# What keyboard do you use?



## SIGINT (Jul 24, 2016)

Just a fun discussion about keyboards!  What keyboard do you guys use?  Are you a user/contributor/committer?


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## Cthulhux (Jul 24, 2016)

A QPAD MK-50 with blue Cherry switches. I'm (currently) _only_ a user, not much time for contributing or maintaining ports, but I plan to change that again.


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## robroy (Jul 24, 2016)

I'm a FreeBSD 10.2-RELEASE user, and I use a Das Model S Professional with the clicky "blue" Cherry switches; its built-in USB ports work fine.


```
ukbd1: <vendor 0x04d9 daskeyboard, class 0/0, rev 1.10/3.90, addr 4> on usbus2
ums1: <vendor 0x04d9 daskeyboard, class 0/0, rev 1.10/3.90, addr 4> on usbus2
```


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## Grell (Jul 24, 2016)

Well, my keyboard is less than impressive.  I use a PS/2 Gateway keyboard complete with Windows Media keys that don't do anything on FreeBSD.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Jul 24, 2016)

WASD V2 tenkeyless with Cherry greens and custom colours on the keycaps.


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## wblock@ (Jul 25, 2016)

Ancient Compaq PS/2 rubber dome keyboards with a big metal plate inside them to give them some weight.


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## Deleted member 48958 (Jul 25, 2016)

FreeBSD user. IBM KB-9910


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## Oko (Jul 25, 2016)

IBM model M first batch manufactured by IBM (not by Lexmark or God forbid Unicomp). If anybody has IBM PC (Model 5150), IBM XT (Model 5160) or PC-AT (Model 5170) genuine keyboards and is willing to sell them please send me the PM.


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## protocelt (Jul 25, 2016)

Presently using a Corsair K70 mechanical keyboard with Cherry blue switches. Lights work and all media keys are fully functional on FreeBSD with the sysutils/uhidd port.

I also have an original IBM Model M that's not being used as I don't have an adapter for it. The keyboard is a tank and should probably be registered with the local authorities as a dual use weapon. I'm sorry Oko, you can't have it.


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## tobik@ (Jul 25, 2016)

SIGINT said:


> What keyboard do you guys use? Are you a user/contributor/committer?


Cheap keyboards and I switch between them. Currently Cherry G230 (one of the cheapest keyboards with US layout I could get in Germany a couple of years ago) or Logitech Y-SG13. Contributor.

SIGINT You haven't answered your own question.  What keyboard do you use?


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## drhowarddrfine (Jul 25, 2016)

SIGINT Why did you sign up to this board to ask that as your first and only question?


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## RoboNuggie (Jul 25, 2016)

A Sun MicroSystems Type 7 'PC' Keyboard - It feels and looks like the Amiga keyboard I used throughout my teenage years. As a plus side it can be configured easily when using Mate to include all the 'extra' function buttons.
As a bonus, and this stems from my liking of British keyboards from the '80s and '90s, the Enter key is called the Return key, and the numberpad has the Enter key.


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## SIGINT (Jul 25, 2016)

drhowarddrfine said:


> SIGINT Why did you sign up to this board to ask that as your first and only question?



Haha!  I don't know, why not?  I don't have any nefarious intentions, I promise.  I'm just a little weird .  Keyboards are a sort of personal hobby for me, and I was just curious as to what some of you guys are using.  I signed up to this forum just to get involved in the community.  I hope to one day be a contributor.  Anyway, I use a Ducky One with MX browns.


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## Oko (Jul 25, 2016)

protocelt said:


> I also have an original IBM Model M that's not being used as I don't have an adapter for it. The keyboard is a tank and should probably be registered with the local authorities as a dual use weapon. I'm sorry Oko, you can't have it.


IBM PC (Model 5150), IBM XT (Model 5160) or PC-AT (Model 5170) are actually even better than Model M first batch series produced by IBM. I had privilege using one of those back in Belgrade 35 years ago. As of your unused IBM Model M, I use the following adopter Perixx PS2 to USB Adapter for Keyboard & Mouse with PS2 Interface (PERIPRO-401)

https://www.amazon.com/Perixx-Adapt...eywords=PS2+Keyboard/Mouse+to+USB+Port+perixx

Unlike some adapters that have a USB plug and PS-2 connector but no active interface, this adapter is capable of adapting old PS-2 devices to a USB port and does perfect mapping.


