Search found 77 matches
- 10 Nov 2025, 18:10
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
- Replies: 6
- Views: 618
Re: New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
Please update to the latest firmware that was released this month: https://github.com/mymakercorner/vial-qmk/releases
Having re-read the section of the manual, it seems updating from Linux should be possible but the link above contains only the firmware, not the tools. The download from the ...
- 07 Nov 2025, 14:28
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
- Replies: 6
- Views: 618
Re: New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
I did look at the link for the firmware. This is obviously not specific to the New Model F so I also went to read the relevant section of the manual. I may have been a bit tired but it will take a second read, at least, to work out what I am supposed to do.
Using a motherboard mounted USB port is ...
Using a motherboard mounted USB port is ...
- 29 Oct 2025, 13:25
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
- Replies: 6
- Views: 618
Re: New, Compact Model F: Thoghts and Tilting the Keyboard
But that is the nature of buying such a specialised device manufactured in such a small run. I take it overall, you are impressed with your New Model F?
Yes, I have been pleased with it and use as my usual keyboard.
It has, in the last couple of days, started to behave strangely, though.
On ...
- 29 Oct 2025, 13:13
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Anyone tell me how this keyswitch works? I am utterly confused
- Replies: 2
- Views: 183
Re: Anyone tell me how this keyswitch works? I am utterly confused
When you say the arms are not connected, do you mean the two arms for one key are not connected to each other?
I wonder if this is capacitive.
With key switches that make contact, there is the ghosting problem, where when a number of contacts are made, current can flow to a different row/column ...
I wonder if this is capacitive.
With key switches that make contact, there is the ghosting problem, where when a number of contacts are made, current can flow to a different row/column ...
- 14 Jul 2025, 13:08
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
- Replies: 6
- Views: 618
New, Compact Model F: Thoughts and Tilting the Keyboard
Much earlier in the New Model F project, I said that one reason I didn't order one was that they were not available in the, now standard, enhanced layout. They did then become available in that layout, I ordered one and it has now arrived.
They keyboard itself is absolutely excellent. Very ...
They keyboard itself is absolutely excellent. Very ...
- 15 May 2025, 01:22
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: if there is a converter that allows me to use a usb keyboard with an IBM terminal
- Replies: 1
- Views: 1498
Re: if there is a converter that allows me to use a usb keyboard with an IBM terminal
I don't think it is that simple as turning a converter around. I am not sure I remembering the names of the roles correctly, but USB has hosts and devices. Typically the host would be a PC/phone/game console etc. and be in control of the USB bus, while devices sit on the bus and respond to to the ...
- 14 May 2025, 12:38
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Model F/XT: Non-working keys - Matrix Details?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 7268
Re: Model F/XT: Non-working keys - Matrix Details?
I got the oscilloscope and a multimeter out and sat down to start testing, connected the keyboard and checked which keys were not working, and the number was now reduced to just the 'F' key. I think there may have been something affecting one of the columns but it may have been residual moisture ...
- 13 May 2025, 14:45
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Model F/XT: Non-working keys - Matrix Details?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 7268
Model F/XT: Non-working keys - Matrix Details?
I have a Model F from a PC/XT. It had been working well for quite a while but some keys were beginning to get unreliable, needing extra force to get the keystroke recognised. My theory was that some dirt had got in between the flappers and the PCB so the flapper wasn't getting close enough to be the ...
- 23 Dec 2022, 00:15
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Does anyone else feel the lack of a fullsize option ruins the Model F repro?
- Replies: 63
- Views: 25102
Re: Does anyone else feel the lack of a fullsize option ruins the Model F repro?
I have literally never encountered that criticism. :)
More often, I read reviews such as this one that describes the original IBM Model Ms as "built like a tank".
I suppose everything is relative. The Model F feels virtually indestructible. Maybe the Model M has changed over the years. The ...
- 21 Dec 2022, 20:47
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Does anyone else feel the lack of a fullsize option ruins the Model F repro?
