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Teardown of the Apple's A1243 Keyboard
- kube-system 6y agoI like the key travel on the A1243. I wish their newer scissor switches were just a little bit taller.
- ksec 6y agoThanks. Again I am glad I am not the only one. 0.7 mm - Butterfly keyboard 1 mm - 16” MBP "Magic" ( Scissor ) keyboard 1.3 mm - old scissor keyboard It is only 0.3mm but it is a world of difference. And at no point would I want a 0.3mm thinner Laptop at the expense of much better typing experience. Even Microsoft copy the 1.3mm Key Travel Design with their Surface Book.
- kube-system 6y agoI'm measuring 1.8mm of total travel on my A1243, and 0.8mm on my 2020 Macbook Pro but it could just be a matter of technique. 1.3 would probably be great.
- philjohn 6y agoI still miss the old-style Thinkpad keyboards ... they were a joy to type on.
- jordache 6y agomy fav apple keyboard is the from the green PowerMac G4 generation, with the clear plastic casing, and hefty mass. Just don't look at the underside, where food crumbs, hairs that fall into the key holes are forever trapped. https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageApple/comments/ax9hqm/got_an_old_m7803_apple_pro_keyboard_cleaned_it_up/ https://www.reddit.com/r/VintageApple/comments/ax9hqm/got_an...
- timw4mail 6y agoSo mushy...asthetically, I liked the transparent insulation on the cables, but I can't bear to actually use that.
- phyalow 6y agoThat is still my daily driver with my 2019 Mac Pro. Great piece of kit.
- devNoise 6y agoYeah, the M7803 is great. Still have the one from my G4. A couple of years ago, I found a guy on FB market place that was clearing out an office with a bunch of those. Bought two, a black/clear and white. With those as backups, I took my original one apart to give it a good cleaning.
- vestrigi 6y agoUsed this until recently too but the keys where actually really not smooth to press. The big ISO enter key is especially bad, because it needs to be pressed in the right spot to move. I can confirm the trapped crumbs which are almost impossible to remove because the keyboard is really not easy to open up. I remember it having more than 30 screws scattered on the metal plate.
- drewzero1 6y agoI like the A1048 that immediately followed this one even better[1]. Sharper keycaps and (imo) a crisper feel, though that could be subjective. Definitely also a crumb tray! Most keycaps could be interchanged between these keyboards and the truncated one from the original iMac (M2452)[2] which I did on a couple of keyboards, mostly because I liked the way it looked. I only stopped using my 2452 last year when I decided I really, really needed a keyboard with a forward delete key. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Keyboard#Apple_Keyboard_(109_and_78_keys) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Keyboard#Apple_Keyboard_... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Keyboard#Apple_USB_Keyboard_(M2452) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Keyboard#Apple_USB_Keybo...
- throwaway4good 6y agoThis is my favorite keyboard.
- Naga 6y agoI forgot about these until this post. I used to have one when they came out, and I worked at a retail store where all of our kiosks had these. Does anyone else get electric shocks often from them? I would get them anytime I touched the metal case of it. I never thought to google it or anything.
- kube-system 6y agoUsually when electronic devices have a metal housing, they're tied to ground. Getting shocked could be a sign of a wiring issue in the building. Ground should be at zero electrical potential.
- dangrie158 6y agoThe tingling you may feel is absolutely normal. Most devices (Mac minis and MacBooks while connected to the charger) don‘t even connect to PE (only 2 connectors on the plug). The tingling comes from some leakage across the transformer isolated primary/secondary but is so small that it’s not dangerous. That’s also completely unrelated to static discharges that zap you once you touch something that can equalize the potential
- kube-system 6y agoThe post on the AC adapter (that the duckhead or extension cable slots into) is earthed, and some adapters (other than the 2 prong US duckhead) continue this to the building ground. The US extension cable is earthed, and I believe some duckheads in other countries are as well. The power adapters that were in use for mac desktops during the time period that the person I am replying to was referring to were earthed. https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.vmVNrqGAR3raMcey5fAXUQHaE6 https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.vmVNrqGAR3raMcey5fAXUQHaE6 Although you are correct in cases where the device is not earthed.
- tambourine_man 6y ago>Does anyone else get electric shocks often from them? Oh yes. Also, many aluminum laptops when plugged in.
- michaelcampbell 6y agoI love and loathe Apple keyboards. On the love side, the original 1984 Mac, and the Apple ][. On the loathe side, most anything in this century. I like the IBM model M's, too, so there's that. My daily drivers now are Cherry Blues or Browns.
