Coolest keyboard find of 2021?
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- Location: The Netherlands
- Main keyboard: Tulip ATK 02.01.01 Tactile
- Main mouse: Logitech G603
- Favorite switch: Alps
Hey people! Decided to add in a cheerful post.
What's the coolest keyboard you got in 2021? Or perhaps what's the coolest upgrade you made to one of your existing boards?
For me it would have to be the new old stock NMB RT8756 I happened to find! It's iItalian which doesn't line up with what I type but for €15 I sure as heck wasn't gonna complain! My other honourable mention would be the Toshiba T1500 green Alps board I found.
Did y'all find anything cool last year?
Cheers!
What's the coolest keyboard you got in 2021? Or perhaps what's the coolest upgrade you made to one of your existing boards?
For me it would have to be the new old stock NMB RT8756 I happened to find! It's iItalian which doesn't line up with what I type but for €15 I sure as heck wasn't gonna complain! My other honourable mention would be the Toshiba T1500 green Alps board I found.
Did y'all find anything cool last year?
Cheers!
- hellothere
- Location: Mesa, AZ USA
- Main keyboard: Lots
- Main mouse: CST2545W-RC
- Favorite switch: TopreAlpsHallEffectTopreAlpsHallEffectTopreAlps
I'm going to go with a couple categories:
* Best buy: inozenz's / Shorle's 5000 AZERTY NMB New-Old-Stock keyboard group buy. I got 11 for around $10 a piece, after shipping.
* Coolest buy: two IBM 5140s with tactile brown Alps. I'm rebuilding into one keyboard that I'll soon put up for sale.
* Favorite buys: without question, my Topre Realforce and the Abko 935 I'm typing on right now.
* Worst buy: IBM 5576 B01 that I bought without knowing it had Mitsumi KPQ (I think) switches. Hey, I share my successes and failures.
I bought several Japanese keyboards this past year. None of them have adapters, but those are also fairly cool.
This year, I'm looking forward to Ellipse's new beamspring and/or other beamspring switches (Silo) and the new Clickez switches. I have an Omron keyboard coming my way and I have a few keyboards I'm really looking forward to put good switches into. I'm also going to try to get into keyboard case painting and actually do a Model M screw mod.
* Best buy: inozenz's / Shorle's 5000 AZERTY NMB New-Old-Stock keyboard group buy. I got 11 for around $10 a piece, after shipping.
* Coolest buy: two IBM 5140s with tactile brown Alps. I'm rebuilding into one keyboard that I'll soon put up for sale.
* Favorite buys: without question, my Topre Realforce and the Abko 935 I'm typing on right now.
* Worst buy: IBM 5576 B01 that I bought without knowing it had Mitsumi KPQ (I think) switches. Hey, I share my successes and failures.
I bought several Japanese keyboards this past year. None of them have adapters, but those are also fairly cool.
This year, I'm looking forward to Ellipse's new beamspring and/or other beamspring switches (Silo) and the new Clickez switches. I have an Omron keyboard coming my way and I have a few keyboards I'm really looking forward to put good switches into. I'm also going to try to get into keyboard case painting and actually do a Model M screw mod.
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- Location: United States - San Diego
- Main keyboard: F122
- Main mouse: MX Master 3
- Favorite switch: Buckling spring
I have two finds that I love and I'm not sure how I could pick the coolest, so I'll just share 'em both. On the right is my birthday board, made on the same day and year I was born, and on the left is my ScreenReader/2 pad! (SR2 pad was actually made in the same month as well, just not the same day)
- zrrion
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: F122
- Main mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse
- Favorite switch: ALPS SKCC Cream
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
for me it was my Toshiba RS3081
It's a nice board and the previously undocumented alps switches was a very cool thing to find.
It's a nice board and the previously undocumented alps switches was a very cool thing to find.
- Reimu64
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Whatever I'm testing
- Main mouse: Logitech G402
- Favorite switch: Kailh Box Pink...so far
- Contact:
This Ortek MCK-142Pro...and it doesn't even have 142 keys despite the name. It has Alps White which is less cool. But I think it's a still a beast of a board.
- JP!
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: Currently a Model M
- Main mouse: Steel Series Sensei
- Favorite switch: Beam Spring
- DT Pro Member: 0194
- Contact:
Just a small handful of finds in 2021. Hard to say which is the coolest.
For overall vintage keyboard aesthetics I think this Honeywell in a custom wood case is pretty cool. It's practically a piece of furniture.
Other finds:
For overall vintage keyboard aesthetics I think this Honeywell in a custom wood case is pretty cool. It's practically a piece of furniture.
Other finds:
Spoiler:
- photekq
- Cherry Picker
- Location: United Kingdom
- Main keyboard: Various Cherry Corp keyboards
- Main mouse: Razer Deathadder (1st gen)
- Favorite switch: Nixdorf 'Soft Touch' MX Black (55g springs)
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
I'll be posting a proper album of this one when I get the chance, but time's been slipping by me like never before, so I suppose I'll give it a low effort showing off in the meantime.
