The Oracle Answers

[scottc]

Leeku PCBs come in 3000 layout too. That's kind of why I mentioned them.

[rootwyrm]

I seek.. a full size ANSI board. But no ordinary board. For I desire.. Gateron Greens! And 1.5U Windows keys. And media keys. Oh, and Cherry stabilizers. Has to be Cherry stabilizers.

Forgive me, for I have erred!
I meant 1.25U Windows keys. But hey, at least it's obvious why I'm in the market.

[fohat]

if people dared call your boards 122s even when they're not!

My ANSI-modded F-122s actually have 119 keys.

[elecplus]

What are the green switches in a Razer keyboard?

[emdude]

Those are Razer's Kaihua-manufactured Cherry clones: wiki/Razer_switch

[elecplus]

Those are Razer's Kaihua-manufactured Cherry clones: wiki/Razer_switch

Thank you! Some how I ended up with a Razer keyboard, bright green switches, missing a lot of caps, and the entire top of the case. I have seen thousands of caps walk off, but never the entire top cover!

[RatBOB]

Oh mighty Oracle, I beseech you to bestow your unlimited all-encompassing upon me.

I'm new here, but I have been lurking for a little bit.

I want a vintage keyboard. But since they don't appear to be readily available (localy) where I'm from, I am now looking into keyboards that are more available, i.e. modern keyboards.

I've searched a plenty for keyboards that I like both the look of, and the price. Each time I decided upon a keyboard some member of this forum or one over at geekhack seem to have something against it. So then I didn't want it anymore (I'm easily influenced, I guess).

Keyboards considered:

• IBM Model M: ~€90 (inc. shipping): Shipping and import as much as keyboard itself.
• Ducky Legend: €115 (inc. shipping) - €20 (gift) = €95: Has Cherry-stabs. ~4 people had additional (possible) manufacturing problems.
• Das Keyboard Model S Ultimate: €125 (inc. shipping) - €20 (gift) = €105: Nobody likes them over at geekhacks. Uncertain manufacturing standard. Disgusting shiny grease collector on top.
• CM Storm QuickFire XT: €85 (inc. shipping): Cheap, eh. Seems best choice, but only since nobody talks about them.

Requirements:

• Budget: ~€100 (~€20 tolerance)
• Switches: MX Blue
• Layout: US
• Design: Classy, non-gamey
• Backlight: Would be nice, not a necessity

I'd like convincing that I have been misled about any of the keyboards I mentioned above. But entirely new suggestions are welcome too of course!

[scottc]

You can get a Model M much cheaper than that. Someone from Europe will have one cheaper, with much less shipping and no import taxes. Just look around the classifieds.

[Wodan]

My favourite CM keyboard is the Rapid-I. Got two of them an never had any issues. Cherry stabs, 100% standard layout, micro-usb socket, sub-100€

But an IBM Model M should be more like 50-60€ if you invest some time into finding a nice one. Just got lucky yesterday on ebay.de and got a good looking one from 1988 for 60€ shipped.

[Invisius]

Oracle and anyone else with experience on this-

I'm trying to get the solenoid working on my 5251, but am unsure if the driver board is defective or the solenoid itself. It's putting out only 4-5v according to my multimeter, but it should be 9v, right? Can I quickly tap the solenoid leads to a 9v battery for testing, or is that risking damage?

If it does end up being the solenoid, will any of the ebay/Amazon 9v replacements work? The only spec I can seem to find is that they're 9 volts.

[xbill]

Please help me Oracle,

I am new here, an am in search for a new keyboard. I considered all the answers and the wiki here, but
why are there so few keyboards with white (or light colored) keycaps in production now?
I am looking for replacing my main 1991-92 keyboard (G80-3000-SAD, got it with an AMD 386 DX 40, kept the keyboard, because I liked it), which now feels like a wet sponge on the main keys after years of service with something new.
USB connection would be welcome, but my DIN5->PS/2->USB-Converter kludge works
But: I like light colored keys the most, and I could not find manynew keyboards with white/light colored keys, so the question is: Which keyboard to consider?
Needs: Light colored keycaps, not black as everything on the market right now...
Full-sized (no TKL, etc.), Backlight very much optional.
Keys: linear and silent (no clicky in the office, or my coworkers will kill me, tried it with an Model M already)
I am very much sold on the uniqey one...I think?
Silent, and with MX black? Anything else to consider? Or another G80-3000-LPCDE?
Not cheap, but after 20 years of service with my current main inut device I could spend a little...

[scottc]

I'd say just get another G80-3000. Get one in good condition, with whatever keycaps, and just put the keycaps from your SAD on it. If you get a 3000 without Windows keys, all keys will be compatible.

The reason? Cherry dye subs are probably the best MX keycaps out there. Definitely worth holding on to.

[abefyren]

Dear Oracle i need help.

I found this numpad on aliexpress.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Digital- ... c745&tpp=1

I'm currently using a 60% keyboard and I kinda miss having a numpad, so I thought this was a nice and affordable kit since have switches and keycaps already.

Problem is that the page has no info, so I was hoping someone could tell me some more about it?

Is it worth the buy or should i look for something else?

[scottc]

Seems excessively expensive. You can get MX blue clone numpads for 16 GBP from Amazon UK.

