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

[thefarside]

Model F keyboards was referenced in an article discussing a new 8BitDo keyboard:

Customers willing to spend extra money on a more varied selection of sturdier keyboards (or those who can't give up a number pad) might want to shop at Model F Labs. The project offers accurately reproduced IBM Model F keyboards in multiple form factors.

https://www.techspot.com/news/102437-8b ... board.html

[Ellipse]

thefarside thanks for sharing that link!

[Ir0n]

Did those black keycaps with white printing ever go any where?

I haven't been on the forums in a hot minute.

[RedESC]

Did those black keycaps with white printing ever go any where?

I haven't been on the forums in a hot minute.

Think latest on that is Ellipse posting about pad printing on previous page. From my understanding the pad printing is for the black keys where dyesub doesn't really work.

[Ellipse]

Yes, they are finishing up the pad print tooling which has taken far longer than expected.

[Ellipse]

Project update:

I have just approved production of the final part, the cases, one year and a day after the official announcement of the project on 3/31/23.

The factory estimates that production and final assembly of completed inner assemblies into the cases will be completed by early May now that the cases have been approved. If they can pack everything on the container shipment by mid to late May, then by July these could start going out.

After spending many months, the factory has achieved an excellent match both to the IBM Model F original 4704 and IBM beam spring off-white/beige color as well as to my reference IBM Industrial Model M industrial gray case color. As mentioned earlier, the texture will be a smoother, slightly more modern one, much less bumpy than the (also nice) 4704 keyboard texture.

These same colors were also approved for the beam spring cases, which is why the beige color was a compromise since the IBM beige color varied noticeably among the different powdercoated Model F keyboards and beam spring keyboards in my collection.

From top to bottom: Top photo: NOS F50 (I plan on listing this for sale soon - please PM or email me if interested), approved off-white/beige sample F122 case (sample inner assembly plate not painted), IBM original beam spring keyboard. Bottom photo: approved industrial gray sample case, NOS IBM Industrial Gray Model M case.

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[RedESC]

Thanks for the update. Fingers crossed I can get one of these in time for my birthday. lol

[Ellipse]

reddit member Grianaig has posted a nice update including photos showing the classic case F62 being setup and the finished product as well. I especially like the photo of the keyboard during the keycap installation process, properly oriented vertically, spacebar end up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/modelf/comment ... _pictures/

[minimal]

Oh man, those are gorgeous! Thanks for the update and let me just put this out there: attention to detail is everything in a niche project like this. I don’t mind the wait when the results are this good.

[Ellipse]

I have just approved production and assembly of the F122 inner assembly, so now the F122 can proceed to completion.

Below are the first photos of the approved F122 keyboard!

The F122 was a trickier PCB design. Once again a big thanks to forum member wcass (the designer of the PCBs for the capacitive projects) for this huge undertaking. There was an issue where a via was too close to a key pad, which resulted in a higher signal level only for that key. wcass updated the PCB by moving the via away from the key and rearranging some of the column ordering to facilitate placement of that via.

Rico expects to have a firmware update ready in the next few days but testing with the old firmware and my testing has shown no issues with some keys being high value. Rico also came up with a workaround to add a bin for such keys, just in case the PCB could not be adjusted to put the outlier key in line with the other keys' signals.

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[RedESC]

NGL, makes me tempted to order another case in this colour so I can switch to the classic look if I wanted. Currently just got black orderd.

[thefarside]

The cases look great!

Btw Model F Labs was mentioned in an Ars Technica about the new Windows copilot key:

The 122-key keyboard layout with F23 lives on. Beyond people who still swear by old Model F and M keyboards, Model F Labs and Unicomp both currently sell modern buckling spring keyboards with built-in F23 buttons. Another reason a modern Windows PC user might have access to an F23 key is if they use a macro pad.

It sounds like Microsoft is assigning their AI key to F23.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04 ... ist-shows/

[RedESC]

NGL, makes me tempted to order another case in this colour so I can switch to the classic look if I wanted. Currently just got black orderd.

On that note. Postage for this is kinda expensive to order is as a another order. If I wanted to add on another case and maybe some more keys would there be any way to add it to the main shipment? (to avoid paying the massive postage to UK twice)

[Ellipse]

Yes, to add to an order you can place a new order and choose free/other shipping at checkout, right before clicking Place Order.

thefarside thanks for sharing this link. Glad to see the new F122 being mentioned!

