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

[Admiral]

If I wanted to buy a solenoid for my keyboards. Do I need to buy the solenoid and the driver or are they both included in the Model F USB option?

[Ellipse]

webwit are you saying that QMK fixed your issue with the Tab key? That would be good, but puzzling, news!

Admiral: the solenoid and solenoid driver are not included with anything so it would be a separate order.

Regarding the solenoid drivers, I have already sold out nearly half the whole quantity I ordered, in just the past couple weeks! They should be here by DHL Express in the coming week or so. If anyone wanted the solenoid drivers to ship ASAP (without waiting for beam spring controllers or the solenoids themselves) please let me know. The beam controllers should be shipping in about a month and the solenoids in about 2 months.

[webwit]

With the keyboard flat on the desk, when the tab key is removed completely and you just have the flipper and spring, does the gray tab indicate the key is pressed? Could be some kind of dust maybe?

P.S. I tried that too, no registration whatsoever in the IBM Capsense tool. And I applied some pressured air before that in case it was dust. So far no problems with QMK. Pandrew asked me to check what would happen if I would switch back to xwhatsit's latest firmware, was it software, the very humid day, the position of Saturn in the night sky, but we encountered the problem that the IBM capsense tool couldn't cope with fresh xwhatsit firmware because the threshold would reset to over 60k and in the interface you can't enter 126, but need to use the slow down arrow which would take hours to get to 126 Maybe you can help him and know more how it gets its initial threshold out of factory before loading xwhatsit? (correct me if I didn't get that right, Pandrew)

[Admiral]

webwit are you saying that QMK fixed your issue with the Tab key? That would be good, but puzzling, news!

Admiral: the solenoid and solenoid driver are not included with anything so it would be a separate order.

Regarding the solenoid drivers, I have already sold out nearly half the whole quantity I ordered, in just the past couple weeks! They should be here by DHL Express in the coming week or so. If anyone wanted the solenoid drivers to ship ASAP (without waiting for beam spring controllers or the solenoids themselves) please let me know. The beam controllers should be shipping in about a month and the solenoids in about 2 months.

Oh those are controllers for the keyboards. I thought they had something to do with the solenoids. I see the solenoid driver and solenoid now.

[webwit]

webwit are you saying that QMK fixed your issue with the Tab key? That would be good, but puzzling, news!

Not only that, but QMK has a Signal Level Monitor which basically showed there was nothing wrong with the keys which xwhatsit saw as dead. Puzzling indeed what caused xwhatsit to crap out there, out of a sudden, starting when I was typing normally and suddenly tab did no longer register.

[pandrew]

but we encountered the problem that the IBM capsense tool couldn't cope with fresh xwhatsit firmware because the threshold would reset to over 60k and in the interface you can't enter 126, but need to use the slow down arrow which would take hours to get to 126

I investigated this, and:
* When QMK starts up, it initializes its own structures in EEPROM.
* If you flash back original xwhatsit firmware, without also erasing the EEPROM then xwhatsit will read this as a very high threshold setting.
* This is not exactly intuitive, but in the original xwhatsit's IBM Capsense USB Util, it will only allow you to type in a new threshold value if you go to the "Tools" menu, and click "GUI keyboard unlock". Otherwise you can only click the up-down arrow, or use the scroll-wheel to change threshold. I think this is a safety feature in case the keyboard is erroneously generating some keypresses.

Anyway, I want to make it clear that there is no issue moving back from QMK to original xwhatsit firmware,
you either have to erase the EEPROM too after flashing back the original xwhatsit firmware, or you can just click "Tools - gui keyboard unlock", and enter a proper threshold.

[swedishpiehole]

Hi everyone! My new Kishsaver is out for delivery and after waiting 2+ years I am excited like a kid at Christmas. It is coming to me without the printed keys I ordered, as they are not yet ready, but luckily I have a set of blanks that I bought a while ago intending to make my own legends for (never got around to that). Anyway, I really want to be able to use QMK with the Model F so I can program the modifiers to be arrow keys on tap. I gather that QMK functionality is still in beta, but that doesn't bother me—as long as I don't risk bricking my Model F somehow! But even though I know how to use QMK and have flashed a slew of boards with it, I have no idea how to deal with a PCB that is not natively compatible. Can someone help guide me on what I need to do? Thanks so much!!

