IBM 4704 F107 "Project I" review (capacitive buckling springs)

Chyros · 16 Jun 2018, 10:42

Today we look at Project I, my restored and customised IBM 4704 F107. Hope you enjoy the video!

green-squid · 16 Jun 2018, 10:55

Fantastic video as usual!

depletedvespene · 16 Jun 2018, 11:02

Great video. I specially liked the sound comparison between the F107, the F122 and the F AT.

I also liked how you covered in detail the full numpad (but, of course, I have a couple different ideas about how to go at it on mine).

The swapping of <> and \| still mystifies me, though.

depletedvespene · 16 Jun 2018, 11:05

Also, do you use both PD2 and PD3 as Enter, or have you assigned a distinct meaning to one of them? (before I decided to go TIE with my F107, I found that mapping PD2 as Shift-Enter was quite comfortable during heavy Excel usage).

Chyros · 16 Jun 2018, 12:24

depletedvespene wrote: Also, do you use both PD2 and PD3 as Enter, or have you assigned a distinct meaning to one of them? (before I decided to go TIE with my F107, I found that mapping PD2 as Shift-Enter was quite comfortable during heavy Excel usage).

Yes, I use both PD keys as Enter. The / and >< keys are swapped because that's how I programmed the layout

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Sangdrax · 16 Jun 2018, 17:14

Nice powdercoating job. Love those old beepers too. How do you access the F keys on the number row? You use one of the bottom row keys as an Fn modifier and have them on a different layer?

Bass · 16 Jun 2018, 21:27

Thanks for doing that sound comparison. I especially liked how you panned back and forth between each board to really better highlight the progressive differences in sound based on how much metal was in the case.

How are you liking the relegendable caps? Most F107 restorations I have seen around here ditch them and I have even heard some people say that they don't feel as good.

zrrion · 16 Jun 2018, 21:33

Question regarding f keys, why are the f12 and f5 in the nav cluster? I like f2 and f5 in mynav cluster myself.

depletedvespene · 16 Jun 2018, 21:38

The relegendable keycaps on the F107 (and family) are indeed subpar — they're flimsy, chip easily and are badly yellowed, and, having a flatter top, feel not as good as proper keycaps. Check out my post about Fentek relegendable keycaps for a much better (if pricey) option. As a matter of fact, once I have managed to solve the one problem plaguing my F107 that is inhibiting its usage as my daily driver, those are what I'll be using on the key stems for which I don't have the necessary caps.

keyboards-f2/buckling-springs-clear-key ... 17805.html

depletedvespene · 16 Jun 2018, 21:41

zrrion wrote: Question regarding f keys, why are the f12 and f5 in the nav cluster? I like f2 and f5 in mynav cluster myself.

Everyone and their dog has a distinct opinion of the layouts - i put Shift-Tab and Tab on those two keys.

Chyros · 17 Jun 2018, 12:40

Yes, the blank keys are layer keys, or at least, I defined them that way. They're used mainly for accessing the other F keys - I use F5 for refresh, and F12 for screenshot in-game.

I don't mind the relegendable caps at all. In fact, this is not the only board I use relegendables on. The flatter profile and lack of texture kind of affirms you're typing on a differeny key, I like it. I could've put in normal IBM caps for many of them, but I don't mind, really

.

Captain Sobel · 17 Jun 2018, 20:22

depletedvespene wrote: The relegendable keycaps on the F107 (and family) are indeed subpar — they're flimsy, chip easily and are badly yellowed, and, having a flatter top, feel not as good as proper keycaps. Check out my post about Fentek relegendable keycaps for a much better (if pricey) option. As a matter of fact, once I have managed to solve the one problem plaguing my F107 that is inhibiting its usage as my daily driver, those are what I'll be using on the key stems for which I don't have the necessary caps.

keyboards-f2/buckling-springs-clear-key ... 17805.html

This is very useful thank you for linking this. The yellowing bothers me on mine.

JP! · 21 Jun 2018, 05:31

Whoa, I love the colored version better. Nice job on this by the way.

ryvnf · 28 Jun 2018, 18:59

0:31 "Are you ready?"
0:36 "Extra large"

Chyros · 28 Jun 2018, 23:46

Yeah I had something like four Overlord quotes and a Helix quote in it xD . The F video had an Apocalypse quote in it for this keyboard. Big fan of C&C!

My videos are full of references, including to some ultra-obscure things and in-jokes :p .