7 ms·
Brand New Model F Keyboards
- endre 5y agoFormer threads: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14544177 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14544177 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18546466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18546466 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14715697 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14715697 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25025035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25025035 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24546818 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24546818
- gjvc 5y agoIf they include a trackpoint-like device and three buttons like the KU-1255 they will be onto a winner. Also, inverted dome trackpoint heads are the best! :-)
- tokai 5y agoI'm tempted but people already comment on the loudness of my blue cherry switches.
- jey 5y agoI use these "Cherry MX Rubber O-Ring Switch Dampeners" on my keyboard, doesn't affect the feel much but reduces the sound substantially: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZQ2OF8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZQ2OF8/ref=ppx_yo_dt...
- tokai 5y agoI'm already using them :')
- AdmiralAsshat 5y agoBearing in mind that the price of the keyboard was probably included in the price of the "computer" back in the day and may have been masked, does $355 seem high to anyone else? What was the cost of a Model M/Model F back in its heyday, adjusted for inflation?
- bombcar 5y agohttps://www.modelfkeyboards.com/misconceptions-about-the-model-f-keyboard-what-initially-scares-many-people-away/ https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/misconceptions-about-the-mod... > The original Model F F77 keyboard sold for $925 adjusted for inflation, according to the January 1984 IBM Hardware Price List ($375 in 1984 dollars). New ones are less than half the original cost. Metal construction, extremely tight tolerances (a number of factories today could not meet IBM’s 1980s tolerances and we had to start over on a number of components-keys, springs), high price of zinc. Should last for decades. Replacement electronics (xwhatsit controller) PCB design, firmware and GUI software are all open source so can keep using your Model F even if the electronics fail. Alternative controller design (CommonSense controller by DMA) also proven working (in case chip of the xwhatsit controller is no longer available). The Model F Keyboard is fully and easily disassembled and repairable unlike the Model M and other keyboards.
- banana_giraffe 5y agoThe original price of the 5150 was $1565, which included a monitor and keyboard. Was 23% of that price really for the keyboard?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- onemoresoop 5y agoStarting at 350? Isn't that a bit steep for a mechanical keyboard? I got a Leopold that I'm really happy with for nearly 1/3 of that.
- defective 5y ago$399 if you'd like keys on your keyboard.
- bombcar 5y agoAccording to the site the original Model F retailed for $395 in 1980 - almost a grand if adjusted for inflation.
- kube-system 5y agoThis was also a time when those keyboards were made in USA, and you plugged them into a computer that cost as much as two new cars.
- eatonphil 5y agoThese do look pretty nice. But yeah my Das Keyboard was $200. Lasts a long time too, I've had it for 6 years now.
- vzidex 5y agoI'm very happy with my Leopold with Cherry MX Clears, having come from a Model M as my first board. Alternatively, at this price point one could put together a very decent custom from a kit + switches + keycaps.
- vzidex 5y agoI have an original production Model M and don't think I would ever go back to it. It's extremely loud (friends would always complain if we were gaming together), keypresses are very heavy, and it takes up a ton of deskspace. If the Model M or F are appealing to you, at this price point you should also consider some more modern production keyboards or even building your own from a kit + switches + keycaps. If you're after the heavy & tactile keypresses of buckling springs a board with Cherry MX Clear (common) or Green (less common) will probably satisfy you - I can highly recommend any of Leopold's boards with Clears in them.
- lproven 5y agoI have 5 or 6 original production Model Ms – I'm typing on one now – and it remains the best PC keyboard ever made, IMHO. I've used them consistently in every office job I've had in the last 8 years, too. Two (2) colleagues ever have complained, out of hundreds. OTOH I worked in two Linux vendors, so there were lots of folks with mechanical keyboards. :-)
- voldacar 5y agoCherry feels like cheap chinese crap compared to model F switches. They don't even feel remotely similar.
- gigaflop 5y agoIMO, some of Kailh's clickbar switches are a better bet than Cherry's click jacket ones. They also tend to be cheaper! Box Jade is relatively soft to press with a sharp tactile event, Box Whites are softer still, and Box Navies are too stiff for me. I currently use Pinks, since they have a medium-thickness clickbar. And since someone might want linears (no bump or sound in the keypress), Gateron Yellow switches are a great value. Not the cream of the crop, but very nice for what they are, and you can buy them from any number of sites.
