An update about Unicomp shipping to Malaysia. The good news is that they now ship stuff to Malaysia (again)! I was excited for maybe a minute. Why? The bad news... the only method of shipping is FedEx International. As an indication of how obscene the shipping cost is, two printed RGB sets will set you back a few cents under US$62. That's nuts!

Yeah, I figured as much. As you know, I'm getting some stuff (not just for myself), so the entire package is quite large.

Just to clarify for the others, there is no discount for large orders from Unicomp (unlike the SP group buys), only that you save on shipping costs because everyone pays a fraction of the total cost which will be cheaper than if they buy the stuff on their own.

I also ordered stuff from Clickeykeyboards and PJRC, so the amount saved on shipping by consolidating everything adds up quickly.

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Added on September 3, 2012, 10:33 pmKaiser, thanks for that! If we can get say, 4 people to join a group buy for keyboards, shipping cost becomes very fair, I think. I strongly doubt we have enough folks at LYN to buy enough Unicomp keycaps to make it worthwhile.

This post has been edited by epiguru: Sep 3 2012, 10:34 PM

That's great. I think the shipping cost for each person has to be less than $30 (hence at least 4 keyboards) because we also have to factor in shipping within Malaysia - I suppose this will apply for some and not for others, depending on who is organizing the group buy. I know of someone else who is interested in a Unicomp board but got scared away by the shipping cost.

If you're talking about this: http://goo.gl/e8d0D, it will depend on how desperate you are. Some people have paid more. And I can probably get it for a little less if I was patient enough and searched hard enough.

In my estimation, RM480 is "fair value" but it's not a discount to global market value.

Sorry, I can't help much here. It's going to be a matter of a few bucks, give or take. My interest in a Filco TKL with red switches did not last long because it coincided with a bad bout of RSI in my left wrist, and my attention quickly turned to a Kinesis Advantage with red switches http://goo.gl/mQMh (in the absence of a Datahand Pro II unit http://goo.gl/FI5aH in good condition).

@kid.itech: I'll be happy to let you try buckling springs and Topre switches next month.

Here's Topre's latest offering: Topre 108UG-HiPro

Too wide for me, but I like those old-school spherical keycaps.

I don't think I'll be getting a standard keyboard with MX switches any time in the near future, but if I was, I'd probably have pulled the trigger on this Red Modifier Set from SP: http://goo.gl/aqpmV

Glad to be of assistance.

If you compare the $18 price tag at SP with this guy's price http://goo.gl/clm56, you got yourself a great deal (exactly 40% discount). The guy's mark-up, however, is a crazy 66.67%! (profit of $12 off a $18 cost) IF I was into Cherry MX keycap swapping and collecting, I think it would be good to know the true value of the keycaps and how much is kept by the group buy organizer. A small compensation for time and trouble is OK, in my opinion - like a service charge. But at 2/3 the cost price of the item ?!?

Beautiful red keycaps, by the way.

Hi Kaiser,

Wow! Too much discussion for a simple issue, IMHO - I haven't read the entire GH thread but I get the points being made there.

1. $18 is a much better price than $30, so some people benefit. That's great and probably the most important point practically.
2. Those red keycaps look terrific (I think) - even for a guy who is known to bash SP unfairly at times (i.e. yours truly).
3. For these keycaps (which WILL sell - who's going to argue with that?), a business (SP) will first set the price at break even or at some profit margin. Of course, you can say that I'm guessing... it is an educated guess coming from a guy who has been running his own business for the last 3 years. If the keycaps don't sell, then I'd think about lowering the price. Sounds more sensible, right? Even a hobbyist on eBay will adopt this strategy for a nice item. Put another way, I will be happy to buy SP's remaining stock of the Red Modifier Set at 18 bucks a pop and resell it at my leisure, but I'm sure there is a queue in front of me.

The bottom line is I don't have the facts, so everything above is guess work and opinion.

There is a suspicion (not just me) that the seller is the same dodgy character that was selling TVS keyboards with MX blues not long ago. http://goo.gl/1SORo I won't forget the last time because he used a Sharpie to write some symbols on keycaps that were worn. It was funny for me but not for the people who bought his keyboards.

Also note the seller's zero feedback.

If you pay by PayPal, you may be able to get a refund if things go awry. But in my experience, PayPal will ask you to send the item back to the seller with proof of shipment. This expense will be on the buyer, not the seller.

