to me even 7 keys is fine. Anything above 10 (which is the amount of fingers you have) is kinda over kill.

But will microsoft jump to the mechanical bandwagon ? Or more importantly will Logitech ?

Razer has already made the switch, yet for their first mech keyboard they made it 2kro, wtf ??? also cherry mx blue switches which suck at double tapping and are more prone to wear because unlike other non clicky switches, dirt can get trapped and wear it out faster compared to the other switches.

Cherry corp keyboards are stopping production of double shot keys was it in 2010 or 2011 not sure.



The only upside is the recently surge in Taiwanese/Chinese/Korean keyboard clones making better mechs although with lasered pbt keys mostly.

None of them have opted for doubleshots or even dye sublimated keys which are costly. Instead their going for plated mounted cases, aesthetically pleasing, and feature rich mech keyboards.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Jan 31 2011, 09:13 AM

Roughly soon.

Actualy Malaysia already had some mechs but they were only Steelseries 6gv2 nd 7G (both cherry blacks and has nkro via usb to ps2 adapter); and just recently the black widow (is cherry blue and only 2kro).

Filco/Leopold might be available soon to our local market at say lowyat.

Differences

1. keys are more burrowed into the keyboard compared to the duckys which is elevated higher.

2. filco uses normal stabilizers with metal bars, whereas ducky uses cherry keyboard stabilizers which are easier for removal/installing keycaps

3. filco uses pad printing only, whereas the ducky has a few options such as pad printing, lasered, and engraved. Abs or pbt keycaps. Ducky basically has more options.

4. the stand underneath the keyboard, the filco can flip and it springs the stand into position. The duckys you sort of have to push to lock it in place.

5. led lights embded into ducky keycaps, whereas filco's is embeded into the casing at the top right.



As for typing, i'll leave that for others to comment on the difference.

7bit's set uses a dark grey spacebar, but using the default black pbt spacebar of the leopold/archiss wouldn't look so out of place. i've done the same with my ducky pbt spacebar.

But for me, i'm using a white/beige double shot set, so the Leopold keyboards are out of the question for me :/

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 1 2011, 01:17 PM

SG Mo ducky the ship from China/Taiwan.

So if you order from the SG MO, you just paying extra for shipping. May as well order from the source and ship directly to be cheaper.

The only reason i did it at the time was because only the SG MO had it on offer back then until pchome came along.

So i pretty much paid 500+ just to get my ducky.


@quest_5692

I never used a filco but i did read extensively about them before i got my Ducky dk-9008.

I think the Ducky is better in terms of features and i don't regret getting that over a Filco. Removing/installing caps was also rather important for me, so with the Ducky it was a breeze; but with a Filco it would have been hell and i might have broken it if i had tried.

These days i think Filco is out of the picture unless they consider reducing their pricings.


Now it's Ducky vs Archiss/Leopold.


But i think Ducky is better in that the spacebar replacement can be made by SP if your planning on going for a double shot full set. Whereas the Leopold/Archiss, SP are not able to make a spacebar for them.

Cherry G80 casings are kinda crappy and they are pcb mounted so not as sturdy as filco/ducky/leopold/archiss

Filco stabilizers are just a hassle to deal with.

Topre are just too damn expensive. About 900+ importing to Malaysia.

Steelseries only come with cherry mx blacks

black widow comes with cherry mx blues only. I don't really like that for gaming, but the bigger issue is that it only has 2kro, a disappointment for gamers.


This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 2 2011, 01:27 AM

Mine was with lasered pbt keys and the leather palm rest, the most expensive ducky keyboard option.

My doubleshot sets cost me easily 100 each importing from overseas. I got 2 sets, a vintage cherry beige/white, and a beige/black set.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 2 2011, 01:38 AM

The best IBM Model M internet store. They even have the accessories and mod parts you will need.

http://www.clickykeyboards.com/index.cfm/f...tid/0/id/396060


The link goes straight to their adapter page, where they have an interesting FAQ that explains a lot about the adapters for old vintage keyboards.

---

Added on February 2, 2011, 8:17 amThere are many pre 1980s mechanical ibm boards that have survived up to today and are still in circulation as second hand.

Some have also been refurbished to have ps2 or usb ports as well.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 2 2011, 08:17 AM

10 usd shipping for pchome.

