deskthority

I took a look through my cabinet of mysterious old computer related junk (accumulated back when I worked in IT and would snag interesting and possibly useful cables and adapters when I saw them getting tossed... basically a snapshot of 2000-2012-ish tech), and located not one but two Belkin PS/2 to ...

I’m not opposed to a DIY adapter. I assume the generic Teensy 2.0 compatible boards on eBay should work fine?

I had bad luck with the cheapo adapters (the ones with the keyboard and mouse inputs). They kinda worked but would stop working randomly or input weird stuff. This was way back but IIRC the Model Ms draw more power than later PS/2 boards and this causes the crappy adapters to malfunction, or somethi...

So... I have a second Model M in the mail, and went to order a second Blue Cube PS2/USB adapter. Unfortunately, they seem to be out of production, and I see PS2 to USB adapters selling for $30-60 each... Does anyone know of a source for these, or is this just such a niche item now that it's expensiv...

Well, i finally took the plunge. F77 industrial grey with HHKB right shift.

Sorry if this has already been discussed, and I can see what a massive project this has been already, but I figured I'd ask:

Are there any future plans for different boards, for example a remake of the Model M SSK (perhaps even with the Model-F mechanism inside... best of both worlds)?

To me they essentially felt like rubber domes. Good quality rubber domes, but definitely not something I found satisfying to type on, either in terms of sound or feel. I wouldn't complain if given one to use, but it certainly wasn't worth the price to me (I purchased and later sold mine - it was Rea...

Is it possible (and reversible) to remove the rubber dampers? I could definitely see 26 year old rubber exhibiting different properties than when new, and maybe contributing to the sticking. I wouldn't describe the sensation as 'horribly unpleasant', so I'm hoping it's something to do with the dampe...

As you all probably know by now from my many recent threads (:P) I just got an Apple Extended Keyboard II, my first Alps board since I last used a similar board in the late 90's. The keyboard is extremely clean and appears to have been used minimally if at all. Mfg data is May 1991, made in the USA,...

ShawnMeg wrote: ↑without having to butcher the PCB

I prefer to call it "precision surgery"

Just a followup - swapping the switches and rewiring the traces worked great. I now have my Control key in the 'right' place and the latching caps is relegated to the left Control key which I never use. I also discovered that as of the laster Mac OS X release, the latching caps doesn't work at all a...

Quick followup to say thanks, it's working great with 4 wires stuck between the keyboard and iMate. Actual ADB cable in on its way from eBay...

I'm amazed a thrift store would have put such a filthy board on sale! It looks like it was washed up on shore after an oil spill disaster...

Ah, thanks for the explanations. I didn't realize normal keys 'repeated' while they were depressed. I haven't messed with keyboards at this level before. In that case, i think i'll definitely try cutting the traces and rewiring the board after swapping the switches. Assuming it's just a single layer...

2ter wrote: ↑The bottom is identical to the other switches on the board. The top with slider and mechanism are different, and the spring is heavier. I might be wrong, but the locking caps lock on my M0118 does't repeat. Maybe you need some keymap software to make it work?

What do you mean by 'doesn't repeat'?

I'll have to find out when the board arrives. I can perhaps switch it out with one of the Control keys, since I'll be swapping the functionality anyway. The question about how the keyboard's controller will handle the switch being momentary still remains. I guess if worst comes to worst I can probab...

Thanks - that looks doable. I'll have to find out if the switch will feel OK like that or if it would still be better to replace with one that matches the rest of the board. Another thing that just occurred to me is: Will the keyboard controller understand how to use this key as a normal momentary k...

Thanks. I don't have an s video cable handy either but good to know. Basically I wanted to be able to just test if the keyboard is DOA before ordering a cable for it.

So, i purchased an AEKII knowing that it has a latching caps lock switch, but I use the Caps Lock key as Control, so I'd like to disable the latching. Is there a simple way to modify the switch so that it will not latch, or is it necessary to replace the switch entirely?

Thanks!

So, i purchased an AEKII knowing that it has a latching caps lock switch, but I use the Caps Lock key as Control, so I'd like to disable the latching. Is there a simple way to modify the switch so that it will not latch, or is it necessary to replace the switch entirely?

Thanks!

Very quick question - if I just want to test if an ADB keyboard works, and I have the keyboard and a Griffin iMate, but no ADB cable, can I just use 4 thin wires to connect the two ADB ports? Is it correct to connect 1 to 1, 2 to 2, etc between the female sockets on keyboard and adapter? That would ...

I'll snap a photo when I get home. Right now the board is sitting in a bucket of of distilled water in a "what do i have to lose?" type attempt to maybe dilute away the acid and save the board. Also, I would point out that a few years ago MX Browns were voted as the _favorite_ switch on these very s...

Regarding the disparagement of MX browns, i think this mod really transformed them into something nice. Actually, i was originally sold on MX Browns after buying a switch tester which was made of a solid piece of Perspex, in other words extremely solid. The brown switch in that setting felt great. B...

Unlike some people here I don't have a big collection of keyboards. I use a Model M at home, and at work I use... err.. used a CM Storm Quick Fire Stealth with MX Browns, stock except PBT keycaps and an MX Green soldered in place of the brown switch for the Esc key. Anyhow, after numerous comments i...

Nationality is used to discriminate all the time. Try showing up to the US border with a Chinese password, vs a Japanese or UK one... Guess who is getting in?

Not saying it's right.

Definitely sounds like derzemel got 'profiled'. It sucks, but my experience as a sometime eBay seller is that you get a bit paranoid about buyers, partly because there *are* a lot of scammers (and many of them *are* from Eastern Europe), and eBay and PayPal seem to side with buyers whenever there is...

Are you sure it's not a NiCd battery? Almost every old PC system with a leaky battery was the rechargable NiCd barrel battery. It's actually probably a lead-acid battery, which explains the corrosive leak. Definitely not lithium-ion (those came into use in the 2000's), and even NiCd may be too new....

Glad you like your new Cooler Master keyboard :mrgreen: I do, although it was part of the MassDrop order that Cooler Master initially forgot to send to manufacturing and then was delayed by the port strike, so there was a lot of gnashing of teeth along the way. :) BTW, will the replacement top case...

My battleship 122-key Model F has been my daily driver for nearly 3 years now, but I understand the appeal of the brown Cherry switches. There is something to be said for light (in all metrics) keyboards, but I find the sound of blues very annoying and don't like linear switches. Admittedly after b...

Admittedly I've never used a Model F, but I think there might be some second opinion bias moving against Cherry, no? Now that everyone and their prepubescent gamer brother has learned about mechanical keyboards and thinks that the only question is what color Cherry switch and how many blinding LEDs ...