The Oracle Answers

[DGMurdockIII]

can we try to get back to the original purpose of the thread

[Muirium]

No!

[luckynet2]

ive been reading a few pages back, and the oracle has not been answering anything, i wonder where could he be?? any ideas guys??

[seebart]

ive been reading a few pages back, and the oracle has not been answering anything, i wonder where could he be?? any ideas guys??

On holiday!

[The Keyboard Oracle]

The Keyboard Oracle has decided: The Oracle hath left paths to be creat'd by his parampara disciples; the paths are not ready-made and are just liketh the sky: the birds flyeth, but they don't leaveth any footprints.

[seebart]

Like I said, on holiday.

[Muirium]

Sometimes the Oracle answers. But mostly it's just us proles. A spectre keeps a pretty busy calendar in keyboard Valhalla. You should see the nightlife.

[Muirium]

Here's a nice set of visuals:

http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/keyc ... t=bookmark

As for what is optimal? Opinion varies. Hell, hands vary too. That's ergonomics for you. I'd say try experimenting for yourself to find what suits you.

I like SA profile as they are now, on a simple flat plate. But I've broad hands and a floating typing style that is quite forgiving. Curved backplate buckling spring is indeed better, so I'd like to see SA and DSA on curves. But then again the keyboard housing gets so much thicker…

[KRKS]

Oh mighty Oracle

I'm looking for a cheap TKL with MX Browns, and bells and whistles are neither a necessity or a problem. Is Ozone Strike Battle a good purchase(I can get it here cheaper than CMStorms)?

[gogusrl]

There was a thread about a alpha version pcb with split spacebar and a mouse scroll wheel in the middle. where is it ?

[HzFaq]

qHack?

http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/qhac ... ilit=qhack

[gogusrl]

that's the one, thanks.

[Jimmy54669]

Hi does someone know what switches the Loewe TBT 01 uses? I only found the tbt02 that uses some weird switches and the tbt04 with cherry mx


http://www.ebay.de/itm/BTX-Tastatur-Dia ... true&rt=nc

[Madhias]

Oh mighty Oracle, enlighten us and speak through a fellow member with Cherry keyboard knowledge!

Beside getting a Leku 3000 PCB for a G81 keyboard, what other options are there to get a PCB with or for 'normal' Cherry switches? Are there cheap G80 ANSI boards out there, like the 3000 series, which one could buy just for the PCB?

[photekq]

Oh mighty Oracle, enlighten us and speak through a fellow member with Cherry keyboard knowledge!

Beside getting a Leku 3000 PCB for a G81 keyboard, what other options are there to get a PCB with or for 'normal' Cherry switches? Are there cheap G80 ANSI boards out there, like the 3000 series, which one could buy just for the PCB?

Winkeyless ANSI 3000 G80s are pretty hard to come by actually. Honestly, if you just care about the PCB you could try taobao. I'm sure there's something relatively cheap there.

Be warned : All G80-3000s are 2KRO! Unlike the 1000 series there are no exceptions (that I know of).

[gogusrl]

what winkeyed cherry models come with nkro ? the only one i know off is the raptor k1. Preferably standard layout (ISO/ANSI) no 11900 / 8000.

[Madhias]

Winkeyless ANSI 3000 G80s are pretty hard to come by actually.

That's what I thought. Thanks for the answer! The Oracle truly speak through you! I have two options then: wait for kin25s package, or send the TaoBao agent some work!

[Muirium]

For what it's worth: not all 2KROs are alike. My "Latin" G80-3422 LAMIT is laid out well enough inside that I can chord mods like usual and not encounter ghosting. Just like an SSK. Alas, my 122 key Model M is a whole other story, despite all these boards being 2KRO. Rollover is measured in the worst case.

[Merlijn]

I want to buy my last keyboard, any suggestions?

Been typing on MX Blues for the last couple of years and now I want to have a new (and better?) feeling.

