I just wrote Chuck of Unicomp an email and asked him if it was possible to combine the standard German QWERTZ (I need to type a lot of German legal documents, no programming) with the ANSI enter key (My little finger is not 10cm long)

Here are two images to illustrate:




What do you think of that idea?

I like it. Actually I am 100% sure its possible. You could even make it yourself even (assuming you can live with a wrong legend on the backslash key)

I just called Unicomp, they said it's not possible.


*Sigh*

???

Can't see why, you can even make this layout yourself

If you could provide me with some details, this could be my first keyboard mod...

Basically all Model Ms (no matter if Japanese, ISO or ANSI) are all the same base hardware. A giant plate with many holes in them. These holes are then either filled with nothing, with a stabilizing plastic thingie or with a buckling spring.

Since you will be adding new parts, you will have to do the nuts'n'bolts mod to your Model M.

Check these links:
* Nuts 'n' Bolts
* International Model M mini

Things you will need:
* Model M/Unicomp board (duh!)
* Nuts and bolts
* German keycaps, ISO Enter, ISO Backslash (or have Unicomp make a 1.5 size key with the proper German legend)
* Some of those mysterious stabilizer plastic parts

Unicomp should be able to provide everything besides the nuts and bolts.

Hope this helps.

Thank you very much! I'll order a SpaceSaver and tell them to include the extra keys and stabilizers.

I only hope I won't wreck the thing...

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Hello Philipp
We can do the keyboard as you have identified, however there is a $10.00 charge for the customization

Yessss! I'll post a review when I get it.

Will you get it as ps2 or usb?

USB. PS/2 doens't offer any advantages on this one so I went for better compatibility.

Cool, I asked because their unix layouts come with ps2 only (the last time I checked).

I wouldn't be afraid to write them a quick email about it. If they can do my custom order, why not yours^^

Maybe next time! It would be cool to mod a space saver to space saving layout or smaller, but that is further down on my list. Could ask for ansi with short left shift, and use the extra key for fn.

What made them change their mind?

I have no idea. Jim told me on the phone (and in a different email) that it was "physically impossible" now Chuck told me they could do it. But I won't complain as long as get my keyboard.

Toyed around last night. Seems there are some Cherry boards which make this possible too. G80-2100 is one of them. It has extra solder spots and could be turned into that layout.

Whoever you asked first must have been thinking in terms of a pre-made Model M, given that you're asking for a mix of an ANSI and ISO layout, they'd need to arrange the springs specially when the keyboard assembly is being bolted together. Once the keyboard assembly is bolted together, it is really not worth their time to mod it into a non-standard layout.

It finally arrived today! The Ansi enter is really nice, finally I don't have to stretch my pinky that much anymore...






Too bad that the blue Alt that I ordered along with the keyboard doesn't fit.

You would've had to get a 101-key Customizer in order to use your blue Alt key.

But I'm glad to see your keyboard's working out well! I always preferred the long ANSI Enter keys myself.

microsoft windows wrote:You would've had to get a 101-key Customizer in order to use your blue Alt key.

They're actually sending me a smaller one, that's what I call customer service

I've always liked Unicomp. They're very nice and always out there to help.

Same with clickykeyboards.com. Their products are a little pricey, but they give you A+ customer service.

microsoft windows wrote:They're very nice and always out there to help.

Absolutely.

Nice! Glad it turned out fine.

PS: The custom print on these keys looks decent. This may confirm the theory that unicomp print quality only sucks on separate keys but is fine when doing a full run of keys. Hmm.

Which keys are custom? Is Strg German for control?

Minskleip wrote:Which keys are custom? Is Strg German for control?

Well, # is custom.
And yes, Strg is short for Steuerung, which can mean Control.

sixty wrote:Nice! Glad it turned out fine.

Thank you ! So am I

sixty wrote:PS: The custom print on these keys looks decent. This may confirm the theory that unicomp print quality only sucks on separate keys but is fine when doing a full run of keys. Hmm.

It is a mystery... But they will send me a new batch of keys, including a red Alt, a blue Strg and a Capslock key with Strg, so we can compare those to the full run.

Will the Strg "Caps-Lock" key be blue too?

No, I didn't want to ask too much of them.

Intresting, good for the both worlds, sad that no more keyboards do this...

This is a great idea. I wish that the ANSI enter was the standard for all European layouts. This would make life easier for manufacturers as well - all you'd have to do would be to add one key next to left shift. The more I use my ANSI boards the more retarded the ISO enter feels.