F104+SSK+122+62+77+50+Ergo orders now open! New Kishsaver+Industrial Model F Keyboards

[Ellipse]

Yes wcass I think your method would work well if you do not have an original Model F style space bar stabilizer wire available.

Hypersphere feel free to order extra keys - each key is 4 units of the store item "$1 increments." I think a number of other people are interested in combinations of keys. Though for resale value maybe the whole extra set is better instead of just the selected keys - also I think ordering a full extra set of keys is probably not much more in cost.

[Mattr567]

First post of a delivery?

I consider this a milestone

[Ellipse]

Yes definitely a milestone! The inner foam started delivery last year though so that was technically the first part with custom tooling to be delivered.

Another two custom built pieces of the jig for dye sublimation arrived today. Will continue assembly and additional testing. Just need another 3-4 weeks from now for the remaining parts.

I reviewed the latest spring assembly samples today. Spring machine 2 is excellent, perfect! Only 1 bad assembly requiring adjustment out of 20 total assemblies. If all the springs are like spring 2 samples then they will likely be approved!

Spring machine 1 has 10 good and 11 bad springs so it is not approved.

Spring machine 3 needs adjustment/improvement. 14 decent assemblies and 6 not good assemblies.

[LightningXI]

First post of a delivery?

I consider this a milestone

+1 hehe

I really hope we can get this project closer to completion soon -- I'm so ready for a New Model F.

[Wingklip]

Ellipse how exactly are you pulling this all off? I've been to Shenzhen, that place is worse than a maze in a maze. How does one even find factories to make something so obscure as a model F, and for the right price for mass production? On the ground, I can't even find a single factory, let alone confidentiality and so forth.

I've only ever used alibaba. Have you got some connections or something? I'd like to get some converters mass produced.

[Ellipse]

Wing, I am planning on writing a book on the Model F journey after all the early bird orders are delivered - hope you'll consider reading it!

[pansku]

Hi Ellipse,

How much would it cost to have blanks like that in the picture for an F62 like pictured? As in grey alphas and the other keys blue.

The exact layout from my original order confimation (dated 19.3.2016 ) : Keys: International layout (pls specify which one on the checkout page)
Layout/Flipper Placement: ISO Enter (vertical enter and split Left Shift)

[Khers]

Damn! I missed my order’s third anniversary. Here’s to hoping I have the keyboard in hand by this time next year.

[Ellipse]

Hi pansku - feel free to add extra keys for $4 each (add 4 units of the store item "$1 increments" for each key). I recommend adding a full set as it's probably not much more in cost and better for resale value.

Khers my apologies these have taken the factories longer than expected. These should start going out around mid-year.

[Delirious]

Great news indeed, now that we have the keycaps after 4 years, I cant wait to get my keyboard in 2027.


Also dont forget to buy now, early bird ends by the 28th of this month

[Admiral]

Great news indeed, now that we have the keycaps after 4 years, I cant wait to get my keyboard in 2027.


Also dont forget to buy now, early bird ends by the 28th of this month

Hi. I sent you an email about updating my order. I checked my statement and it has charged me for the old order before we updated via email on Order 7052. I was also wanting to add the F62 Repair Kit. Is it okay if you cancel my order and then I can reorder with the correct stuff?

[Mattr567]

Great news indeed, now that we have the keycaps after 4 years, I cant wait to get my keyboard in 2027.


Also dont forget to buy now, early bird ends by the 28th of this month

[Ellipse]

(Admiral, replied over email)

[Khers]

Khers my apologies these have taken the factories longer than expected. These should start going out around mid-year.

No worries! I don't really care when it arrives, more so that it is up to snuff when it does.

Now, had it not been for your stream of updates, I'd have thought all hope was lost. As it is, however, I have high confidence we'll receive something rather close to the original in the end.

[mSSM]

Holy sh*t. I was following this thread for the last few years, checking every other month how progress was doing.

I just bought in, F62 with full HHKB layout, split shift and backspace. My wife doesn't yet know about this...

Important question to soothe my nerves: I have selected an Industrial Gray case with regular blank keys. Will my F62 come in the same color scheme that the F77 is advertised with? Here is the imaga from modelfkeyboards.com: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/wp-cont ... C_8541.jpg

[Ellipse]

Great mSSM, yes Industrial Gray is the same color for the F62 classic and F77 classic.

[Ellipse]

The final parts of the dye sublimation jig have completed production! They should ship in the coming days. Still waiting on the sample sublimation sheets from the dye sub shop and the custom stamped template sheets for the key sets to maximize alignment during the sublimation process. I am hoping to start sublimating full key set samples a few weeks from now.

A special thanks to Zed who has just about finished the US ANSI layout. As posted a while back, Zed has been making all the fonts for this project, making sure they are accurately representative of the early IBM Model F fonts, with some updates for the more recent Model M style keys and making them match those of the Model F.