The first and only Fuji Xerox J Star II keyboard that I've been able to find evidence of. When I got it, I had no clue what system it even belonged to. I knew it must've been something Star-related, since it matched the non-Japanese Xerox Star keyboard so closely, but I initially thought it was a second/alternate version of the Fuji Xerox J Star keyboard. Thanks to mcmaxmcmc, who spotted this brochure, I now know it's from the Fuji Xerox 8080-J Star II - a system which, if you're trusting Google, does not exist.
Oh, it also has a new colour of Hirose Cherry MX - red.
And since I'm shameless - if anyone has a non-Japanese Xerox Star (1109 type 2) keyboard they want to let go of, please let me know. I would love to complete this pair. Of course, nothing that's been split from a system; I'm no butcher.
The first and only Fuji Xerox J Star II keyboard that I've been able to find evidence of. When I got it, I had no clue what system it even belonged to. I knew it must've been something Star-related, since it matched the non-Japanese Xerox Star keyboard so closely, but I initially thought it was a second/alternate version of the Fuji Xerox J Star keyboard. Thanks to mcmaxmcmc, who spotted this brochure, I now know it's from the Fuji Xerox 8080-J Star II - a system which, if you're trusting Google, does not exist.
Oh, it also has a new colour of Hirose Cherry MX - red.
And since I'm shameless - if anyone has a non-Japanese Xerox Star (1109 type 2) keyboard they want to let go of, please let me know. I would love to complete this pair. Of course, nothing that's been split from a system; I'm no butcher.
Awesome find Slom! I hope I can be that lucky sometime soon.
- Polecat
- Location: Downstream from Silicon Valley
- Main keyboard: Monterey K104 Industrial Gray
- Main mouse: Logitech Optical
- Favorite switch: Early Alps SKCM
- DT Pro Member: -
Fun thread. Two keepers for me. Industrial gray K104 and Northgate 101i.
- Attachments
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- Arto
- Location: Sverige
- Main keyboard: Currently IBM Model M and Varmilo VA88M Moonlight
- Main mouse: Logitech G604
- Favorite switch: Buckling spring
Found all these in an abandoned office-building. the terminal boards where still hooked up to the terminal stations in a room and the PS/2 was found in the basement
- Attachments
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- Location: Australia
- Main keyboard: F77
- Main mouse: Kensington Expert Mouse/MX Master 3
- Favorite switch: Alps SKFL
Easily the best keyboard of 2021, the Alps made atrocity.
Alps 12KFI36E TW-9994V-0- zrrion
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: F122
- Main mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse
- Favorite switch: ALPS SKCC Cream
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
NEC Multispeed. IIRC the keyboard is regular XT
- zrrion
- Location: United States
- Main keyboard: F122
- Main mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse
- Favorite switch: ALPS SKCC Cream
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
that appears to be one of the less common variations from what I can tell, check out the MAE as opposed to the 2u vertical one, and the left shift is the correct size, moving the pipe next to the spacebar. It isn't a huge change but it makes the layout much better IMO
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- Location: The Netherlands
- Main keyboard: Tulip ATK 02.01.01 Tactile
- Main mouse: Logitech G603
- Favorite switch: Alps
Oh wow! I totally forgot I made this thread but there are some hella awesome finds here! My NMB has been thoroughly dwarfed!
Loved seeing all of these! Thank you all!
Loved seeing all of these! Thank you all!
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- Location: Philadelphia
- Main keyboard: IBM MOPAR FSSK
- Main mouse: Logitech G502 Lightspeed
- Favorite switch: Brown Alps
- Contact:
Might as well do some casual flexing on this thread!
My three best deals of 2021. None of these boards cost me more than $75 all in! Mopar SSK
The board itself cost $35 shipped. I later converted it to an FSSK, and that definitely cost more than $75, but who's counting? Leading Edge DC-3014
Absolutely stunning board. Got insanely lucky, someone bought the computer but neglected to take the keyboard, and I got the leftovers for a cool $50. It's in excellent shape, typing this post on it right now! Magnavox Videowriter
This was a Craigslist find, and the most expensive board on this list. Got it boxed with the system, in impeccable condition. Had a disappointing recapping adventure with the system, but the board is still quite the looker!
My three best deals of 2021. None of these boards cost me more than $75 all in! Mopar SSK
The board itself cost $35 shipped. I later converted it to an FSSK, and that definitely cost more than $75, but who's counting? Leading Edge DC-3014
Absolutely stunning board. Got insanely lucky, someone bought the computer but neglected to take the keyboard, and I got the leftovers for a cool $50. It's in excellent shape, typing this post on it right now! Magnavox Videowriter
This was a Craigslist find, and the most expensive board on this list. Got it boxed with the system, in impeccable condition. Had a disappointing recapping adventure with the system, but the board is still quite the looker!
- joebeazelman
- Location: USA
- Main keyboard: Model M
- Main mouse: Dell Optical
- Favorite switch: Model F
- DT Pro Member: -
Really! I have a board full of them. They were also used in the Ataris. I will agree, they are smooth as butter on a corn cobb. Personally, they are better than the Brown SKCMs and I eschew linears. The full metal jacket is a nice touch and makes them seem more premium than skcms. I wonder if they were marketed as such.CallmeJohn wrote: ↑29 Jan 2022, 06:56Easily the best keyboard of 2021, the Alps made atrocity.
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Alps 12KFI36E TW-9994V-0