deskthority

Well, that was easier than expected. All I had to do was clean 25 years of accumulated lint from the top of the membrane. I'm really impressed with the durability of the FKB4700. The insides looked practically new. Also really impressed with how easy it was to dis/assemble. Just be sure to rest the ...

I have a Fujitsu FKB4700 that has seen 20-odd years of pretty heavy use. The C and V keys have become very hard to register. Before I crack open the case, any advice on what I should expect to find there and how to fix it? I know it's a membrane, but I'm asking about special concerns with this model...

By "standard", I mean that all of the keys are what they would be on an ASCII keyboard and that the layout and spacing is exactly the same, with all other keys in the function layer. I think all the 60% keyboard I've looked at have had at least some small difference, which makes things awkward for s...

I'd like to try lubing the switches on my Matias Mini Quiet Pro. Looking around, the most popular lubes seem to be RO-59 tmKT and the Krytox line. Anyone have experience to suggest which might be better to use? I'm in Korea right now, so I could get the RO-59 pretty easily, but I don't know about th...

Belfong wrote:Matias is planning on a GB on their planned 60% keyboard. 60% Matias Quiet Pro switch.

Please post a link to details when they become available.

I think the switches could be better after lubing the stems. The rattling keycaps I suspect is a harder problem to solve.

rjrich wrote:Regarding spacebars, the best I have tried are the HHKB Pro 2...

I went to Akihabara several years ago expressly to buy a HHKB, but the one I tried had a space bar that clacked loudly. Just couldn't stand it. How is the space bar on the Pro 2 compared to the rest of the keys?

IJKL has a long history of its own, actually. There's a bunch of them with examples of their use here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_keys#IJKL_keys That's a good article. Don't know why I didn't think to look there. So the origin of the vi bindings is in control codes. Makes sense, considering...

I think embedded arrow keys are a good idea, even on a standard keyboard. I've never understood why the vi keybindings are hl/jk, though. I would have made it j;/kl. Actually, I think the most natural layout would be jl/ik. But I don't think I've ever seen that implemented. Any suggestions why that ...

Many people write reviews when they first get their boards and the rush of enthusiasm is still with them. I thought it would be useful to give my impressions after taking a while to become accustomed to this one. I'm still struck by how solid it feels. It is heavier than you would expect, I guess be...

...annoyed about the death of 4:3 — I simply love 1600×1200 on desktops, and 4:3 on notebooks. I still keep a decade-old Thinkpad in service because its keyboard and screen are much nicer than on any new notebook. After my last frustrating episode with a 24" Dell IPS monitor, I looked again at old ...

During the years I used a Selectric, I also kept a portable manual typewriter that I used for writing rough drafts. Although the Selectric (and the other electrics before) was great to type on, the motor noise was distracting and I always felt rushed sitting before it. The manual allowed me to sit a...

I'm surprised I've not heard of this before. Somebody has kits for converting your old mechanical typewriter into a USB keyboard. You can even send it in and they will do it for you.

http://www.usbtypewriter.com/

I think most people who are curious about the Hall effect keyboards will never get a chance to try one. A better-than-nothing option would be to get hold of just some sample switches. I saw here that Honeywell still makes them. http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=18048.msg789593#msg789593 Anyone kno...

When I moved from typewriters to PCs in the late 1980s, one of the things I really disliked was the huge asymmetry of the 101-key layout. With the alpha keys directly in front of me, the movement keys are next door, the numpad is down the street, and the mouse is a block away. It is impossible for m...

hasu wrote:... Alps green is 50g, yellow(linear) 60g and Cherry red 40g...

Thanks, that is really helpful. What I read online implied that greens and yellows had the same spring. From the picture, they clearly don't.

The activation point, I believe is listed in the datasheet (2.0mm out of 4.1mm throw), and is about halfway down (measured with an oscilloscope). The Micro Switches seemed to have had an interesting force profile. Ripster measured some as being 50g at actuation but 100g at bottom. That sounds reall...

Muirium wrote:... I was talking with Dorkvader about a 1983 model...

Since there are so few of them, we ought to just go ahead and give the names when talking about these.

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:There are additional keyboards listed on [wiki]Honeywell Hall Effect[/wiki].

I couldn't find any description of these, so hesitated to list them.
TI Telex 58SD17-2-B
Convergent 64-00164
Intergraph 2710

Anyone have photos and specs?

webwit wrote:Four of them at the keyboard party!

I see the RAFI, Symbolics Rev A, and Space Cadet. What is the other?

Available information on Hall effect switches in keyboards is pretty sketchy. There is a lot of implied knowledge in past threads and it would be good to collect it here. For starters, except for the modern RAFI board, I can't find any reference to a keyboard using Hall effect switches from anyone e...

It's hard finding info on the Alps Green and Yellow; how do they compare to the Alps Black and vintage Cherry Black in terms of weight, feel, actuation point, etc? From what I can dig up, there were two Alps Yellows, a linear and a clicky. The linear Alps Yellow is the same as the Alps Green. (So w...

Soarer's converter is the gold standard of programmability after the fact. And it is XT/AT/PS2, and terminal. Going further back, you're into the realm of custom controllers (like Xwhatsit's current work on beam springs) and exotic hardware converters (like kbdbabel's Symbolics). I've been surprise...

I got started on this because when older programmers talk about the most comfortable keyboards they ever used, the models they mention seem always to have had linear switches. My early typing for several years was on 1970s smooth, high-profile, spherical keycaps with a light activation pressure and ...

Though I've had a presence at GH for some time, DT seems a bit more oriented to this question about older models, so I'm making this first post. Howdy. What older keyboard models had smooth and solid linear switches? My primary interest is in the typing experience, so I'm flexible but not completely...