Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

I'm keeping an eye out for a Dolch Pac 65 if anyone sees one for sale at a decent price. Must be Pentium II, ideally with the Cherry MX Blue keyboard. Not concerned about what cards come with it, the fancier the better.
 
As promised, the results of my messing around with the new Elgato Stream Deck. Additional link in the video description.

 
Last edited:
:rofl: :lmao:

you need to grunt a bit more.
 
I was just reminded that I would really like to replace my current old Razer Blackwidow Ultimate with a wireless mechanical board like the one Prizrak mentioned in New Toys and I almost did, however I couldn't live with tenkeyless. I just use the numpad too much. Sadly I haven't found a full sized, wireless, mechanical board and I can't understand why. Surely just adding on the numpad doesn't make it impossible for battery power, does it? I really could do with the ability to move the keyboard off the desk sometimes, for example when I'm soldering so it doesn't get covered in flux splatter or when I'm trying to work on something that requires extra space.

Also a follow-up on the Stream Deck. it's now in place as my go-to button box, replacing the USB numpad I had for use with LuaMacros as an Illustrator hotkey board. Generally it acts and a media key box and gives me a quick-launch button for iTunes, but when I launch Illustrator or Photoshop it switches profile and gives me the full complement of hotkeys that I was used to. I 3D printed a base for it from someone's design on Thingiverse, here it is with the AI keys showing:

[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","height":"472","width":"628","src":"https:\/\/cdn.thingiverse.com\/renders\/ea\/3d\/32\/86\/15\/f930517ff5cae7944abd98ef20cdf42d_preview_featured.jpg"}[/IMG2]

My make:
https://www.thingiverse.com/make:533527

Original design:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2870655

The base is full of cement, it helps bring up the weight and with the rubber base it stops it from scooting around. The original base was too light and didn't grip my desk. The buttons aren't perfect, due to the LCD screens staying in position the mechanism of the buttons has to go around it and this makes them feel a bit spongy and inaccurate, like the D-pad on most controllers. If you hit it dead-centre it's fine but if you hit it slightly on the edge it probably won't register the press. Auto profile switching is based on the active application in Windows and is great when it works, however it doesn't always work. Quite a few times I've switched back to AI and the buttons haven't changed, I have had to switch away to another application and back again for it to change profiles. I just added a button to switch the profile on the media page.

I don't know if I'd recommend getting it at the full price and I certainly wouldn't recommend getting the smaller version, which has a mere six buttons but is two thirds of the price, however if you see it at a discounted price like I did and you have a use for it, I'd say go for it. :)
 
Last edited:
Matt2000;n3553218 said:
I was just reminded that I would really like to replace my current old Razer Blackwidow Ultimate with a wireless mechanical board like the one Prizrak mentioned in New Toys and I almost did, however I couldn't live with tenkeyless. I just use the numpad too much. Sadly I haven't found a full sized, wireless, mechanical board and I can't understand why. Surely just adding on the numpad doesn't make it impossible for battery power, does it? I really could do with the ability to move the keyboard off the desk sometimes, for example when I'm soldering so it doesn't get covered in flux splatter or when I'm trying to work on something that requires extra space.
Does it have to be bluetooth like mine or are you ok with plugging a receiver into your computer? If the latter there is this:
https://www.amazon.com/G-Cord-Wirel...&keywords=wireless+mechanical+keyboards&psc=1
71ss5o0Fh6L._SL1500_.jpg
Or this
https://www.amazon.com/Granvela-Mec...sr=8-8&keywords=wireless+mechanical+keyboards
61jX5ZCmptL._SL1010_.jpg
If it has to be BT and you don't mind spending more money you could get this:
https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-G61...r=8-15&keywords=wireless+mechanical+keyboards
71RU7otWqCL._SL1500_.jpg
If you want that steampunk look and don't mind spending way too much (IMO) you could get this (though I had one of that style though much cheaper and much less wireless and it was really shitty to type on):
https://www.amazon.com/Azio-Retro-C...r=8-18&keywords=wireless+mechanical+keyboards
7180txmU9HL._SL1500_.jpg
 

Attachments

  • 71ss5o0Fh6L._SL1500_.jpg
    71ss5o0Fh6L._SL1500_.jpg
    145.1 KB · Views: 140
  • 71ss5o0Fh6L._SL1500_.jpg
    71ss5o0Fh6L._SL1500_.jpg
    145.1 KB · Views: 189
prizrak;n3553234 said:
Does it have to be bluetooth like mine or are you ok with plugging a receiver into your computer? If the latter there is this:

'Normal' wireless would be fine and those two look great, however they only come in US layout and the former isn't even sold on Amazon UK. I have all of the correct DSA keycaps to transfer over to it, but I'm not sure I could ever get used to a US layout when everything I use at work is UK. I like the idea of the hot-swappable key switches though on the second board, I wonder if you would ever get connection issues.

