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Re: Unicomp followup



We got 3 of them.  One was already delivered to the office.  I'll have to do some typing on the other two, to see if this behavior replicates. 


   Jordan



From: John Paines
To: "xywrite@xxxxxxxx"
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2018 1:11 PM
Subject: Re: Unicomp followup

Sounds like a defective unit.  I've had no such trouble with mine.


These keyboards are meant to emulate the IBM "M" buckling spring keyboard.  It's a continuous line:  I believe Unicomp acquired the business from Lexmark, which was in turn making IBM keyboards for a few years.




From: J R FOX
To: "xywrite@xxxxxxxx"
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2018 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: Unicomp followup

I have now exchanged the ordering-mistake "terminal" edition Unicomps for the correct, left-side F-keys models.  The proper layout makes a huge difference !  Overall, I guess these will suffice, but I've noticed something that I'm wondering if any other owners can corroborate ?  In regular typing, there are occasionally key-strikes that skip -- do not enter a character -- or that double-enter the character.  It is not a major problem, but I don't think it should be happening at all.  Perhaps it has something to do with "break-in" usage,  and will in time go away ?

I have to say that this "buckling spring" tech is just not the equal of the Northgate / Avant ALPS switches.  (ALPS being an acronym for something, but I don't recall what.)  Probably nothing is.  I think the now also defunct Maxicomp keyboard that we had was much closer to the former.

Is Unicomp the sole survivor now from that crowd ?

The casual hunt & peck user may never notice, but power-typists notice the difference straight away: there were good reasons why the Omni & Avant stood out from the rest.


  Jordan



From: Lisa Kleinholz
To: xywrite@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, April 28, 2018 10:23 AM
Subject: Re: Unicomp followup

I have left function keys from Unicomp. This is what I ordered. http://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/40L5A
You do have to specify that you want function keys on left. I think I ordered by phone to make sure.


On Sat, Apr 28, 2018 at 1:04 PM, J R FOX mailto:jr_fox@xxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi All,

I have not had a chance to follow up on this until now.  As the outcome to our recent discussion about this here, I ordered 3 of their 5250 USB buckling spring keyboards.  This was mainly to address an immediate replacement need at our office, but I also wanted to set aside one more spare for myself.  Now having unboxed two of them and started typing on them, I'm somewhat disappointed -- and left wondering whether I ordered the correct model ?

The keystrike response is not exactly the same as on the Northgate Omni / Avant predecessors, but I would have to say that all things considered it is close enough.  Rather, my issues focus on the layout.  Instead of the **essential** for XyWrite function keys at the left, I see ScrLK, Printscreen, Help, Record, Play, Pause, SysReq, a Windows key, and one I haven't identified yet.  (The workstation that had the dead keyboard that is being replaced is used by someone who was never a touch typist.  I tend to doubt this will matter much to him . . .  but *I* care.)  To my mind, this makes the keyboard almost unacceptable for XyWrite.  There go most of my keyboard macros of so many years -- or at least the most convenient, one-handed versions thereof.  I also do not like the small Left-Shift key, and the location of certain other keys.  (If it helps those of you who may be unfamiliar with this Unicomp keyboard, I will attach a snapshot, or a scan of the "key map" they included in the box.) 

Had to go hunting for the ESC key -- not good !  When going for the Left-Shift, I keep accidentally hitting a plain, unmarked key that is immediately adjacent, which happens to be a another "\".  Quite annoying !  This keyboard also seems to have no provision for duplicating the original Omni key arrangement for location of Caps Lock | Left CTRL | Left Shift | Left ALT.  This was a defining characteristic of the Northgate Omnis and the Avant Stellar, for which they very thoughtfully included alternate keycaps, a dedicated key-popping tool, detailed instructions -- and, in the case of the Avant, some required software that needed to be run when making the change. 

I'm thinking there will also be some other issues of concern that I will discover, in due course.  Just where this leaves things I remain uncertain.  For my home use, I cannot wait to return to the Avant spare that I've been using for the last couple years.  And this greatly increases my interest in trying to have the 3 or 4 now defective Northgates that we've accumulated over time repaired.  (To be more accurate, I think one of those must be a Maxicomp.)  I also can't rule out getting back to keeping an eye on the used market.

Let me know what you think.  


  Jordan