- Replies: 63
- Views: 25102
Re: Does anyone else feel the lack of a fullsize option ruins the Model F repro?
I hope you guys are taking the piss. :lol:
I think some of the words chosen are a bit strong. It is also the case that whatever you do, you won't please everyone.
Ever tried to buy a beamspring? Or typed on a Model F? These aren’t mainstream nor are they shy of four figure price tags. There ...
- 10 Dec 2021, 18:02
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Opinions on Mechanical Keyboards
- Replies: 8
- Views: 5728
Re: Opinions on Mechanical Keyboards
One keyboard is not objectively better than another - it's subjective. People have preferences and there is nothing wrong with that and there is really no reason to care if the majority of the PC industry is aligned to your own preferences or not, as long as you can find something you like.
- 29 Nov 2021, 16:56
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: IBM Model F with Soarer's Converter needs too much power
- Replies: 9
- Views: 4822
Re: IBM Model F with Soarer's Converter needs too much power
This relates to an experience I had with my Model F XT and a converter based on a Teensy. It was connected to a KVM switch which was in turn connected to two PCs. It had been working fine for some time but one day, when I turned on of the PCs off, it started to play up with the other one - random ...
- 25 Nov 2021, 15:32
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Do the orihalcon Soarers have pull ups?
- Replies: 33
- Views: 20591
Re: Do the orihalcon Soarers have pull ups?
Yes, the converter is inside the moulding of the USB A plug. Here are some pictures:
Coeus, I just sent you a PM but can I buy one or two of those PCBs from you? ...or can you provide the gerbers? I'm not looking to sell them but just build one or two for myself.
Thanks!
The PCB in the ...
- 17 Sep 2021, 00:40
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: IBM Model F XT: Dirt ingress and reliability
- Replies: 0
- Views: 1647
IBM Model F XT: Dirt ingress and reliability
Earlier today, I noticed a small piece of lettuce between the keys of my IBM MOdel F XT keyboard. I held the KB upside down and shook to get it to fall out, which it did, but then afterwards I found the P key had stopped working. Removing the keycap I could wiggle the spring to make it work but it ...
- 28 May 2021, 19:28
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Historical question - when did rubber domes eat the world?
- Replies: 77
- Views: 16464
Re: Historical question - when did rubber domes eat the world?
Doom was significant in making the PC a gaming computer , for the masses. Before this, the PC had been seen as only a machine for the office.
So was the spread of PCs into the home market behind AOL starting to offer access to the Internet in the early 1990s? Perhaps, after that, Internet access ...
- 28 May 2021, 18:57
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Historical question - when did rubber domes eat the world?
- Replies: 77
- Views: 16464
Re: Historical question - when did rubber domes eat the world?
I am not sure how relevant this is, but when talking about the point where the sales from clone manufacturers overtook those from IBM, by talking about proportions, it is natural to think of IBM's sales shrinking and the clone manufacturer's sales increasing but, at the beginning, I suspect this was ...
- 24 May 2021, 17:14
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Bucking Springs, worth it?
- Replies: 61
- Views: 13835
Re: Bucking Springs, worth it?
I'm sure he was referring to when they were new. However, go find an F77 or kishsaver nowadays and see how much you'd spend to get one, if you can find one. I don't think comparing an F XT is a valid comparision, as these boards are reproductions of those 4704 Model F's
Maybe the F77 or ...
- 21 May 2021, 23:04
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Availability of Soarer's converters
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4278
Re: Availability of Soarer's converters
Elsewhere on the Web I found a Trello card implying that the "Soarer" who made these has disappeared and the IP status of his converters is murky. But that was dated some years back.
If you're interested in the legality of taking his code and making a converter from it, it would obviously ...
- 21 May 2021, 22:59
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Availability of Soarer's converters
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4278
Re: Availability of Soarer's converters
Hence why I said TMK as a Soarer's alternative and mapping matrix (thus bypassing original controller and protocol) to use QMK. Never said to use QMK as converter firmware (although a friend of mine is working on porting TMK converters to QMK for the easier macros, among other things).
I did ...
