Clicky - Clacky Keyboards are Making a Comeback

Nothing's wrong with them. They're quite nice and are a good way to get a USB keyboard with buckling-spring action.

Ole Juul said:

Nobody responded to my question in post #10.
Anybody?

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Some people complain about how the plastics from unicomp keyboards can sometimes have moulding streaks (but I never noticed any weird defects).

The key feel and sound is different slightly from an earlier period (1985 - 1992) model M, but nothing to worry about. Unicomps are very similar to Model M13s in terms of sound and feel. The [biggest] difference is that the earlier model Ms tended to reverberate the springs on the metal backboard, whereas the newer ones don't.
So if you like quieter keyboard, a unicomp is definitely recommended. If you want loud obnoxious clacking and random spring frequencies, definitely get an early IBM one.

I personally think it's great that unicomp still manufactures Model Ms and spare parts. I ordered some things from them once (cables, mice, keys etc). The problem is, these keyboards rarely break and last for so long that the market isn't [huge]. People like Brandon at clickykeyboards also flip NOS Model Ms endlessly, reducing the desire for new Model Ms even more.

--> I like to support Unicomp whenever I can. Very good company.

Ole Juul said:

Thanks for the more accurate information - I knew you had it. .

You're probably correct about sockets generally being too thick, I should have said nutdriver, which is what I eventually ended up shaving down and using. Though if I recall correctly, I did actually manage to grind down an actual socket bit enough for my first attempt at opening a model M.

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A Wiha 26556 nutdriver or a Westward 10J367 should do fine. The Westward is about half the price of the German-made Wiha.

Trixter said:

Nothing's wrong with them. They're quite nice and are a good way to get a USB keyboard with buckling-spring action.

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EverythingIBM said:

--> I like to support Unicomp whenever I can. Very good company.

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Thanks for the endorsements. I had a feeling they were fine, but an earlier post mentioned quite high prices so assumed that Unicomp ones were not acceptable for some reason.

I had a good look around their site since I first posted my question. It would be a bit of a luxury, but I could be tempted to get one of theirs with the 104 keys. I guess I could hope for one with moulding streaks or other small defect since I value that kind of thing, but having some coloured key caps sprinkled around would be a great pleasure.

EverythingIBM said:

The problem is, these keyboards rarely break and last for so long that the market isn't [huge].

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Once I knew I wanted Model Ms for the rest of my life, I started hoarding them. Now, I give one away every few years because they don't break!

I hoarded model M's because I have quite a few IBM PS/2 machines and they look so cool with original keyboards AND mice. I also use the M's on my KVMs. They do seem indestructible, just needing some cleaning once in a while. Also have a bunch of other quality keyboards in the collection including Northgate.

Don't think they are really making a comeback (that would be expensive but crappy built chicklet keyboards). Just a few collectors appreciate the nice keyboards and we just happen to here about them.

I hoarded model M's because I have quite a few IBM PS/2 machines and they look so cool with original keyboards AND mice. I also use the M's on my KVMs. They do seem indestructible, just needing some cleaning once in a while. Also have a bunch of other quality keyboards in the collection including Northgate.

Don't think they are really making a comeback (that would be expensive but crappy built chicklet keyboards). Just a few collectors appreciate the nice keyboards and we just happen to here about them.

On the Unicomp keyboard I owned, compared to my IBM Model Ms, the plastic was not as weighty, the texture to the keyboard case had a rough texture that attracted dust, the edges of the keycaps were comparatively ragged and the plastic color was not uniform, the cord was too thin. The PCB inside the keyboard was held down by a plastic tab that eventually broke off, leaving the keyboard unable to make good contact with the keyboard matrix contacts. These issues were seemingly inherited by Unicomp.

To get back on-topic, I personally wouldn't say that clicky keyboards are making a "comeback," but I would say that there is a push to get PC gamers to spend as much money on their gaming keyboards as they do on their gaming mice.

Enter companies like Corsair, who Phreakindee reviewed in his LazyGameReviews (posted earlier). I personally have a Cooler Master Storm cherry blue switch keyboard that is definitely gamer-centric (I only purchased it because of the double-stack rebates Newegg ran on these models last year). Other companies have jumped on the bandwagon, offering large keyboard with various accessories, including a touch LCD screen that functions as a second monitor for chatting or macros, the intention being that it could be used as a kind of mini-HUD. Personally... I just want something that has a bit of feedback and I got tired of tossing out my rubber dome keyboards yearly. My mechanical keyboards, I can't seem to kill them.

Maverick1978 said:

Personally... I just want something that has a bit of feedback and I got tired of tossing out my rubber dome keyboards yearly. My mechanical keyboards, I can't seem to kill them.

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http://codekeyboards.com/

Simple, although the price is a bit of an OUCH. The rubber dome keyboard I'm typing on is about 15 years old and has seen heavy use. Somehow it still works fine. The key legends are about toast though. Too bad they don't make new double shot keycaps anymore.

You can actually get new doubleshot keycaps, however they aren't easy to find.

Signature Plastics I know has some and some of the geekhack\deskthority groupbuys (like "Round 4") are doubleshot.

Doubleshots are why alot of the Geekhack crowd scours ebay for vintage keyboards. Check out how much the Dolch PAC keyboards are going for (they're pulled from portable PC's that were typically implemented as sniffers in the pre-Pentium II days)

I have two Dolch keyboards, both with vintage Cherry Blue keyswitches. The caps are a nice two-tone doubleshots. One I keep with my Dolch PAC-64, the other I plan to rewire the RJ-11 jack to a PS/2 jack and use it as a standard keyboard (all of the Dolch PAC keyboards after the PAC-586 were made by Cherry and speak native PS/2 - but ignore the ones that have a trackpad built in as these are scissor-switch mechanisms, and don't have Cherry MX doubleshot caps)

Nice link on the CODE Keyboard. Too expensive for my tastes, but I can't say that I haven't spent at least that much gathering up my handful of Cherry boards.