NIB Focus FK-6000 (White Alps, Alps clones or Futabas) $49.00 shipped OBO

[ander]

Unused Focus Electronics FK 6000 mechanical keyboard (eBay)





$49.00 or Best Offer, w/free U.S. shipping. According to DT's FK-6000 page, these were sold with 3 switch types:

• Alps SKCM White
• alps.tw Type T4 (Alps clone similar to Hua-Jie AK)
• Cherry MX mount Futaba clicky switch

As this board is one of the later China-made ones, I'm guessing it has Futabas. If you're unfamiliar with them, there's lots of discussion about them here. Personally, I think they're terrific—quick, responsive, fun. I believe these caps are double-shot, too; and if they are Futaba switches, the caps will be Cherry MX-compatible.

I already have a FK-6000, so I thought I'd share this one with you. Please note that I did not create this as a debate topic. I'm using my own time to post about a chance to own what I consider a well-made virgin MK, based on my own experience. If you don't like Futabas, or anything else about this board, please don't post here to complain. If you're dying to complain anyway, please PM me instead. You can tell me how much you don't like this or that, and I can tell you how much I do, and we can go back and forth as many times as you require.  :?)

[Edit: I didn't notice the seller was also accepting offers; added.]

[chyros]

Quite intrigued by Futabas by now, I've heard some rather interesting things about them!

[ander]

Quite intrigued by Futabas by now, I've heard some rather interesting things about them! :)

Gee, C., I would've assumed you'd owned, or at least tried, everything in the KB universe by now.

If you do get this board, it'd be great if you'd do a video review. You have a reputation for being thorough and even-handed, and you may be able to throw some new, objective light on the Futaba Clicky (if indeed that's what this has). In fact, if you didn't care for them, I'd probably have to rethink my own opinion!  :?O

[jacobolus]

Futabas are absolutely terrible. They feel like wet cardboard. They sound terrible. The sound is made on the *upstroke* and has nothing to do with switch actuation.

[chyros]

Quite intrigued by Futabas by now, I've heard some rather interesting things about them!

Gee, C., I would've assumed you'd owned, or at least tried, everything in the KB universe by now.

If you do get this board, it'd be great if you'd do a video review. You have a reputation for being thorough and even-handed, and you may be able to throw some new, objective light on the Futaba Clicky (if indeed that's what this has). In fact, if you didn't care for them, I'd probably have to rethink my own opinion!  :?O

Well that's what I'm thinking of. I try to review only boards with switches in excellent or at least great condition because it's very easy to get a skewed opinion of switches due to unrepresentative condition. And a NIB one would of course be ideal.

I can't afford it at the current price, but if it has Futabas I might make him an offer . In all fairness, I don't mind getting ****ty keyboards, as long as they're sufficiently interesting. I've got several keyboards I'm so happy with I could gladly spend the rest of my life typing on them, really. To me it's more about the collecting and the interesting nature of it all. I'm a crap typist (only about 70 WPM on the current one xD) and frankly a mech barely makes me type faster than a rubber dome board (some slower, in fact). I just like the sound and the feel and all the different things about the keyboards. Yeah I know, I'm a weirdo xD .

Thanks for the compliment btw . I try to be as objective and thorough as I can in my reviews - although of course everyone has their own preferences. It's true I have a rather large amount of keyboards now (49 different models and counting! Though certainly not all of them reviewable) but I don't have everything just yet, haha. I'd post a list, but I don't want to spoil the fun just yet .

[ander]

Futabas are absolutely terrible. They feel like wet cardboard. They sound terrible...

As I specifically stated, I did NOT take my own time to create another debate on Futaba switches, which have already been extensively discussed here. Apparently you neglected to read that part of my OP.

I started this thread because I like Futaba switches and I thought was a deal worth sharing. Anyone who's interested and is not familiar with these switches is welcome to do their own research and form their own opinions.

Keyboard feel is highly subjective. If you've spent any time here at all, you know you can pick any keyboard or switch and someone will dislike it. In this section, we need to feel free to post about things we think are good values and let everyone make their own decisions. Simply wading in here and slagging the topic is unhelpful, unwelcome, and discourages people from bothering to post here at all.

The sound is made on the *upstroke* and has nothing to do with switch actuation.

