I was lucky today. After watching a flick at the movies, I decided to stop by the local thrift store. They had some keyboards and I started tapping on the keys when I hit the keys on one keyboard that didn't feel anything like a rubber dome. I dug it out and it's a Das Keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches for $4. Needless to say, it was a deal.
I saw someone talk about how their boss at a Goodwill once threw a CIB copy of Earthbound in the trash compactor because the box was in bad condition, that haunts me to this day
All that old 80's/90's stuff has gotten rather hard to find in recent years, especially in the Seattle area. The heyday for mechanical keyboards at Goodwill/Value Village/Salvation Army was back in 2005-2007 unfortunatley up here. That said, I'd keep an eye on RE-PC every so often, I did pick up a mechanical AT keyboard from them for $30.00 the last time I was at the RE-PC in Seattle (six months ago when upgrading my old 486 machine), but it'd need an adapter or two to work with a modern USB device.
I'm hoping to do one of these videos again sometime soon just to see how things have changed. But in my casual strolls through thrift stores, I really haven't seen very much.
These things are scarce in Canada as well for some reason. Worse is we don't have fancy keyboards like the Unicomp that you guys enjoy in america. We only have mainstream products here
That was fun. I love thrifting. I’m researching how to use an older keyboard instead of the built-in that’s on my MacBook Pro. This video came up in my search. I had no idea I had company in my longing for the old keyboard feel. :)
Thanks! Yah, now that I'm more involved with the community here, I realize I'm definitely not the only one doing this. I'll do another Vintage Hunt in a few months just to track how times change. I remember thrift store shopping as a college student and seeing mechanical keyboards, saying to myself "who would ever buy keyboards this big??"
I go to recyclers and I found some pretty nice old vintage dome with sliders for $2 each. I sell them on ebay after restoring them and make a huge profit. I cant find any vint blacks or alp but at least I can buy them with the money I make from selling off other vintage boards.
Surprised you passed up on some nice rubber domes (the ergonomic one and the bondi blue Imac one). Not all rubber domes are created equal! And a bit of advice if you're hunting for vintage stuff: if you see a mech keyboard with the original old Computer that came with it and you find them at a good price, just grab both of them. A lot of old computers have proprietary connectors and they won't work without the keyboard. And they don't really take up a lot of space most of the time (I mean, your apartment seems to be plentyful for keyboards, I'm sure you could get a couple of vintage pc stuff in there). Also, don't gut them for the keycaps. You got a good deal on that low profile Cherry keyboard, but maybe try some of the unique rubber dome stuff if you get them on the cheap (unless you're a mech snob). They'd make for some good comparison vids I think.
Generic Green Squid I proudly admit that I am a mech snob. lol. I think there are only a few vintage computer systems I'm interested in but for the most part it's primarily mechanical keyboards
i found an old KeyTronic "ergoforce" ps2 keyboard from the 90's yesterday in a foreclosure business building. I was told i could keep anything i found that i wanted. I found this keyboard, some really old mouses, and an old HP Pavilion PC with Windows 2000 on it and it works! Besides that i found a few brand new laptops still in the box. but they're just some old notebooks from like 2012 so not a huge find. I'll probably put linux on them or something. My favorite find is the old keyboard lol
Yeah sadly the days of finding vintage mech keyboards at thrift stores are long gone. I remember in the 1990s I could easily find a Model M or OmniKey, AEK or IIGS keyboard and even a 122 key terminal F! (Austin MN home of Hormel, that's probably why the terminal F was at the store). Even here in Rochester MN, home of Mayo Clinic, nowadays it's the same crap seen here, once in a while I'll find a modern gaming mech board.. And sadly we don't have any recycling centers around, only in the Cities. And since I'm visually impaired I can't just hop into a car and drive. But I still look and hope.
Shaun Andrews hey man if you're up for it, we have our winter meetup at the living computer Museum this coming Saturday from 12 to 4. You should come check it out!
Lived in the Greater Seattle Area and I have always kept an eye out for mechs when I went out thrifting but never had any luck. Wish i was able to make it to the winter meetup but school/work kept me busy :(
So..I worked at a Goodwill distribution center responsible for donated tech..I would refurb the good stuff to be sold online and actually anything old wouldnt be thrown out..it would be cleaned up and sold online.. You wouldn't believe what people donate.. Old and new.. It just shocked me
I found a Redragon 1 handed gaming mechanical keyboard for $10. I know that this is not vintage but it still a good deal. I also found a Leopold Fc3456-A with brown switches at a good will outlet for $2, I do not know how old it is but I could not find any new ones on the internet.