[RedESC]

I have just approved production and assembly of the F122 inner assembly, so now the F122 can proceed to completion.

Below are the first photos of the approved F122 keyboard!

The F122 was a trickier PCB design. Once again a big thanks to forum member wcass (the designer of the PCBs for the capacitive projects) for this huge undertaking. There was an issue where a via was too close to a key pad, which resulted in a higher signal level only for that key. wcass updated the PCB by moving the via away from the key and rearranging some of the column ordering to facilitate placement of that via.

Rico expects to have a firmware update ready in the next few days but testing with the old firmware and my testing has shown no issues with some keys being high value. Rico also came up with a workaround to add a bin for such keys, just in case the PCB could not be adjusted to put the outlier key in line with the other keys' signals.
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Forgot to ask, now that you got it fully assembled how heavy is the finished product?

[Ellipse]

Nice seeing everyone at yesterday's NYC meetup! The meetup was completely sold out and over 150 people attended. I brought the approved Classic F104, Classic F77, and Round 2 beam spring keyboard for everyone to try out.

[genericusername57]

Nice seeing everyone at yesterday's NYC meetup! The meetup was completely sold out and over 150 people attended. I brought the approved Classic F104, Classic F77, and Round 2 beam spring keyboard for everyone to try out.

Any more pictures or videos of the R2 beam spring board available?

[Ellipse]

Yes, I have just posted some on the beam spring thread.

[Ellipse]

Someone let me know that the New Model F project was mentioned in the Shift Happens book on keyboards! This is a very interesting project to document the various keyboards that have been made.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mw ... ft-happens

[depletedvespene]

The cases look great!

Btw Model F Labs was mentioned in an Ars Technica about the new Windows copilot key:

The 122-key keyboard layout with F23 lives on. Beyond people who still swear by old Model F and M keyboards, Model F Labs and Unicomp both currently sell modern buckling spring keyboards with built-in F23 buttons. Another reason a modern Windows PC user might have access to an F23 key is if they use a macro pad.

It sounds like Microsoft is assigning their AI key to F23.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04 ... ist-shows/

The article mentions how that "Copilot" key is remappable. GOOD THING, because they took RCTRL out to put that useless gimmick in?! Microsoft needs a very stern talking to.

Sadly, the guide the article points to explains how to remap this atrocity by pointing to... AutoHotKey. So, not actually remappable by itself.

[Ellipse]

Some good progress from the factory as they wrap up Round 2 Model F production:

Here is a photo of the die cast aluminum cases waiting to be powdercoated:

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The factory also reports that the boxes have completed production. Two production box photos are below. As a reminder, the box design has been updated to be a folding box design to be closer to the design of the original IBM Model F XT and AT keyboard boxes instead of the prior boxes which were designed to be like the IBM Model M boxes. The artwork is just about unchanged except for the keyboard names.

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[RedESC]

Thanks for the update. Kinda curious, how many of each colour you got on order?

[applehugger]

I absolutely love the design of the new F122s. It fixes all of the usability issues with the original 122s - some separation in the banks of F-keys, an inverted-T nav, and an Esc key. I ordered the Ultra Compact 104 last week so still have never tried a Model-F, but the F122 is really calling to me even though I don't have space on my desk for one

A Model M 122 was the first keyboard I ever restored - screw-modded it, converted it to USB, and dyed the top of the case black. The imposing behemoth is quite impressive!

[RedESC]

I absolutely love the design of the new F122s. It fixes all of the usability issues with the original 122s - some separation in the banks of F-keys, an inverted-T nav, and an Esc key. I ordered the Ultra Compact 104 last week so still have never tried a Model-F, but the F122 is really calling to me even though I don't have space on my desk for one

A Model M 122 was the first keyboard I ever restored - screw-modded it, converted it to USB, and dyed the top of the case black. The imposing behemoth is quite impressive!

Currently using a M122, great board once you have got used to the layout, looking forward to the model F upgrade. Currently got my M122 modified to allow integration with home assistant. Intending on doing that with the F122 as well once I have one.