Nice keyboard! I developed RSI in one of my marathon report-writing sessions a few weeks back. My solution was to get a more ergonomic keyboard. I bought myself a Kinesis Model 100 (for function as well as aesthetics and the vintage feel). It is really the best buy I've made in the last few months. I'm now using the Kinesis most of the time and my wrists are so much more comfortable. Now I can understand why a few people - iMav, jpc, input nirvana, etc. - switched to a Kinesis. Before experiencing RSI, I used to think that the funny-looking keyboard was gimicky.

I have a used Kinesis Essential (good cosmetics/Cherry browns/switchable to MX reds) coming in mid October but I'm not sure if I'll keep that one - I might be willing to sell it to someone who wants to try a Kinesis but is not willing to fork out ~$300 for a brand new ergo keyboard. It was meant to be a backup just in case this one breaks. But it now looks like I'll be getting a new Advantage Pro pretty soon.

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Added on September 27, 2012, 1:17 amAll Kinesis Contoured keyboards have Cherry MX switches, except the LF ones. The latter have Cherry MX reds. Some extra info for those considering buying the key wells with MX reds from Kinesis. Anyone without a credit card linked to a US address is going to have a tough time buying directly from Kinesis. If MX reds are your thing, you're better off just buying the LF version from Fentek ($290 with free shipping within CONUS).


This post has been edited by epiguru: Sep 27 2012, 01:17 AM

For its size, the keyboard is surprisingly quite light ~1.7 kg. Maybe more if you have the palm pads, foot switches, and what not. If you're shipping to Southeast Asia by USPS, it should cost less than $65 for sure even after packaging. I was thinking if you want to hop on my next shipment in less than 2 weeks, that'll be fine with me (a straight $45 from USA to Penang) but after the cost of shipping to my LA address and then I have to ship to you, probably not worthwhile. Only good if your seller is in LA and you are in Penang (which I know you are not).

I think you are looking for something like this: Tamiya 4WD Grease.

Because I've switched keyboards, I'm buying some Krytox grease and oil for the MX switches on my board. They should be quite good.

This post has been edited by epiguru: Sep 28 2012, 09:53 PM

Nope. I'm importing Krytox grease and oil from the US. I'm pretty sure the Koreans will have their own supply too. The "in things" for lubes are: RO59 and GPL 103. I'll be mixing Krytox grease and oil to smooth out some switches. I'm sure it will do the job well but I'm also interested in durability. There's a group buy (at least an interest check) happening at Deskthority, if you're interested - it will get you the best possible prices (I guess). I got no patience - I have only a small window period in October to play with my toys.

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Added on September 29, 2012, 12:08 amHere's the link to the lube GB: http://deskthority.net/marketplace-f11/key...lube-t3613.html

This post has been edited by epiguru: Sep 29 2012, 12:08 AM

The easiest way to remove stubborn sticker residue is with WD-40. I use alcohol (the stuff from ACE) to remove ink stains, like those from a ball point pen or Sharpie.

Haha. Too right.

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Added on October 1, 2012, 5:21 pmWD-40 on the case is fine. Then again, I only use that stuff to clean IBM keyboard cases (which are built like tanks), oil my bicycle chain (but I got a better solution now), and sometimes to smoothen squeaky door hinges.

This post has been edited by epiguru: Oct 1 2012, 05:21 PM

I'm sure a few of you have a lot of experience receiving keycaps in a bubble mailer, like from people in the US and SP. Is there any possibility of damage to the ABS keycaps when the post office guys do their "chop" - you know the rubber stamp that says DILEPASKAN... ? I've received single caps in the bubble mailers and they turned up OK. But half of them were PBT. Singapore Post uses stickers instead of the "chop" which I think is safer for keycaps. Your opinions please.

Hard. You'll need strong fingers.


Thanks kaysa. Seems like you agree with me that the post office chops can damage the keycaps. When I send out keycaps to people, they are either in a firm cardboard box or if they are just singles, I'll attach the keycap on a corner of a piece of very firm paper with cellophane tape, and then inset the paper such that the keycap will be at the corner diagonally opposite where I place the stamp, i.e. the bottom left corner (because the stamp will be at the top right corner). Looking at how the guy at the post office does the "chop", I think it can do damage to fragile things directly underneath. I also notice that for the last 5 parcels (boxes) I've received from the States, all of them have that DILEPASKAN stamp on them. OK, looks like I'll have to get Melissa at SP to send the keycaps to LA, where they will be packed in a box with the other stuff.

This post has been edited by epiguru: Oct 2 2012, 10:15 PM

@Kaiser: Did you mean to say reds feel softer than browns? The bump does make a difference, doesn't it? I find the browns too sharp for my fingers. I much prefer MX clears.

This post has been edited by epiguru: Oct 3 2012, 12:07 AM