Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Beam Spring: Dead Keyboard Tech w/USBc”.
This keyboard is older than I am and is probably older than many of you. It dates from the 1970s key technology has a very satisfying tactile, feel it’s called beam spring wasn’t even called beam spring when it was invented. It was beam plus spring. It sort of came to be known, beam spring, but keyboard technology from this era, especially keyboard technology, invented by IBM sort of just won’t quit once you use those older IBM mechanisms, it’s easy to get really attached to them and beam spring didn’t quite enter the ubiquity Uh in the Computing world that later keyboard designs did I, like the IBM model M.
You know the model number 1391401. That’S not this. This is the model, the space-saving version of that I’ve got that laid out on the table, though it’s buckling spring technology. I still use these actually, I have an extremely extensive collection of model M keyboards from IBM they’re great, but the beam spring keyboards they’re used on display Riders, the data entry terminals, such as what this one is from the predate even having the inverted T, cursor yeah, The arrow keys are all sort of stacked on top of one another yeah, it’s not it’s not fun, but that mechanism it’s a it’s it’s really interesting and the beam spring key is so complicated. It really doesn’t necessitate this level of thickness.
I mean if you think this keyboard is a weapon. This is a weapon and when I say I like model M keyboards, I’m literally working with Eric Raymond and other greats to build a non-destructive upgrades, you can do for your old model m to replace the controller. You can buy that now at the level one store, it’s all open source. You can print your own.
You can download the software. This is technically a a membrane keyboard. It’S only got two key rollover and unless you replace the membrane with a printed circuit board and replace the flappers with capacitive Flappers instead of resistive Flappers, to do your m2f conversion way way M to F conversion. Oh that’s! Coming up, I’ve been working on that for a while.
This is designed to drop in the unicomp variants of model M and restore a capacitive switch functionality. This is pretty much. The only mod that you have to do is just swap out some printed circuit board stuff with some other stuff, and so I understand obsession with old keyboards, but that’s not about this. This is about beam spring keyboards, not the model m, but these things are all related, because before the model M, there was the model f, and this has those kind of switches in it. Let’S see some more metallic ping, this is a very satisfying keyboard. This one’s been retro converted for USB did a video on that still sell neoprene mats on the level one store these keyboards predate neoprene, but you can use neoprene instead of foam makes it a very sort of satisfying slightly crispier mechanical feel. It’S really awesome, but again before all of this there was this and let’s face it. This is older than you are, isn’t it statistically the chances of that are very high, because these dated from as early as 1962, I think for some variants of this.
If you look at an old IBM internal Office catalog, this would not look out of place Model F Labs brought back the model f, i bought one but they’re also bringing back beam spring. Thank you. So enough of the history lesson: let’s unbox our beam spring keyboard.
First thing that you get yes, yes, this is a packing list printed on perforated paper, because it was tractor feed, remember, dot, dot, the AI sentient robot that had to be put down because it ran off with Tay. Well, it’s printer, like that. Why’D you get the ssk version – oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’ve collected enough of these uh typing station and Industrial ssks and model M variant to be able to use one of these every day until I’m 80 years old. Assuming that I replace this keyboard every four years, it’s thinner it’s taken on a more uh normal profile, although it is perfectly flat, it doesn’t come with a wedge or feet or stands or anything. It does come with some cork feet that will set it up perfectly flat on the desk. This is a very similar industrial design from system 76, except, of course, these are replaceable. You know keycaps, you can pull off and put Cherry switches and other competing switches in that sort of form factor, and then this is a modern layout got the inverted T, arrow keys and the exacting replicas of the original beam spring design. Okay, there’s actually a few improvements to make them a little bit more appropriate for the modern use case, but when you get down to the particulars of what’s the resistance of the key, how does that work? And you look at the model m versus the model? F, the model f actually has a slightly weaker actuation.
It takes less Force to push it down, and it’s also very satisfying from a tactile standpoint, because most people don’t really realize what’s happening. When you push the key down, the key makes its tactile sensation known before the key bottoms out the spring buckles, which creates that sensation. You feel it in the tip of your finger.