Perhaps you're confused because Futabas have an actuation click and a release click:

The Futaba switch is a clicky and tactile switch. The keyfeel has high hysteresis, with the actuation click occurring around 2.5 mm into the approximately 4 mm travel, and the release click occurring at 1 mm from the home position. The switch is very smooth, with a gentle rise in force, and only a small decrease in force after actuation. – Deskthority

In this respect they're similar to Topre switches, whose most distinctive sound occurs when they return to their start positions (and plenty of people like those). So if you're saying the release click has "nothing to do with actuation", you're correct.

[ander]

Gee, C., I would've assumed you'd owned, or at least tried, everything in the KB universe by now... If you do get this board, it'd be great if you'd do a video review. You have a reputation for being thorough and even-handed, and you may be able to throw some new, objective light on the Futaba Clicky (if indeed that's what this has)...

Well that's what I'm thinking of. I try to review only boards with switches in excellent or at least great condition because it's very easy to get a skewed opinion of switches due to unrepresentative condition. And a NIB one would of course be ideal.

It would. And with your experience and objectivity, I’d be quite interested to know what you thought.

Obviously I wouldn’t have started a topic here about something I didn't like. However, I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy this board; I just wanted to share my own enthusiasm for it, and suggest people check it out.

I can't afford it at the current price, but if it has Futabas I might make him an offer :) .

Indeed, that’s what “Make an Offer” is there for.

I've got several keyboards I'm so happy with I could gladly spend the rest of my life typing on them, really. To me it's more about the collecting and the interesting nature of it all... I just like the sound and the feel and all the different things about the keyboards. Yeah I know, I'm a weirdo xD .

In other words, you're in exactly the right place!

[chyros]

Gee, C., I would've assumed you'd owned, or at least tried, everything in the KB universe by now... If you do get this board, it'd be great if you'd do a video review. You have a reputation for being thorough and even-handed, and you may be able to throw some new, objective light on the Futaba Clicky (if indeed that's what this has)...

Well that's what I'm thinking of. I try to review only boards with switches in excellent or at least great condition because it's very easy to get a skewed opinion of switches due to unrepresentative condition. And a NIB one would of course be ideal.

It would. And with your experience and objectivity, I’d be quite interested to know what you thought.

Thanks . The seller appears to be unwilling to pull a cap so far, unfortunately .

Also please guys, don't fight . Not everyone can be interested in every single find after all .

[engicoder]

Ok...in a strange turn of events, the price seems to have gone up to $69.99

[chyros]

6 people watching, the seller must've thought that was a sign people wanted it bad . He seems to have interpreted it the wrong way around though, when you get loads of watchers it usually means it's too expensive rather than too cheap .

[jacobolus]

chyros: If you come to the SF Bay Area sometime, I’d be happy to give you a good condition Futaba board.

[chyros]

chyros: If you come to the SF Bay Area sometime, I’d be happy to give you a good condition Futaba board.

Goddammit I went there the summer before last! xD

Very nice city, we enjoyed our stay there .

[ander]

It'd been a while since I used my FK-6000, so I got it out to see if I could understand what this anti-Futaba sentiment was about. ("sentiment: a personal belief or judgment not founded on proof or certainty") Then I wrote a review, which was generally positive. But it occurred to me that if anyone buys a board with Futabas and doesn't like it, I wouldn't want to be the reason for their discontent. So please make up your own minds. – A.

[jacobolus]

No—it's not that important. I realize people have all kinds of opinions about everything. I was just disappointed that you ignored my specific request not to turn my topic into yet another Futaba debate. It's almost like you were going around looking for someone's wishes to defy.

Actually I totally missed that part of your original post. Was just responding to chyros’s “Quite intrigued by Futabas by now, I've heard some rather interesting things about them! ”

People trashing Futaba switches is pretty much inevitable though, and explicitly asking people not to say what they think on an internet forum is futile. If you want a web page without other people’s opinions, it’s going to have to be on your own site, without a comment section.

[SamirD]

The focus boards are interesting indeed just for their 'surprise' switches.  It's like when you used to open a cereal box hoping for the toy inside to be the one you wanted, lol.

[ander]

Sofia Vergara.

[klennkellon]

I was thinking of buying this one, but ended up buying a Focus FK-2001 in worse condition, but thanks to the sellers photos I was able to determine it uses real Complicated ALPS, so I went with that one instead of taking a gamble on this one.