My Current Keyboard Setup

As I’ve written before, I find compact keyboards to be more comfortable than normal full size keyboards.  Compact keyboards are also called Tenkeyless keyboards since they do not have the numeric keypad on the right.

I currently have four compact keyboards:

1. My original, a Lenovo Ultranav scissors switch keyboard with trackpad and trackpoint.
2. An IBM SpaceSaver M4-1 keyboard with trackpoint.  It was made by Lexmark and has rubber dome key switches.
3. Two Unicomp Model M Mighty Mouse keyboards and two Unicomp keypads.  These keyboards have rubber dome key switches.

The IBM and Unicomp keyboards are quite similar; for example, I can use the Unicomp keypad with the SpaceSaver keyboard.

My current work setup (shown above) is a Unicomp keyboard and keypad with my Kensington Orbit trackball in the middle.    I like having the keypad for heavy number entry; I like the keypad being out of the way since I don’t use it often.

The SpaceSave and Model M keyboards have a different feel than the UltraNav; they’re more crisp and clicky.  I like both styles (especially the Lenovo keyboard on my laptop), and both are much better than the typical, mushy keyboard.

Sometime I do want to try a mechanical keyboard, probably something with Cherry MX Blue keys such as a Leopard.  I find illuminated keyboards interesting; I’m pretty sure I’d want a tenkeyless one with Cherry MX Blues (unlike the Deck 82 which only comes with Cherry MX Blacks)

Although Unicomp doesn’t make a tenkeyless buckling spring keyboard, I’d still like to try a buckling spring keyboard (probably the EnduraPro).

The best resource on great keyboards is, of course, geekhack.org; for example, check out their mechanical keyboard guide.

I recently fixed some older compact computer keyboards: two Unicomp Mighty Mouse M keyboards with separate numeric keypads and a IBM/Lexmark SpaceSaver.  One keyboard had some keys that didn’t work at all, and the others had a couple that didn’t respond reliably.

All three keyboards are pretty similar.  They use a collapsing rubber dome to press together contacts laid out on two sheets of plastic separated by a plastic spacer.

I’m not going to give detailed steps, since other keyboards are probably a bit different, but here are my notes:

• I used Aqua’s Key Test which I found via Geekhack.org to test each key so I knew where to look for problems.  It’s very hard to test all the keys using a normal program like Notepad.
• I highly recommend taking plenty of pictures at each stage.  OK, I didn’t, but I had two other keyboards I could look at when putting everything  back together.
• I used CaiKote 44 to repair broken traces and re-coat unreliable contacts.  I paid ~$6 for the 1.0g jar at Fry’s.  It worked well, although it’s hard to apply precisely, especially using the included applicators, and worked best with a long time to dry (I let it dry for a day before re-testing the keyboard).  The jar looks small, but it does last: I was able to fix up all my keyboards, and a friend fixed a musical keyboard, without running out.
• I took all key caps off.  I think there’s a chance you could get the keyboard apart with the keys still on, but in any case, I needed to see how I could take everything apart and I wanted to clean the keyboar

Was it worth it?  Yes, because I like the size and feel of these keyboards, and you can’t buy either model today.

A while ago, I did way too much mousing (setting up vision jobs with Cognex Insight) and ended up with significant shoulder strain.  I’ve been better since (but not back to normal), partly by watching how much mousing around I do.

Recently, I decided it was time for another approach, and bought a Kensington Orbit Trackball with Scroll Ring.  Overall, it’s working pretty well; I’ve been using it for less than a  week, and my arm and shoulder definitely feel better.  The scroll ring works pretty well (I’d say better than a typical mouse wheel).  The ball is pretty big (about 1.5″), and is very smooth.

I also went to a smaller keyboard; I think part of the problem may have been extending my arm too far to get to the mouse.  When I use the narrower keyboard, I don’t have to extend as far.  I was able to scrounge up an old PS/2 mini-keyboard with trackpad.  The keyboard is OK, with a usable layout, but the trackpad is pretty bad (it doesn’t feel good, and it takes a lot of motion to get across my monitor).  Also, I’ve been adjusting my chair height to find the best position.

I’ve used mini keyboards with trackballs in the past, and haven’t been happy with them, because they had mechanical mini-trackballs that took a lot of motion to get anywhere, picked up lint like crazy, and basically were a pain to use.  In the future, I might try a mini keyboard with trackpad if I can test it first (some trackpads are decent), the old Lenovo Thinkpad keyboard (with pointer stick and trackpad) or the new Lenovo Thinkpad keyboard (with pointer stick only, but more affordable price).

I looked at some Logitech trackballs; I went with the Kensington because the ball seemed substantially larger, I liked the the scroll ring, and I’ve tried some Logitech trackballs in the past and wasn’t impressed (I do like their mice).  I wouldn’t mind having a larger ball and more buttons, but I’m not willing to pay for a Kensington Ultimate (~$90) or CH Products with 2.25″ ball (~$230; I’ve used CH Products joysticks in the past — they are really nice).