HHKB refresh in 2019?

[the_marsbar]

I’d be really surprised if it comes with a PBT spacebar. I hope I’ll be able to tell before Christmas...

[Muirium]

Where are you buying it from? Uh, no reason…

[the_marsbar]

I have a friend in Japan that helped me get it. It should be on it’s way.

[adhoc]

Which one do you want, Mu, and which one did you get marsbar?

[Muirium]

Which one do you want, Mu?

The expensive one, predictably!

There’s a black Type-S now? Ungh… filthy, unright, taboo temptation engage.

I’ve always felt my second HHKB should be the smart, black model. Now they’ve put All The Words across the top, I’m even more convinced. See, I even bought a second white dye sub set with my original HHKB. The idea? To go on a black body.



I briefly tried a regular black HHKB pro 2 once upon (it’s the one with the M0110 among DT’s banners) and I was right about how the black on black legends would annoy me. So I’m all set really, I even got a spare white Matteo PBT spacebar so I wouldn’t need to worry about that (excepting madness with the stabs).

While I like the Topre sound, I’ve actually damped my Realforce, as I like it even better with some softness on the upstroke. Blame it on the NovaTouch, which needed that so badly. A regular, undamped HHKB would be my loudest Topre, and I don’t want that in a portable board I’m likely to use in all the wrong places! My white Type S has stealthy magic, on which I’ve come to depend.

[the_marsbar]

Smart move! My black Pro 2 has white lettered keycaps - I really like how it looks.

[adhoc]

Interesting. I've had all of the variations of HHKB (all keycaps, all boards, and naturally I also tried all of the combinations you get from this) and I honestly prefer the blank non-type S HHKBs. So I'm interested in the classic, blank variant. But I'll wait it out for a few reviews.

[Muirium]

If the Hybrid type S really is available in black + blank, then that’s the one I’ve a hankering for. (The media shown so far, the website most of all, bamboozles me.) Lettered blacks aren’t something I have use for, though blank blacks could be quite dashing in their own way.

Ultimately, I just really love dye sub Helvetica legends done right. Which is to say on white. So I’m glad I have that fallback!

Now, the real trouble is getting the damn thing into Customs Fortress Britain. I’ll best be patient, I guess. Though the way the pound is going, yet again, maybe not!

[adhoc]

Scotland, you meant Scotland, right?

How are you dealing with the battery pack tumor growth? Have you told yourself it’s not THAT ugly enough times?

[the_marsbar]

How are you dealing with the battery pack tumor growth? Have you told yourself it’s not THAT ugly enough times?

1) It’s smaller than on the BT.
2) I’m willing to accept it because of the wireless convenience.
3) As far as I know it can be removed, so in principle one could use it without the batteries and hump, just with the USB cable.
4) I’d like to investigate if the batteries can be replaced by maybe a rechargeable one, to avoid the hump altogether.
5) It can be used via USB, which the BT couldn't as far as I'm aware?
(6) Three is just a nice number.)

Type-S made me really interested in the end. I prefer it to whatever aftermarket dampening options exist.

[adhoc]

All 3 of my Type S HHKBs whistled. Does noone else have an issue with that?

[the_marsbar]

What do you mean?

[adhoc]

Some of the keys make a wooshing / whistling sound on the down stroke because the rubber o rings have too tight tolerances. Maybe there’s another reason for it, that’s my guess, but they do make a low pitched whistling noise.

[the_marsbar]

I haven’t noticed such behavior, and to be honest I still don’t quite understand. Whistling is not low-pitched in my book...

Also, I would be surprised about any high-pitched sounds, because normally I’m the type of person that complain about coil whine from power a power supply.

Do you have a recording of it?

[Muirium]

Scotland, you meant Scotland, right?

Nope. I meant what I said:

Now, the real trouble is getting the damn thing into Customs Fortress Britain.

When anything from outside the EU (or, come January, inside the EU too!) ships here to Scotland, if it’s declared over £15 or they reckon it should be, it’s intercepted by customs in England. Likely some Indiana Jones like warehouse / parcel detention centre down in Luton or someplace near enough Heathrow. There’s no way to go down and talk to them. They just send you the bill. Your options: cough up whatever figure they’ve contrived (it’s never, ever just 20% of what you paid) or they can return or destroy it for you at their leisure.

This is one of the many reasons I’m not happy with the whole current UK state of affairs. Being a region in someone else’s country is horseshit.

[_PixelNinja]

I kinda hoped for MX stems, it didn't happen and I am not even mad about it.

