Any interest in a 55g HiPro?

[XMIT]

At home, I've got a 55g Realforce 87U 55g board, and a HiPro.

I'm considering selling the HiPro with 55g domes, using those for the 87U which I would keep. The HiPro would have 45g domes on the keypad and 55g everywhere else.

Does anyone here have experience with a 55g HiPro? I'm wondering if this is even worth my while. Dome swaps do take a little while after all. But the 87U is not available in uniform 45g at all!

This is not a "sale" thread. I'll post a formal sale thread if I decide to proceed with the sale.

[Muirium]

Are you sure the HiPro is 55g? I thought Topre defaulted to 45g for everything besides the 55g Realforce.

[chzel]

Read again Mu, XMIT wants to swap domes from the Hipro to the 87u to make a 45g 87U. And a 55g Hipro.

[XMIT]

Read again Mu, XMIT wants to swap domes from the Hipro to the 87u to make a 45g 87U. And a 55g Hipro.

Yes. This.

[Evilcamels]

I would be very interested in a HiPro w/ 55g for everything but the numpad. Depends on what you will be asking for the HiPro of course but you at least have my interest.

[Muirium]

My bad.

I wouldn't chop the domes, but I'm a purist that way. And one who lives in a part of the world where importing from Japan is the cheapest way to get a Realforce anyway; where uniform 45g models are still presumably sold.

Ever tried a silenced Topre? (Disclaimer: I have a damping rings GB. But you're not in Europe anyway, thank your gods!) Or even a 35g (or is it 30g? I always forget) Realforce? Those are delightfully light.

[XMIT]

I haven't found a tenkeyless, white (not black-on-black), uniform 45g Topre anywhere...

...I guess there is the SE0900. http://deskthority.net/wiki/Topre_Realforce . I've never actually seen one for sale, not recently anyway.

My dome swap would effectively give me an SE0900.

[XMIT]

Oh, and - I do have a set of Hypersphere's damping rings. They are phenomenal. They've turned the Novatouch from an also-ran to my daily driver at work.

[Muirium]

Indeed. Everyone who tries them in a NovaTouch gets blown away.

You might as well do the dome chop, as you've got the ingredients for precisely what you want already.

Japan is the place to find real variety in Realforces. Amazon Japan has a selection to put Elite Keyboards to shame. 002 knows more about their selection than I do, but here's a peek:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/search/ref=s ... 1446847642

This one in particular catches my eye:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000EQHU62/r ... PHQMS7FO06

An £85 Realforce. You know, instead of a £185 Realforce like we have around here:

http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/usa- ... yboard.asp

Oh, sorry, I mean £192!

[XMIT]

I got my 55g 87U through a Tenso proxy, so I already know all about amazon.co.jp or "Jamazon" as I call it.

[Muirium]

Very good! Technically, that's how I imported my HHKB as well. Customs are too effective, and downright bloodthirsty, to risk it in mail over here. Just the value of EMS shipping alone is enough to qualify it for their inspection. Bastards!

I wonder… what 30g Realforces are there to choose from at the moment? Let's see if I can summon some 002 knowledge if I say his name enough times…

[webwit]

Offtopic: So I just got a new HHKB Pro 2, and I was lazy and got it from EK, also because it allowed me to bypass paypal. Shipped by FedEx, and was waiting for the inevitable customs penalty, and... nothing. Keyboard delivered without penalty. Got lucky. My 7 year old HHKB Pro 2 (heavy use) isn't bad compared to the new one. A little bit heavier on the touch and it sounds more clunky, especially the space bar. Glossy keys after a couple of years. The texture on the new HHKB's keycaps isn't as good as the one I bought 7 years ago though. Also the old one is about 10g heavier.

[Muirium]

Ah, that's why you're after some rings. I'd compare serial numbers, but mine's a Type-S, and they're on a different sequence. Surprisingly low number in fact! My Type-S is from late 2014 but isn't much over #002500.

When are you putting one of Matteo's spacebars on it? They're an essential upgrade. Sound and feel better than the stock ABS, let alone my typical worry about spacebar shine.

[webwit]

Old one:
MODEL: PD-KB400BN
PART NO.: PA50951-1383
SER.NO.: 001668
REV.: A0
DATE: 2008-05

New one:
MODEL: PD-KB400WN
PART NO.: PA50951-1381
SER.NO.: 012149
REV.: A2
DATE: 2015-07

[Muirium]

I reckon they're being honest with those sequential serial numbers. Your two boards are 10481 apart, in 86 months. That's 122 HHKBs manufactured per month. About 4 a day. Pretty boutique!

Here's the precise skinny on my Type-S:

MODEL: PD-KB400WS
PART NO.: PA50951-1384
SER.NO.: 002544
REV.: A1
DATE: 2014-08

(I got three digits into the Model number before I gave up, put the keyboard upside down, and plugged in my Kishsaver!)