[Muirium]

Describe what you want. Or we'll punish you with Cherry MY!

[Merlijn]

Well, thats kind of the problem. I don't really have any possibility of testing out more switches so I can't really tell you what I would want. One thing that is bothering me a bit with MX Blues that I have to bottom out before going to another key. So I would want a switch that needs less time to bottom out. Though, I do love the tactile feedback. From what I have read and heard, the Topre keyswitch might be something I'd like so I am currently looking at that.

[Muirium]

Yeah, my two favourites are Topre and buckling spring. (Actually, my overall favourite is the late 70s / early 80s IBM beamspring but let's not get into that!) Topre has the tactility you want. While buckling spring has the click.

Because you're used to blues, both of them will feel refreshing because you don't get that messy trapdoor of a tactile bump that MX does. Topre doesn't snap at all, it's entirely smooth and fires near the top. Buckling spring has a sharp tactile snap, right where it clicks, but it's most of the way to the bottom.

I mostly bottom out on both of them! Topre is easier to type real light on. Buckling spring, well, I always go the distance. But there are plenty of people who commend it because you don't need to bottom out there either.

Naturally, Topre's quite expensive. But so is buckling spring if you want a TKL. If you're in Europe you could try joining 002's Realforce tour. Ah, I see you already know it. Add your location to your profile in any case!

[Merlijn]

I am aware of the cost of Topre but I'd rather buy an expensive board from the first time which will last me, instead of first trying out other cheaper variants. For now it seems to me that the Realforce 87U is actually a perfect fit for me. The HHKB's layout seems a bit daunting for me so I guess a TKL is a nice middleground.

[Muirium]

Sounds like you found your answer! The 87U is an excellent board. And holds its value well if you choose to sell it too.

The only people who should try an HHKB are those (like me) who fall in love with it on first sight. 60% is not for the faint of heart.

[Elk]

Oh mighty Oracle

I'm looking for a cheap TKL with MX Browns, and bells and whistles are neither a necessity or a problem. Is Ozone Strike Battle a good purchase(I can get it here cheaper than CMStorms)?

I just bought one in MX brown, because of the price... what I think so far :

# The good :

- Can be had for around 80 euros here.

- LEDs don't flicker at any intensity level (unlike Duckys which are PWM-controlled).

- WIN keys can be locked.

- The software allows you to make macros from a single keypress (like "rm -rf / <enter>").

- The logo above arrow keys can be effectively removed with acetone without touching the underlying materiel.

# The bad :

- The stabilizers are not properly fastened and move around when the key is pressed, making annoying noises (on backspace, enter and right shift, on my ISO model). Glue helps a little, but it still doesn't sound as solid as a Filco.

- The chassis is relatively tinny.

- Fonts on the LEDs are borderline unreadable and caps are thin... me not like. Must be thrown away.

- Software is bugged and each time you start your machine, LEDs will light on and off and change intensity.

- Macros can only be programmed to a specific set of keys (5).

# The ugly :

- DSA profile caps don't fit on the key witch have stabilizers (backspace, enter, right shift), except space. I'm waiting for a set of SA keys to confirm if they fit.

- The printscr LED stays illuminated at full power all the time...

[Muirium]

Well, that sounds perfectly horrible. 80 Euros isn't chump change, I'd say keep the money aside for a better board. Or indeed a used board. Because those problems are much worse than you'll typically find in a second hand mech.

[Elk]

Horrible is maybe a little bit overstated, but I would certainly advise to get a second-hand Filco, led-less Ducky or WASD instead -- unless one really like LEDs, in that case I would be a poor advisor of what to choose.

This one, I'll be modding it and see how much punishment it can take before breaking.

[BiNiaRiS]

in my dreams the keyboard oracle is ripster.

[Muirium]

in my dreams the keyboard oracle is ripster.

Spoiler:

[shreebles]

Image link missing or down.
EDIT: It works now, strange