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

[Hypersphere]

Once you go Model F, your Model M's are F'ed!

Somehow, your comment reminded me of the free-range chicken:

Free-range2.png (208.15 KiB) Viewed 8133 times

[:Dön:]

Below are photos of the new Industrial SSK Blue and 60% Dark Gray key sublimated key sets installed on a new Model F keyboard.

The sublimation came out great for both of these colors. Please disregard the colors as they are not 100% accurate. In person the Industrial SSK blue is an exact match to the original IBM Industrial SSK Model M blue keys.

I especially like the combination of the black classic F77 case and the dark gray printed keys.

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Very cool black!
Darker than Unicomp's gray and I can see the letters clearly, very cool!

[Hypersphere]

Unfortunately, the SSK Blue printed keys did not work well for me, and I anticipate that the dark gray printed keys would likewise not work for me. However, this is probably due to my vision issues and the dim lighting I use in my study. I just need more contrast between the background and the printing. The lighter blue of my blue printed Topre keycaps works well for me on my Topre-switch boards, as does the light blue printed caps from Unicomp on my IBM buckling-spring boards. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the overall quality of the new XT-grade keys from Ellipse.

[Ellipse]

Inner foam update: the foam material I chose for the project was a far higher quality/durability type of foam than what IBM used. The foam has been known to last for many years and does not crumble with age like some of IBM's foam. The downside is that it is a little denser and therefore may make these keyboards ever so slightly less noisy. For the final round I am thinking about offering a more authentic foam that is very similar to the non-crumbly foam that IBM used in some of their Model F keyboards (the foam is so good that this 1980s foam still looks and performs well in these old keyboards today!). After a long search I finally believe I identified the right material. In the end I will probably offer the denser foam as a choice when getting extra foam in case people want an ever so slightly quieter Model F, but not as an installed option (would add too much complexity and probably not make a sound difference that most folks would notice).

As a follow up to my post, I wanted to share some photos showing that the new proposed foam is a match to the original type of foam used on some of the IBM Model F XT type keyboards. The original XT foam pictured is the non-crumbly variation of the foam, and it does show a compression set in the shape of the barrels.

Can you tell whether each of the three foams in the photo below is the new or original design?

Spoiler:

The top foam is the original XT foam, and the middle and bottom foams are the new sample foam.

20210531_213407XT-new-new foam.jpg (561.25 KiB) Viewed 7932 times

20210531_213401 XT-new-new foam.jpg (556.19 KiB) Viewed 7932 times

[vincent]

Good stuff. I guessed correctly for the top two but was fooled by the bottom one.

[ironicmoustache]

I just got a shipping notification for my F77. Can't wait!

Going to get absolutely fisted by import tax, but it's going to be worth it, I'm sure...

[Ellipse]

New video posted - it is amazing how many various machines and processes are required to produce such a (relatively?) complex keyboard as the Model F.

"As I continue to mail out all the Brand New Model F Keyboard orders, I wanted to share a brief video from the ribbon cable factory. I think this video shows the machine that is the last step for the cables (the one that cuts and strips the cable ends on each side of the ribbon cable to expose them for soldering to the PCBs). In this example video, the factory is producing samples of 30 position cables which would not belong in any production keyboards. The final cables (if you opened up your keyboard case) have 15 positions and two cables are used for each controller, as IBM did with the original Model F keyboards. The ribbon cables are first made with the required 15 positions in very long sheets and are then cut to size."

[allysure]

I just got a shipping notification for my F77. Can't wait!

Going to get absolutely fisted by import tax, but it's going to be worth it, I'm sure...

When did you order yours? I have just ordered mine and I really can't wait for it ugh.

[brb3]

I just got a shipping notification for my F77. Can't wait!

Going to get absolutely fisted by import tax, but it's going to be worth it, I'm sure...

When did you order yours? I have just ordered mine and I really can't wait for it ugh.

Not who you were asking, but I ordered March 10th, and I'm still waiting for mine to ship (as a data point).

[ironicmoustache]

I just got a shipping notification for my F77. Can't wait!

Going to get absolutely fisted by import tax, but it's going to be worth it, I'm sure...

When did you order yours? I have just ordered mine and I really can't wait for it ugh.

I placed my order on April 24th with a custom serial and birthdate (this might be the key difference-maker here).

I initially opted for blank keycaps but switched to a printed beige set a week or so after I placed my order, so it looks like the keycaps aren't much of a hold-up anymore.

[Wazrach]

I-I purchased mine even earlier, with a low serial! *sweats*

[an_achronism]

I-I purchased mine even earlier, with a low serial! *sweats*

UK layout though innit? I think anything slightly non-"Standard" makes it less likely to appear quickly. US layout, fast. UK layout, not so much. Bunch of custom caps, nope.

Mine's both a UK main layout and a shitload of extra fancy caps so I'm screwed I think

[Bjerrk]

Talking about this will only lead to grief!

[Wazrach]

I-I purchased mine even earlier, with a low serial! *sweats*

UK layout though innit? I think anything slightly non-"Standard" makes it less likely to appear quickly. US layout, fast. UK layout, not so much. Bunch of custom caps, nope.

Mine's both a UK main layout and a shitload of extra fancy caps so I'm screwed I think

Nope, ANSI!