During the Shenzhen meetup:

Q: Will HHKB be native MX caps compatible in the future?
PFU: Yes! In the next or next next generation of HHKB, depends on users’ feedbacks

I haven’t noticed such behavior, and to be honest I still don’t quite understand. Whistling is not low-pitched in my book...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRW2lhPsEXA

[the_marsbar]

OK, so I just received my HYBRID Type-S. A few initial observations:
1) No more creaking. This case is solid compared to the Pro 2!
2) The spacebar is MUCH quieter than on a previous-gen Type-S. Seriously, this makes a huge difference.
3) Also, I'm not sure if the spacebar is still ABS. It's certainly of a thicker material, and it feels more sandpaper-like...
4) The keyboard roof is cool, but I don't think I'm ever going to use it.
5) Being able to pair with up to four devices and quickly switch between them is really hand for multi-device use. Now I may actually not need two HHKBs on my desk at once (although it looks cool...).
6) The keyboard can now also be powered by an iPhone/iPad via USB, which I think is quite nice

I'm afraid I won't like my old HHKBs as much now... Let's see what happens

[adhoc]

Being a region in someone else’s country is horseshit.

I had no idea about any of that, but it doesn't sound very sovereign-like.

OK, so I just received my HYBRID Type-S. A few initial observations:
1) No more creaking. This case is solid compared to the Pro 2!
2) The spacebar is MUCH quieter than on a previous-gen Type-S. Seriously, this makes a huge difference.
3) Also, I'm not sure if the spacebar is still ABS. It's certainly of a thicker material, and it feels more sandpaper-like...
4) The keyboard roof is cool, but I don't think I'm ever going to use it.
5) Being able to pair with up to four devices and quickly switch between them is really hand for multi-device use. Now I may actually not need two HHKBs on my desk at once (although it looks cool...).
6) The keyboard can now also be powered by an iPhone/iPad via USB, which I think is quite nice

I'm afraid I won't like my old HHKBs as much now... Let's see what happens

Isn't there a way to test out the material of the space bar? PBT sinks in water and ABS floats, or am I remembering this wrong? I don't know the exact specific densities for each material. Anyway, so far it sounds good!

[Findecanor]

The acetone test: Wet a q-tip gently with acetone and rub it on the inside of the keycap where it doesn't show. If it smears, it is ABS.
Be very careful though: a droplet of acetone would ruin the finish of ABS.

Q: Will HHKB be native MX caps compatible in the future?
PFU: Yes! In the next or next next generation of HHKB, depends on users’ feedbacks

If they do this, they'd better release their original keycaps with MX stems.

[XMIT]

You can just do the buoyancy test if you're trying to tell the difference between ABS and PBT.

I verified the PBT spacebar on the Realforce R2 independently with a "water test". Note how the PBT spacebar sinks readily, clanging at the bottom of this pot of water.

[the_marsbar]

Cool. I’ll do that when I get home.

[Findecanor]

Note how the PBT spacebar sinks readily, clanging at the bottom of this pot of water.

One did at the first sinking. The second is inconclusive.

[the_marsbar]

The spacebar from the HYBRID sank, while the ABS ones I had didn’t. So I guess it’s PBT. Not bad.

[XMIT]

Note how the PBT spacebar sinks readily, clanging at the bottom of this pot of water.

One did at the first sinking. The second is inconclusive.

Make sure to shake all the air bubbles out. They like to hide in the little nooks and crannies of the stabilizer and stem mounts.

[the_marsbar]

I assume you’ve already seen that the new models are available in the US, right? Discounted, and with some new accessories available as well.

https://fujitsuscannerstore.com/search. ... on=product

[cookie]

100 bucks for a travel bundle?
35 for a keyboard lid?
50 for a wrist rest?

Worst part, everything is completely overbranded and not even pretty...

[webwit]

Worst part, everything is completely overbranded and not even pretty...

I agree. The lid is the worst offender with overbranding. Also compare the old vs new travel bag... gone is the minimalist approach.

hhkb_case.jpg (1017.28 KiB) Viewed 19555 times

[the_marsbar]

The old style bag is so good. I use it when I travel. Luckily I have two.

And I agree on the overbranding, but those items are only for the US market, right? The case is even US made according to the description.

[cookie]

I'd say the bag itself is the best part of the entire set, however you can't buy just the bag. I like this one as well: https://kbdfans.com/collections/keyboar ... rying-case

HHKBs should be about simplicity, nothing else.

[Elrick]

100 bucks for a travel bundle?
35 for a keyboard lid?
50 for a wrist rest?

Worst part, everything is completely overbranded and not even pretty...

It's for an HHKB where beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, and nowhere else .

The UGLY stuff all seems to be HHKB's main attraction these days, especially 'small' and 'fugly' .