Give us another HHKB Type-S, and we can estimate how well they're doing against eachother, sales wise!

[webwit]

These two are different series btw, Blank black vs black white. Still no huge numbers I guess for whatever serie or in total. My first one was a printed white HHKB, one or two months older. Then I went colemak and blank and sold it!


My collection circa 2008. On the screen: geekhack. Just a couple of guys. No ripster. After that they fucked up the design with something orange. That's not a dildo.

[Hypersphere]

I have the "EK Edition" RF87UB45, but, as you point out, this is black-on-black (or black on dark gray per EK's description). I don't like the look of the white RF87U -- the body or the keys. I actually have a white RF87U with 45g domes on the main typing area; I used the 55g domes to make a 55g HHKB. I might be selling the home-made RF87UW45/55 at some time.

I go back and forth between my RF87UB45 and RF87UB55. Both are silenced with my rings, but the 45g board came out sounding a bit better. The 55g board ended up with a few keys that click -- a phenomenon that has been reported with the Novatouch.

It seems that there were a few refinements made with the RF87UB45 "EK Edition", such as red LEDs and improved legends (but who can read them anyway?). Beyond these advertised changes, my EK Edition board feels better than my other RFs, which has led me to speculate that some extra care was taken when putting these EK boards together. Maybe it's my imagination. It could also be that I actually like 45g domes better than 55g domes.

To get back to your question, a 55g HiPro is intriguing, but I have never tried a standard HiPro, so I have no basis for knowing if I would prefer one or the other or neither. Moreover, after becoming accustomed to silenced Topre boards, I don't think I could go back to an unsilenced one, and I think that the silencing rings might not work on a HiPro.

[XMIT]

Well, I did it. I swapped domes between my 104UG-HiPro YK2100 and my Realforce 87UW55 SE08T0. It took a couple of hours and required re-seating a bunch of springs a couple of times, including one extra time when I knocked the keyboard with my elbow. I also had to open the 87UW55 a couple of times to move some domes around.

There were some issues. On the 87UW55 two switches have LEDs at their corners: LCtrl and Scroll Lock. These require special domes, or modified domes with a corner cut out. Without the correct domes the switch action is not correct.

So, now, my 87UW55 has 45g domes everywhere except LCtrl and Scroll Lock (those are 55g), and my HiPro has 55g domes everywhere except Esc, Scroll Lock, and the number pad?

The verdict?

It's glorious.

I think the HiPro should have been a 55g keyboard from the start. Somehow it feels so much more natural with the heavier domes. The board is not as clack-y; the keys don't bottom out on the tops of the housings nearly as much. I think it suffices to say that I was going to get rid of my HiPro before, and now, I think I have a keeper.

I'll get some photos when I rip the boards apart again. I may likely do this if I get a chance to play with Hypersphere's rings for these boards.

Thanks again to jou for passing on his HiPro to me. Granted, I did pay for it, but I would have paid more otherwise.

[SL89]

I've wanted a hi pro for some time. Coming from greens I've held back because i assumed 55g hi pro was impossible without buying two boards. 45g just seems like its something I wouldn't get into, but I've never used a topre board at all. Either way I'm really glad you did the experiment I wanted to do!

If you do end up deciding to part ways with it, let me know.

[XMIT]

Sure thing, you're not the first to ask. What really drove this is a desire for a 45g 87U in the office. I think this was the right decision. It's delightful.

I'm more likely to sell the HiPro but I want to play with it some more first.

[bitslasher]

I just got a HiPro-UK (the Korean variant). I didn't get knocked with a customs penalty (got from widebasket on eBay).

It's 45g also. I think it would be much better as a 55g. I find myself accidentally pressing left home keys with my left hand as it rests above the board. I've come from 20 years on a Model M, so I never had that issue before.

I went all out getting this thing as my plan was to never spend so much on a board ever again (this is my first topre). However here I find myself wondering again... Is there a cheap source for 55g domes from a Japanese board? Been hearing how Japanese Topres are lots cheaper. Wonder if there is a suitable model that's cheap and could be a donor?

[Muirium]

Where are you? And how much was the HiPro? I have a feeling UK customs would have pounced on it, even if artfully declared, just based on the cost of shipping alone. They're real bastards!

Amazon Japan is the place to search for Japanese prices. Then Tenso to proxy them.

[bitslasher]

I'm in central US. It took only 4 days to arrive, totally shocked at that. I paid out my nose for it. But my "logic" if that's what you want to call it was "spend a little more once and save money in the long run so you won't buy more..." Like that'll ever happen, lol.

[Muirium]

Fair enough. Everyone outside Europe gets a decent customs limit anyway. I think you guys get the first $1000 free of tax. I used that when I imported my HHKB via America. No need to fiddle the declaration.

In Britain, that value is $20. Including shipping. Then it's 20% tax and a mystery processing fee of at least $12.

[XMIT]

bitslasher please put your location info in your profile!