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I went ahead and got a new mechanical keyboard.

U

Unknown_K

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Been using vintage keyboards for ages but figured I would try a new mechanical USB keyboard with my KVM.

I have a Red Dragon mouse m601-3 on my basement gaming machines so I purchased another one of those and a Red Dragon K566 RGB to go with it.

The unit is built fairly well and you can dial down the RGB crap if you like but I do like some light coming through the keys at night so I can see what I am hitting. Typing reminds me a bit of my Model M it replaced. The keys can be removed with an included key puller so keeping this thing running long term, should be easy. The base is metal so it feels solid and has rubber so it doesn't slide around.

For the $26 I paid for it (slightly used) with tax and shipping from ebay it was worth it. Came with the original box, manual, extra keys, and tools.

Cheaper then a vintage model M too.
 
Are the keycaps Alps-MX-type? You can actually buy double-shot keycaps from third-party vendors.
I suspect that I'll be buried with my Model Ms. Heaven knows, they're built better than I am.
 
I have a similar keyboard, I forget the brand name, that sells for about $35 brand new on Amazon with your choice of Cherry clone keyswitches. (And likewise uses a solderless retention system for swapping keyswitches.) Overall I like and think it was a pretty good value for what it cost (feels satisfyingly heavy, if a little rattly, and the key action is almost as nice as the genuine Cherry keys in the 80’s vintage Wyse terminal keyboard I rewired to install in the Tandy 1000 SUX), but I can’t give it a full-throated no-asterisks endorsement because after only a few months I’ve had to swap a couple switches because of keybounce problems cropping up. But, again, at the price I’m not sure you can reasonably expect much better; it was 104 switches (plus a baggy of about a dozen spares), same number of LEDs and nice heavy plastic keycaps, and a base and circuit board to hold it all together for less than $40! If I run out of extras included with it could always spring for some better quality switches and still be far under what a similar feel vintage keyboard goes for in today’s scalper market.
 
I didn't even know these mechanical keyboards existed until earlier this year. I'm very fussy about keyboards and find most of the ones supplied with systems in the last few years - laptops in particular - really problematic to type on without lots of errors. I now have imitation-cherry brown switch keyboards with backlighting on all my desktops, and can type much faster and with far fewer errors as a result. All have aluminium backplates and feel really solid, and cost $36-$49 apiece. A-Jazz is the brand I seem to prefer.
 
I just started looking into new mechanical keyboards this years since there seems to be a flood of them sold as gaming keyboards. The small format ones I don't like since I do use the keypad a bunch and the arrow keys are not where I am used to.

The new keyboard has the keys in generally the same spot as my model M. I had to quit using my Northgate 102 because the key placement was a little too different then the model M I was using in the basement so I standardized on the M. My typing skills suck so having a slightly different layout on keyboards isn't good.

Speaking of Northgate and IBM, quite a few of the old big name computer manufacturers used to make and sell very nice quality keyboards. Even Apple used to have an ADB clicky keyboard and companies like DELL and Gateway had nice ones in the 486 era. It seems that everybody went to crappy membrane keyboards even before USB came around and that was it. You were lucky to pay $200 for a "new" Northgate or Model M in USB. I think we can thank RGB keyboards for bringing back doubleshot keys as well since most lettering is just painted on these days.
 
EVGA probably just resells somebody elses keyboard with their name on it (like most companies these days).

It reminds me of gaming chairs, there are like 1 or 2 companies that make them for everybody else with dozens of options to pick from at all kinds of price points.
 
Chuck(G) said:
In their defense, membrane keyboards tend to be less troubled by spilled coffee. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, it wouldn’t be pretty if you spilled liquid on one of these things, that’s for sure. But at the price it’s kinda hitting “who cares?” territory.

Looking in my order history mine was an “E-Yooso K-600” but, yeah, I agree it’s likely that these are mostly coming from some highly incestuous group of OEMs selling remixes of the same parts. Funny thing is I didn’t actually buy the thing intending to use it whole; I’ve been kicking around the idea of making a custom matrix keyboard PCB for a project maybe I’ll finish someday, and while looking at AliExpress and whatnot for knockoff keyswitches and key cap sets I found out these existed and, frankly, buying one just to pull the switches and caps off it is a heckuva deal if you can live with the labels. So I mostly bought it just to see how good/bad the cheapest knockoff switches worked, and kinda fell in love with it.
 