- 21 May 2021, 22:55
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Availability of Soarer's converters
- Replies: 17
- Views: 4278
Re: Availability of Soarer's converters
1. Yes, but I would never buy a prebuilt one as they are overpriced trash. You can build one yourself in 5 minutes for a quarter of the price.
Some people see value is a neat thing that has been professionally assembled. Yes, it may be sold for rather more than the cost of the parts but isn't ...
- 21 May 2021, 22:43
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Bucking Springs, worth it?
- Replies: 61
- Views: 13835
Re: Bucking Springs, worth it?
The new Model Fs are incredible value for what they are, they're cheaper than the Fs of yore even before you adjust for inflation. Just because overengineered 80's tech was considered junk for a while doesn't mean it wasn't expensive to make.
I assume you mean compared to an original Model F ...
- 21 May 2021, 22:28
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Bucking Springs, worth it?
- Replies: 61
- Views: 13835
Re: Bucking Springs, worth it?
Some light on the keyboard can be helpful indeed! I only have RGB on my ZSA boards so I went a little different route to help with my vintage boards because I prefer to keep my office relatively dim overall with bright light right where I need it.
I have an IBM Model F XT and I find the KB ...
- 25 Dec 2020, 12:31
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Keyboards should include 8-bit computers in them
- Replies: 43
- Views: 14279
Re: Keyboards should include 8-bit computers in them
What I would love is a good way for keyboards to send Unicode directly to the computers they connect to rather than just keycodes....
The X Window System (X11) sends key events to applications both a keycode (to identify which physical key was pressed) and a translation, i.e. if the context ...
- 24 Dec 2020, 02:25
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Is it possible to convert an IBM Model M to Model F?
- Replies: 23
- Views: 6182
Re: Is it possible to convert an IBM Model M to Model F?
You can get very close to a standard ANSI layout.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=48786.msg1048948#msg1048948
Yes, the 122 key terminal keyboard is close but the model F version is not common and those that are around are much more expensive than the recreated model F. The Model M ...
- 19 Dec 2020, 20:58
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Is it possible to convert an IBM Model M to Model F?
- Replies: 23
- Views: 6182
Re: Is it possible to convert an IBM Model M to Model F?
Aren't those two completely different systems for signal creation? One is based on the change on capacitance due to the hammer connecting two contact plates on the PCB and the other one on closing a circuit between conductive parts on the membrane. That probably means, the electronic circuits on ...
- 04 Dec 2020, 23:27
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Too much retr0bright?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3129
Re: Too much retr0bright?
In the case of the stock photo you don't know the colour of the light illuminating it, how the camera was handling white balance or whether someone has fiddled with the colours in photo-shop afterwards.
The colour of the light does make a big difference too - in any whitish light there will be a ...
The colour of the light does make a big difference too - in any whitish light there will be a ...
- 03 Dec 2020, 21:16
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Too much retr0bright?
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3129
Re: Too much retr0bright?
...I think the ABS spacebar color matches the PBT keycaps, so that's good, but I didn't trust my memory enough to tell if the retr0brighted case looked close to original or not....
If the PBT keycaps are all the others than the spacebar then I am not sure I agree. The spacebar looks a purer ...
- 03 Dec 2020, 19:27
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Loudest keyboard out there?
- Replies: 22
- Views: 5855
Re: Loudest keyboard out there?
I wonder how many people now have hearing defects or tinitus as a result.
- 12 Oct 2020, 12:32
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Model F Technical Manual Project
- Replies: 173
- Views: 67391
Re: Model F Technical Manual Project
This is the photo I refer to in my previous post.
- 12 Oct 2020, 12:30
- Forum: Keyboards
- Topic: Model F Technical Manual Project
- Replies: 173
- Views: 67391
Re: Model F Technical Manual Project
I opened the larger version in evince and it is working fine for me. I did notice that the first photo in the "Photos of Brand New Models" looks quite distorted - the the one that says it is just a placeholder. Note that the front edge appears to be curved when I assume it is straight and whole ...