[Dra]

AMJPad with a case, seems pretty good, I just ordered one, if you can wait I'll let you know how it is

also scott, I believe it's case and PCB only, which is pretty solid, considering it's programmable and just a little bit more expensive than the Leopold FC210TP

[scottc]

Is it fully programmable? It's hard to tell from the link. A better deal than I thought then. Still, $50 seems like a lot for a numpad without stabilisers (a few euro + shipping), or switches (another few euro + shipping).

This is the alternative I mentioned, by the way: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mechanical-Num ... cal+numpad

[HzFaq]

I'd be careful about cheapy numpads, I've had a few that don't output numpad codes but numROW codes so if you have to use the numpad to enter accented characters they won't work.

[abefyren]

Yes. I was looking for something programmable, thats why I had my eyes on that one.

Dra: Sure. Not in a hurry so feel free to post me a short review when you have it.

[Dra]

well, it seems to be an AMJPad from the images, so I'm pretty sure it's programmable, the jelly comb does output true numpad codes though, but I'm not a fan of the split +

[Apocryphum]

Oh Great Oracle, I request Your help.
I'm pretty new to Mechanical Keyboard and got an Ducky Channel Shine 4 w/ MX Red. But now I want something more exotic, something new.Was looking for custom keyboard and found the White Fox and I just fall in love with it (The case especially). And there were a lot of type of switch. The Cherry MX Clear looked pretty good. But I'm hesitating with taking an HHKB witch seems to be a legendary keyboard
If I take the The White Fox assembled+the shipping cost and the tax the price is equivalent.
So I wanted You, Mighty Oracle to help me to decide between these two amazing keyboard.
Thanks!

[kbdfr]

Apparently your subconscious already made the decision for you with this typo:

an HHKB witch seems to be a legendary keyboard

The question will be whether for your subconscious "witch" has a a positive or negative connotation

[Apocryphum]

Would be both.
Heard so much good about them that I might get disappointed

[Mupo]

Hello that's my first post here and I need from you mighty Oracle, a little help to recognize the switch from that board :



Thanks

[gogusrl]

I got one of those, it's wiki/KPT-like_switch#alps.tw_Type_OC3

[raymond]

I beseech you, Great Oracle, wise sayer of sooth, knower of muchness, bestower of charity on the unworthy and not very well washed,

I know only rudimentary things about keyboards. I am looking for keyboard with switches just so: they must be like Cherry MX Browns, with just a tad less force (maybe -2.5 to -5 cN), and moving the feedback summit/activation further down perhaps .2 to .25mm.

The thing is, I don't know if this is what I want, but it seems to be, based on my experience with the Browns.

Maybe I should try out some Blues to help me get a feel for something just a little over on the other side of what I think I want? Perhaps hanging out in the Try Before You Buy forum is the right next step?

[shreebles]

Due their sharper tactility, blues are a tad heavier than Browns (despite having the same spring, the stem is slightly differnently shaped).

I didn't always go for a low actuation force but after a wrist injury I had no choice. I went for 35g linear for the first few weeks, but the low weight and lack of feedback caused a lot of errors for me.
Now I am using old Mx Brown switches with 50g springs. These are just a tad lighter than springs originally found in MX Red keyboards and seem perfect, with Cherry profile keycaps the Browns feel very precise, the tactility is enhanced.

So, in terms of answering your question, I do think that adding slightly lighter springs to MX Browns can be a great choice if you enjoy switches with a low actuation force.

However, in terms of what might be best for your situation I recommend that you take a look at other switches as well.
You're probably not going to build and mod your own keyboard if you haven't even tried all Cherry switches yet.

Try before you buy is great, or look for a keyboard meetup in your area so you can try a few boards.
Switch testers are not great because testing a switch is not the same as typing on a whole board of the switch you're interested in.

[Parjánya]

O mighty coracle, is there any JIS keyboard with cherry mx stems that's decent and happens to be affordable? I think I'll like that 4.5u spacebar.

[citrojohn]

I've come across two JIS Cherry MX boards (though there may be others): the G80-3600 and the G80-11802. Both come in other layouts too; the JIS 3600 has code LYCJA, the 11802 LPAJA.

I don't know about prices - oddly enough I was considering asking about 3600 prices myself. We'll have to hope one of the others can help...

Spoiler:

... or should I say "put in their oar"?

[amospalla]

The g80-11800 seems the good one for me for a Cherry keyboard. I can hardly find any reference to the JIS model though. I guess that won't be something used on western countries but only on Asian ones.

EDIT: I thoguth I was writing on another post I opened related to these JIS boards

[urbancamo]

Oh Oracle I'm in such a dilema.

I think I might be looking for the holy grail



TBH I think I need to compromise.
I'd like a wireless keyboard that is backlit with a reliable connection.
Even better than that dear: it would have a standard keyboard layout:

60% = FAIL
60+% (dedicated HOME/END/PGUP/PGDOWN keys) = OK
TKL = IDEAL
Full = OK

I know shock horror I'd even accept a non-mechanical keyboard (the shame of it) as this is for a 'shouldn't be on the dining table but is used by loads of family members' kind of PC.

Please help me. I may make the wrong choice. Any keyboards now entering my house must have explicit approval from the spouse. She shamed me last week on facebook by posting that she could see 13 keyboards in the attic (it would have been more but I am decidedly sneeky and she didn't see the three that were actually in use on my desk).

A thousand curtsy's to you almighty Oracle.
Yes, the cookie tastes good.
Sorry about the vase.