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## Oko (Jul 25, 2016)

RoboNuggie said:


> A Sun MicroSystems Type 7 'PC' Keyboard - It feels and looks like the Amiga keyboard I used throughout my teenage years. As a plus side it can be configured easily when using Mate to include all the 'extra' function buttons.
> As a bonus, and this stems from my liking of British keyboards from the '80s and '90s, the Enter key is called the Return key, and the numberpad has the Enter key.



If I was not addicted to IBM Model M keyboard that would be my second choice. It is still needed for playing with PROM on old Blades (I had 2500 until recently) as the voltage of newer USB keyboards doesn't meet SUN specifications. I have few of those as well as Type 6 and even Type 5 with integrated 3 keys mouse and SUN interface which is much more elegant than PS-2 

https://sparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/KBD.pdf.gz


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## Murph (Jul 25, 2016)

I've come to greatly like the ⅛" slab of Al Apple USB keyboards (the full size one with numeric pad).  The laptop style short travel keys make switching between laptop and desktop easier in terms of muscle memory, but they still have a nice positive feel to them.  The Al slab gives a good weight to it, stopping it moving about or bouncing.

Prior to that, probably Sun type 5/6/7.  Old IBM keyboards were generally somewhere between legendary and excellent, with the side benefit of being capable of bludgeoning intruders.  Old HP keyboards mostly good.

A mandatory feature for me is that it must always have a non-linear resistance, resulting in a positive tactile feedback so that my fingers actively sense that the electrical connection has been made.  I believe that is also beneficial in terms of reducing RSI, as you can (by instinct / reflex) moderate the muscle pressure so that you are not pushing hard against the limit of travel, once you are used to the particular model of keyboard.  The peak physical pressure is somewhere in the middle of the travel of the key, with a positive drop in resistance just after (or simultaneous to) electrical contact.

As for what I am, veteran coder/sysadmin/engineer, occasional contributor, with Unix experience back to relatively early days (8086 era, IBM PC-RT 6150, Sun 3 / SunOS 4, etc).  I remember K&R C being the standard, and ANSI C being the new thing.


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## oed (Jul 27, 2016)

Thinkpad Compact USB keyboard. This way I have identical keyboards on my home laptop and my computers at work.


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## silicium (Jul 27, 2016)

Cherry Cyboa@rd Combo RS13000, white with light blue panel of small multimedia round keys and blue wrist rest.
But I hope one day keyboards will break free from the legacy of qwerty staggered layout and software keymapping (don't you hate when you type a key and you see another on the screen ?) and useless numlock (don't you hate when a stupid console driver turns it off without your consent ?). My perfect keyboard would have matrix keys, but unlike TypeMatrix for two-handed typing it should be usable from either single hand (because the other hand is always holding a mouse or a stylus on a tablet), have programmable firmware keymap, send unicode keys (directly usable by OS without keymapping, instead of raw keycodes and many languages of keymaps that cannot satisfy everybody).


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## kuroneko2016 (Jul 27, 2016)

I use this Microsoft keyboard: 
http://compass.microsoft.com/assets...329b23.jpg?n=mk_wiredkb600v2_otherviews01.jpg

and this Adesso keyboard: 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/images/...slimtouch_110_3_color_illuminated_1087456.jpg

I change from one to the other sometimes


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## forquare (Jul 28, 2016)

For a while I used a Ducky Premier DK9008P (Cherry Browns) with my FreeBSD laptop, however after changing jobs and getting my own desk with an abominable keyboard, my Ducky is now at work.

My FreeBSD laptop is a Lenovo T440, so I just use the keyboard on that, mostly...


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## protocelt (Jul 31, 2016)

Oko said:


> As of your unused IBM Model M, I use the following adopter Perixx PS2 to USB Adapter for Keyboard & Mouse with PS2 Interface (PERIPRO-401)
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Perixx-Adapter-Keyboard-Interface-PERIPRO-401/dp/B008DFVQFW/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1469469361&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=PS2+Keyboard/Mouse+to+USB+Port+perixx
> 
> Unlike some adapters that have a USB plug and PS-2 connector but no active interface, this adapter is capable of adapting old PS-2 devices to a USB port and does perfect mapping.