- ghostpepper 5y agoI was suckered in by the deceptive copy on this site. When I found out about this project, over a year ago, in Feb 2021, the green text on the right said something similar: 2/28/21 please have your orders in by then! Project Status (February 2021): Now Shipping! (orders still accepted) This made me think there was some deadline, and that orders were closing (ie. a group buy, like many other niche mechanical keyboard products). I ordered mine on 02-27-2021. The author has assured me for over a year that I have not been scammed and my keyboard will arrive eventually. However they refuse to give any sort of information about how many are being shipped per month, or where I am in the queue. The blog posts that seem to arrive every other month only discuss how many orders have been accepted, not how many have been fulfilled. I don't think it's a scam but it's a very poorly run business. If my keyboard ever arrives, no matter how it is, I will not do business with whatever mysterious individual is running the project.
- FreezerburnV 5y agoAs someone who also ordered a keyboard from them, I can say that it isn’t a scam, just crazy slow to arrive. I did eventually get my Model F, and it’s a solid keyboard. To give a bit of the benefit of the doubt: Iirc some of their news posts have talked about how shipping has been slower due to supply chain issues like keyboards sitting in cargo containers without a way to get them.
- bananabiscuit 5y agoAlso will add that I ordered two keyboards from them around 2018 and they finally came 2021 (without printed key caps) and I finally got the printed key caps this year. Yeah, this is not a well run business, it seems more of a hobby project for the guy. Looks like he is basically doing everything by himself so it makes sense as a matter of policy to not give out estimates to individuals because otherwise that will probably take up the majority of his time instead of actually getting orders shipped out. Other than that, very happy with the keyboard, its build quality, the NKRO (which model Ms don’t have), and the open source QMK firmware that is very customizable.
- 5y ago
- alfl 5y agoI'm buying American this year - any idea where it's made?
- 4cao 5y ago"Designed in USA, made in China" according to the label: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/DSC_8560-Copy-1.jpg https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/D...
- alfl 5y agoThank you! Also found this: "Production is expected to take several months, and sea mail from China to me should take 1-2 additional months."
- FreezerburnV 5y agoYeah if you order one you shouldn’t expect it sooner than at least 6-12 months. And you’re not gonna get any info about when it might arrive, it will basically just show up one day probably after you forgot you ordered it.
- SloopJon 5y agoAccording to a "birth certificate label" on the page, China.
- jazzyjackson 5y agoIf you haven't come across them yet, Unicomp Model M are made in Kentucky https://www.pckeyboard.com/ https://www.pckeyboard.com/
- anonymousiam 5y agoAt over $300 each, I'm not sure they are worth it. The Model M is similar, still in production, and about $100. It's also made in the USA. https://www.pckeyboard.com/ https://www.pckeyboard.com/
- bombcar 5y agoAs a bit of a Model M fanatic, the Unicomp keyboards are nice but they are not as durable as a Model M, and certainly not as a Model F. I've had a number of Unicomps and they have all died eventually. My current keyboard is a Topre REALFORCE (exact model https://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/104UB-S_XF11T0/ https://www.realforce.co.jp/en/products/104UB-S_XF11T0/ ) and it's been going strong. Kind of regret getting the one with very dim keycaps, I have to admit. The real deal would be the Model F 122 key - which I still have somewhere and still works with a strange adapter I found on eBay - the additional keys make weird letters.
- aenis 5y agoTopre all the way. I have now four of those, and the one I like the most is the PFU variant with 45g uniformly weighted keys. Being able to adjust the actuation point is great for the occasional gaming session. They are also very silent, especially when placed on a mat.
- anonymousiam 5y agoI've been using Unicomp keyboards since 2008. Right now I have four working Unicomp keyboards. Two Unicomp keyboards have failed on me in the past 14 years. Maybe they aren't as durable as the original Model M, but at least for me, they seem pretty durable.
- bombcar 5y agoYeah, they're certainly more durable than a normal keyboard, and all deaths have been abnormal (spills, etc).
- Aloha 5y ago
- ModernMech 5y agoLove the click of these keyboards but I can't use them because of how unergonomic they are on my wrists. Does anyone know of an ergonomic version of this kind of keyboard?
- dsr_ 5y agoNothing else has the Model F mechanism. The Model M has a similar but not as good mechanism. If your question is really "where can I buy a good ergonomic mechanical keyboard with high quality clicky keyswitches", the answers are myriad. Ergodox and variants are columnar and split. The Moonlander is columnar and split. X-Bows are columnar and angled but not split. All of these can be bought with blue and/or clear and/or green series switches.
