VOGONS


Any Buckling Springs Fans on Vogons?

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Reply 80 of 84, by bhtooefr

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It's worth noting that buckling spring keys are pretty robust, and I've never felt the need for a special puller for them.

Also, Model F, Model M (except M2 and M15), and Unicomp keys are all interchangeable.

The EnduraPro's pointing stick is atrociously bad. You don't want one. (I have one.)

There's also a project to resurrect the 62 and 77-key Model Fs (from the IBM 4704 banking terminal), with an open source, reprogrammable, USB-native controller here: http://www.modelfkeyboards.com

And, as far as what I use with buckling spring on retrocomputers, I use a Model M2 on my PS/1 2121 and occasionally other computers (although I need to take it apart and put it back together, as there's an issue with the membrane contacts that appeared a while after I replaced the capacitors on the controller), and my IBM 5155 has a Model F (XT layout, of course, but with aluminum plates internally instead of steel, to reduce weight) standard.

I also use my EnduraPro at work, but that's on modern hardware. (And I don't ever use the pointing stick.)

Reply 81 of 84, by Great Hierophant

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bhtooefr wrote:
It's worth noting that buckling spring keys are pretty robust, and I've never felt the need for a special puller for them. […]
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It's worth noting that buckling spring keys are pretty robust, and I've never felt the need for a special puller for them.

Also, Model F, Model M (except M2 and M15), and Unicomp keys are all interchangeable.

The EnduraPro's pointing stick is atrociously bad. You don't want one. (I have one.)

There's also a project to resurrect the 62 and 77-key Model Fs (from the IBM 4704 banking terminal), with an open source, reprogrammable, USB-native controller here: http://www.modelfkeyboards.com

And, as far as what I use with buckling spring on retrocomputers, I use a Model M2 on my PS/1 2121 and occasionally other computers (although I need to take it apart and put it back together, as there's an issue with the membrane contacts that appeared a while after I replaced the capacitors on the controller), and my IBM 5155 has a Model F (XT layout, of course, but with aluminum plates internally instead of steel, to reduce weight) standard.

I also use my EnduraPro at work, but that's on modern hardware. (And I don't ever use the pointing stick.)

Nice build quality, but I wonder about some of the design choices. I see many elements of the original Model F, such as the chassis and key activation mechanism (metal, PCB, large plates). I also see elements of the Model M, namely the main keyboard layout and removable keycaps.

I like the idea, but I am not a fan of the layout. There is no reason why such a keyboard cannot have 103 keys, with dedicated function keys and cursor keys and numeric keypad keys. Does this keyboard support a PS/2 connection at all? It is also hard to tell what some of the options look like.

http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/ - Nerdly Pleasures - My Retro Gaming, Computing & Tech Blog

Reply 82 of 84, by bhtooefr

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It's a recreation of a banking terminal keyboard design that originally had (basically) that design (there's been a couple changes to key layouts, but IIRC the internal mechanical design is the same by default), and is now very hard to find and expensive as a result of it being uncommon back in the day. Condensed layouts are becoming very popular in the mechanical keyboard community, and this satisfies that. USB is the only option on that controller, as far as I'm aware.

Reply 83 of 84, by AlphaDangerDen

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Seems like there is a new color key set on the Unicomp website, looks very neat, to me anyway.

http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/CKSET

Reply 84 of 84, by Ace

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I absolutely LOVE buckling spring keyboards. Currently, I own two different Model M variants and am actively searching for more:

-Model M SSK (currently typing this post on said keyboard - it needs a bit of a cleaning and a new spring on the right arrow key, but it works wonders)
-Black IBM oval logo full-size Model M (this one has the ISO layout and French Canadian markings on the keys - made in Mexico)

I'd like to get my hands on a black Model M13, a Model M2 (mostly to see how it differs to the old Model M) and a Model F (admittedly, I don't like the sound of the Model F, but I'm curious to see how it feels to type on one of these), possibly even a black Unicomp Classic 104-key keyboard. Really, I'd like a buckling spring keyboard for EVERY computer I actively use for retro gaming, modern gaming and my everyday use desktop PC. It might just be a placebo effect, but I feel like I type faster on a Model M than on any other keyboard (I've used the God-awful rubber dome keyboards, a few dome with slider keyboards that just feel like glorified rubber dome keyboards and even a BTC foam and foil keyboard made for Packard Bell that feels so mushy, it feels like I'm simply pressing into a sponge) and I will pick up whatever buckling spring keyboards I can find.

Also, since AlphaDangerDen brought up Unicomp's colored key sets, is there some way to custom order an all-black keyboard from Unicomp with all the legends printed onto the keys? I like the look of their black keyboards, but I find the gray keycaps to contrast a little too much with the case.

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