Thanks for the info and link Oko. Unfortunately, my keyboard doesn't have a PS2 connector. It has what looks to be something similar to an RJ45 connector though more flat. My first guess is it's maybe a terminal keyboard, though I'm not sure as I haven't really looked into it yet. It's been sitting in the closet for a few years.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Jul 31, 2016)

protocelt said:


> Thanks for the info and link Oko. Unfortunately, my keyboard doesn't have a PS2 connector. It has what looks to be something similar to an RJ45 connector though more flat. My first guess is it's maybe a terminal keyboard, though I'm not sure as I haven't really looked into it yet. It's been sitting in the closet for a few years.



That's the standard model M connector. It's called a shielded data link connector. The cables supplied with them have that on one end and give you a choice of long, short, coiled, and various connectors. If you're talking about the other end, then yes, perhaps it is for a terminal but I seem to recall RJ type connectors used on some computers as well.


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## protocelt (Jul 31, 2016)

OJ said:


> That's the standard model M connector. It's called a shielded data link connector. The cables supplied with them have that on one end and give you choice of long, short, coiled, and various connectors.


Yep, that is it. 

Edit: I did not get the keyboard with a cord so I'll look into finding one somewhere. I was unaware different cable types were available for it.


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## recluce (Aug 8, 2016)

Cherry G-80 keyboard with blue (click) switches - I wish there were "Beastie" key caps available to replace those ugly Windows key caps...

FreeBSD 10-Stable User - I am not a coder but more an IT security and IT management guy.


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## Snurg (Aug 27, 2016)

Oko seems not to be the only IBM type 139403 ashtray addict here 



protocelt said:


> I did not get the keyboard with a cord so I'll look into finding one somewhere.


If US layout, I would buy it even without cable


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## wblock@ (Aug 28, 2016)

If there were a standard layout 87-key keyboard _without_ mechanical switches, I would be interested.  All seem to the mechanical type, and most mess up the layout to save space.  I've been tempted to saw the useless numeric keypad off a normal keyboard and just patch the PC board traces.


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## Snurg (Aug 28, 2016)

wblock@ said:


> If there were a standard layout 87-key keyboard _without_ mechanical switches, I would be interested.


Maybe a touchscreen keyboard?


wblock@ said:


> ...most mess up the layout to save space.


Worst IMHO is the windows key. Fortunately old keyboards lack it.



wblock@ said:


> I've been tempted to saw the useless numeric keypad off a normal keyboard and just patch the PC board traces.


This is a thing I never understood. The BIOSes of many Eastern Bloc PC-AT clones back in the 1980s supported PC and XT keyboards (these without numpad), translated the different scancode map, but in the West none did.


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## zirias@ (Aug 28, 2016)

As a long time fan of the Cherry RS6000, I nowadays use the incredibly cheap Logitech K120. Feels nearly as good and really costs nothing. I actually like it having those "windows keys", they can do other useful things like compose and extra meta keys for shortcuts


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## wblock@ (Aug 28, 2016)

Snurg said:


> Maybe a touchscreen keyboard?


No, I mean I find mechanical clicky keyboards unpleasant.  Cheap rubber dome switches are fine.

As far as layout, the main concern are the arrow keys.  Designers always want to move those under the main keys to make for a narrower layout.  And they often do terrible things to the Page Up/Down key group.  Microsoft's attempt to change that 3x2 layout into a 2x3 layout a while back at least never took hold.


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## aht0 (Aug 29, 2016)

HP KUS0133 -reliable workhorse with an integrated smartcard reader. At work, keyboards of this model have lasted 6 years of constant 24/7 usage (international border checkpoint), so I bought one unused one for myself as well...


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## ShelLuser (Aug 29, 2016)

A relative plain but somewhat custom made Cherry keyboard.

Funny story: I've used tons of keyboards in the past where my favorite used to be an old slim Compaq keyboard. Unfortunately I smoked during those times (we're talking around 90's) and that definitely did its damage on my keyboards. Finally I ended up getting myself a Cherry keyboard and have been using that for _years_. I was severely hooked on the 'soft click' it makes and the overall touch and feel. Unfortunately that keyboard died on me. After roughly 22+ years.