[tentator]

Hi Swedishpiehole,
there is absolutely no difference in flashing the F62/77 with QMK than flashing any other QMK compatible board.. it's basically natively supported! So you can even chose to flash from avrdude via commandline, use for instance "sudo make xwhatsit/ibm/3276_3278/xwhatsit_beamspring_rev_4:10t8or_spacefn:dfu" from gitbash or any other gui whatsoever once you have generated the .hex

tent:wq

[BucklingSprings]

I had to have a "golden" key ;) Like some of the old DEC terminals.

20200706_192711[1].jpg (3.17 MiB) Viewed 9256 times

Today I got my industrial grey F-77. I also ordered blank keycaps from Unicomp
so that I can use it while waiting for the subed caps from Ellipse.
I could not possible wait to get dental floss: I just had to put the keycaps on
and try it out.

First impressions:
- function: all keys functioned right out of the box. No chatter and no
unresponsive keys. I noticed though that holding down the down-arrow
does not lead to a repeated down-arrow - instead I get one down arrow
scan code after I release the key. Re-seating this spring fixed the problem.

- build quality: Stellar. Unbelievable. Better than I remember this model-F AT that
I enjoyed using for a few weeks in '87 (computer lab of my college). Since '87 I
have not been able to even touch a keyboard of such fine quality. this is better than
I remember the F-AT. It is out of this world.

- key feel: no surprises here: much lighter than my Unicomp Model F. And yes:
crisp to the extreme.

- However: the unicomp keys caps create a "grainy" key travel feel and
the rod stabilizers of the left shift key and the return key don't really work. These
keys bind badly when pressed off center. I don't press these keys offcenter when
I touch-type - so it does not bother me too much. I hope (believe) that the final keycaps
will fix this.

- Sound: a class of its own. Not for everybody. I expected it from
what I remember from the F-AT and YouTube clips. But ... wow - hearing it in person
give this keyboard SUCH a vocal presence.

Do I recommend it?
It is probably not ideal for gaming and for office work it is probably too loud (unless
everybody else is a keyboard enthusiast).

But - if you are a typist and if you don't mind spending some money for a FANTASTIC
keyboard - then yes: this masterpiece of a keyboard reproduction is worth it - in my opinion.

I would buy it again. My Unicomp-M is a good board and my Mathias Quiet Click is a
good board too. But this Model-F puts them both to shame. Ellipse will go into keyboard
history

Compliments to the code author/maintainer of xwhatsit: skinny software - it does
exactly what is needed - no more and no less. No bloat and it also worked right out
of the box for me to re-assign scan codes to keys.

[swedishpiehole]

Hi Swedishpiehole,
there is absolutely no difference in flashing the F62/77 with QMK than flashing any other QMK compatible board.. it's basically natively supported! So you can even chose to flash from avrdude via commandline, use for instance "sudo make xwhatsit/ibm/3276_3278/xwhatsit_beamspring_rev_4:10t8or_spacefn:dfu" from gitbash or any other gui whatsoever once you have generated the .hex

tent:wq

Oh this is awesome news! So is the Model F already in the QMK repository? I would just need to create the hex and then (somehow) figure out how to put the Model F in dfu mode?

[ckafi]

Quick question: Do the new caps have "homing bumps" on F/J?

[tentator]

Quick question: Do the new caps have "homing bumps" on F/J?

Yes, they have like that underscore line so that you can feel them!

[Sp33ls]

I'm curious if the unprinted/blank black key caps also have the home bumps..? Anyone with these keys able to confirm?

EDIT: Just looked back at Wazrach's pics, and it appears they do have the bumps (so long as those are the unprinted keys from the order).

[tentator]

I have the unprinted blank ones (beije color) and they have it... The caps are just fantastic BTW!

[darkcruix]

Spent two days using QMK firmware on the New Model F keyboards and a 3278 Beamspring. All went very well. I had no issues with the New Model F boards and original xwhatsit firmware either, but the chatter I experienced on the 3278 is gone now. Impressive quality (and this being just in Beta stage).

[consensual-penis]

So I set up my F77 today and when it works it seems really awesome. However, I'm having one big issue that I can't seem to fix.

My board initially had a couple of buzzing/dead keys but I fixed those pretty easily. Unfortunately, there seems to be another issue that I believe may be software related that I can't seem to nail down. I type fairly quickly, usually around 130~ wpm, and this has caused me to notice a problem with my F key. When typing words such as "feel" or "fool" quickly it's like the F key registers too slow and it comes out as "efel" or "ofol". Sometimes the F key will double or triple register as well. I've tried both 0.9.2 firmware debounce versions and I've experimented with voltage ranges between 122-130 but nothing has fixed the issue.

