deskthority

My beloved beautiful chic Lea Choc by Ukrainian manufacturer splitted.space.

Low-profile Kailh pink pro switches and cool shiny rotary encoders.

Here we are with my son's rig: Keychron K2 HE, hall effect acquired on Kickstarter after getting 3D Amber.clear keycaps by Oshid : The First Mechanical Keycaps Set with 3D Legend. Orange theme.

Current work setup. Have the keyboard setup to for Quick Books.

Has anyone seen these black keys. Found two sets on ebay that were taken off Model M keyboards used in the late 80's on a
point of sale terminal. I bought all the keys to recreate the layout which I will do at a later time. Had some strange keys on them.
The guy selling the parts was parting them out. Think I got enough keys to make one complete board. Post pictures later of
that layout.

New ModelFKeyboard Model F 104 "Ultra Compact"
עברית / English

Model F 122
עברית / English
(Yes, I know I don't have the "Industrial" keys in the right place, but I'm just going to use them for media keys)

Haven't put the solenoid in yet; it took me a while to set up because I had to open the inner assembly.

thrillscience wrote: 29 May 2025, 23:21 Model F 122
עברית / English
(Yes, I know I don't have the "Industrial" keys in the right place, but I'm just going to use them for media keys)

Haven't put the solenoid in yet; it took me a while to set up because I had to open the inner assembly.

Bruh wtf happened lol, why is this gap so jaggedy and well, big…

wobbled wrote: 01 Jun 2025, 01:29 Bruh wtf happened lol, why is this gap so jaggedy and well, big…IMG_3538.jpeg

Thomas' review units also have a big gap under the function key row. I can't stop noticing it in his review.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yzcEtwSFz9I

Yes. It's definitely not the same fit and finish as a real model F (which I have two of). But I greately appreciate the project, and the keyboard is a dream to type on.

Thanks for the feedback; I have noted to try to keep tighter case margins for the forthcoming Model F designs. Since the cases may be 3d printed or laser cut, this may be easier to achieve.

It seems like most folks like the case margins to go about 1mm just over the bottom of the unpressed keys, and to keep the case margins at most 1mm away from the keys? Because of the Model F's usage of a curved plate, case design is a bit more limited.

Regarding the case margins, the F122 and Model M cases' function keys can be closer to the keycaps because (with the former) the case tops do not have a "wall" that goes down to and just about contacts the top inner assembly. This wall would contact a key when it is pressed down, if there is not enough margin, since the wall is at a different angle than the key (the case is die casted straight and it is best to have a good few degrees of draft angle and avoid undercuts). Without this wall the case could be closer to the keys if preferred. And in the latter case, PVC (IBM Model M plastic case material) has a 0.5% shrinkage rate while aluminum shrinks by as much as 5-7% and it can shrink unevenly, similar to PBT. Better to have too much margin than for keys to get stuck when pressed down. Maybe I should remove all such walls for future designs, if it will allow for tighter margins.

Another way to reduce the margins is wcass's 4 layer Model F PCB innovation, which would reduce the PCB area by moving the traces to another layer. This may make the forthcoming compact designs even more compact.

When I'm sitting at the keyboard, I don't notice it. You see it when people take pictures of the keyboard from above. It doesn't bother me at all.
I love these keyboards. It was a tremendous tour de force recreating the Model F and it was an exciting project, well worth the wait. (I'm thinking about a beam spring!) I first heard about it from your Google talk that I saw on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajnDFJPBays).

My first IBM PC that I bought in 1982 had a proper Model F and the AT after that did, too, and I still have a few so I've had a bit of experience with them. I've tried cleaning up and using the old keyboards (and I've tried the Unicomp Ms), and I can say that the New Model Fs perform better than any original.