I always have several keyboards lying around the house and tried dozens of them but nothing really felt as good as my old Cherry. So I decided to look up the Cherry website (Cherry.de) and look around. I was immediately impressed with their massive collection of keyboards but I wasn't out for a gamer keyboard or something futuristic or one with a mousepad. All I wanted was my old keyboard back 

SO I decided to write them an e-mail. And I got a response. The model number (I can't be bothered to look under this one) wasn't sold anymore but they could make one for me! It wasn't cheap, I paid around 120 euro's for this, but it was money very well spend in my opinion. I still use the keyboard today (now roughly 6 years later) and it never failed.


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## ronaldlees (Sep 9, 2016)

ShelLuser said:


> A relative plain but somewhat custom made Cherry keyboard.
> 
> Funny story: I've used tons of keyboards in the past where my favorite used to be an old slim Compaq keyboard...



The "old slim Compaq keyboard" was my favorite too, when I used it sometime in the early to mid nineties, IIRC.  I've never found another brand or model that has such a nice (almost perfect) soft-click, responsive feel.   One thing I remember about it is that it was heavy.  Even though it was "slim" - it weighed more than the others because of a heavy bottom plate.   It stayed put on the desktop, didn't budge.


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## mickey (Sep 10, 2016)

I am a long time user of a bunch of IBM 1391403 keyboards, manufactured in the UK ~1988. Guess they will stay for a little bit longer...


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## hitest (Sep 10, 2016)

A Lenovo SK-8825; it meets my needs.


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## ronaldlees (Sep 10, 2016)

My current darling is a _FAVI Entertainment projector screen pointer keyboard_, that's meant to be used along with the screen setup in  the classroom, having a laser pointer built into the end of it.  It's about as long as a teaspoon, but solid as a rock, and I find it's a perfect match for my Pi.


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## fernandel (Sep 11, 2016)

I am still on my Cherry G81. I think is about 20 years but the last few years I use USB adapter .


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## damfreebsd (Sep 12, 2016)

I'm using a 1993 IBM model M ps/2, I'm very happy with it, I have a 1991 model M in the orginal box, I'm waiting for a 122 key IBM model F to arrive I can't wait!!, model F is better has full n-key rollover, I will buy a wasd with cherry mx blue in some time. I also want a Northgate Omnikey keyboard.


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## puretone (Feb 8, 2018)

Rapoo E9090P because reasons....


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 9, 2018)

damfreebsd said:


> I will buy a wasd with cherry mx blue in some time.



I think I mentioned above somewhere that I have a *WASD* keyboard with Cherry greens. It has held up OK for a few years now. I would mention to you though, that the plastic work is a bit wonky and not up to top standards. *The letter markings on many keys are now also worn off.* I contacted them, but they don't sell individual replacements for this particular color choice. This is in contrast to several model M's which are many years old, have seen heavy usage, and apart from some plain dirt are essentially like new.


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## Deleted member 30996 (Feb 9, 2018)

Old style Thinkpad keyboards. I do have USB Logitech backlit mechanical I use when playing Oblivion.


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## Handsome Jack (Feb 9, 2018)

Past years I gave insane amount of money for various models of keyboards, just to find out that the cheapest one is the best (for me).
That does not imply that all cheap things are good, this is just result about keyboards.
    It would have been better that I gave all that money HERE . 

Also, I prefer using all devices with wires - if possible (mouse, kb, router, network cards).


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## Snurg (Feb 9, 2018)

fernandel said:


> I am still on my Cherry G81. I think is about 20 years but the last few years I use USB adapter .


These were the best, even better than IBM. They had *real mechanical switches*, not capacitance switches.

However, when I was young, I had the bad habit of hitting with the fist on the keyboard when I was very frustrated.
The cherry keyboards have no metal plate reinforcement like the IBMs, and so I destroyed quite some of them beyond repair (had often to disassemble them and resolder the traces that were broken due to the cracks in the PCB, until the PCBs were broken into so many parts that it became impossible to put them back into function again). 

And the (more) modern cherries are worthless rubber cap things without proper feel, like the modern IBMs


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 9, 2018)

Snurg said:


> And the (more) modern cherries are worthless rubber cap things without proper feel, like the modern IBMs



This conflicts with the diagrams and general description of these devices. Do you have a link?


