F104+SSK+122+62+77+50+Ergo orders now open! New Kishsaver+Industrial Model F Keyboards

[Vewy_nice]

Let them come!

They shall and all their new owners shall indeed be cumming as well .

They better not be on these keyboards.

Shoul'da included one of those retro keyboard condoms with every order!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... SX355_.jpg

[Elrick]

Shoul'da included one of those retro keyboard condoms with every order!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... SX355_.jpg

Very appropriate here.

Ellipse should include that with every order, to help promote safe leisure with any F77 .

He has to support such unbridled gaiety, upon his phenomenal keyboard.

[evoman]

Thanks all for the kind words!

The spring samples are finished and on their way!

Once the spring samples are approved and the springs finish production, assembly will start!

Do you have a best guess at the shipment window for the first boards? I have no idea where I am in the queue, but it would be great to have some vague sense of the likely timeline.

Between now and then I need to figure out exactly what I ordered - seems like I ordered far too many keycaps for some reason that now eludes me...

Oh, and one other question. I ordered the F77 in the classic case, partly for nostalgia and partly because of the comment that the smaller cases would be a lower priority. Do you have an idea of when those smaller/compact cases will ship? After using a TKL model for a while I realise how nice it is to have a smaller keyboard! cheers.

[darkcruix]

On 2/10, Ellipse will show the samples at the NJ Keyboard Meetup
(https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/blog/)

I wonder if someone can take photos and share it here ...

[Ellipse]

Please check out the Popular Mechanics March 2018 print issue and take a look at the article “The Hunt for the Modern Model F”! I can't seem to find the article online just yet - the print issue was just released.

This one's different from the other great Model F article on the Popular Mechanics web site over the summer.

Yes hopefully I can meet some of you at the NJ Keyboard Meetup on Saturday!

[Elrick]

Please check out the Popular Mechanics March 2018 print issue and take a look at the article “The Hunt for the Modern Model F”! I can't seem to find the article online just yet - the print issue was just released.

Damn it looks like I have to head back to my local Newsagent, haven't done that in about 23 years. Only this time it'll be for Popular Mechanics instead of Mayfair or Playboy .

[sgtpopwell]

Damn it looks like I have to head back to my local Newsagent, haven't done that in about 23 years. Only this time it'll be for Popular Mechanics instead of Mayfair or Playboy .

Nobody said you had to limit your purchase to just one publication

[darkcruix]

Great (but short) article ... "The hunt for the modern Model F". I still hope Ellipse will work on a book telling us the journey to bring back the Model F and how (we) enthusiasts are thrilled to hold one in our hands

[codemonkeymike]

Please check out the Popular Mechanics March 2018 print issue and take a look at the article “The Hunt for the Modern Model F”! I can't seem to find the article online just yet - the print issue was just released.

This one's different from the other great Model F article on the Popular Mechanics web site over the summer.

Yes hopefully I can meet some of you at the NJ Keyboard Meetup on Saturday!

I'll be there for sure, it's only a few minutes away from me via train. (and at my alma mater)

[darkcruix]

Don't forget to post pictures !

[Elrick]

Great (but short) article ... "The hunt for the modern Model F". I still hope Ellipse will work on a book telling us the journey to bring back the Model F and how (we) enthusiasts are thrilled to hold one in our hands

YES, having the F77 finally on our desks waiting to be used for our pleasure would be the ultimate climax here.

A keyboard worth using and becoming everyone's 'daily driver' .

[Craweth]

@Ellipse
Now that you are the leading authority on model F springs, have you considered offering an alternative spring with different feel for the boards?

[hypkx]

@Ellipse
Now that you are the leading authority on model F springs, have you considered offering an alternative spring with different feel for the boards?

Very interesting, maybe some lighter replacement springs for model Ms?

[JP!]

@Ellipse
Now that you are the leading authority on model F springs, have you considered offering an alternative spring with different feel for the boards?

Very interesting, maybe some lighter replacement springs for model Ms?

I would imagine you could buy extra Model F springs and use them in a Model M.

[consolation]

Article from Popular Mechanics 201803

Edit: eh... I moved the file off-site

[pansku]

Now that the meetup is over, does anyone have pictures of Ellipsesavers from there?

[codemonkeymike]

Just one, my phone doesn't take good pics so I decided to not go hm on photo taking.
The new one piece key caps were quite nice, basically perfect texture. The keyboards are MUCH heavier then they look. It is hard to explain how heavy they are even the compact. Typing on it was, dare I say, better then typing on a real kish, of which someone had at the event. The case texture was also very close to something that IBM would have done, which also surprised me.

[Dingster]

Just one, my phone doesn't take good pics so I decided to not go hm on photo taking.
The new one piece key caps were quite nice, basically perfect texture. The keyboards are MUCH heavier then they look. It is hard to explain how heavy they are even the compact. Typing on it was, dare I say, better then typing on a real kish, of which someone had at the event

Holy shit....

[codemonkeymike]

One last note, it is not as loud as I would have thought. I don't know what I was expecting but its not un-usably loud like some may think. Maybe the same as NK Navys

[darkcruix]

The new one piece key caps were quite nice, basically perfect texture. The keyboards are MUCH heavier then they look. It is hard to explain how heavy they are even the compact. Typing on it was, dare I say, better then typing on a real kish, of which someone had at the event

Holy shit....

Thanks so much for sharing with us - great photo btw.

[pansku]

Just one, my phone doesn't take good pics so I decided to not go hm on photo taking.
The new one piece key caps were quite nice, basically perfect texture. The keyboards are MUCH heavier then they look. It is hard to explain how heavy they are even the compact. Typing on it was, dare I say, better then typing on a real kish, of which someone had at the event. The case texture was also very close to something that IBM would have done, which also surprised me.