I changed my van's desk setup a bit since my last post. I changed keyboards; its a Model M 122 with a 1988 1392145 sticker on its back, but that is clearly not what it is; I have another such keyboard on my home computer, and they have a DIN180 plug and 1988 style mounting plate; this one has a gold anodized mounting plate, is considerably heavier, and a lot of 1985 date codes on its interior. I had ClickyKeyboards screw mod it, and I added some clear relegendable keycaps from Elipse. I am in the process of attempting to order custom caps from Unicomp for both this and my home office setup, for the lower row of F-keys and the side F-keys; sticking with relegendables for the top row and the "New Note" key, because I don't know if I'm going to keep those functions as labeled or change them.

I also replaced my POS-style monitor mount with one I built myself using some 10-series 8020 and a cheap RV quick-mount TV mount (the kind some RVs use to allow you to move the interior mounted TV to the outside wall of the RV). I still have more work to do on that, but another order of components from TNutz got held up at the Canadian border for customs inspection. I love this keyboard, and its feel. Crazy expensive project to use a screw-mod M122 in my van, but its worth it for the typing feel.

As I’ve said before, I have two setups, my van and my home office. They are similar but not entirely identical. I just finished the replacement of many of the keycaps on both of my Model M Battleships. The IBM keyboard in the home office shown here is a 3/29/88 1392149, which is rare Type I model in that it has a DIN180 PC connector rather than a terminal connector. The physical modifications are as follows:

1. All pebble keys besides the “Option” keys are original IBM keycaps, two piece where applicable, but some are not original to the keyboard- the originals are stored in a labeled bag where not used
2. The numpad functions are original IBM keycaps, but have been reoriented to a standard PC numpad layout, including the replacement of two separate keys for a 2-unit vertical + key. This was done by disabling the lower key in Vial and using a bar-stabilised key: the original spring and flipper are still in there.
3. The “Lang” (which toggles between current language and the last language used on a Mac, usually between English and Russian, товарищи) and “New Note” (which opens a new note in the Mac notes app), as well as the first eleven keys on the upper function row are relegendable’s from Elipse’s/Joe’s Model F Project
4. The arrow keys on the cross nav (I actually prefer that to the T-nav) are from Model F Project’s Mopar Blue set.
5. The remaining keys, including the *grey* Print Screen keys, are from Unicomp, and were custom printed with a) English and shift outputs (where applicable) in black, b) Hebrew keyboard outputs in blue, c) Russian keyboard outputs in red, and d) English Mac option codes (output of pressing Option+[key] on a Macintosh) printed on the fronts of the keys; there is an error in the printing on 3, 4, 5, and 6 where £ was left off, and the symbols transposed to the left one key, with 6 blank; this error was *mine* as Unicomp had me use a template to design the keys and they printed exactly as I laid them out.
6. The Tab and Field Exit keys were ordered separately because of a miscommunication in the very long discussion we had on the order; the keyboard’s original ISO enter key was bar stabilised, so installing this newer insert stabilised key required installing an insert, but fortunately I had some. This was true of both this and the van keyboard. I am only going to mention the differences between them when I post that, of which there are few.

In terms of function, most of the keys are very self-explanatory, but here are the ones that are not:

1. Panic is simply escape. Included in the order, although I didn’t specify it, were orange “Don’t Panic” keys which I ended up installing on my New Model Ms in place of Escape. I thought those were cute, but it would have been cuter if the price for a custom keyset was $42 instead of $43.
2. I have the Eject symbol on both keyboards, but I only have a software eject CD drive hooked up on the home setup. That’s what it ejects.
3. “NumLk” (and “Num Lock” on the other keyboard) and the Function key do the same thing, but differently: NumLk toggles between layer one and layer two, while Function momentarily activates the opposite layer. Layer 2 reconfigures the “Ctrl” key to “LGui”, the “Option” keys to Control, the “Command” keys to Alt, the upper row of function keys to directly output F1-F12 (some of the designated keys do function by outputing an F code, while others do not) and also effectively turns the numpad into a navigation cluster as labeled. I’m digging around for blue-printed Num Lock keys.
4. Moon key turns on/off Mac’s Do Not Disturb function.
5. “App. WinCtr” takes all the windows of an application and displays them on screen at once; essentially Mission Control but for one app.
6. “Define Select” looks up the definition of a selected word in the Mac’s dictionary.
7. “Srch Select” uses a search engine to look up the selected word of phrase; I use Yandex which is why it’s not “Google Select”.
8. “Zoom In / Out” turns on the zoom feature when held in conjunction with Command (which is why it’s read), zooms in when held in conjunction with Ctrl (which is why it’s blue) and out when held by itself.
9. “Speak Select” reads selected text out loud.
10. “Access Cntrl” opens the Accessibility Control Panel

