Beam Spring 104+SSK Reproduction Project! First Batch In Stock, Shipping early next year after New Model F Project

[Ellipse]

Yes, it would be in the current B122 shipment

[Green Maned Lion]

With regards to the review Joe posted of the Beamspring, "this is the end of my keyboard journey."

I mean, I have an IBM F122 and in some ways I feel it is the end of my search for a daily driver at home where I can trust the environment to not destroy it (as opposed to my van, where I absolutely trust the environment will destroy it), although I am still anxiously awaiting the B122, I suspect it will end up in the keyboard drawer underneath my F122 where my second keyboard sits (it is currently occupied by a Lexmark M5); it might be reversed. That keyboard serves as something my wife can type on; not being a touch typist, my main keyboard's unique layout, odd buttons, and Hebrew/Russian/English/front-print Option codes key legends confound her.

But end of their keyboard journey? I've thought I was at the end of my keyboard journey when I bought a pair of Cherry switch Keychrons; when I bought a pair of Unicomp New Model Ms; when I bought a pair of IBM M122s (I now own 5 IBM type Is, 4 Unicomp IO 122s, and a Type I/Unicomp IO 122 hybrid), and so forth. Variety is part of this hobby, so don't make me laugh!

[Ellipse]

Sharing with permission some more feedback (and a photo) on the new B104:

"Shipping to [Europe] went perfectly fine, only one module was broken and one more needed reseating on arrival. MT3 keycaps fit the stems without an issue (see attached photo), software-wise the setup was a breeze. Hardware-wise, well, could definitely have been easier but I succeeded despite having hardly any prior experience assembling keyboards, so I guess it could have been significantly worse as well. The keyboard feels and sounds glorious, as expected, thank you once again."

B104 MT3 - Copy.jpg (1.78 MiB) Viewed 471 times

[dodddummy]

@Green Maned Lion,

"But end of their keyboard journey? I've thought I was at the end of my keyboard journey when I bought a pair of Cherry switch Keychrons; when I bought a pair of Unicomp New Model Ms; when I bought a pair of IBM M122s (I now own 5 IBM type Is, 4 Unicomp IO 122s, and a Type I/Unicomp IO 122 hybrid), and so forth."

I do think it's at the end of my keyboard journey. At least at the end of me buying new boards. I suppose I'll pick up any decent second hand board I see for $10 or less until the day I die. So far that's included 6 model Ms, and various Corsairs, boy do their keycaps fit loose, a few Ducky and a slew of the cheaper ones. All together, it's more than 30 boards; Only paid more than $10 for the original F122($400) and one of the Ms. While that's just a start for a hoarder like me, I expect the B122 will be the last board I pay more than $10 for. I guess I'll have to adjust that for inflation.

As it happens, I'm typing this on the latest find, $5 Corsair k95 with those speed switches. Such a light touch, with those.

[dodddummy]

I should have known that's what this trippy teaser was for but I only watch half of it over the weekend. Looks I cut it just before the reveal.

"Looks like chryosran got his beamspring https://youtu.be/yQ3RS8C3DdM?si=Ai1crTd3J709D-UV . Looking forward to the review!"

[primus]

Guys, there is no end to the keyboard journey! I also thought Topre was my endgame when I first tried it, yet here I am with an Unicomp mini M, an order for an FSSK and possibly a BSSK in the future as well. I need to try out alps as well. There are lots of other stuff as well in the MX world and lots of interesting vints to try. It's safe to say I won't run out of stuff to try anytime soon!

[Green Maned Lion]

The truth is, if you're obsessed by keyboards, you are obsessed with tactility of one kind or another- the way things you regularly use feel or sound. You'll always be interesting in trying out something that feels interesting or different for one reason or another.

[dr_xadium]

Just wanted to follow up as a customer of both the Model F and the Beamspring keyboards (both of which I love) -

There really is no comparison between the two when it comes to keyfeel - as revolutionary as I felt the F was coming off using a Model M for years, the Beamspring is just as well another quantum leap forward in tactility and feel, especially with the Solenoid on and tuned to preference. I had to switch to a computer using the F the other day after a few weeks of using the beamspring exclusively, and I could immediately tell the difference. The F feels much lighter to the touch whereas the beamspring feels like it has an amazing hybrid of the "Creamy thock" some enthusiasts want with satisfying mechanical feedback thrown in. Just as the poster above said, for me it really is my endgame keyboard and WELL worth the wait.

[cap]

I recently received my B104 to add to my arsenal of reproduction Model F keyboards. I need to do some basic key remapping on the Beamspring (MacOS 26 Tahoe), and I encounter two blockers. I figured I'd encounter other user reports of these same problems, but I've read all (of this thread) after people started receiving their keyboards, and didn't see anything.

(1) Vial, my preferred route to keyboard remapping. Vial has trouble starting if and only if the B104 is connected to the computer. There are Python errors that show in a graphical popup window. Once I click away several errors, I can use Vial to manipulate the F104 as usual, but it shows a blank canvas where the key layout would be when the B104 is selected. I haven't dug to the bottom of this. I've downloaded the latest precompiled Vial for MacOS. There is no problem if only my F104 is connected, or only my F77, or even F104 + F77 (all combos work unless the Beamspring is plugged in).

(2) Karabiner Elements (workaround for Vial not working). This works fine if only the B104 is connected. But when both B104 and F104 are connected (I want this), then Karabiner Elements seems to see both as one single keyboard. Key mappings I set in the device-specific area affect both keyboards. Is it because both keyboards use the same vendor ID and product ID?

Do I need to flash new firmware to the B104? I can do that but haven't yet wrapped my head around all the steps. Is there a special build of Vial needed? I haven't seen any mention of that.

[Ellipse]

cap it seems like an issue with the Vial program on Mac; do your other Vial-enabled keyboards work, like your F104? Maybe both cannot be plugged in at the same time. Maybe disconnect your F104 and only leave your B104 connected, then restart the computer and try again. If that doesn't work, you may want to submit an issue to the Vial github.

For testing you could also just use Rufus to boot a free Windows 11 "Windows to Go" trial iso onto a USB memory key. I have had no issues with Vial. You could also not use the Vial program and use a Chromium-based browser on Mac. Go to the web site vial.rocks

New firmware will not fix this issue but I recommend updating as there are always fixes in Rico's firmware updates.

[cap]

I didn't know about vial.rocks. It really does rock. The website version lets me configure both the B104 and the F104. Both are connected simultaneously, and keymaped to my preferences. Thank you!

I won't try to debug the Mac desktop version of Vial, for now.