[an_achronism]

Nope, ANSI!

I dunno then, that's upsetting.

[raoulduke-esq]

I know the feeling. I got the F77 like a year ago under split shipping and have caps ordered like blue buckling spring, Apple keys, media keys, and a solenoid so I'm not even on the radar yet. I'm just thankful I already have the keyboard and that it's SO EFFING NICE!

[Wazrach]

Nope, ANSI!

I dunno then, that's upsetting.

I actually prefer the way ANSI looks, it is more symmetrical. I like having a large left shift too. I'm a strange boy, I know.

[an_achronism]

I actually prefer the way ANSI looks, it is more symmetrical. I like having a large left shift too. I'm a strange boy, I know.

No, I fully agree. IBM clearly had symmetry in mind with the US Enhanced layout, and it got fucked out the window with ISO, hahah. The Space bar on ISO looks off-centre even though it isn't because the left Shift is so short.

But to use, I'm in favour of more keys over fewer, and I have over 20 years' worth of muscle memory for ISO. Not to say that I absolutely will never use ANSI, I just prefer having the backslash key on the left there, and fast access to £.

[Wazrach]

I know the feeling. I got the F77 like a year ago under split shipping and have caps ordered like blue buckling spring, Apple keys, media keys, and a solenoid so I'm not even on the radar yet. I'm just thankful I already have the keyboard and that it's SO EFFING NICE!

What does your F77 look like?

I wish I could use mine, but it's completely disassembled while I wait for new springs (they ended up going in a different project which I then sold). I wasn't enjoying it at the time because I disassembled it a few times to fix various issues, but ended up making it feel a bit inconsistent. The sad thing is, I really didn't know nearly as much about Models F as I do now. I could have avoided all the heartache if I knew what I was doing. Long story.

I definitely won't make the same mistake with the new F62. I'm dying to get my hands on it!

[raoulduke-esq]

What does your F77 look like?

Here's the F77 - I just put some plain Unicomp "buttons" on while I wait.

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And here's the F62. Got this one in like a week for Christmas last year because I asked Ellipse what was ready to ship and he had what I wanted. Ordered it with plain keycaps and ordered a set of Unicomp printed buttons for it. If I like what I get when my F77 keys ship I might order more for the F62 and for SURE will order some of the beamspring style! Please don't judge me for the GH caps... there are not a lot of 1U interesting caps available from Unicomp...

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Sounds like you've had a bumpy ride but you'll really appreciate these guys now when you get them up and running.

[ironicmoustache]

Nope, ANSI!

Ouch! Apologies if my excitement has had a... detrimental effect on your wait. Let's hope it's not too long until yours ships!

[Wazrach]

Ouch! Apologies if my excitement has had a... detrimental effect on your wait. Let's hope it's not too long until yours ships!

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I was told that my keyboard is due to ship soon!

Edit: Oh I see, I didn't mean to come across as impatient - I just put two and two together and got excited about it I ordered an industrial grey F62 with blank beige keycaps and a low serial. Please post pictures and perhaps a sound test of yours when you get it!

[ironicmoustache]

Of course!

Looking forward to using an F that doesn't have a spacebar that feels like it's trying to kill my thumbs... haha!

[an_achronism]

Looking forward to using an F that doesn't have a spacebar that feels like it's trying to kill my thumbs... haha!

I think my left thumb could lift a bus at this point and I've only been using an XT for about a week

I underestimated how hefty that thing is

[ironicmoustache]

It's brutal. I even taught myself how to hit the spacebar with my other thumb just to give my main thumb a break! It still slows me down quite a bit, but it's a good skill (I use the word very loosely) to have I suppose?

[darkcruix]

Looking forward to using an F that doesn't have a spacebar that feels like it's trying to kill my thumbs... haha!

I think my left thumb could lift a bus at this point and I've only been using an XT for about a week

I underestimated how hefty that thing is

When you replace the foam, also bend the spring under the space bar:
viewtopic.php?t=6982

[an_achronism]

When you replace the foam, also bend the spring under the space bar:
viewtopic.php?t=6982

I am aware of this mod but I'd prefer not to do it. This is how the hardware was built, this is how it shall remain. My left thumb will become strong or it will develop RSI. If I am to be defeated by a keyboard, this seems a worthy opponent...

[Wazrach]

Looking forward to using an F that doesn't have a spacebar that feels like it's trying to kill my thumbs... haha!

I think my left thumb could lift a bus at this point and I've only been using an XT for about a week

I underestimated how hefty that thing is

When you replace the foam, also bend the spring under the space bar:
viewtopic.php?t=6982

I can confirm this worked on my Bigfoot, although the spacebar doesn't sound QUITE as solid as it did before.

[darkcruix]

I think my left thumb could lift a bus at this point and I've only been using an XT for about a week

I underestimated how hefty that thing is

When you replace the foam, also bend the spring under the space bar:
viewtopic.php?t=6982

I can confirm this worked on my Bigfoot, although the spacebar doesn't sound QUITE as solid as it did before.

It does, but I have to admit it took me several tries back in the days. I have two springs, so can always return to the original

[Gurbsordidity]

Those new color schemes are gorgeous, Ellipse. I'll be ordering the one with grey keys come round two.