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## Snurg (Feb 9, 2018)

OJ said:


> This conflicts with the diagrams and general description of these devices. Do you have a link?


At my local university's electronics junk container lots of keyboards get discarded, mostly rubber cap junk.
The good ones usually are at least 2 decades old.

One has to note also, that Cherry changed the feel of the switches over time.
The 1980s were still were very good, just like quality keyboards.
Then from the early 1990s they got softer and softer, more and more like the rubber cap crap. Bleech!

I have two of these mid-90s G80-3000 from that junkyard where one can see the PCB between the keys and which still feel somewhat acceptable.

When I look at the university's junkyard, where occasionally very fine old stuff like IBM F gets dumped, I just judge from the feeling what to take and what to leave there.
Maybe I mistook the newer Cherry keyboards for rubber cap stuff just by judging the feel, and felt them unworthy to take.
Next time I will look more carefully, and maybe take one home for disassembly and examination of the switches.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 9, 2018)

Snurg said:


> One has to note also, that Cherry changed the feel of the switches over time.
> The 1980s were still were very good, just like quality keyboards.
> Then from the early 1990s they got softer and softer, more and more like the rubber cap crap. Bleech!



I don't know about the old Cherrys. I'm not sure the soft varieties were made back then, and people are liking the soft ones now. Not all of them have much click and the linear ones have none at all, despite being a mechanical switch. Here is a history of Cherry switches.  Note that the reds, which are very soft and very popular now, were not introduced until 2008. This may explain what you have observed.

Edit to add: There is also a "silent red" I see. And I just remembered that it is common to put little rubber grommets on the switches now. This reduces the travel slightly, but dampens the "click" quite a bit. WASD, for example sells the grommets separately, or they can be pre-installed for an extra charge.


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## Snurg (Feb 10, 2018)

OJ, that's an interesting article!
It motivated me to look at ebay, just to find that there are practically none of the good keyboards left.

You can recognize the 1980s AT ones as they have no flat surface like the modern ones.
Instead they have some bar/stair/step (don't know the right word) above the F keys, and this leveled frame around the keys.
Their feeling was like those in POS register cash keyboards - high keys, longer travel than the modern ones.
Just the right ones for "hammering" the keyboard.

What nowadays commonly gets sold as "vintage" cherry keyboards, I consider as the "new" ones, which I do not like much.
And they got even worse over time, as said.

I found only one of the old 1980s AT keyboards, but as OEM variant.
It differs from the normal ones that the blue keys were grey.
Here is the ebay link. If the price weren't that crazy, I'd have ordered it instantly.

Even better were the PC/XT ones. They were even stiffer, and still had a metal plate, so mine survived the treatment it got.
Here is one of these, an OEM variant, too.

I feel a bit sad that I threw my one into the trash long long ago, as the scancodes are incompatible with the AT ones.
Nowadays one could compensate for this with a X translation table...

Edit: I never saw the "soft" variant (probably that what gets sold as "red") before about 1995. My unqualified guess is that they attempted to adapt to the feeling of cheapo keyboards imported from the Far East.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 10, 2018)

Snurg That "vintage" keyboard sure is expensive. The PC/XT ones are indeed the finest ever made. I've got a couple of those. I believe those are capacitive which is the most robust kind of switch ever made and much too expensive for our modern world. I just love the feel of those and would use one now but the key arrangement is unique and I can't deal with it, although I did do so for a couple of years back around 1990. Actually an XT interface will not work with AT and later, but some of those have a switch to go from XT to AT. 

I have quite a few older keyboards, and not just old IBM. Some older computers have special interfaces and nothing new will work with them. Yes, I'm a collector of vintage computers.


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## Snurg (Feb 10, 2018)

OJ Yes I was wrong, the pinout is the same but the serial protocol is different.
Back in the 1980s in East Germany the homebrewn Krzikalla BIOS did support both, though. So the homebrewn PCs/ATs in the Soviet bloc could be used with XT and AT keyboards, which was a necessity as all that stuff was very hard to obtain.
Here in the West (I lived in West Berlin back then) we were just decadent, compared with that.
How many good Cherry AT keyboards like that one for 499 euros in that ebay offer I smashed back then...   A new one cost just 60 Marks (~$35), so I just got a new one if a quick repair was not possible.