And if you do buy from there, make sure you select English characters only.

Japanese ??

Nope


The koreans have doubleshots though on the Leopold website. (also available in black as well)








http://leopold.co.kr/?doc=cart/item.php&it_id=1240381976



To give you an idea what it looks like in person, here is a comparison screenshot. The left is the same bolded font and font size Cherry corp double shot i showed you the other day. The leopold korean double shot is the one in the middle.





So since this set fits the Filco, it will be compatible with the Dk-9008. Except top right 4 media keys which don't have keys available for it.




What key print type did you have in mind ?? I listed the following in order from cheapest to expensive.


key print type

1. pad printed
2. lasered
3. double shot


plastic type

1. abs
2. pbt
3. pom

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 2 2011, 02:04 PM

Does anyone know if lowyat has a din5 to ps2 adapter ???

I can get one in the UK, but it's gonna take a while to ship to Malaysia.

the usb nkro doesn't work for Apple MAC. But if you don't use mac then should be fine.

Looking for a PS/2 Mini-DIN6 Male to DIN-5 AT Female adapter.

Does anyone know where to get one in Malaysia x_x;

here is a good summary history of the authentic Cherry corp mx keycaps

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=15038


Notice however after doubleshots and dye sublimated keys, the contrast started getting worse

This why ds vintage keys are sough after since they have good contrast/durability and hard to get these days as they are out of production most part.

---

Added on February 6, 2011, 9:56 amKey switch technology GIF picture illustration

rubberdome


scissors


cherry mx reds


cherry mx clears



cherry mx blues


cherry mx blacks



cherry mx browns




Some Geekhacker created these. Good reference for first time mechanical keyboard buyers.



This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 6 2011, 09:56 AM

I don't think there is a best.

It's which the individual thinks suits them best.


Tactile or just linear ?

Clicky ? or Non clicky ??



But there seems to be a general consensus that Cherry MY switches aren't as good as Cherry MX.


Anyway, from the gif demonstrations, you can see the difference between linear and tactile. Tactile has that metal thingy on the left where it bumps whenever you actuate, to tell you that you have just registered the key, so you don't need to press down all the way.

For linear it doesn't give you that feedback, as it goes straight down without that left side impeding it.

But the black spring seems to be harder than say the red. So when pressing the cherry mx black, it's much stiffer than the red which has a softer spring.

cherry mx black = 60g spring actuation force required to activate

cherry mx red = 45g



Anyway notice the blue cherry mx switch, when you press down, the plastic thing hits as it also touches the left metal jagged edge. Thats how you get that clicky noisy. But as such, dirt can get trapped there eventually and lessen that clicky sound. So later you may need to do some cleaning there to fix that.

For browns you don't have this dirt problem.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 6 2011, 01:30 PM

Pull key cap out see what switch it uses.

There are alps, buckling springs, cherry MY etc etc.

Sorry that one i can't answer. I don't own a buckling spring board :]

For roughly 200 ish (shipping already included), that deck is a good deal. Apparently the American police use it for their patrol cars o.O;

Things to be aware of though, it's 2kro and cherry mx black switches, if i'm not mistaken.


The good things about it, superior build as in the keycaps are dye sublimated /double shot hybrids, excellent led lighting, very thick sturdy casing. It has some spill proof feature as in some rubber dome coating covering the mechanical switches to prevent liquid for getting into the switches/electrical parts of the keyboard.

If you like 10 keyless, your ok with 2kro, and you don't mind cherry mx black switches, yeah i think it's pretty good deal.

I didn't bother getting one cause i'm already buying a few other things.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 7 2011, 12:10 PM

By the way, i'm part of a bulk for a double shot kit for vintage cherry corp double shot key sets.

Would also work equally nice with a dye sublimated set which is what i also ordered separately.

More info about my bulk here

http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=14698


Actually it's not my bulk, but i did come up with the idea for this kit, and collect the interested buyers for it. 7bit will be representing a bunch of us to place the order for the keys along with dozens of others who are getting other double shot sets. My set is like a small alternative kit pegged along with those other orders to save costs as we buy in bulk.

7bit estimated that the kit will cost 20 USD each. Color of choice is white/beige kit set, or black set.

This post has been edited by Moogle Stiltzkin: Feb 7 2011, 12:27 PM