Tell me your first keyboard!

[seebart]

Is that a track ball on the keyboard...Epic.

You like Trackballs...?

Spoiler:

IMGP4993.JPG (956.43 KiB) Viewed 6644 times

[PollandAkuma]

My first "keyboard" keyboard is Poker II MX clears from the Vanman himself.

Yes Johan Liebert....I predicted as much.

Monster is the best anime ever! But I digress.

[roxsteady]

I really like those coloured keycaps. Are they the ones that Unicomp now sells?

If they are not, where did you buy them?

I had the standard variant with the gray caps and trackball, this image is a reference as I sadly no longer own the keyboard. But to answer your question, both the colored keys and purple trackball in this image are from Unicomp.

[MrDuul]

My first "keyboard" keyboard is Poker II MX clears from the Vanman himself.

Yes Johan Liebert....I predicted as much.

Monster is the best anime ever! But I digress.

It really is a masterpiece nothing quite like it. It's up there with with AKIRA, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell for sure.

[PollandAkuma]

Yes Johan Liebert....I predicted as much.

Monster is the best anime ever! But I digress.

It really is a masterpiece nothing quite like it. It's up there with with AKIRA, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell for sure.

Mr. Dull, an anime fan! What a revelation!

My favourite anime is Code Geass. I've seen Cowboy Bebop, and really liked it too! I also really liked Gankutsuou. Do you read Berserk?

[gogusrl]

We're going offtopic but Code Geass always felt like a Death Note clone.

[snoopy]

My mechanical keyboard adventure started with a noppoo choc mini with mx brown.

Before that, I think I only had rubberdome crap. Can't remember exactly.

[Lord_Molvin]

My mechanical keyboard adventure started with a noppoo choc mini with mx brown.

Before that, I think I only had rubberdome crap. Can't remember exactly.

Yeah same, I went years without mechanical board.

[MrDuul]

My favourite anime is Code Geass. I've seen Cowboy Bebop, and really liked it too! I also really liked Gankutsuou. Do you read Berserk?

Never watched Code Geass the art style is unique. Berserk is a great one.

Gankutsuou is one on my list to watch this year. The art style is very cool (the hair)

We can take this to private messages to not clutter this thread.

[mr_a500]

Commodore PET 4032

Yes, same here. I loved the symbols on the keys, that you could use to quickly draw pictures on the screen. The second keyboard I used was a TRS-80 Model III (Alps SKCC) - and although the feel was probably better, I was disappointed that there were no symbols and the TRS-80 didn't have full screen editing like the PET.

[Mr.Nobody]

The first time is always special and will remain that way forever.

[mr_a500]

Is that a track ball on the keyboard...Epic.

You like Trackballs...?

I used a trackball before I even used a computer keyboard - in 1980, on the Centipede arcade:

centipede_e.jpg

...so in 1985 when I first tried a mouse, I thought it was dumb idea compared to trackballs.

[Slom]

Not the first keyboard that I owned, but one of the earliest I used:

IMG_0222.JPG (608.12 KiB) Viewed 6442 times

That's the C128 of my late grandfather. I still remember playing games on it with my cousin, good old times

[Mr.Nobody]

@slom
“That's the C128 of my late grandfather.” Wow，this surely will make some folks feel old...

[Slom]

@slom
“That's the C128 of my late grandfather.” Wow，this surely will make some folks feel old...

He did not start with keyboards

DSC01566.JPG (697.89 KiB) Viewed 6430 times

[hacourt]

My first post, hi all. I have caught the bug... so i'll be $300 in the hole in no time.

My first computer / keyboard. "BBC Model B" circ. 1982 ish.



What do you think ?

[Altis]

First keyboard in the house that I can remember was a KeyTronic E03601QL (rubber dome) that would have looked like this:



IIRC, the domes were actually really nice on it. I recall having used what I now believe to be a IBM Model F AT at a friend's when I was young though as the distinct *ping* is familiar.

First mechanical board I got was a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate (2012, Cherry MX Blue), mostly because I wanted the clicky and it was available locally. Back then, there weren't nearly as many options so it was nice to see one locally available. At nearly the same time I got a Das Keyboard Ultimate S (MX Brown, no legends) which I ended up liking more.

I still have both of those though I might sell the BW as I have too many boards and I want to try some new ones.

[GeoStreber]

The first one I typed on was a typical 90s Compaq one. I threw it away, so I don't know the article number.
The first one I bought actively was a Logitech G11, which I bought in 2006, and which is still operational to this day, however I don't use it as a daily driver (or typer?) anymore.
Now I'm on a Logitech G 710+ from which I removed the O-ring keycap dampeners.

[rich1051414]

My FIRST keyboard?

VTech-Socrates-Set-FL.jpg (155.85 KiB) Viewed 6283 times

[Alpinist]

I guess that would be the one on my AMSTRAD CPC although to be honest I only coded a few programs in it. I was mostly typing LOAD"Insert_Game_Name_Here"

I think it wasn't too bad but my memory might be playing tricks on me. I still have it at my parents. I will type a bit on it to see if it feels as decent as I remember.



