Mechanical Keyboard Guide

Looks like one model has laptop style keys.

FAIL (Though I'm sure some people are into that sort of thing.)

The other one looks alright. It almost looks like a copy of DAS Keyboard Professional, but with a different USB hub configuration and audio output jacks. Not sure what switches they'll have though.
 
This actualy look promising:

It's resonably cheap and it might even have normal distribution in Europe (one shop in UK selling filco and one sop in germany selling deck is not normal ;))

BTW anyone has any news about Steelseries 6G v2 ? It was supposed to be Q2 release and we are in June already.
 
ok after about 1 week or 2 playing with the cherry4100 my RSI started flaring up again, so i went to the good ol, ms4000 again, which of course now feels disgusting (but doesn't make a grown man cry to sleep).

so, i have a cherry 80 on the way, i have an extra ms4000 in the closet(i buy extras cuz they break easily) and i've already begun mapping and disassembling an old ps2 keyboard controller and tracing the pins. yea gonna figure out how the heck i'll mount cherry keys on a ms4000.
 
Hey guys,

Which keyboard would you recommend for a budget of approximately $50
? I absolutely adore my IBM Model M, but my roommate can't tolerate the noise. Currently have a Logitech Wave (I love the media keys), but its tactility leaves much to be desired.

I've looked into the iOne Scorpius but have been put off by issues with its cheap PCB. The ABS M1 seems too loud and too much of a knockoff. I'd very much prefer to at least have a Windows key (another reason I can't use my Model M). Cherry switches seem to be my best option.

Heck, even something similar to my ThinkPad T60's keyboard would be just grand ....
 
are all cherry keyboards mechanical? I have one at home that I found in a skip (!!!!!) and I have not used it yet. I do know that its a PS2 connection.
Im posting from work, otherwise I would check it. Ill post the serial number etc when I get home to see what everyone thinks of the model I scrounged.
 
are all cherry keyboards mechanical? I have one at home that I found in a skip (!!!!!) and I have not used it yet. I do know that its a PS2 connection.
Im posting from work, otherwise I would check it. Ill post the serial number etc when I get home to see what everyone thinks of the model I scrounged.

Not all Cherry KBs are mechanical, though there's a decent chance yours is.
 
has anyone checked out the cherry mx red type keyboards? I'm just wondering how they feel out of curiosity (didn't see any experience posted).
 
Not all Cherry KBs are mechanical, though there's a decent chance yours is.

model # is RS 6000 M. it has the windows logo used before XP on the windows key ^_^

it looks like it is a membrane keyboard from what I can find
 
I saw that, but I was asking for personal experience rather than a product description. I wouldn't have asked otherwise.

Sorry. I haven't seen much posted about the Cherry Reds. You might have better luck on geekhack.org as it's a great resource for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts. It's a wonderful site for information on various keyboards and switch types, and those guys are extremely knowledgeable (and very particular!) about their keyboards.
 
Sorry. I haven't seen much posted about the Cherry Reds. You might have better luck on geekhack.org as it's a great resource for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts. It's a wonderful site for information on various keyboards and switch types, and those guys are extremely knowledgeable (and very particular!) about their keyboards.

thanks, I'll have to check that out.
 
from a review of the cherry g80-3600lyc on geekhacks.org, it seems like the mx reds might be a little much for most ppl. the keys seem to be extremely light weight (~35g) so if you like to rest your fingers on the board between typing you're likely to press a few w/o knowing it, lol.

it also seems like some ppl are just modding the mx blacks with lighter springs from cheaper boards to achieve a mx red-like feel (not a bad idea as it will allow you a bit more choice of board, lol), but personally I may just look for a board with the mx brown keys (seem to suit my needs best as having that tactile feel is somewhat nice when normally typing, and I'm probably 1:3 on typing-to-gaming, lol).
 
quick question...

are there ergonomical / curved mechanical keyboards in existence?
 
so i got a great deal on a new not used g80 8200, it's brand new, just the controller or whatever doesn't power up, for 30bucks, so i'm gutting it for the cherry browns.
However, i've never really solder/ or desolder'd for that matter, and desoldering with a wick took forever for just one cherry, so i guess i'll have to watch a few vids and goto radio shack and buy a sucker bulb thing first.
 
so i got a great deal on a new not used g80 8200, it's brand new, just the controller or whatever doesn't power up, for 30bucks, so i'm gutting it for the cherry browns.
However, i've never really solder/ or desolder'd for that matter, and desoldering with a wick took forever for just one cherry, so i guess i'll have to watch a few vids and goto radio shack and buy a sucker bulb thing first.

all I have to say is to be careful and practice on some junk first.
 