I haven't used this thing enough to know if I'm having the same problem with other keys yet. Has anyone experienced something similar to this before? Any help is greatly appreciated as this is significantly affecting the usability of this board for me.

Thank you!

I was having a similar issue with my f62, I flashed it with qmk and it got rid of all my problems.

[rgleas]

20200706_192711[1].jpg
Today I got my industrial grey F-77. I also ordered blank keycaps from Unicomp
so that I can use it while waiting for the subed caps from Ellipse.
I could not possible wait to get dental floss: I just had to put the keycaps on
and try it out.

First impressions:
- function: all keys functioned right out of the box. No chatter and no
unresponsive keys. I noticed though that holding down the down-arrow
does not lead to a repeated down-arrow - instead I get one down arrow
scan code after I release the key. Re-seating this spring fixed the problem.

- build quality: Stellar. Unbelievable. Better than I remember this model-F AT that
I enjoyed using for a few weeks in '87 (computer lab of my college). Since '87 I
have not been able to even touch a keyboard of such fine quality. this is better than
I remember the F-AT. It is out of this world.

- key feel: no surprises here: much lighter than my Unicomp Model F. And yes:
crisp to the extreme.

- However: the unicomp keys caps create a "grainy" key travel feel and
the rod stabilizers of the left shift key and the return key don't really work. These
keys bind badly when pressed off center. I don't press these keys offcenter when
I touch-type - so it does not bother me too much. I hope (believe) that the final keycaps
will fix this.

- Sound: a class of its own. Not for everybody. I expected it from
what I remember from the F-AT and YouTube clips. But ... wow - hearing it in person
give this keyboard SUCH a vocal presence.

Do I recommend it?
It is probably not ideal for gaming and for office work it is probably too loud (unless
everybody else is a keyboard enthusiast).

But - if you are a typist and if you don't mind spending some money for a FANTASTIC
keyboard - then yes: this masterpiece of a keyboard reproduction is worth it - in my opinion.

I would buy it again. My Unicomp-M is a good board and my Mathias Quiet Click is a
good board too. But this Model-F puts them both to shame. Ellipse will go into keyboard
history

Compliments to the code author/maintainer of xwhatsit: skinny software - it does
exactly what is needed - no more and no less. No bloat and it also worked right out
of the box for me to re-assign scan codes to keys.

I can assuredly say that the New Model F key caps are night and day compared with the Unicomp keycaps. I posted a video a few days ago here where I do some typing on my F62 with blank New Model F keys and right after using my F77 with Unicomp key caps. Even the sound produced is much better with the New Model F keys.

[Dikkus]

My Unicomp keys on my Model F are incredibly scratchy as well, though they feel perfectly fine on a regular M. The same can be said for an older 1992 set. That being said, keys from my 1986 Model M feel completely normal on a Model F, lacking the intense scratchiness of the aforementioned two.

They do have significant stem differences between them:

1986, 1992, and 2020 respectively.

[Scarpia]

It has arrived!!!!!!! One question: why are there two colors of stabilizer inserts? Where do the black ones go?

Update: populated it with a set of Unicomp blanks and.... it is so beautiful. And so heavy. Like I knew it would be heavy, but I was not prepared for just how heavy it is, holy crap that feels nice.



The box had some deep dents from the shipping, but the styrofoam had taken all of the damage and kept the contents completely intact — nice!

As for keyfeel, I have only spent a minute with it but it feels spot on (I have an F XT so that’s my frame of reference).

Its sound is just the right lighter-than-model-m crisp “tick” that I was hoping for; though it is also pingier than I like, but I believe that is true about the original model F as well, so no complaints- I will probably floss mod it once the dyesubbed keycaps arrive anyway.

As for the finish, I love it - after seeing some of the reviews I was worried it might not be so nice, but to my standards it’s perfect.

As far as scratchiness, the Unicomp blanks are not silky smooth, but I'm going to live with them for now.

The dot matrix printed receipt is a lovely touch, and even the cork feet/bumpers have an authentic vintage feel to them.

In short, I am probably not the most anal collector and I see this not as an art piece or a manifestation of perfection, but rather as a super high end tool that I’ll enjoy using and occasionally abusing, for the rest of my life. And in that lens, it is everything I hoped for.

Thank you Ellipse. 10/10 would buy again.

[Elrick]

First impressions:
- Sound: a class of its own. Not for everybody. I expected it from
what I remember from the F-AT and YouTube clips. But ... wow - hearing it in person
give this keyboard SUCH a vocal presence.