- cmiller1 6y agoMatias makes some modern USB clones of the original Apple keyboards you mention, all the way down to making a modern clone of the ALPS switches.
- 1-6 6y agoI hope Twitter doesn't become a commonplace location to put this type of info. I love teardowns, I loathe Twitter.
- 24gttghh 6y agohttps://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+Keyboard+A1243+Teardown/98273 https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Apple+Keyboard+A1243+Teardow... Enjoy
- machello13 6y agoI've been using this model keyboard for probably around 10 years now. I even have a couple spares sitting in a drawer since they don't make them anymore. * they're very durable (talking normal usage + spilling drinks a few times a year — no stuck or broken keys) * the key labels never fade * there's 2 low-power USB ports (I think USB 2.0?) which aren't good for much, but good enough to plug a mouse into * it's not the easiest thing to take apart but if you get crumbs under a key, it's pretty easy to pry it up and then click it back in
- jahnu 6y agoSame. Love em. My current one is dying. Are there any similar ones on the market?
- machello13 6y agoI don't know. I have one spare left — when that's gone I'm toast. I think I remember reading something about a logitech keyboard with similar key travel, but that was years ago and I don't remember the model.
- Hamuko 6y ago>talking normal usage + spilling drinks a few times a year I've definitely dumped at least one cup of tea into mine, possibly even more, and it's still working perfect. It's quite bizarre actually.
- simonbarker87 6y agoI dumped an entire cup of tea into a 2016 MPB, it did not survive as well as your keyboard
- Hamuko 6y agoMy coworker apparently managed to dump at least some tea into his 15-inch MacBook Pro and it actually survived. I found it quite surprising, would've figured it was a death sentence for sure.
- marcodiego 6y agoI think keyboards could be more powerful. I remember apple had a keyboard with usb ports[1] and sun had keyboards with speakers[2]. I don't why keyboards can't have some inexpensive useful features. [1] https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/imac-aluminum-faq/imac-aluminum-keyboard-differences-feel-usability.html https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/imac-aluminum-faq/im... [2] https://archive.org/stream/bitsavers_sunsparcSPationVer11999_166667/SPARC_Keyboard_Specification_Ver_1_1999_djvu.txt https://archive.org/stream/bitsavers_sunsparcSPationVer11999...
- nuccy 6y agoActually A1243 has an internal USB hub with two ports on both sides of the bump underneath. Those ports are very handy for Logitech wireless adapters: wherever the keyboard is plugged to the mouse comes with it.
- Hamuko 6y agoThe A1243 has two USB ports. https://everymac.com/images/other_images/apple-aluminum-keyboard.jpg https://everymac.com/images/other_images/apple-aluminum-keyb...
- spijdar 6y agoJust FYI, the speaker in the Sun keyboard only existed to emit status beeps when the computer is powered on and self-tests. Most non-suns have the same speaker integrated into the computer itself. At least when those sorts of beepy-PC-BIOSes were more common.
- aidenn0 6y agoMatias still makes apple-style keyboards with USB ports.
- tomjakubowski 6y agoYeah, when I changed from the HHKB to the Ergodox EZ, I found myself disappointed by my new keyboard's lack of USB ports. It's the best place for a wireless mouse dongle; one cable now brings both your mouse and keyboard to another computer.
- shadykiller 6y agoAnyone looking for a wireless mechanical keyboard - I can't recommend Logitech G913 more. Especially if it's employer sponsored. Low profile, compact and great switches. Love it :)
- gurkendoktor 6y agoThat model, but without the numpad, is still my favorite keyboard (the A1242). I've tried mechanical keyboards for fun, but I keep coming back to this one for the low profile. It was only sold for a year or so before the wireless model replaced it, and it's hard to find them now. What I did was to look for used iMacs from 2010, see which ones have the A1242, then ask the seller to only sell me the keyboard. Based on the replies I wasn't the first one to ask! Seems like there are still some fans around.
- ascagnel_ 6y agoApple has put out two versions of their tenkeyless keyboard -- one powered by AA batteries (and with a substantial battery hump to hold them), and a low-profile version with an internal battery that charges via Lightning. I had been using one of the latter for at least 5-6 years (before a key died, courtesy of something falling on the keyboard). I've had my current keyboard for about 4 months, and I haven't yet had to recharge it after the initial charge.
