Real keyboards have curves... in their giant steel backplates.
Real keyboards have curves... in their giant steel backplates.
Currently got this one on my work laptop. Model M terminal board with internal converter. The only layout changes I made versus a normal 102-key are that RCtrl is is a Windows key, and the four keys along the right side of the numpad are =, -, +, and the normal Enter.
Clickety clack, motherfucker!
Half the fun of using a nice keyboard is that it's loud AF. I love my keyboard peeps, but I do not get the obsession with trying to make them sound all lovely and quiet. "Slightly quieter" is a compromise to be grudgingly tolerated if you have to work around others, nothing more.
VIVA LOS CLICKYS!
This was my first keyboard with old school 5pin DIN and everything. I liked it a lot but ended up having to give it away. You see, it was my freshman year of college and had finally made some friends. My roommate however had not. I had suspected there was foul play taking place with my PC because of some things that had gotten moved, so one night I did the surprise pop-in... Quietly walked up to the dorm room for with my keys ready: popped then into the key hole and quickly opened the door... Yes, caught him in the act. It was towards the end of the semester and we did not speak of it again. I didn't use my computer for the rest of the term and left my old keyboard leaning against a wall in the dorm hallway. A freebie of sorts.
You could feed a family of five with those beefy keycaps alone
That thing will survive a nuclear war...
Want to know the crazy part? This is the version after TWO rounds of value-engineering. The Model B and Model F are both a good bit more robust than these Model M's, and these last forever. The older boards are more rare due to less compatibility and a smaller computer market in general when they were released.
Are those 3D printed replacement caps or something?
I love it! I use a Model M daily for work and remapped my RAlt to a windows key.
They're proper replacements. Unicomp, which still makes full size and TKL Model M's, sells replacement keytops.
I got this "Display Station" terminal board for cheap on eBay because it was a later model, a little bit dirty, RJ-45 instead of PS/2, no indicator LEDs, and missing 4 keytops. It's still a buckling spring beast, though. Someday it might need a bolt mod, but for now it's only lost a few of the plastic rivets and still works perfectly.
I got so carried away yesterday with reading the comments and ogling the picture, I forgot to updoot. Basically, I'm just writing my failure here as an excuse to be able to look upon its glory again today.
Good god I can hear the keyboard key 'clack' through this image.
I wish I could get one in a 60% layout. My desk is too small for my big ones.
Unicomp has buckling spring boards in TKL. A bit pricy, but cheaper than a vintage Model M "Space Saving Keyboard". For 60%, the closest thing I know of is the even more expensive Model F Kishsaver layouts (adapted from an old and insanely pricy banking keyboard from ~1980). I have never tried one of their boards, but I know they exist.
Thanks, I was aware of the model F project but didn't realize they had anything other than very large layout options. I have 4 original model M's, (two are broken), but my desk is too small with my work and personal computers. (I tried a keyboard switch, but I gave up using it after typing to the wrong computer one too many times)
What about the Launch series keyboards?
Those have been discussed in some depth in some of the keyboard communities, and the charitable opinion is that they are for a very niche audience that wants to pay for a specific level of configurability without buying new keycaps, and that is willing to sacrifice features that hobbyists like to pay for, including modern design elements, mounting methods, and somehow both standardization and further customizability. Of course, you're also taking a positive step to support System76, which I can't complain about.
Basically, though, you're paying a lot of money for the dream keyboard of one System76 engineer, circa 2019. It's not "bad" exactly, but it would be understating it to say that it is a quirky product, even among keyboard nerds. It's also, within that space, a very different product than these 20- to 40-year old classic buckling spring boards.
They use your standard Chinese cherry clone switches. Better than the rubber dome keyboards everyone gets by default, but nothing like a genuine model M. (the other reply linked to a model F which is likely better than the M but I wasn't aware of that option until now so I'll have to try it)
The old stylings are hot.
Where do I get one of these and how do I make it work with modern USB?
New ones are available from Unicomp, and I understand they're quite nice. In addition to this one, I have a "GE Medical" Model M made by Unicomp around 2014. Both of mine have homemade "Soarer's Converters," internal for this one, and PS/2 to USB external for the other. I also use the external one for my 90s military keyboard. I do still have a PS/2 port on my motherboard, but it's nice to be able to add a Windows/Super key.
I found my Model M's on eBay and waited around until I got the right deal, about USD $45 shipped for each one. Later models are considered less desirable because they're (slightly) lighter and some of the manufacturing tooling was getting worn out, but by and large they work perfectly and have fewer miles on them. I also love the keycaps on the medical board. That one's not mine but is basically identical. A pre-made converter is about another $30-$40 or so on eBay. The most reliable seller is a dude making them in his house in the Philippines.
Worth every. Goddamn. Penny.
Both Unicomp and modelfkeyboards.com are highly recommended.