Do I recommend it?
It is probably not ideal for gaming and for office work it is probably too loud (unless
everybody else is a keyboard enthusiast).

Would you believe that you will some here on this forum site, wanting to install a Solenoid and Speaker set to make this Keyboard even louder .

Damn, the urge to let the whole street know you are typing has an appealing attraction here for me .

[Ellipse]

Thanks for the reviews and photos BucklingSprings and Scarpia!

BucklingSprings, regarding the Unicomp key binding, it was discussed previously in the thread I believe to move the stabilizer insert about 1mm higher, and/or add a felt pad or O ring on top of the stabilizer insert to help reduce the binding. Even many of my original Model F and Model M keyboards had instances of binding for the wider keys. There's no binding for the wire stabilized keys though!

Here is another method to eliminate binding of all Model M and Model F keys, as shared to me many years ago:
"The idea is to get the sharp edge of the arched portion to bend inward slightly and stay that way.

I used the smooth polished rim of a nut wrench to burnish the edge inward and verified with a magnifying glass that the edge had been bent inward a bit. This completely eliminated the sticking of that key, so it must have been catching on the edge of the barrel ever so slightly before I burnished it.

The entire "sharp" upside down U-shaped edge of the key stem should be burnished.

The hardest part is finding just the right tool because the space is quite cramped in that part of the stem. The nut wrench rim just barely fit in enough to allow burnishing that edge. I have absolutely no idea why this worked -- I don't know what exactly that edge was contacting to cause the problem in the first place. All I know is that it worked."



Below is the latest pivot table report update of items ordered and configurations chosen. A lot of controllers, solenoid drivers, and solenoids have been ordered in recent weeks!

Shipped keyboards:
360 as of now, with about 40 more separate shipping requests to complete this week and next week.

Ordered items
F77 1194
F62 541
Compact F77 331
Compact F62 183
FirstAidKit 765
Extra Set of Brand New Production XT-quality one-piece keys 471
Extra Case 155
Individual Keys 3248
Addon key set 396
Inner foam 180
Industrial SSK Blue Keys 243
Apple/Mac Command-Option Keys 221
Extra Flipper and Spring 4480
xwhatsit Model F USB controller 52
xwhatsit solenoid driver 63
Front-printed keys F1, etc. 116
Extra Barrel 2372
xwhatsit Beam Spring controller 14
xwhatsit controller 23
Solenoid 48
Key Cap Puller 245
Extra Plastic Stabilizer Insert for keys 581
Extra steel spacebar tabs (pair) 197
xwhatsit Displaywriter Beam Spring controller 3
USBCable 16
Extra PCB 5
Extra top inner assembly 3
Extra box + protective custom foam 1
Bumpers 813

Keyboards ordered by year
2020 277
2019 490
2018 504
2017 609
2016 369
Grand Total 2249

Installed Keys
Regular printed 1584
Black unprinted keys 204
Regular unprinted 176
UK 49
Use your own keys 49
Swedish-Finnish 36
German 31
Dark Gray Printed 16
Norwegian 16
French 9
UK English 8
Dark Gray Unprinted 8
Latin American Spanish 6
Arabic 5
Swiss German 5
Blue Unprinted 5
Blue Printed 5
Danish 4
Regular unprinted ISO 4
APL Keys 4
Spanish 3
Russian 3
Italian 3
Dutch 2
Model M keys 2
Brazilian ABNT 2
JIS 2
Hebrew English 2
Korean 2
Swiss French and German 2
Dark Gray (printed) keys, Norwegian 1
Brilliant white printed key set 1
Grand Total 2249