I think I'll go the university electronics junkyard tomorrow. If lucky, maybe there is another IBM M or even F there... or some 19" rack for my new BBB 
If I find an old Cherry mechanical keyboard, I'll disassemble it and post photos.


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## aragats (Feb 10, 2018)

Snurg said:


> Worst IMHO is the windows key.


It depends. I use it as the Mod key in x11-wm/dwm (to switch desktops, layouts etc.). Thus I don't waste any Alt, Ctrl or Shift.
To me the worst is CapsLocks, but I mapped it to switch to English layout from any other I may use.


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## Snurg (Feb 10, 2018)

aragats Yes it is useful, but makes using the space bar difficult for me. I hit it just too often accidentally, and when then something pops up, I get confused, or even worse, when I type quickly and don't look at keyboard and screen, it can trigger actions that I didn't want to do at all 

And now I am going to have a morning walk to the electronics junk container. Hoping for good finds 

Edit: And the symbols on these keys... I don't like them at all


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 10, 2018)

One of the nicest things about a custom keyboard is that one can generally chose what one wants on the, so called, "windows key". I've generally used IBM keyboards which don't have that, but have always been much offended by Microsoft advertising on a keyboard if it wasn't the brand. Even calling it the "Coke", or "Nike" key would be an improvement to me.


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## Snurg (Feb 10, 2018)

OJ Hehe, yes this is very offensive advertising.

BTW, I was "lucky"... a 1980s G81-1000, almost no usage traces (keycaps like new). But cable snipped off, and damaged by a CRT thrown onto it 
Will make photos and disassemble later today


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## aragats (Feb 10, 2018)

Snurg said:


> And the symbols on these keys... I don't like them at all


Believe or not, but Win's surface gets weared out quickly - being use as Mod in DWM (-;


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## rigoletto@ (Feb 10, 2018)

I am thinking about buying a WASD with this setup (yes, blank):




I do not have any experience with those Cherry switches, the only mechanical keyboard I had was the PC/XT one (I think the IBM PS/1 486SX also was mechanical, but I am not sure), but based on the description of the Cherreies I think I want the *Cherry MX Clear.*


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 11, 2018)

lebarondemerde said:


> I am thinking about buying a WASD with this setup (yes, blank):
> 
> View attachment 4432
> 
> I do not have any experience with those Cherry switches, the only mechanical keyboard I had was the PC/XT one (I think the IBM PS/1 486SX also was mechanical, but I am not sure), but based on the description of the Cherreies I think I want the *Cherry MX Clear.*



I think the clear is a safe choice. And for sure, you won't have any problem with the lettering wearing off.


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## ronaldlees (Feb 12, 2018)

wblock@ said:


> No, I mean I find mechanical clicky keyboards unpleasant.  Cheap rubber dome switches are fine.
> 
> As far as layout, the main concern are the arrow keys.  Designers always want to move those under the main keys to make for a narrower layout.  And they often do terrible things to the Page Up/Down key group.  Microsoft's attempt to change that 3x2 layout into a 2x3 layout a while back at least never took hold.



Yes, the old-time keyboards make so much noise, and the cheap ones have too much wobble.  OTOH, I have purchased some flat rubber keyboards that leave me always wondering if I've pressed the key or not.  So, I found a sort of compromise keyboard that I like a lot - made by German company Perixx.  I have their Periboard - and it's (for me) a pretty good compromise between noise and tactile response.  The stroke is short so there's no appreciable wobble.  I never miss letters because of the lack of it.


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## rigoletto@ (Feb 12, 2018)

ronaldlees

I guess you want the same of me. The tactile feel without the clicking sound.

I did not test them, OJ may eventually know, but some Cherry switches seems fit that objective, the ones they call with "Tactile Bump".

See HERE.

OJ

WASD used to have laser {etched,engraved} layout instead of printed. Do you know if they abbandoned that option?


EDIT:

Oh, NICE.

EDIT_2: it seems those keycaps have superior quality than WASD ones.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 12, 2018)

lebarondemerde said:


> WASD used to have laser {etched,engraved} layout instead of printed. Do you know if they abbandoned that option?


