A proposal for a new SSK

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 05:38

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matt3o · 03 Dec 2013, 08:20

great project M'er. thanks for sharing. Just for the sake of conversation... I would like to see a slimmer case with less wasted space on the sides and a function row closer to the alphas.

Also I do hate USB hubs on keyboards, but that's a personal thing. As you say, wireless would be bliss of course. Also the position of the caps lock LED doesn't drive me crazy.

Daniel Beardsmore · 03 Dec 2013, 09:36

What's wrong with having integrated USB hubs? It gives you somewhere to connect additional keyboards without needing the bulk of an actual hub :-) (Though in the image, the positions are a little bit obscured from easy access.)

On the other hand, I use the Windows key extensively.

matt3o · 03 Dec 2013, 10:10

it's just a personal preference, I understand many likes USB ports on the keyboard but:

- a keyboard should do the keyboard, period

- 99% of the times the USB hubs on keyboards are badly implemented (low amperage)
- a well implemented hub on a keyboard would draw unnecessary power
- I have 2 usb ports on the front of the PC, half a dozen to the back, 4 on the monitor... (heck I don't need more)
- usb ports on keyboards tend to be ergonomically wrong (always on the wrong spot)

CeeSA · 03 Dec 2013, 10:13

I like USB hubs in the LCD. Because there you got full power with their own power supply.

I would like to have a slimmer case like matt3o and detachable cable (with cable management).
At my wishlist would be a track point and a programmable controller.

matt3o · 03 Dec 2013, 10:23

oh programmable controller. fuck yeah!

7bit · 03 Dec 2013, 10:38

I want a 122 key Model F with springs in all switch positions, in industrial grey and black square label, please!

Findecanor · 03 Dec 2013, 10:47

I think that the case should also include:
- Detachable cable. Either (large) USB B, or micro USB B.
- Cable channel for routing the cable left, right or centre. I think that a cable channel for a Model M should allow the cable to come out at the classic position.
I think that I may have seen a Model M with a cable channel, but I am not sure - might have merely been a lookalike from another manufacturer.

I agree that a USB hub is not necessary. My monitor has a powered USB hub, and it has a power cable anyway while I don't want a power cable to my keyboard - I would prefer a single cable to the keyboard.
There are keyboards that instead of hubs have pass-through for USB, so that the single port can be adequately powered. Sometimes there is also passthrough for headset - I have not tried such a keyboard, but I find it interesting.
A cable on the side would be mostly in the way - remember the Macintosh keyboards did not have their ports on the side but actually on the back only facing sideways.

I think that the perfect width of a keyboard's case border is either 1/2 or 1 key-units, and uniform. The Unicomp "space saver" (not TKL) has 1/2 wide side and back borders and 1 unit front border. A uniform 1 unit border for both front, back and sides would be best for this keyboard, I think.

Muirium · 03 Dec 2013, 10:48

I like the Apple Extended II style of your sweeping case design. Anyone ever TKL mod one of those?

But I do wonder if there's enough space for the full buckling spring mechanisms. Have you worked on the inside too?

Findecanor · 03 Dec 2013, 10:53

M'er Forever wrote:I would like to see NKRO (at least up to the 6KRO limit of USB protocol) and this could be provided by using capacitive switches like in the Model F (I believe, correct me if I'm wrong) and this would eliminate the challenge of mounting isolation diodes on the membrane circuit.

Another option for 6KRO/NKRO would be to let the back membrane be a semi-rigid PCB, like the one in the Model F, only with surface-mounted diodes on it. The diodes could be placed so that they are in spaces under the barrel plate and with matching holes in the top and middle membranes. Or, alternatively, surface-mounted on the back of the PCB.

Muirium · 03 Dec 2013, 10:58

Findecanor: 2 of my Model Ms have cable management. Here is one of them:

The other is a 122 key monster terminal board, also in the thread:
http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8 ... t6407.html

My third (and currently final) Model M does not, but it's an SSK. The irony!

scottc · 03 Dec 2013, 14:37

7bit wrote:I want a 122 key Model F with springs in all switch positions, in industrial grey and black square label, please!

I'll take 20 of these.

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 17:39

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M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 17:48

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M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 17:55

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M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 18:03

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M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 18:13

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M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 19:05

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Daemon Raccoon · 03 Dec 2013, 19:06

It requires a diode for each switch.

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 19:09

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Daemon Raccoon · 03 Dec 2013, 19:13

Yep, the Model F needs no diodes achieve NKRO.

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 19:24

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7bit · 03 Dec 2013, 19:43

Are these single switches that could be mounted to a mount plate, or is it one big plastic thing like the original Model F/M?

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 20:08

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M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 20:12

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mintberryminuscrunch · 03 Dec 2013, 20:38

looks like a mixture of a g80 and a model m
I like it

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 20:44

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Daemon Raccoon · 03 Dec 2013, 20:48

For reference on the AT&T. Such lovely curves.

M'er Forever · 03 Dec 2013, 20:59

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Muirium · 03 Dec 2013, 20:59

M'er Forever wrote:At one time IBM made a thinner version of the Model M, but I don't know much about it. I believe it used a low-profile version of the buckling-spring barrel frame, but need to confirm that.

They did indeed. The Model M2. Here is a shot of its barrel frame:

M2's aren't generally as highly prized for their feel (let alone longevity) as classic Model Ms. But they are as compact as the buckling spring design ever got so far.

The way the Model F senses capacitance isn't by a membrane sandwich at all. It's more like a Topre keyboard: there are sensor pads which make no physical contact with the key mechanism, and whose capacitance is altered by the nearby presence of a metal component of the moving switch. The Model F uses a metal "flip plate" (where the F name comes from, while M is for membrane) instead of the plastic foot on a Model M's spring. F's feel better to me and many who have them because of that metal flip plate. It's movement feels tighter, and has a pleasing metallic effect on the click.