Of all companies I would expect Logitech to offer a UK layout, however even on their UK site it's just the standard US layout. Very odd. Otherwise that's a nice board. I'd rather not have macro keys if I can avoid them. Edit: They do sell a UK layout one, they just use the US layout for all of the images...

One of my friends asked me about that last board, I had never never seen it before and just laughed at the price. I mean, I'd try one for free but that's way too expensive for an uncomfortable looking keyboard.
 
Last edited:
You should be able to change layouts in software however you want as long as you got the keycaps. I'm always surprised to learn that UK uses different layout from the US, makes little sense to me seeing as how it's the same damn language.

The steampunk keyboard is indeed extremely uncomfortable, I had a cheap(ish) one but gave up on it pretty damn quickly.
 
This page explains it pretty well, how the international standard exists and only America have their own standard. :p

https://deskthority.net/wiki/ANSI_vs_ISO

It's not just America that use ANSI though. There are 105 switches on an ISO board rather than 104 so it wouldn't be possible to accurately replicate it through software. I could get used to ANSI but having the £ symbol missing entirely would be a pain and would need some bodging to get around it.

I really like Logitech's G413, if they'd just lop the damn cable off I'd buy one. I looked at getting some dumb wireless USB modules using little Arduinos that were specifically designed for keyboards, the receiver acts as a HID and passes through the commands from the transmitter, which in turn gets the keystrokes from the keyboard. It seemed like too much hassle though so I ditched the idea.
 
[No message]
 
[No message]
 
What are you buying on these mass selling days that are right around the corner? I have already ordered a Blue Yeti Microphone(it is oddly black instead of blue... :p ) that comes with a code for the Fallout 76 game at the normal sale price of $99.99 that was part of an early Black Friday ad. The game bundle makes it a good game for me, I planned on buying it anyway.
 
GRtak;n3555024 said:
What are you buying on these mass selling days that are right around the corner?

I bought the Saitek Farming Simulator controller, I didn't even realise it was discounted until afterwards. :lol:

I'm waiting to see if the Logitech G903 gets any cheaper, they've knocked a fiver off but I'm hoping for more on a £100 mouse. :)
 
Does it have a mouse pad at least? I hate how expensive mice and keyboards are. They should at least throw you a bone when you shell out that kind of money for one.
 
To protect the surface you're working on, and/or to give a smoother surface to slide on.
 
Gave a gcam build with Night Sight enabled a try tonight, and wow, it is really impressive :

IMG_20181125_184455414bb480e5c7ad0a.jpg


This was at night, in foggy conditions.
 
My home server died at some point in the last 36 hours, the last Windows logs are from 7:42PM yesterday and it seems that I didn't even notice until tonight. The damn thing is so quiet.

At first I suspected the PSU because nothing happened when I hit the power button but the motherboard standby light was on, the fan test on the PSU worked, the paperclip test got a result and I got nothing from my spare PSU. So I suspect the motherboard (ASUS Z97 Pro Gamer) has popped for some reason.

Nothing I've done so far from removing/re-seating RAM to removing the BIOS chip and clearing the CMOS, to bypassing the power switch (which tested OK anyway) and taking the add-on cards out got a result. It's possible to buy a replacement BIOS chip on eBay for £8.50 as it was a gaming board, it's tempting to do that first because it's a small amount to lose if it makes no difference, otherwise I'm looking for a new board.

If anyone has a good recommendation for a socket 1150 board that I could pick up cheaply now but is robust I'd be grateful. Ideally with either three PCIE slots or a shit ton of SATA ports as I have 10 SATA devices to support. The only one of this board I've seen for sale was at £160, more than when I bought it...
 
If anyone has a good recommendation for a socket 1150 board that I could pick up cheaply now but is robust I'd be grateful. Ideally with either three PCIE slots or a shit ton of SATA ports as I have 10 SATA devices to support. The only one of this board I've seen for sale was at £160, more than when I bought it...
I added you to a PC hardware group on FB that is UK based, there is usually something for sale or people will offer you something when you're looking for something. Pending admin approval though.
 
Top