Layout
ANSI (U.S. default - horizontal Enter key) with split right shift, split backspace, and HHKB keys but not HHKB layout 1
ANSI Enter (default - horizontal Enter key) 992
ANSI Enter (default - horizontal Enter key) and non-HHKB Split Right Shift 1
ANSI Enter (default - horizontal Enter key) and Split Backspace 5
DVORAK layout; ANSI Enter (default - horizontal Enter key) 1
DVORAK with HHKB style split right shift 1
DVORAK with HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and regular 2-unit wide backspace 1
HHKB split right shift only and split backspace, everything else ANSI Enter 1
HHKB split right shift only, everything else ANSI Enter 15
HHKB split right shift only, everything else ANSI Enter, HHKB style Ctrl and Caps Lock 2
HHKB split right shift only, everything else ANSI Enter, short left shift 1
HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and regular 2-unit wide backspace 317
HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and regular 2-unit wide backspace and short space bar 1
HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and regular 2-unit wide backspace, original position Ctrl and Caps lock keys 2
HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and Split Backspace 515
HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and Split Backspace and short left shift 4
HHKB-Style Split Right Shift and Split Backspace, original position Ctrl and Caps lock keys 1
ISO Enter (vertical enter and 2U Left Shift) 2
ISO Enter (vertical enter and split Left Shift) 143
ISO Enter (vertical enter and split Left Shift) and HHKB-Style Split Right Shift 15
ISO Enter (Vertical Enter And Split Left Shift) And HHKB-Style Split Right Shift, Split Backspace 9
ISO Enter (vertical enter and split Left Shift) and non-HHKB Split Right Shift 2
Scumyc ANSI Enter (default - horizontal Enter key) 8
Split Enter (1.25U enter and split Left Shift) and non-HHKB Split Right Shift 1
HHKB split right shift only, everything else ANSI Enter, short space bar 1
Standard (ANSI or ISO) 205
HHKB style split right shift and split backspace 1
HHKB style split right shift, everything else ANSI 1
Grand Total 2249

Bumpers
2 medium bumpers with threaded stud (second photo) + 2 other pictured bumpers (please specify in the notes) 202
4 Cork 190
2 Large rubber bumpers (left of photo) with screw and nut plus 2 dome (middle of photo) 187
4 square 91
4 dome (middle of photo) 50
2 dome (middle of photo) + 2 small cylindrical (bottom right) 39
2 dome + 2 square 27
2 square (top right)+2 small cylindrical (bottom right) 26
2 medium bumpers with threaded stud (second photo) + 2 cylindrical bumpers 1
Grand Total 813

Right Side Block
Print/ScrLock/Pause/Ins/Del etc. keys, cursor keys 840
0-9 and cursor keys 583
Blank 102
Grand Total 1525

Sales Ranking by Shipping Territory
1 United States
2 United Kingdom
3 Canada
4 Germany
5 Australia
6 Sweden
7 Norway
8 Netherlands
9 Japan
10 Switzerland
11 Finland
12 France
13 Hong Kong
14 Malaysia
15 Singapore
16 New Zealand
17 Poland
18 Korea, Republic of
19 China
20 Austria
21 Czech Republic
22 Spain
23 Italy
24 Denmark
25 Thailand
26 Russia
27 Brazil
28 Ireland
29 Belgium
30 Romania
31 Taiwan
32 Luxembourg
33 Mexico
34 Israel
35 Argentina
36 Estonia
37 Philippines
38 Vietnam
39 Croatia
40 Hungary
41 Oman
42 Serbia
43 Peru
44 India
45 Turkey
46 Chile
47 Saudi Arabia
48 South Africa
49 Iceland
50 Slovenia
51 Bulgaria
52 Guam

Here are the extra key sets ordered - a note that some categories are duplicates

Extra Set of Brand New Production XT-quality one-piece keys
Printed (Industrial SSK Blue) 102
Printed (Dark Gray) 99
Printed (Pearl/Pebble) 84
Blank (Black) 37
Blank (Pearl/Pebble) 32
Blank (Industrial SSK Blue) 29
Blank (Dark Gray) 21
Printed (Pearl/Pebble Color) 35
Blank Unprinted (Black Color) 11
Blank (Pearl/Pebble Color) 7
Printed (Dark Gray) 4
Printed (Blue Color) 3
Russian 1
Dark Gray (printed) keys 1
Blank (Industrial SSK Blue) 1
Printed 1
Blank Unprinted (Blue Color) 1
Printed (Industrial SSK Blue Color) 1
Printed (Dark Gray Color) 1
Grand Total 471

[Ellipse]

The xwhatsit solenoid drivers have arrived!

2020-07-08_16-42-14.jpg (541.08 KiB) Viewed 8706 times

2020-07-08_16-42-08.jpg (621.47 KiB) Viewed 8706 times

[Wazrach]

So I opened the assembly to be able to reseat the springs properly and ensure all spring ends are in the 12 o'clock position as shown in the video.

I wish I didn't bother. It's just worse than before. All the keys are barely tactile, even though the barrels don't wobble and the springs are in the proper positions.

Why...?

[Ellipse]

Wazrach that should only be done to a few keys at most, maybe 3 to 7 keys, in my experience. Your typing test video that you linked to earlier sounded great so I am not sure anything was significantly out of bounds. Also my QC secrets video specified stretching the springs and using tweezers to correct buzzing springs without opening up the keyboard. If you opened up the keyboard to adjust springs by hand, that was not what is recommended for bad sounding keys.

