Recommendations for a good "click" touch mechanical keyboard.

[Harvey]

The old Focus FK-2001 keyboard was and is my all time favorite keyboard. It had a large "L" Enter key and a backspace key larger than the regular letter keys, and as a piano player and a touch typist with large hands, the tactile feel of those Alps switches was heaven.

Some of the switches in my last remaining copy have given up the ghost, and I'm looking to replace it. From what I have learned so far, it looks like my two best options would be one of these from Unicomp, Inc or a keyboard that uses Cherry MX Blue switches.

Unicomp manufactures keyboards using the original IBM Model M type switches. I have tapped on a couple of MX Red keyboards, and they feel OK, but not as good as the Alps switches in the Focus K-2001.

The Unicomps don't have the large "L" enter key, but it's big enough that I could be comfortable with it. I have not yet found any keyboards with Cherry MX Blue switches that really knock me out.

TIA for recommendations for a keyboard that will meet my preferences, hopefully one I can also afford.

 

[bononos]

Is there a reason you tried out the non clicky mx reds instead of the tactile and clicky mx blues?
You could also fix the few broken keys on your alps. Northgate seems to sell refurbished alps from what I can see.

 

[Harvey]

Is there a reason you tried out the non clicky mx reds instead of the tactile and clicky mx blues?

LOL! That was an operator malfunction on my part. It's what I get for typing on a keyboard I hate while misreading my own accumulated notes. I meant to write "MX Blue," and I edited my OP so others won't have the same reaction you did.

You could also fix the few broken keys on your alps. Northgate seems to sell refurbished alps from what I can see.

I have at least three FK-1001's around with various numbers of working keys, and I've thought about unsoldering switches from them to try to get enough to make one good keyboard. The biggest problem is that the switches are sensitive to heat, and too much exposure during desoldering and resoldering could ruin those that still work.

I'll probably give that a try, but if I can find a keyboard I like, or that's at least close enough, it will cover the time it takes to do a careful job, and I won't mind having a good backup if it works.

 

[bononos]

If its a not so trivial to repair desolder/solder job, I would rather send it off some place like northgate.
http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/

 

[zokudu]

I know the steelseries G6v2 and the Thermaltake G-Unit have BAE enters but neither comes with Blues or Greens.

Have you heard of MX Greens? They're kind of like stiffer Blues. Might be worth a look. I don't know any with a BAE but CMStormhas a TKL version. Ducky has a 104. http://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=199

 

[Harvey]

If its a not so trivial to repair desolder/solder job, I would rather send it off some place like northgate.
http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/

THANKS! :thumbsup:

It looks like this guy is not Northgate but an independent repair/refurbisher of Northgate and other similar keyboards. I will be phoning him tomorrow to ask what he charges. Maybe he'll accept my some of my collection with a few bad switches as partial payment for one or two working refurbed units. As long as I'm asking, a long as he has to pull them apart, I'll ask if he can wire them up with USB connector, instead of a PS2 connector.

I had one original Northgate keyboard. They were essentially a precursor model to the Focus FK-2001 with the same feel. If I recall correctly, they came out just before they started including the "Windows" key in the layout.

 

[Ben90]

If you're not a gamer, and don't type pages and pages a day: Unicomp all the way. The higher you go up the "good for typing scale", the less tactile things get.

If all you do is type nonstop, the boring but unintrusive Topres start to really shine. Blues/Browns are around the halfway point; they are good to type long periods on, but really don't make you smile that much. Buckling spring on the other hand are absolutely phenomenal to type on, but can start to get annoying after very long typing sessions.

I don't have any experience with Alps switches, but after spending nearly a grand on various keyboards the only switches that make sense to me are Electrostatic, Browns, and BS. Unicomp dropped the ball harder than any tech company in the news by not releasing any NKRO boards, they could have monopolized the highend keyboard market years ago. There is just no denying the fact that BS leaves all other keyboards in the dust the very first time you press a key. Not everyone can drop 500 for a lightly used Model FAT.

 

[Harvey]

If you're not a gamer, and don't type pages and pages a day: Unicomp all the way. The higher you go up the "good for typing scale", the less tactile things get.

Thanks for all the info that followed, but I could not disagree more with the above. As I said in my OP, I play piano, and I'm a touch typist, and the more I time I spend typing, the more I miss the positive tactile click feel of the Alps switches my old FD-2001 keyboards. They remind me of the "escapement" feel of a well adjusted Steinway grand. OTOH, I absolutely hate keyboards that feel like I'm typing on a bunch of marshmallows.