These days, changing a keyboard is a matter of few notes. Low cost materials and manufacturing capacity monstrous Eastern countries have enabled keyboards can be easily replaced if a fault. But there is a special kind of keyboards, real tanks that have defied time and the requirement of users, with its characteristic sound flooding thousands of homes and offices around the globe. These mechanical keyboards, and although the most sought copies remain those of yesteryear, you can also find modern models based on similar designs.

I should mention that I have access to a good deal of keyboards. Usually I look for models from computer "brand", and the older the better. Still, my keyboard is an old art BTC-5100c 80 key, set to "United States-International" to easily invoke "N / N" and the euro symbol "€". Why use the keyboard? Because besides being very compact, has a sound more or less similar to the old mechanical keyboards. Of course, the sound of mechanical keyboards is impossible to confuse. When someone works on one of them, the rest of the room knows it immediately. There are some differences between the manufacturing mechanical keyboards, but that certainly is seen as the "representative" of them all, is the IBM Model "M", also known as "clicky".

The M model was launched by IBM in 1985 with the aim of replacing the previous model F and reduce costs. The term "Clicky" is due to the contact system by bending spring (Buckling Spring) they used. When you press a key, a spring inside bends to one side, a kind of hammer moving based on a membrane to generate the actual contact (in the case of model F, the contact was capacitive, and by extension, more expensive to manufacture). For some users, the noise of mechanical keyboards, especially the M model, was too high, and that's how some tricks to dampen it appeared, such as adding floss to the mechanism in each key. IBM released a lot of keyboards on the model M, with different characteristics. Some of them were designed for terminals (ie, incompatible with a conventional computer), while others had a cable that could be switched at will, for a simple replacement (which, indeed, did not happen very often because the resistance of these keyboards).



The market may be dominated by low-cost keyboards based on rubber domes, but who want a mechanical keyboard, you're in luck. You can still find old models M in online auction sites, but due to the "collector value" possessed, prices can be very high. Unicomp is a U.S. company that owns the rights to the old IBM model M, not only manufactures products and custom models, but also offers repair services for old keyboards. The site also reveals patterns like the Cooler Master Storm Quickfire, the Vortex KBT Pure and Happy Hacking Keyboard series, known for its minimalist design, manufacture Japanese and unfortunately, their high cost. If you plan to buy one of these keyboards, remember that the investment is much higher than in the case of a conventional keyboard, somewhat offset by its impressive durability. And if you can pose your claws on a model M, well ... I personally think you should restore it and use it.

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