The assembly machines do precision placement of springs on the nubs and a bad placement causes a bad sound. You should leave a bit of space between the end of the spring and the bottom of the flipper nub. Maybe 0.2mm.

Below are photos of the correct end of spring location and spring-flipper positioning.

correct end of spring location for flippers and springs (1).jpg (349.69 KiB) Viewed 8689 times

correct end of spring location for flippers and springs (2).jpg (244.33 KiB) Viewed 8689 times

[BucklingSprings]

At first I thought that I need the floss mod. But now - after two days of using my F77 - I like the spring
ping more and more. I particular - I like the REALLY LOUD clack the space bar makes.
I don't think I will do the floss mod.

Is there a video out there that shows in detail how to remove the space bar? I am really afraid
of removing it.

The case is incredibly stiff. The lightness of the key travel and this extreme firmness of the case
is an indescribably great typing feeling. Words fall short of expressing it. You've got to try it out
on an F64/77/107 (or probably a Beamspring) in order to really appreciate how satisfying this feels.

@Ellipse: I am noticing one thing: the top front part of my case ever so slightly vibrates when
I tap my fingers on it. There is no visible gap. I guesstimate that the gap is at most half a millimeter
wide.

Is it possible to bent the top part of the case to fit better? Or would you recommend to use some kind
of filler material (rubber strip or such)? Or is it safest to just leave it alone?

It is SUCH a joy typing on this thing. I am writing code at night - just to have an excuse typing on
this beast. I can't help having a smile on my face when I am typing ...

[BucklingSprings]

First impressions:
- Sound: a class of its own. Not for everybody. I expected it from
what I remember from the F-AT and YouTube clips. But ... wow - hearing it in person
give this keyboard SUCH a vocal presence.

Do I recommend it?
It is probably not ideal for gaming and for office work it is probably too loud (unless
everybody else is a keyboard enthusiast).

Would you believe that you will some here on this forum site, wanting to install a Solenoid and Speaker set to make this Keyboard even louder .

Damn, the urge to let the whole street know you are typing has an appealing attraction here for me .

Agree - this is so over the top that I am CRAVING the solenoid ... and Twsts little wood plank it hammered against. For now I can resist ...

[Ellipse]

Glad you are enjoying your new Model F keyboard BucklingSprings!

Yes you can easily break the space bar's little plastic tabs by removing the space bar incorrectly. I custom adjust each space bar for every keyboard by hand so I do not recommend removing it unless it has stopped functioning.

You have to lift up the space bar until the stem clears the barrel inside, and then only touch the metal stabilizer wire to push the wire away from the tabs and towards the space bar barrel so that this action slightly pushes up the metal tabs, while making sure no sudden movements result in the plastic space bar tabs snapping off.

When putting every thing back, you have to bend the metal tabs a little so that the space bar doesn't get stuck and/or rattle too much. This is more of an art than science and you can significantly alter the sound for better or worse by adjusting the position of the metal tabs. That's why I recommend not altering it at all.

There should be a slight gap in the classic style zinc cases - the original IBM tolerances were more generous than those of today's manufacturing standards. You could take a rubber mallet or try to bend the zinc case by hand with everything removed from inside the case including USB cable and P clip, but this is likely to result in damage to the finish of the case and is not recommended. I'd leave it be or add a piece of foam or felt if needed.

[BucklingSprings]

...
Ordered items
F77 1194
F62 541
...

Funny - amongst the originals, the F-77 was by far the rarest one. And now, because
all the enthusiasts knew that, the replicas will make the F-77 the most
common one and the F-107 (which used to the the rarest) will perhaps become the rarest one.

[capt8bit]

Could someone hook me up with info on the QMK firmware? (tentator ?)

I'm having the same issue that Senescent and consensual-penis had, where a key "registers slowly", and I'm hoping QMK will fix it.

Actually, I realized that the key doesn't register when I press it too forcefully. If pressed too forcefully, it only actuates when released. (For me it was the "o" key.) So, if I type "on" too forcefully, it comes out "no", because the "o" didn't actuate until release, but I had already hit "n".

Also, a way to see it is by forcefully pressing the key and holding. For me, I press and hold the "o" and it doesn't repeat, because it will not actuate until I release. When I release the key, it produces a single "o".

I tried adjusting the voltage, reseating the spring, replacing the spring, using different key caps, and using the alternative debounce firmware. No luck.

[tentator]

PM coming..