The keyboard is connected to the computer by a TinkerBoy converter, and configured by Vial. This keyboard is not (yet) bolt modded, but sending it to ClickyKeyboards for that work is on my to do list- it doesn’t need it yet but it will eventually. This keyboard was an insanely expensive project, all in $360 (which will go up when I get it modded).

My trackball is a well known model, so I won’t go into detail on that, but you might notice I also have an Apple AEKII in the drawer. I do use that, too. Between them they are my favourite keyboards I’ve experienced so far on a computer, even though they are quite clearly very different. And yes, that phone is connected through a Cell-2-Jack, and it works for both receiving and dialling out calls.
An interesting facet of my setup also includes my chair, which I built myself many years ago, although I not that long ago replaced the actual seat. The original was from a 1991 Volvo 240; this one is from a 1988 Volvo 240 (and smells vaguely of pot because the owner of the car I stole it out of apparently was into that). Insanely comfortable.
This next point is actually also part of the setup. The computer is wired for both video and sound to this setup, and I do mean wired: RCA cables and an HDMI that are run over the wall via conduits. The keyboard is the only wireless part of the setup. This stereo is the only thing I use for sound output from the computer, regardless of where I am sitting. Since this isn’t an audio forum, I won’t go into detail on it, but the system is setup, through switches and Ys, to be able to digitise from radio, CD, cassette, or record (33, 45, or 78) to the computer, or record computer audio output to cassette.

The Keychron keyboard and Keychron mouse are there to use the computer from that space, the primary reason for doing so is to be able to control the computer while doing music digitisation. It is just an HD TV, as I don’t watch much TV and a high end TV would be lost on me… and I wanted a TV that could output RCA analog audio, because when I first designed the setup, I was running an old Nakamichi RE-2, but that developed a fault so I have since “upgraded” to a Yamaha R-N600A which can receive digital sound.

I do intend to eventually get a USB-to-Bluetooth adaptor and swap out that Keychron with a Model M of some description, probably one of my now-unused Unicomp New Model Ms; they aren’t as good as an 80’s IBM M, but they knock that Keychron’s Cherry MX Blues into a cocked hat.
The seat for this space was also something I built myself. The arms are off of a long otherwise discarded chair, the seat is from a 1989 Lincoln Town Car, the recline feature does work, and I built the support base out of ply and 2x4s. It is also quite comfortable for relaxing on; less so for productivity- the Volvo is better for that. My ferret, Churchill, is the one who is most fond of the thing.

I know these has been posted a handful of times in the past, but its unusual enough even here (they are build with the finest planned economy has to offer) as they were only produced for a domestic market, for one system in the late 80s. Sold by a man for roughly 45 euro, covered in dirt and grime, yet all the keys click, unlike my german AT submarine, viewtopic.php?t=27700.
Not only in the last 3 years has it become very difficult to find anything remotely interesting here, let alone something that just left the abandoned factory where it sat for the last 35 years, but here we are.



Fun fact, these are all made from baby blue plastic then painted grey to look ibmish:

IBM cable next to "IBM" cable, which is which is up to you:

A PCB looking like its from the 70s, despite being 10-15 years younger:

Metal top plate: The bottom pan, albeit thin is also metal, technically making it better than the original AT, probably the only piece to be fair.