Thanks for sharing! Now I'm even more excited to receive mine, in some distant future

[darkcruix]

I wanted to share my idea for the nav cluster design for the F62.
The basic idea is the following:
Nav Cluster overlay over second layer
The right Cmd, Alt, Fn, and Shift keys can be toggled with the Nav Lock key. With it set, they become Navigation keys (comparable to a Num Lock key would work for the Num pad). Using the Fn key on the left will allow another layer for Page Up, Page Down, Home and End at those keys, as well as the del key over Backspace and Esc at the top-left above Tab.
If the Nav Lock is not toggled, the right Fn key will act at another layer but working exactly like the left Fn with the exception of Page Down over itself, obviously.

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/# ... 738e10f0c6

keyboard-layout(1).jpg (67.4 KiB) Viewed 9304 times

I have seen similar designs before, but without the Nav Lock key. Maybe you can share your ideas as well on how to get this configured?

[Ellipse]

Nice meeting everyone yesterday at the NJ Meetup!

darkcruix for now I will be holding off on additional customizations to make sure the current orders are mailed as soon as possible. I will look into this more in the final round later this year.

[darkcruix]

Nice meeting everyone yesterday at the NJ Meetup!

darkcruix for now I will be holding off on additional customizations to make sure the current orders are mailed as soon as possible. I will look into this more in the final round later this year.

I can only agree with your approach - I guess you will be super happy, when things are starting to roll.

[FXT]

I thought all the new Model Fs will come with an xwhatsit controller so it should be pretty easy to remap the layout. I think having a nav lock is a great idea, one of my biggest gripes with 60% and smaller layouts is the lack of arrow keys which I use a lot when programming. I despise arrow keys behind a FN layer and placed in some weird location in the middle of the board.

[codemonkeymike]

I thought all the new Model Fs will come with an xwhatsit controller so it should be pretty easy to remap the layout. I think having a nav lock is a great idea, one of my biggest gripes with 60% and smaller layouts is the lack of arrow keys which I use a lot when programming. I despise arrow keys behind a FN layer and placed in some weird location in the middle of the board.

It does, you can even see the miniaturized xwhatsit in my photo

[darkcruix]

You can program the layout to all things you need. This was more about having highly customized keycaps that show the details of those changes and layers. Another possibility to create the same functionality with keys that will be instantly available is the following:

http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/# ... 738e10f0c6

keyboard-layout.jpg (68.77 KiB) Viewed 9096 times

Yes Layer:

• - Yes + ~ : Esc
  - Yes + Right Shift : Page Up
  - Yes + Right Cmd : Home
  - Yes + Right Alt : End
  - Yes + Mode : Del
  - Yes + Backspace : Del

Fn Layer:

• - Fn + ~ : Esc
  - Fn + Right Shift : Page Up
  - Fn + Right Cmd : Home
  - Fn + Right Alt : End
  - Fn + Yes : Page Down
  - Fn + Mode : Del
  - Fn + Backspace : Del

Mode Toggle:

• - Right Shift : Up
  - Right Cmd : Left
  - Right Alt : Right
  - Yes : Down

Non-Standard / Extra Keys:

• - HHKB 6 Key Set
  -- All Keys
  - Industrial SSK 12 Key set
  -- Mode / Del
  -- Yes
  - Front Printed Function 12 Key Set
  -- All Keys
  - Mac Command Option keys
  -- Command

[__red__]

I despise arrow keys behind a FN layer and placed in some weird location in the middle of the board.

You mean you don't use the arrow keys where God intended? hjkl or 5678?

I'm sure many will recognize the origin of the hjkl, but I wonder how many would know the keyboard that originated 5678?

There's a specific demographic that will

[Vizir]

I despise arrow keys behind a FN layer and placed in some weird location in the middle of the board.

You mean you don't use the arrow keys where God intended? hjkl or 5678?

I'm sure many will recognize the origin of the hjkl, but I wonder how many would know the keyboard that originated 5678?

There's a specific demographic that will

hkjl is vim. What's the story behind 5678?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[TerminalJunkie]

I use hjkl as arrow keys for easy access when I'm in the middle of typing. I use space as function key when possible, and otherwise semicolon. (There is no usable SpaceFn implementation for macOS.) Semicolon is inferior because it requires holding a key with the weakest finger, but at least with semicolon I don't have to stretch for it.

But I also make sure to have another set of arrow keys that are easier to reach for when my fingers are not already in the home position, e.g., when they're coming from the mouse. On 60% keyboards, I use the ;[/' keys for this (as on the HHKB), but with whatever key falls naturally under the thumb as the function key. That will be the right alt key on the F62.

I would prefer to have real, separate arrow keys for this non-home-row set, but it's not ideal to cram them into a 60% board. After decades of using the inverted T, my fingers use the empty space around it as a guide, especially the empty space to the right of the up arrow. I have tried and cannot get used to the arrow keys on Thinkpad keyboards, where they crammed extra keys into the space around the up arrow.

I would have loved to see a Model F keyboard with a layout similar to the Clueboard or Fc660c: an inverted T sticking out in the bottom-right corner and PgUp/PgDn aligned horizontally with the right arrow and vertically with backspace and backslash. But I suppose that would be too big of a change for round two, Ellipse?

Instead, how about an F72, which simply removes five keys from the right side of the F77 so we get the six-key cluster and inverted T that's familiar from the EXT and SSK? It would require another case variation, but probably not any PCB changes. I'd buy another keyboard if an F72 like that were offered (ideally the compact case, but I'd be okay with the big case also).