Comment by ndiddy
15 hours ago
Note that Ellipse/modelfkeyboards is notorious in the keyboard community for poor quality control and support. The keyboards often come misaligned or damaged in shipping, and it's up to you to fix them. I'm not sure about their beam spring keyboards, but their Model F keyboards come without keycaps installed, meaning that the keys haven't even been tested to actuate properly before the keyboard is shipped. If you have the money and free time, you can usually turn what you receive into a working product with enough tweaking. You just have to keep in mind that you'll be paying over $400 for a keyboard that may arrive broken, and if it does you will have as close to no warranty as what's legally possible. If you dig around on forums and in comments you can find a bunch of examples of this, but here's a decent summary: https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Model_F_Labs
At about the same time ModelFKeyboards posted his comment here, somebody created a new account on that wiki, then removed much of the negative information on the page and replaced it with similar wording to the comment (including deleting a scan of the warranty policy for "DMCA reasons"). This was what the page looked like at the time I made my comment: https://consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Model_F_Labs&old... . If it was him, this would violate the wiki's conflict of interest policy: https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Consumer_Rights_Wiki:Conflict_... .
What a contrast against MoErgo, which I recently contacted just to notify them that a keycap broke in transport due to rough handling by the postal service.
Although spare keycaps came with the purchase and the broken one still worked anyway, they insisted on sending me a replacement for the keycap that broke.
I have a model F and yes it was tricky to get working. The new beam spring (v2, metal case) was a breeze to set up (just put the caps on, mx style) and works flawlessly.
The keyboard sits very high and it is a very different feel (long travel, very loud) but it is unlike any other keyboard I have used and very inexpensive compared to used original beam springs.
Worth a look if you are a retro keyboard enthusiast.
> You just have to keep in mind that you'll be paying over $400 for a keyboard that may arrive broken, and if it does you will have as close to no warranty as what's legally possible.
PinePhone Pro vibes, except the PPP's problem isn't lack of QC; it's just lack of (FOSS) SW support. Pay 400 bucks, may need lots of tweaking/work to get it usable. Market is enthusiasts that aren't satisfied by anything else and/or that want to support it out of principle.
Thanks for posting this. I've been looking at getting one but this has made me pause.
Yeah it's a shame because his keyboards are genuinely good, I just find it strange that he operates like this. If he charged an extra $100 or whatever and acted like a normal company (fully assembling and testing prior to shipping out products, packaging things properly so they don't get damaged in shipping, having a mail-in warranty service, that sort of thing) I think he'd have better sales.
All of those things would cost a hell of a lot more than $100 unit. Probably closer to doubling the price.
See my sibling comment: the v2 beam spring keyboard (metal version) worked immediately out of the box and all I had to do was but key caps on.
This is an enthusiast producing these and the beam spring mechanism is entirely redone with modern touches (e.g. support for mx style keycaps) so there is risk, but mine works great. I think that the fully enclosed beam spring mechanism should hold up better during shipping than the spring-and-barrel mechanism on the model F.
Of course YMMV and it is an expensive and rare keyboard, but my experience has been good.
I suppose you have to look at it as this person is just unwilling or unable to operate in a different way at this price point, and if you want a new beam spring keyboard, right now there is no competitor.
The keyboards look janky. Why buy this over something like Das Keyboard which has mechanical keys as well and is cheaper?
Because it’s a physical mechanism that has a unique feel that modern switches don’t mimic.
I like lots of keyboards and switches but this is a unique switch with deep historical roots that has been brought back to life by an enthusiast. I think it’s worth supporting (if you can afford it) on general principle.
MX switches are the entry point of the "mechanical keys". You can go into way too many rabbit holes beyond consumer brands like Das Keyboard.
There are topre capacitive switches (HHKB, Realforce etc) , buckling spring switches like the ones in this post (& older IBM model M, Unicomp), Alps switches (older mac keyboards, matias), and an endless selection of MX compatible customized switches. All with different tactility and sound profiles.
Merely "having mechanical keys" is a very basic criteria especially for enthusiasts who might have very specific requirements and preference for how their keyboards should feel and sound. This one is mainly targeted towards those enthusiasts.
It's a real shame that the world standardized on MX and ALPS has been left in the dust.
Mechanical was always a dumb name. A collapsing rubber dome is a mechanism anyway.
Essentially every keyboard key is mechanical. Most "mechanical keyboards" are using Cherry MX or Cherry MX-like key switches.
The key switches in these are as different in design from a Cherry MX switch as a Cherry MX switch is from a rubber dome.
Guess I spin around and go back to Unicomp...
Kinda digging the Mini M. https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/MINI_M