The only radio shack solder sucker worth anything is the one that looks like a soldering iron with a built-in bulb attached. The unpowered solder suckers are pretty worthless in my opinion, but I've used that one and it does a decent job. Not as good as my Hakko 808 but way, way cheaper.

Also, since you presumably just want the switches and don't really care about reusing the PCB, you may not need a solder sucker. You can just use a soldering iron to reflow the solder and worry the switches free while the solder is still molten (this can be difficult though if there's more than a couple of pins per switch). The solder suckers are really more for clearing out the through holes once you've removed the component.
 
These cherry switches also have diodes in them so i'm trying not to burn em out, for whatever reason they are there. (i put the ends of the switches to a multimeter and press the button, a charge goes through, so i assume i haven't burnt out the diode yet.
 
These cherry switches also have diodes in them so i'm trying not to burn em out, for whatever reason they are there. (i put the ends of the switches to a multimeter and press the button, a charge goes through, so i assume i haven't burnt out the diode yet.

The diodes are there for NKRO- they let the controller know which keys are actually pressed, rather than registering a range of keys on the matrix.
 
I keep seeing all of there mechanical keyboard threads asking questions when all of the general answers are here. If you need more help with specific questions, there are plenty people here that can help.
 
Well, I've been thinking about picking up a fildo majestouch cherry blue board but it's just too much for a keyboard. Are there any other cherry blue keyboard alternatives? like a dell keyboard that uses blue switches?

Good news. I ended up getting a 104k NKRO black cherry switches FILCO majestouch from ebay, it's basically BNIB.

Will post impressions.
 
^^^

It's not easy if you don't have any faith to begin with. That's how every business start. Too bad they didn't have any.
 

almost done modding the keyboard, just decided to dremel out the pcb, works pretty well, feels nice, now i gotta do lottsa fine tuning and still finish mapping out the keyboard for the new board to use, feels nice the cherry browns.
 
Very cool, Lanx


On another note, I got my majestouch with black cherry switches today and I'm loving it!

For $102 BNIB shipped it was a STEAL!
 
I want to get a majestouch tenkeyless, but I can't decide between brown or blue cherries. Right now im using cheap Dell keyboard. I just don't know if I will like the click sound or not
 
Lanx... Wow! That is absolutely superb. Can't wait to see the finished product.
 
I bit the bullet and bought the tenkeyless with blue cherries. It's a bit louder than I expected, but I think I'll get used to it.
 
I bit the bullet and bought the tenkeyless with blue cherries. It's a bit louder than I expected, but I think I'll get used to it.

I got used to it. Then again when I started in computers the IBM Model M keyboard with the buckling spring switches was quite common.
 
Raptor-Gaming K1 : http://www.shop-016.de/raptor-p4h5s6-RAPTOR-GAMING-K1.html
  • Cherry Black linear switches only
  • USB 1.1 hub with two sockets
  • 8 key locks
  • 8 fluorescent keys (function key height)
  • Key remover tool
Here is mine, after a lot of use the only sign of wear is some polish to most of the keys where the mildy textured surface has worn down:



Fluroescent keys are the same height as the function keys, so if you put them in place of anything else they are easy to find by touch alone. This is good and bad - I hate the feel of them on WASD, but it's sometimes useful to have them on keys that are beyond normal reach while gaming.

There is no PS/2 option, which is probably the main downside to this keyboard for some users.

It's good quality, made by Cherry and basically a rebranded G80-1800 shell with the Raptor-Gaming accessories and the MX black instead of Cherry's budget keys.
 
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A friend of mine at Steelseries is sending me a 6GV2, but I couldn't help myself so I also bought a Filco tenkeyless with the brown switches. Both should arrive on the same day. I really hope the Filco works out because I love how it doesn't have a numpad, perfect for my overcrowded desk, only question is if I'm going to prefer the brown switches to the black in the Steelseries.

I'll post what I think in a few days, we'll see.
 
A friend of mine at Steelseries is sending me a 6GV2, but I couldn't help myself so I also bought a Filco tenkeyless with the brown switches. Both should arrive on the same day. I really hope the Filco works out because I love how it doesn't have a numpad, perfect for my overcrowded desk, only question is if I'm going to prefer the brown switches to the black in the Steelseries.

I'll post what I think in a few days, we'll see.

go go Happy Hacking Pro 2!
 
Does a mechanical keyboard allow you to press multiple keys at the same time without that beeping noise I get from these cheap keyboards?
 
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