I was reminded of the various "rough duty" keyboards that I've seen. They're all rubber membrane. Those mechanical keyboards were made for polite, genteel, use--not running a scale at an oil refinery.
 
Chuck(G) said:
In their defense, membrane keyboards tend to be less troubled by spilled coffee. :)
Click to expand...

I had a keyboard from an HP vectra, of the pentium era, that I assume was membrane. I really liked the feel of the keyboard, even if it wasn't a model M, but I was able to kill it with a bowl of chicken noodle soup :)
 
Probably the same effect as dropping your laptop in the toilet bowl. I've had a couple of Vectra keyboards (mostly from the VL era). I didn't think much of them--they didn't last.
 
I purchased a similar Redragon to the OP, but mine came with the blue MX clone key switches. It has been a terrific keyboard for over a year except for wearing off the letters in the first month. New caps and it runs great.
 
Agent Orange said:
Is that bad? The price seems pretty good.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t say it’s “bad”, but shoppers should be aware that a significant part of being a good consumer these days is knowing that very often when you’re staring at Amazon or whatever trying to choose between a “knockoff” and a “premium” product there’s a significant chance that the more expensive option is actually functionally identical, it’s just better packaged or more slickly marketed.

Comparing the listings/pictures of the two the K-566 the OP has sure looks like a near twin of the E-Yooso K-600 I have which lists for about half the price, but I think in this case the premium may well be fair. The K-566 has RGB LEDs instead of rainbow strips, a fully metal case (instead of composite… which to clear feels plenty stiff and heavy), and it also has different switches; Red Dragon has cheaper keyboards in the same price ballpark as the E-Yooso that feature the same “Outemu” switches, while the K-566 claims to have “fully original browns”. Not quite sure what “original” means here, but they are physically different and presumably better.

So in this case at least it looks like Red Dragon is competitive with the “bargain” competition selling the same stuff. Where your radar should start going off is if some vendor is trying to sell you an, I dunno, $200 keyboard that looks suspiciously similar to the cheaper ones.
 
jafir said:
I had a keyboard from an HP vectra, of the pentium era, that I assume was membrane. I really liked the feel of the keyboard, even if it wasn't a model M, but I was able to kill it with a bowl of chicken noodle soup :)
Click to expand...

Not quite a keyboard, but I managed to permanently screw up the touchpad of a 2010-ish vintage MacBook Pro by letting the condensation from a glass of ice water drip on it. Seriously, one drop of water hits it, immediately wicks into the gap around the border, pfft.
 
I seem to remember some Louis Rossmann videos where he mentioned the track pad being an issue like that on certain models.
 
Eudimorphodon said:
I wouldn’t say it’s “bad”, but shoppers should be aware that a significant part of being a good consumer these days is knowing that very often when you’re staring at Amazon or whatever trying to choose between a “knockoff” and a “premium” product there’s a significant chance that the more expensive option is actually functionally identical, it’s just better packaged or more slickly marketed.

Comparing the listings/pictures of the two the K-566 the OP has sure looks like a near twin of the E-Yooso K-600 I have which lists for about half the price, but I think in this case the premium may well be fair. The K-566 has RGB LEDs instead of rainbow strips, a fully metal case (instead of composite… which to clear feels plenty stiff and heavy), and it also has different switches; Red Dragon has cheaper keyboards in the same price ballpark as the E-Yooso that feature the same “Outemu” switches, while the K-566 claims to have “fully original browns”. Not quite sure what “original” means here, but they are physically different and presumably better.

So in this case at least it looks like Red Dragon is competitive with the “bargain” competition selling the same stuff. Where your radar should start going off is if some vendor is trying to sell you an, I dunno, $200 keyboard that looks suspiciously similar to the cheaper ones.
Click to expand...

Long dissertation but I have some experience in gaming keyboards, and I think this one is a pretty good. AAMOF, I think I'll pop for this one to use on my W7 gamer. I'll let everyone know how it goes. :cool:

Late edit: I bought it from Newegg just now. Here's a pretty good review:

https://www.rtings.com/keyboard/reviews/evga/z15
 
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