deskthority

I wanted to share a nice sound test video of the new Model F with and without the solenoid, posted by someone on Twitter - I think this video captures the sound well.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1467896098861817858


I'm sure I've said it before but I'll say it again - people putting solenoids ...

I've never tried beamsprings so I'm not sure what I'm missing, but i've been waiting for my Model F repro for years now so I'm gonna wait for that before preordering the next thing :P

I also kind of feel like beamsprings are for the truly hardcore - the sheer size and height of the boards is ...

There's good reason people covet vintage keyboards and not vintage mice. Or monitors. Or anything else that has demonstrably improved over the years.

(Yes, i know collectors and nostalgic people exist, but nobody is using a C64 at work or claiming it's better than a modern machine)

headphone_jack wrote: 13 Nov 2021, 18:59 Alternatively, we could give up on this forum and move somewhere that isn't owned by an Arasaka analogue.

I think that will happen naturally. I pretty much just come here now to check in on the F77 group buy thread.

Whenever I go to other areas and click on a new thread... it's spam.

What is happening to this site? So many new posts are just spam, and there is seemingly nothing we can do about it.

I don't know if I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely don't care about the packaging as long as the keyboard arrives in good shape. Then again I have no sense of nostalgia for hard styrofoam packaging either

When did people who have recently received their boards place their orders? (Assuming you didn't ask for a low serial). I'm interested in seeing how far along they've gotten.


Ordered mine in May 2021...still waiting. I guess I am in for a long wait but I have other keyboards to tide me ...

Been a while since Apple had latching caps lock. Guessing you’re talking beige? ;)

Latching keys are the best way to indicate modes. But I’m glad my MacBook doesn’t have one there, or its height wouldn’t tell me anything, as a NON CAPSLOCK USER.


The other downside to them is then the key is ...

I suspect it's the Silver Grey option - it doesn't look like either the beige or the Industrial Grey to me

See this post here: https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?p=460773#p460773


Ah, maybe. I think this reinforces my comment about the photography on the main site, it's pretty hard to judge ...

I am sharing (with permission) another nice color combination that someone sent me
...

https://deskthority.net/download/file.php?id=71829


What is the case color on that one? I can't tell from the white balance if it's beige or industrial grey?

I've ordered industrial grey but have been ...

I think paperWasp had a good point in their initial ramble about well implemented vs poorly implemented tactility, where the tactile feedback may not correspond with actuation. Cherry Browns are definitely guilty of this, where the actual actuation point is a bit further than the 'bump', and I think ...

Yasu0 wrote: 25 Nov 2021, 01:54 Nah I'm talking to any noob normals happen to be reading through this thread. Trying to put a silver lining on a trash thread.

Why are you trying to keep a spam thread afloat???

Haha. Well, it reminded me to update - I in fact did buy an identical replacement board, performed the same process but with neutral cure silicone (GE Silicone II) and it's been flawless, and has been in regular rotation since then.

Using it right now - it'll probably go back on the shelf when my ...

OK, thank you for the assurances Ellipse and thefarside!

So, umm... I haven't received my F77 yet but from how this thread has evolved (devolved?) into a technical deep dive into multiple keyboard firmware programming toolchains and DSLs, I have a really basic question:

Am I going to be able to just plug in and use my keyboard successfully when it ...

Just tried out the floss mod on my F77, and it's wonderful . All of the clickiness and none of the ringing, for maybe an hour of work and $5. Whoever came up with it originally is a genius.

If someone could go back in time to the 80s and tell the IBM engineers about it, I wonder if all model Fs ...

I would have really liked to tried that but none of the shops there ship to Hungary
only Amazon.
But the arrival date on amazon is Oct 6 :(
But thank you for the response!


You don't have to get exactly that caulk. You might try asking at a local hardware store if they have any silicone caulk ...

Not to mention Micro USB's are incredibly weak. I've managed to rip off two micro USB connectors from xwhatsit controllers when moving a cable in a dodgy direction to try and clamp it down inside a case.


The irony is that MicroUSB was introduced partly to be more durable than MiniUSB - despite ...

This is not for everyone, but I am really pleased with the results of basically covering the back of the circuit board and filling the case of my CM Storm MX Brown board with this stuff: https://gesealants.com/products/advanced-silicone-2-kitchen-bath-sealant/

It's 100% silicone caulk, of a type ...

> except for the absolutely outdated connectivity and build

The keyboard community is funny. Half the people here are spending their kids' college fund to try to resurrect dinosaurs from the 70s and the other half is horrified by technology from last year.

raoulduke-esq wrote: 10 Sep 2021, 16:40

fohat wrote: 10 Sep 2021, 15:48 Just guessing, but the first one looks useless but the second on might be alright.

Sorbothane is generally considered the gold standard for dampening, but it is expensive.

you got duped by the spambot

What makes you think spambot?

Ah, I hadn't thought of that, re. delivery direct from IBM with other fragile equipment. Although what about IBM PC Model F keyboards? Those were sold through all kinds of retail channels I assume, and probably got some rough handling at times.

...unfortunately these keyboards do get bounced around in shipping.


I wonder if part of the problem is the "period correct" 80's style hard Styrofoam padding in the box. I've noticed that electronics these days are rarely packaged in hard Styrofoam but use either the softer closed cell foam ...

This is probably a really naive question, but I have gotten lost in keeping up with the progress reports here. Is there any way to know roughly when an order will be shipped?


It seems to be Ellipse's policy not to answer shipping date queries. I suspect it's because otherwise he'd be inundated ...

I guess this is totally mundane compared with the rare vintage keyboards being discussed, but 7 years ago or so I convinced myself based entirely on reading forums like this that Topre was the ultimate thing and splurged on a RealForce board. Within a few minutes of receiving it and using it, I ...

The answer lies within you.

It happens in every niche enthusiast community. The Model M is widely known, cheap-ish and easy to obtain, and pretty darn good. All those are reasons cause certain kinds of people to feel a powerful urge to prove their superior knowledge, taste, resources, blah blah blah, by demonstrating ...

There's a reason there are multiple busy fan communities on the web around vintage keyboards, and not around vintage mice.

Maybe it's because computer keyboards were already a mature technology by the time personal computers started to appear in the 70s, whereas mice were not manufactured at scale ...

That looks very sharp!

I feel like some chipped/worn paint kinda gives it character. Clearly sets it apart from the plastic cases on nearly every other board out there today.