Sorry, I've not kept up with them. From what I understand, reading their past communications, the lettering on keys is the most difficult part for a small company like them to get done in a permanent manner. 

I got some clear stickers from Ebay but I haven't put them on yet. The reason is that I normally don't look at the keyboard when I type and always have trouble finding the keys when forced to use one hand while on the phone. However, it does seem a bit sacrilegious to use stickers on a $200 keyboard, but such is our modern world. Modern technology still hasn't caught up with the past.


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## rigoletto@ (Feb 12, 2018)

OJ

Looking on this subject I found that Signature Plastics, what is pointed by some random internet people as "vastly" superior keycaps than the WASD one.

They make keycaps compatibles with Cherry/WASD. One option would be to get a WASD keyboard naked (without keycaps) and buy the keycaps from Signature Plastics - _or just buy the keycaps who already have a WASD keyboard_. It seems the PTB made are the top quality ones.

Everything points they do laser {etched,engraved}, and have many many options of keycaps, including some with transparent covers. Also, digging in there I found a keyboard layout "configurator", not as simple/easy to use like the WASD one, but it works (more complete indeed).


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 12, 2018)

lebarondemerde said:


> Everything points they do laser {etched,engraved}, and have many many options of keycaps, including some with transparent covers. Also, digging in there I found a keyboard layout "configurator", not as simple/easy to use like the WASD one, but it works (more complete indeed).



Thanks. I'll have to check that out in more detail.

The problem with the WASD keyboards is that their options cannot be mixed in all combinations. I bought from them specifically because they offer colored keys in any combination* the user desires. However, the colored key sets can only be reproduced as a set, so if one wants to replace a single key, a whole set needs to be ordered. Also, the colored keys cannot be marked with permanent lettering. Hopefully they will fix that problem and find some  quality technology to replace their currently poor quality. Getting keys in their basic gray or white is (was?) the only way to get permanent markings and also get the ability to replace single keycaps.

*You can see what I have on page one of this thread.


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## stratacast1 (Feb 25, 2018)

I picked up a Cooler Master Masterkeys S PBT for $80. Very happy with it. Only thing I wasn't too big of a fan of was the spacebar had this strange tinny sound...so I had to put on some silicon base compound on the spacebar stabilizers and places where it would come in contact on the keyboard. Sound is gone  may need application twice a year though, but I was very conservative with the amount I put on the first time. I decided I will never go back to ABS plastic caps. PBT is where it's at. Before I got this, I had a Redragon K552 keyboard and loved that too, but got this for the PBT and I thought I'd make this my travel keyboard, being it has MX Brown switches..it became my main instead and my dad is now happy with the beautiful clicky Outemu Blue switches


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## michael_hackson (Feb 25, 2018)

Using a Labtec Ultra Flat Keyboard Y-BM62. It was one of the cheapest models 10 years ago and it's still going with all keys intact. Good for any task and is very easy to travel with.  The keys give the right amount of the clattery feeling when typing, not too dampened and not too strict.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41DYQ36AMFL._SY355_.jpg


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 25, 2018)

stratacast1 said:


> Only thing I wasn't too big of a fan of was the spacebar had this strange tinny sound...so I had to put on some silicon base compound on the spacebar stabilizers and places where it would come in contact on the keyboard.


Sounds like you found a solution. That's a great price for a keyboard like that too. BTW, there are noise dampeing rubber grommets for the Cherry switches and you can buy them cheaply from WASD.


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## stratacast1 (Feb 26, 2018)

OJ said:


> Sounds like you found a solution. That's a great price for a keyboard like that too. BTW, there are noise dampeing rubber grommets for the Cherry switches and you can buy them cheaply from WASD.



I was considering doing the dampeners at one point. It wouldn't work for the stabilizers because it's the bar and not the cherry stems (which is dumb), but as far as key noisiness goes...my browns aren't loud enough for me for my daily use hehe, that's one thing I liked about my blue switches.


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## DCH3416 (Mar 1, 2018)

Unicomp Ultra Classic Black with two tone white/grey key caps. I liked the first one I bought so much I purchased a second one for the office. Everything else has an Apple M7803 because they're really cheap and I can plug a USB mouse directly into them.


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