Glad to be here!

[njbair]

Hey, folks! Long-time mechanical keyboard user here, but somehow I only recently found out about the enthusiast community (via /r/MechanicalKeyboards). Naturally, as soon as I knew there was a forum for this, I had to sign up.

I can remember the keyboard on the first computer my dad brought home (a Packard Bell 286). The layout was similar to a 122-key Model M. Man, I wish I still had that thing. My current main keyboard is a Ducky Shine III with white backlighting and Cherry MX blues. This is my first Cherry board, and I'm pretty happy with the blues. But I'm constantly looking at thrift stores and second-hand shops for any old vintage buckling spring boards. No luck so far. If my bad luck continues I imagine I'll eventually just break down and buy a new Unicomp board.

Earlier today I discovered the Planck board and, through reading about that, discovered the DIY keyboard scene and the Geekhack forums. I'm super-excited to learn more about building my own board. My mind is racing with visions of a custom-made Cherry board with the contour of a Microsoft Natural Keyboard. I'll have to do some digging to see if anyone's doing anything like that. I worked for 8 years as a CNC machinist and still have a good relationship with the shop owner...maybe I can use that to my advantage with a project like that.

Anyway, I'm really glad to be here in the forums. I'm looking forward to meeting everybody and learning a lot.

[Ludovician]

Your luck with finding a BS board may improve here, especially if you keep a close eye on the Great Finds section. Just this morning we saw two Model Ms for $40 in the US.

[njbair]

Your luck with finding a BS board may improve here, especially if you keep a close eye on the Great Finds section. Just this morning we saw two Model Ms for $40 in the US.

I just have this looming notion that as soon as I shell out some decent cash on one of these, I'm going to come across one for free or super cheap. But I guess that's about as likely as winning the lottery.

[Ludovician]

I got mine for $150 AUD, and a few days later (this morning) I saw one for $40+$35 USD ($95 AUD) shipped, but it was a later Lexmark model so I'm happy with the one I got. If you're in the US, your chances are pretty good of finding a decent deal.

[Ludovician]

If my bad luck continues I imagine I'll eventually just break down and buy a new Unicomp board.

You might even... buckle. I just thought of this terrible pun hours after the fact. Yay!

[njbair]

You might even... buckle. I just thought of this terrible pun hours after the fact. Yay!

As with any good pun, timing is...



...key.

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

A lot of people are seeking Model M keyboard - you definitely have some competition

Fantastic keyboards, though.  I have two.  I managed to be in the right place at the right time and got two at once for $40.  I had to buy a SDL to USB cable, and just that cable cost more than both keyboards put together )

Have patience, or browse eBay, there's usually a lot on there.