Epson Business Full Keyboard review (Topre switches)

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Chyros

26 Aug 2017, 11:54

Today we look at the Topre board few people know about, but which is actually quite awesome. Hope you enjoy the video! :)

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chip chop

26 Aug 2017, 15:05

@ 3.10 - Almost the most offensive Northern Irish accent ever.... only way it could been worse is it was said wearing a balaclava..... inside a caravan..... full of potato's

But, great review & a very nice board.

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depletedvespene

26 Aug 2017, 15:20

I used one of these once, ages ago. Indeed, the nav cluster is uncomfortable, but the numpad is fantastic (I'd have swapped 0 and 000, though).

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wobbled

26 Aug 2017, 18:28

Awesome review dude but omg I want that numpad. If I can't find one for a decent price I'll probably buy a Plum numpad and swap out the rubber domes with real topre domes and possibly the sliders as well. Not having a numpad is really frustrating me in games cos i have to switch out to a different keyboard

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DustGod
Yet another IBM snob

27 Aug 2017, 02:02

Nice one dude!

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Elrick

28 Aug 2017, 03:33

Your quote says it all about these switches, others worship or hate them but you are somewhere in the middle.

"I like them a Fair bit but I don't Idolize these".

What more could be said, perfect review on this keyboard and also your comments about 'thorpies' in general.

Thank you for your honesty :geek: .

davkol

29 Aug 2017, 19:34

Isn't this pretty much HaaTa's Epson InterKX?

The layout is awesome. 60% JIS is a dream come true, diamond-like arrows work great with two fingers diagonally, and the fully symmetrical detacheable numpad is brilliant: unlike the standard numpad, it isn't botched for left-handed usage.

So, where does one even get this thing? Yahoo auctions?

jacobolus

30 Aug 2017, 23:56

I bought my most recent Apple laptop with a JIS layout keyboard, and it’s fantastic.

Simplest thing to do is something like:
Image

Or for wider hand space:
Image

But more creative options are certainly possible. Overall much more flexible (mainly because more thumb keys) than the ANSI layout.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=90203

The main section of this Epson beast is a pretty flexible standard-ish 60% keyboard.

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002
Topre Enthusiast

31 Aug 2017, 04:29

davkol wrote: Isn't this pretty much HaaTa's Epson InterKX?...
So, where does one even get this thing? Yahoo auctions?
Yeah they are essentially the same keyboard: wiki/Epson_Business_Full_Keyboard
The InterKX was sold bundled with server machines in 2000, then later on they re-released it standalone as the Business Full Keyboard.

Yahoo Auctions is definitely your best bet. They pop up every now and then and sell for around the 20,000 JPY mark or higher depending on the condition. Mine is brand new :D

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