and they feel so dense at the case that I didn't figure it could be a lot denser than that xD . You know when you knock on it, it barely returns any sound compared to most other keyboards.

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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #9 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:33:59 »
Quote from: chyros on Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:14:31
I didn't figure it could be a lot denser than that.

You never really know until you take them apart and understand what is inside.
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01

Offline hwood34

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #10 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:36:55 »
Quote from: chyros on Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:14:31
Quote from: fohat.digs on Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:58:51
Quote from: chyros on Thu, 05 February 2015, 17:32:26

I figured their chassis wasn't as strong as that of a model M,


What are you basing that opinion on?

Having completely disassembled and rebuilt several of each, I consider the Omnikey chassis to be considerably superior to the Model M. It is not up to the level of the Model F, of course, but it is substantially closer than the Model M, in my opinion.
Well I don't own one of course fo it was only a guess, hence why I asked xD . But I do have two model Ms and they feel so dense at the case that I didn't figure it could be a lot denser than that xD . You know when you knock on it, it barely returns any sound compared to most other keyboards.
Well, the omnikey has a metal backplate
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: OmniKey build quality
« Reply #11 on: Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:47:32 »
Quote from: hwood34 on Thu, 05 February 2015, 19:36:55
Well, the omnikey has a metal backplate

Metal back plates AND metal bottom case pans on the Model F and Northgates.

Internal assemblies screwed down to the metal case bottom pans. You can leave the top case shells off altogether and still have awesome solid keyboards.
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01
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