It’S a very satisfying. Almost electric sensation beam spring keyboard design is pretty similar, although the sensation, when the key bottoms out, is perhaps a little less satisfying than what you experience with a Model F or a model M type. Key switch. The fit and finish of the keyboard is uh high end. I don’t know how to really describe it other than high-end. It’S sort of a metallic powder coat finish.
It’S a very thick finish on the keyboard. It seems very durable because I have not been kind to the keyboard and it’s Shrugged off everything that I’ve thrown at it so far, including hammers. Even the font on the keycap is pretty satisfying it’s sort of that retro computer. You know early 1980s late 1970s feel it really wouldn’t look out of place.
This also runs a programmable system. We have there’s a Windows keycap, but there’s other keycaps that you can get that have different labels. If you’re not into having a Windows style label, alt function, menu control, it is programmable. You can do multiple key overlays print screen. You know this is a modern layout, but with beam spring keys. If you wanted to, you could reconfigure your space bar to you know, have a you’ve got kind of a lot of options here for reconfiguring the keyboard, but you’re gon na have to get your hands dirty and get your screwdriver out.
This is a modern style, inter when you pick up the model f keyboard, they know they know they’re customer base. You may have gotten used to data entry and using a computer with a double High enter so included in the Box. You get a double height, Enter key there’s.
Also some extra accoutrement in the bags like the stabilizer bars and things like that. That’S uh stabilizer bar exists so that when you hit the space bar on the side of the key it’ll, still actuate with about the same amount of forces, if you hit the key dead on in the middle, you don’t realize that. That’S a really awesome thing that you need to have until one of the keys doesn’t have that working correctly and then all of a sudden you’re really annoyed when you hit the side of the key and it just sort of tilts or does something unsatisfactory now in The olden days are beam spring keyboards.
The stems are actually made out of metal. It’S good and bad. It’S good because metal, it’s bad because well, it attracts a certain amount of corrosion when your keyboard’s 50 years old, but no matter what sort of wacky configuration that you want to do. A reconfiguration for your keycaps you’ve got extra keys for control and ALT, and the CMD CMD yeah.
You want to rock this on a Mac good, zero, double zero, an extra b key, which again kind of related to our. You know if you go back far enough with beam spring. People have certain things that they want to do. You also have a vertical enter key. I’Ve got all the keycaps as if my keyboard had a numeric keypad.
Of course, I didn’t get the numeric keypad version, although that is something that model f Labs does sell. Also in our bag are rubber feet as well as the aforementioned cork feet. Those cork feet are pretty much identical to what originally shipped from the factory on the model.
F now, if you’re after a beam spring keyboard – and you want something that replicates the feel of beam spring, this is as close to the real thing as anything that I have felt it’s hard to replicate. The way the beam spring feels – and this feels like authentic beam Springs, so, if you’re after the authentic beam spring, feel – and you wanted in a modern, programmable, USB keyboard, This is it and there’s nothing else. The thing that I don’t really like. Well, I don’t know that I really like it is the USBC connection, so there’s a cutout and you’ve got your USBC connection there and you’re good to go. If you pull on this in any which way the wrong way, it is going to completely rip off that USBC connection off of your keyboard and then it’s gone, there’s no USB ports or there’s no Hub. There’S nothing in here. That really demands a USB type-c connection, but it’s funny because you know again one of the reasons I was rambling about the model: f, conversion kit or the model M, like the PCB upgrade kit, the M Star thing. The thing I’m working on with Eric Raymond is the there was a lot of people in the beginning.
That said, you should put USBC on that, like customers want USBC, because it’s the latest and greatest USBC – and I don’t think USBC – is the appropriate connection for a keyboard and that’s a hill, I’m willing to die on it’s an open source design. You want a USBC connection, schematics in the PCB right there you can order it from JCL PCB good luck to you. The reason I don’t think USBC makes sense is mechanically. It doesn’t make sense electrically.
