Has the Mini-M replaced the need for an SSK?

[apastuszak]

I came across an SSK for sale about a 2 hour drive from my house for $60.00. It's being sold as "untested."

The completionist in me is saying "get in the damn car and go get it!" But the practical side of me says I own a Mini-M I don't use all that much. The Mini-M has 2 features that I really want in a keyboard: Windows/Super keys and lock lights.

Of course the SSK has two advantages over the mini-M: it comes in pebble/beige and it's PS/2, so it works with a Soarer's Converter.

I could go buy it, and flip it. But I am opposed to that. If I sell stuff, I try to sell it at a reasonable price, and not price gouge people.

Once your brain gets wired into liking vintage mechanical keyboards, I can see how the collection can quickly grow.

[JP!]

I would ask if they would ship the SSK for a few extra bucks rather than drive so far. This way you can experience the old and the new and If you choose to sell it you could do so at a modest price which would likely be a bargain compared with what these these often sell for. Utimately it should end up in the hands of an enthusiast / vintage computer collector rather than in the scrap heap.

[Delta Research]

I came across an SSK for sale about a 2 hour drive from my house for $60.00. It's being sold as "untested."

The completionist in me is saying "get in the damn car and go get it!" But the practical side of me says I own a Mini-M I don't use all that much. The Mini-M has 2 features that I really want in a keyboard: Windows/Super keys and lock lights.

Of course the SSK has two advantages over the mini-M: it comes in pebble/beige and it's PS/2, so it works with a Soarer's Converter.

I could go buy it, and flip it. But I am opposed to that. If I sell stuff, I try to sell it at a reasonable price, and not price gouge people.

Once your brain gets wired into liking vintage mechanical keyboards, I can see how the collection can quickly grow.

If it's the one in New Jersey on Facebook, I'm aware that a bunch of people are already going for it and it seems the seller still has the ad up. Personally, I think the Mini M is more practical than the SSK, but if you really want an SSK I'd say go for it.

[apastuszak]

What I really want is a programmable mini-M. That's now possible with the Raspberry Pi Pico controller and the port of QMK/VIA for it. I think my money is better spent on getting a new controller from Unicomp when they catch up on backorders.

[depletedvespene]

What I really want is a programmable mini-M. That's now possible with the Raspberry Pi Pico controller and the port of QMK/VIA for it. I think my money is better spent on getting a new controller from Unicomp when they catch up on backorders.

Then by all means do that.

Meanwhile, I keep on using my SSK, while I wait for the right time to ask for a Mini-M as well. It'll be great to have two of them, side by side; both being programmable (one through a Soarer's Converter, the other with QMK) is indeed an absolute requirement these days, though.

[depletedvespene]

"Has the Mini-M replaced the need for an SSK?"

In a sense, I hope it HAS. That would mean the continued existence of mass-produced Model M TKL keyboards, as opposed to the current stock of "vintage" units that would not be replenished whenever one "dies".

[apastuszak]

It's too bad you can't get a mini-M in beige.

[Falkenroth]

I own two Mini-M keyboards and an NOS SSK and don't use either one of them very much. Haha. I'm just a numpad user. While I do like owning both I will always use the Mini-M normally to keep the mileage off the old keyboards. SSK's on ebay right now are very expensive.

[wobbled]

The existence of the mini M will satisfy my craving for a TKL BS board. Can’t say I would ever want to spend more on the original now

[Muirium]

But the craving…

Let the devil on your shoulder guide you: Unicomp is to IBM what Niz is to Topre.

[wobbled]

But the craving…

Let the devil on your shoulder guide you: Unicomp is to IBM what Niz is to Topre.

True although Unicomp feels closer to IBM than Niz does to topre imo

[Muirium]

Aye. Nopre to Topre is more like comparing M to F.

[LambdaCore]

If a TKL BS is what you're after, I'd genuinely recommend remapping a Model F XT. They're usually relatively cheap for capacitive buckling springs, the trick is to turn on numlock, and use a soarer's layer instead of the usual nav layer to create a pseudo modern day Model M style nav cluster in it's place. You lose out on the END key and you need to map F11 and F12 to the bottom two numpad keys, but by that same token you've also got two additional keys to your side in the form of the + and + keys. It takes some getting used to, but the XT layout can be made to be very usable, and compared to an M you're technically saving space! Idk how much it compares to a SSK sadly.

[wobbled]

Model F XT is a viable option except for the weird stepped caps. Model F AT is pretty much perfect with ANSI or ISO mod, and the alt mod is a cherry on top.

[LambdaCore]

The stepped caps aren’t as annoying as you’d think, and it is the ultimate space saving layout conceptually since the numpad is clumped with the rest of the boards. The AT is still a pretty good layout though!

[Muirium]

XT and AT are both quite a bit wider than an SSK. They are a bit shorter, front-to-back, however.

Here's a handy size comparison pic for SSK and Kishsaver I shot in 2013:



Hadn't even cleaned it up yet. That board was destined to become my absolute favourite once I did.

Maybe I'll do a much less impressive version of Webwit's IBM collection picture, but for size comparison's sake. What floor looks least iffy back home I wonder?

As for layout: kudos to the XT innovators. I rocked one back in 2013 as my first IBM for quite a while. It was where I learned Soarer's magic, and ran it in many configurations like this:



But yeah, when I later scored an AT, the XT wasn't getting much use, and I ultimately sold it. XT's a hard layout to master. Fine if it's all you ever use, but when you switch between keyboards a lot, something more regular wins.

[LambdaCore]

Not bad! My layout mimics a standard keyboard a bit heavier. I've got a pretty standard nav cluster mapped in the nav layer, with the numpad more or less untouched.... oh and I keep CTRL where it belongs, next to A! That change alone makes most regular keyboards hard to go back to for me, otherwise the layouts aren't so different I can't switch - though I mainly only switch between my realforce, Model F and now my DC-2014 to which the DC-2014 is what I'm typing this on now! I would get an SSK repro, but the only reason I need a space saver is if I'm moving on the go, which I'm typically not going to be bringing buckling springs with me! I had an HHKB, which sadly broke and has me aching for another one to scratch my portable needs.

[Muirium]

Aye, the diagram above is from a decade ago. I changed to Control left of A on all of my keyboards sometime since. Consistency is the way to make mods stick.

That Fn key, right of right Shift, was the XT's real gift. That keyboard is where I learned HHKB nav layer—with neither legends nor homing bumps!—and it's been paying off ever since.

[LambdaCore]

I do like the HHKB’s layering, but I rarely need it outside of an HHKB… I admit, I miss my old HHKB

[Muirium]

It comes in very handy in a lot of places…



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[LambdaCore]

That's fair given the layout, though I rarely use anything more exotic than an XT layout so that probably impacts my perspective a fair bit

[Muirium]

XT is weirder than 3278, in my book. That big wall of caps without dividers makes it hard to move around. The beam’s not too bad, besides those bloody arrow keys and the usual paucity of mods. Similar problems to the XT, really, and I address them similarly. But the beamer feels so good it’s worth it.

[LambdaCore]

I've heard nothing but praise from the Beamspring, I but I feel like in this instance I gotta stop myself SOMEWHERE, otherwise I'll be selling a kidney for the next big keyboard!

[Muirium]

I had an HHKB, which sadly broke and has me aching for another one to scratch my portable needs.

Wait… it broke? Do you still have it? They’re pretty modular so it’s likely fixable.

Hasu’s replacement controller is a major upgrade if that’s the problem and it’s still in your possession. QMK programmability, and optionally Bluetooth if you want to go the full µ.

[LambdaCore]

I sadly do not still have it still