[applehugger]

Currently using a M122, great board once you have got used to the layout, looking forward to the model F upgrade. Currently got my M122 modified to allow integration with home assistant. Intending on doing that with the F122 as well once I have one.

Yes, I used mine as my daily driver for several months. That was when I had a bigger desk lol. I'm very excited to try out the Model F Ultra Compact.

I like your idea of using Home Assistant a lot! I don't use that at my house, but it's a great idea for all of those numerous extra keys. Truth be told I don't have much use for the extras anymore, especially since we retired our old billing software at work, which relied heavily on some macros I programmed to my Model M.

[Ellipse]

RedESC I believe these were the final numbers for the first order of the Round 2 Model F keyboards:


Classic F104 900

Off-White/Beige 329
Industrial Gray 236
Black 180
Silver Gray 45
True Red 39
Dark Blue 38
Light Blue 33


Classic F122 400

Off-White/Beige 122
Industrial Gray 87
Black 71
Dark Blue 40
Silver Gray 29
Light Blue 28
True Red 23


Classic FSSK 400

Off-White/Beige 109
Industrial Gray 71
Light Blue 70
Black 54
Dark Blue 40
True Red 31
Silver Gray 24
Uncoated 1


Potential sound reduction mod:

I was recently made aware of a mod to reduce high frequency sounds for keyboards with large PCBs underneath all the keys:

I don't recommend this but would someone tape over or under a capacitive Model F keyboard's PCB? Or maybe that would affect capacitive sensing or do other damage.

Could something non-adhesive be used if it is thin enough? Maybe like an ultra thin silicone sheet (as thin as 0.1mm) or painter's tape as shown in the above video?

[Ellipse]

It is a great honor to see that the new Classic F104 Model F keyboard has made it on Game Rant's list of "The Best Retro Mechanical Keyboards for 2024"!

https://gamerant.com/best-retro-mechanical-keyboards/

[Ellipse]

I wanted to share a report that black case Compact FSSK keyboard serial 193 has been reported stolen - everyone please do keep an eye out for it on the various marketplaces.

Also someone has recommended the following USB-C extension cable to allow for quick connections and disconnections for the classic style case keyboards. Not all USB cable heads are small enough to fit in the case so this right angle one does the job:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804448704053.html

[RedESC]

I know all we can really do about stolen keyboards is spread the word of the serial and hope the thief gets caught in trying to sell it but has anyone ever actually been caught this way yet? (obviously if it was a thief on here they'd know we were circulating the serial and just remove the serial sticker) Not really needing to know, mostly me just curious about e-drama.

[Ellipse]

Leyden Jar update:
Rico has just published the open source Leyden Jar diagnostic tool. Now all the project files are ready for future development work to add support for additional keyboards, maybe even non-Model F / beam spring keyboards!

https://github.com/mymakercorner/Leyden ... ostic_Tool

RedESC yes, at least one board did end up being returned which was listed on eBay. The seller was a third party that did not realize the provenance and was fully cooperative. Even if the serial is defaced that would be a giveaway that the board is suspect. I log who gets each serial so I can confirm the board is ok. Some people thankfully have been contacting me to check that a particular listing is legit.

I believe here is the list of currently lost/stolen keyboards, though it may not be 100% correct:
F62 110
F62 127
COMPACT F77 72219** (last two digits hidden for privacy)
F77 1142
F77 225
F77 1155
F77 1849
F77 208
COMPACT F104 11
COMPACT FSSK 193

Types of keyboards to look out for if the serial is not pictured (another key set from what is listed below may have been substituted):

Compact FSSK Black


Compact F104 Black
Regular printed key set (US ANSI layout)


Classic F77 Split Right Shift and Split Backspace Layout
Industrial Gray
Regular printed key set (US ANSI layout)


Classic F77 Standard (ANSI or ISO) Layout
Black


Classic F62 Split Right Shift and Split Backspace Layout
Black
Black Unprinted (ANSI Enter - no ISO Enter)


Classic F77 Split Right Shift and 2U backspace Layout
Industrial Gray
Regular printed key set (US ANSI layout)


Classic F77 ANSI Layout
Industrial Gray
Regular printed key set (US/ANSI layout)


Compact F77 ANSI Layout
Black
Regular printed key set (US/ANSI layout)