My second, (and really first for all practical effects) was an ISO Apple M0118 with Orange ALPS. I loved it then and I love it now. I got an AEK II a few years later which had quite a bit of use but I would still consider the M0118 as the superior typing experience.



Still my favourite keyboard to this day. I still use it from time to time and have NOS spares (although ANSI M0116 instead of ISO M0118 as they are very hard to find NewOldStockInBox these days)

[unxmaal]

First keyboard was a Northgate OmniKey of some version. It had dip switches in the back, and, although I can find no evidence this existed, I recall its numpad having a calculator function, along with a LCD screen. Sadly, it died after a lightning strike in 2004 or so.

[Buggot]

I don't have any mechanical keyboards yet, but as I was born in the 90s I'm sure I've used a few before I really got into the hobby. I think my house still has an old Model M stored away somewhere!

[depletedvespene]

I don't have any mechanical keyboards yet, but as I was born in the 90s I'm sure I've used a few before I really got into the hobby. I think my house still has an old Model M stored away somewhere!

Go look for it and put it back into active usage, then!

[Buggot]

I don't have any mechanical keyboards yet, but as I was born in the 90s I'm sure I've used a few before I really got into the hobby. I think my house still has an old Model M stored away somewhere!

Go look for it and put it back into active usage, then!

Will do! I'm pretty sure it's there somewhere. My grandparents also have quite a few of those extremely old ones so I'll see what they are.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

My first post, hi all. I have caught the bug... so i'll be $300 in the hole in no time.

My first computer / keyboard. "BBC Model B" circ. 1982 ish.



What do you think ?

I didn't realise these made it to Canada. Of course, it depends which keyboard you got: Philips, SMK, Wongs/SMK or Wongs/Futaba.

[vometia]

I didn't realise these made it to Canada. Of course, it depends which keyboard you got: Philips, SMK, Wongs/SMK or Wongs/Futaba.

I think mine's Futaba. Slightly odd-sounding thing in that the keys clack on the way up, though all three of my early '80s home computers do the same thing, the others being an Electron (whose keyboard I actually prefer, though lots of people disliked them for some reason) and the mystery keyswitches* in my Dragon 32, which though roundly criticised in the albeit rather snobby computer press of the time feels and sounds remarkably similar.

* Hi-Teks, as you pointed out a few posts back. My memory is terrible!

[Worthless_Owl]

First mechanical keyboard i had was a Corsair Strafe with MX red. Sold it 5 months later after i discovered gateron linears at a meetup. Now i have 6 keyboard after 1.5 year in this hobby, and i think i wont stop anytime soon.

My wallet hates you guys

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I think mine's Futaba. Slightly odd-sounding thing in that the keys clack on the way up, though all three of my early '80s home computers do the same thing, the others being an Electron (whose keyboard I actually prefer, though lots of people disliked them for some reason) and the mystery keyswitches* in my Dragon 32, which though roundly criticised in the albeit rather snobby computer press of the time feels and sounds remarkably similar.!

Futaba MR-6C is the only switch where I've noticed that characteristic, and indeed it's weird. It makes typing feel lagged for me, as though my fingers are engaging in a delayed response relative to my brain. I spent hours programming on a BBC Master with ML switches—the same as in the Electron—and they seemed fine (I don't recall if they had the same sound lag) but they had poor longevity, and I've since learned that ML only has a lifetime of 3 million keystrokes! Cheap rubbish, very hard to disassemble without damage.

I didn't know that Hi-Tek High Profile/Dovetail was criticised in the press. Per [wiki]Keyboard prices[/wiki], those switch grids in the Dragon were only £10 each (the price Dragon Data paid), which was cheap for a keyboard assembly back then!

[rich1051414]

I think mine's Futaba. Slightly odd-sounding thing in that the keys clack on the way up, though all three of my early '80s home computers do the same thing, the others being an Electron (whose keyboard I actually prefer, though lots of people disliked them for some reason) and the mystery keyswitches* in my Dragon 32, which though roundly criticised in the albeit rather snobby computer press of the time feels and sounds remarkably similar.!

Futaba MR-6C is the only switch where I've noticed that characteristic, and indeed it's weird. It makes typing feel lagged for me, as though my fingers are engaging in a delayed response relative to my brain. I spent hours programming on a BBC Master with ML switches—the same as in the Electron—and they seemed fine (I don't recall if they had the same sound lag) but they had poor longevity, and I've since learned that ML only has a lifetime of 3 million keystrokes! Cheap rubbish, very hard to disassemble without damage.

I didn't know that Hi-Tek High Profile/Dovetail was criticised in the press. Per [wiki]Keyboard prices[/wiki], those switch grids in the Dragon were only £10 each (the price Dragon Data paid), which was cheap for a keyboard assembly back then!

It's a polarizing characteristic, that is for sure, but it is so unique it certifies that the board is indeed futaba.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Or Hi-Tek High Profile.