If you'd like to see the extra/custom legends available here is a new product page showing all the options: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/product ... d-keycaps/

The factory reopens next week. The goal for the factory is to assemble some test keyboards based on my instructions, and then fully assemble and ship to me the first few hundred keyboards in March and April. Those who ordered the earliest and those with low/custom serial numbers will be going out first. Currently about 150 of the 1500 ordered keyboards are low serial.

As noted about 10 days ago, the factory is still trying to produce the spring/flipper assembly machines. Their redesigned machines' first samples showed one perfectly working machine (machine 2) and two machines that still needed work. Assembly may be delayed if these machines are not ready.

[darkcruix]

The final parts of the dye sublimation jig have completed production! They should ship in the coming days.
...
The factory reopens next week. The goal for the factory is to assemble some test keyboards based on my instructions, and then fully assemble and ship to me the first few hundred keyboards in March and April.
...

This sounds so beautiful Hopefully you won't run into any further issues, but even if, I am happy to wait for a product of a lifetime.

[zrrion]

The options for add on keys look good, only thing its missing is front legends for test, cursr, and blink on the V, B, and N keys, but that's a super minor nitpick.

[depletedvespene]

A special thanks to Zed who has just about finished the US ANSI layout. As posted a while back, Zed has been making all the fonts for this project, making sure they are accurately representative of the early IBM Model F fonts, with some updates for the more recent Model M style keys and making them match those of the Model F.

We now wait for the other national layouts in ISO... how's that coming?

[Ellipse]

I have posted a new update today on the project web site: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/blog/

"February update 2: Passed $700,000! Dye sublimation jig for the keys, spring assembly, factory reopens after holiday break"

The big update is that we have passed the $700,000 order mark this month!

depleted, those layouts are not yet ready.

Looks like the current layouts people asked for are US, UK, Danish, Swedish/Finnish, Norwegian, French, German, and a few asked for Swiss French, Swiss German, or Latin American Spanish (one each). Also a couple people wanted JIS or APL sets from Unicomp.

The goal is to make the layout legends closely resemble those of the Model M, but with the thicker XT style appearance. There will be no sublegends though, except for Front Printed F1, etc. keys in each language.

zrrion, I expect that those front legends you mentioned will be available as extras not included with the main sets, along with SysRq and Break front printed Print Screen and Pause keys.

[Ellipse]

The factory is back to work now. The videos of their latest assembled spring tests showed a 100% success rate for all 3 machines! They will be mailing the samples next week for my own testing before they can be approved for keyboard assembly.

[Ellipse]

Additional Front Printing Interest?

Please let me know if you're interested. Each front printed key would be $4, same as the other extra keys. They would all be printed black, not gray. It would just be the num pad type keys in the main block, not the other front printed keys on the below keyboards.

1391472 style:

4460.jpg (928.39 KiB) Viewed 7413 times

1392980 terminal SSK style:

122.jpg (904.08 KiB) Viewed 7413 times

HHKB style:

hhkbp2_basic_layout1500.png (158.53 KiB) Viewed 7401 times

[Hypersphere]

Yes, I might be interested in 1-3 sets in HHKB style. If there were sufficient interest, could the price be reduced for complete sets as opposed to buying individual special keycaps?

[depletedvespene]

………

depleted, those layouts are not yet ready.

Looks like the current layouts people asked for are US, UK, Danish, Swedish/Finnish, Norwegian, French, German, and a few asked for Swiss French, Swiss German, or Latin American Spanish (one each). Also a couple people wanted JIS or APL sets from Unicomp.

The goal is to make the layout legends closely resemble those of the Model M, but with the thicker XT style appearance. There will be no sublegends though, except for Front Printed F1, etc. keys in each language.

Hmmmm... seems I am that guy (where it comes to Spanish). Why am I less surprised than I should be? And should I change the asked layout to Iberoamerican?

Also, if custom keycap design isn't really finalized... perhaps 1U Tab and Back Tab keys ought to be considered for the mix.

[Ellipse]

1U Tab and 1U Back tab will be added as optional keys.

[depletedvespene]

Excellent!

[depletedvespene]

Is there a 1.25U Enter key considered, too? I mean, to fully imitate the F62's layout...

[Zed]

Is there a 1.25U Enter key considered, too? I mean, to fully imitate the F62's layout...

Ellipse must be feeling very generous of late as we have expanded the extra key offerings significantly. I will be posting some pics shortly but the answer to your question is... yes!

[depletedvespene]

Is there a 1.25U Enter key considered, too? I mean, to fully imitate the F62's layout...

Ellipse must be feeling very generous of late as we have expanded the extra key offerings significantly. I will be posting some pics shortly but the answer to your question is... yes!

Excellent. Don't be shy to PM me if you have questions about any of the Spanish layouts.