- londons_explore 6y agoI would hope they can achieve a 50 year battery lifespan... After all, in the life of a keyboard it probably types 10,000 characters per day for 50 years. Call that 400 Million events that need to be sent to your mac via bluetooth low energy. The system can be entirely powered down when no key is pressed, so the only energy loss is a pre-keypress amount. That works out to about 3 Watt-hours (assuming each keypress is transmitted 3 times for interference-resistance and has a packet length the same as an advertisement). A long-life alkaline battery has a low enough leakage to last 50 years, and about the volume of an AA cell can easily power daily use for 50 years. If you want to go smaller and lighter, you could get 10 years out of a coin cell. It would probably work out cheaper because you don't need to ship the device with a cable or charge circuitry too. Users don't have one more thing to worry about charging either.
- lm28469 6y ago> It would probably work out cheaper because you don't need to ship the device with a cable or charge circuitry too. Users don't have one more thing to worry about charging either. Knowing Apple they'd probably solder or glue the battery so that you have even one less thing to worry about
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- pmcollins 6y agoI was using a Microsoft ergo keyboard, among others, for years and suffered from what I thought was going to be lifelong tendonitis, making life rather difficult as a programmer. Then I started using this keyboard and my tendonitis went away in a few weeks and never came back. Thank you Apple.
- josefresco 6y agoWhy isn't this a blog post? /old man rant
- PurpleFoxy 6y agoNot just an old person thing. Anyone who’s brain functions for longer than 10 second bursts prefers a blog post over a series of tweets
- simonh 6y agoIf it had been a blog post, would the submitter even have come across it? I agree Twitter isn't a great platform for this sort of content, but it's where the people are. Not me, I don't use it (nobody goes there, it's too crowded) so I sympathise, but if I come across links to content like this I don't begrudge it.
- AltruisticGapHN 6y agoUsed them for past ten years, on Windows. So quiet. I used Apple’s drivers to have the nice osd for media keys. I love how the AAK feels sturdy. It’s one large slab, it doesnt slide easily on the table thanks to the rubber pads. It gives a nice low vibration thud when you type on it, it doesn’t feel cheap. However i got myself a mechanical keyboard lately. The only issue i have with the AAK is that the function keys have no separation, always need to double check if I’m pressing the right key. For gaming this can be annoying. On many other pc kkeyboards you get f1-f4 grouped, then some space, then f5-f8 etc. so it’s much easier to find them if you eg. need to pres f5 quickly. Now I’m on a Ducky One 2 TKL with "cherry mx silent red" and what a joke. It?s WAY more noisy than the AAK. The transition was rough... but i start to like it... i guess you can get used to either, the AAK now feels a bit weird. Anyways, long story to say only after switching away i realized just how nice these "scissor" switches feel. I genuinely never even paid attention to the small resistance of the keys, before they activate.
- rshm 6y agoAny who moved from this keyboard to newer bluetooth version with keypad. Do you find key spacing a bit tigher in newer version ?
- aylmao 6y agoThis is the exact same keyboard I'm typing this on (I actually didn't know the model number, I had to check). It's a good one! The keys definitely have more travel than modern MacBook keyboard keys. I like its size, incline, and weight too. I'm split on the size, on the one hand it's kind of long, so it fits awkwardly in my backpack and I find myself pushing it left and right often. On the other hand, I like having a dedicated delete key and full-size arrow keys. A version of it with the separate arrow keys but no num-pad would be perfect for me. The USB ports aren't very good for data, but they're great to plug a mouse into. I have a wireless Logitech mouse with the USB receiver, not Bluetooth. It's easy forget it's not Bluetooth though because the receiver has just been tucked in under the keyboard the whole time.
- johnwalkr 6y agoThe current MacBook key travel is similar (a bit less travel but much more than the butterfly keyboards).
- johnwalkr 6y agoFor those that love this keyboard: the new MacBook magic keyboard feels similar and is great, but be warned that the current standalone magic keyboard hasn’t been updated from butterfly keys yet.
- appleuser43242 6y agoThe new MacBook keyboards use the same switches as the current standalone Magic Keyboard. Apple has never released a standalone keyboard with butterfly keys.
- jbverschoor 6y agoI'm waiting for the new F-key layout (layout of the M1 laptops make more sense)
- johnwalkr 6y agoHuh, that's true. Playing around with it now, it certainly feels closer to my 2018 macbook pro than my ancient magic keyboard, 2015 macbook pro or M1 macbook pro, although it's somewhat in the middle of those.
- NiceWayToDoIT 6y agoAfter going through the entire thread, it seems that since ZX Spectrum everything is more or less the same only thing that has improved were materials and the fact we are buying our computers each 1 - 2 years. Concepts I saw were very much the same as back then.
- awiesenhofer 6y agoI love this keyboard and really miss having an USB-hub on it, such an underrated feature. Anyone know any good modern alternatives?