It doesn’t make sense because you don’t need anything in the keyboard and also I put the USB type B Connection in this keyboard. The way that it was originally designed. This is a USB type B connector. This is enormous compared to a USB type c connector.
It is actually a very similar width, but the USBC connector, of course, is much less tall, so it’ll be a little more forgiving, ironically, for a top to bottom Flex than a side to side Flex, stronger side to side, it’s weaker top to bottom, but side to Side, it’s going to probably rip off the PCB type B connection, see the keyboard and see that it’s really really far back in there. There you go. This is very, very strong, because the connector is grabbed on the sides mechanically by the case. So you can’t really see it, but there’s a 3D printed adapter. That’S part of the designs of the thing that sort of just grabs onto the sides of your USB type B connection and all the USB type B connections. They have little places for you to grab it if it’s surface mount or panel Mount everybody wants the you know plastic to make plastic, but really the designers when we’re talking about keyboards intended for it to be used like that, where this thing basically goes inside the Device and that puts all the mechanical strain on the sides of the connector, not the electrical part of the connector, but this kind of thing is good: four year mechanical keyboard connection and just a good old five dollar, 40 megabit, USB cable and 40 megabits. All you need for a keyboard. You don’t type that fast anyway, if you were going to use USBC, because you wanted to use USBC to say that you used USBC at least recess the connector in the thing much farther than this at least another centimeter.
All the way back in there and give it some mechanical support on the sides have something that grabs a hold of it on the top and bottom and sides see. The problem is that USBC connection doesn’t actually specify the keep out zones for that, and so, depending on the USBC cable that you get, you can have some that are really fat. You could have some that are really thin. You could have some that are sized weirdly.
You can have some that, have you know extra big finger, grips on the side and then you might have trouble inserting an arbitrary USBC Cable in here, but for peripherals like this. I just don’t think that USBC is the appropriate connection. It’S a really minor knit, but hopefully the editor has cut down to be way less time than I actually spent on it. I just think that USB type B is a more appropriate connection unless we’re in a situation where there’s a whole bunch of other stuff. In the keyboard other than just the keyboard and then okay yeah, maybe 10 gigabit makes sense.
The other knit that I would pick is that, if you’re using this for gaming and things like that and you’re using you know, wasd you’re, probably going to mash down on the keys pretty hard when you’re, walking or something like that beam spring is not a great Technology for that this is true in the old beam spring. This is kind of a flaw that is also replicated in the re-imagining reproduction of the beam spring, and that is, if you press down on a key and you hold it down and then let go of it there’s a very minor delay. While the key is Letting Go, the mechanism of the key itself also has to let go.
This doesn’t really like even hitting the key really really rapidly you’re not going to encounter this. It’S only when you’ve held the key down for a very long time. It sticks for maybe another 200 milliseconds, we’ll get some high speed footage, as you can see exactly there, it’s probably less than 200 milliseconds, but it does stick for just a moment and the amount of time that the key sticks varies from key to key to key To key, even though these are exactingly lovingly manufactured, it’s not going to be a zero hang time. It’S going to hang for a second in the depressed configuration which was something the original beam spring keyboards that I have do too, even with their metal beams and all the other stuff.
That’S in those ancient switches. So, For Better or Worse, that’s how it’s designed to work. If you look at the keyboard top down too, it looks like all the keys are tilted just a little bit and that’s just the nature of the beast.
When you’re looking at beam spring Keys, the overall verdict it’s expensive, but it’s beam spring and it’s faithful to bring beam spring technology. So if you grew up using a beam spring keyboard or your beam spring curious, there is nothing else that gives you the beam spring experience like the beam spring. It is a unique switch, it is unique sensation. It’S a unique feel and uh I’m going to put this on a system that I use a lot, probably not going on my daily driver system, but I will be using this keyboard pretty regularly. I’M model this level, one I’m signing out.
You can find me in a level one forums if you have any questions or you want to do something fancy. I don’t know, let’s what do you got in mind? Let’S see all right, I’m signing out and I’ll see you there, foreign foreign .