- MrLispy 5y agoI got a Durgod Taurus K310 (white) from Amazon and I couldn't be happier with it. I don't think I'd pay for a keyboard costing over 300 USD (225 GBP) though, but I know many who would.
- iamricks 5y agoI have gone through my fair share of mechanical keyboards, i don't like to mod them besides maybe 1 custom keycap. So far my favorite stock keyboards have been from Leopold, i have a 660M with reds to game and a 660C with the silent topres for work. Fit and finish is amazing compared to my old ducky/corsair/razor keyboards.
- andjd 5y agoAnyone else find the copy inconsistent? > Built to Last for Decades, Not Years > If you do find a[n original] Model F, it will be some combination of dirty, broken and/or expensive, requiring hours of work to get it working again! If all the originals are broken, were they really built to last decades?
- mminer237 5y agoWell, they were mostly produced in the 199th decade, and it is now the 203rd decade. You don't have to last four decades to "last for decades".
- filchermcurr 5y agoI think it means they'll last for decades when actively used and left in a sane environment. Most of the original Model F's were sent to the landfill long ago, so the current supply is from electronic recyclers, fished out of the trash when somebody's office dumps old stuff, or found in somebody's grandma's barn.
- outside1234 5y agoI wish there more "cool" split keyboard options out there. I can't type on an inline keyboard like this without wrist issues for any significant amount of time.
- wellthisisgreat 5y agoexactly! Also unfortunate that not that none of the [new] fancy switches (buckling spring, analogue, etc.) are available without a board.
- jazzyjackson 5y agoIt's sitting on the shelf because I'm still extremely slow at typing on a new layout, but I do love the look and feel of my https://keyboard.io https://keyboard.io model 01
- ajford 5y agoThere's a huge variety out there in the mechanical keyboard space. To name a few that can be bought assembled: - Moonlander - https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ https://www.zsa.io/moonlander/ - ErgoDox and relatives - https://www.ergodox.io/ https://www.ergodox.io/ (prebuilt from https://ergodox-ez.com/ https://ergodox-ez.com/ or https://falba.tech/ https://falba.tech/) - Kinesis Edge - https://gaming.kinesis-ergo.com/edge/ https://gaming.kinesis-ergo.com/edge/ - Kinesis FreeStyle Pro - https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle-pro/ https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle-pro/ - Kinesis Advantage 360 - https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage360/ https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage360/ (not yet released) - Keyboard.io Model 100 - https://shop.keyboard.io/ https://shop.keyboard.io/ (The Model 01 is now EOL, the updated Model 100 is supposed to ship later this year) - Ultimate Hacking Keyboard - https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/ https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/ If you're handy with a soldering iron or want to learn, there's also a huge variety of DIY split keyboards. For general research, the ErgoMechKeyboards subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/) has plenty of info. A short list of possible fun ones, though links are results from quick google searches. There are generally plenty of kits/variants/versions for each of these and this is not an exhaustive list, nor an endorsement for any vendors/sellers. - Iris - a split ergonomic keyboard with 4x6 vertically staggered keys and 3 or 4 thumb keys - prebuilt: https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/iris-keyboard-pre-built https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/iri... - Nyquist - a 60% ortholinear split ergo - Prebuilt: https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/nyquist-keyboard-pre-built https://keeb.io/collections/pre-built-keyboards/products/nyq... - Sofle - 6×4+5 keys column-staggered split keyboard with encoder support - https://josefadamcik.github.io/SofleKeyboard/ https://josefadamcik.github.io/SofleKeyboard/ - Kits/assembled: https://keebd.com/products/sofle-v2-1-rgb-keyboard-kit https://keebd.com/products/sofle-v2-1-rgb-keyboard-kit
- wellthisisgreat 5y agoUgh why not make a split keyboard, the regular ones are just wrist-killers (for me at least)
- coreyp_1 5y agoI don't see how companies can take an order and then wait forever to ship. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/business-guide-ftcs-mail-internet-or-telephone-order https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/bus... The FTC gives a 30-day window, after which the company is required to either obtain the customer's consent (silence is NOT consent, as per the FTC) or refund the money automatically.
- butterisgood 5y agohttps://www.pckeyboard.com https://www.pckeyboard.com is where I go for buckling spring keyboards. But lately I need two different ones on my desk so I go with a more compact style.
- temp2222 5y ago[flagged]