The Apple Extended Keyboard and IBM Model M that you saw looked great, why didn't you buy them? Good video, though! Thumbs up and subscribed! Please make more cool keyboard reviews. God bless!
What are the chances of my keyboard with 5 din at connector being a mechanical? How can I tell if it is? I don't want to damage it's keys, no keycap puller.
www.pckeyboard.com/ Just get a new unicomp keyboard. They're created using the same tooling system as the model M. I personally switched from a razer blackwidow chroma to one of these keyboards because the buckling switches just feel way better for typing.
The last store you went to that box of black keyboards I found a Dell Windows 1998 quietkey not sure exactly what the model is but I know it is Dell Windows and I know it was made in 1998 so it's Windows 98
merlin i have a question, can you add anti ghosting or rollover to vintage boards, i have an compaq mx1800 i giot browns an few blues and a cherry mmx silver on the space the whole board thocks however anit ghosting is non exsiant in these days, i can only press a few keys a the time and when playing games makes it impossible to play . (Is there a way o make old boards anti ghost or add N KEY rollover)
I remember back in 2010-2011 I found like 6 mechanical buckling spring keyboards and 1 cherry keyboard. not knowing anything about electronics at the time and seeing a "life hack" video saying you can wash your keyboards in the dishwasher I ruined them all. have not found one since.
I am looking for an old mechanical keyboard that I had in the 90s. I can`t find this one. It was a perfect clicky big keyboard with a blue print on the top (left or right) something like "PLATROON". The connector was the old round big 5 PIN. I don`t remember exactly... I think without Windows buttons. The keys are white shining color. What is that model? Can someone help???
People need to also appreciate and differentiate between bad and good rubberdome keyboards, you probably missed some special keyboards there... for example, the BTC keyboards are rubber domes but suprisingly tactile! I think that with time, keyboard lovers will exapand their scope, as many mechanical keyboards don't event type that good also.
x'D .... Yes i did it but not much response for people. Look it: imgur.com/a/q8K4j ... I love clicky one, so i change vintage black stems for blue ones doing the "ghetto green".
@@MechMerlin I recommend just buy your own clippers, blades, razors, etc. Learn how to fade your own hair, there are dozens of tutorials how. You'll save hundreds of dollars per month and you lessen the risk of getting transmittable shit like ring worms and infections ew. Btw, you're Filipino, right? I love your vids, dude! Jollibee is the GOAT!
I was lucky today.
After watching a flick at the movies, I decided to stop by the local thrift store. They had some keyboards and I started tapping on the keys when I hit the keys on one keyboard that didn't feel anything like a rubber dome. I dug it out and it's a Das Keyboard with Cherry MX Brown switches for $4.
Needless to say, it was a deal.
That's so awesome! Good find!
@@MechMerlin Thank you. It definitely was lucky.
The idea of Model M’s being tossed will haunt me for the rest of my years.
I saw someone talk about how their boss at a Goodwill once threw a CIB copy of Earthbound in the trash compactor because the box was in bad condition, that haunts me to this day
The song playing in the background when he found the Model M at 7:00 is panic switch by silversun pickups, you're welcome
I want a vintage keyboard!
All that old 80's/90's stuff has gotten rather hard to find in recent years, especially in the Seattle area. The heyday for mechanical keyboards at Goodwill/Value Village/Salvation Army was back in 2005-2007 unfortunatley up here. That said, I'd keep an eye on RE-PC every so often, I did pick up a mechanical AT keyboard from them for $30.00 the last time I was at the RE-PC in Seattle
(six months ago when upgrading my old 486 machine), but it'd need an adapter or two to work with a modern USB device.
I'm hoping to do one of these videos again sometime soon just to see how things have changed. But in my casual strolls through thrift stores, I really haven't seen very much.
These things are scarce in Canada as well for some reason. Worse is we don't have fancy keyboards like the Unicomp that you guys enjoy in america. We only have mainstream products here
That was fun. I love thrifting. I’m researching how to use an older keyboard instead of the built-in that’s on my MacBook Pro. This video came up in my search. I had no idea I had company in my longing for the old keyboard feel. :)
People know the value of these old keyboards now, it's going to get harder to find them cheaply
Wow! What a great deal! Cherry ML keyboard for $2!!
lol no
Ikr
No just no mls suck ass
@Zane Dorian you made your account when you posted this comment
I bet he’s really wishing he bought that model m right now at $75😂
why? If you have luck you can still find them cheap. I got mine for 30 euro.
2:36 I had that Franklin dictionary in high school, around 1990. Saved me so much time!
Did you sell it though?
found a nmb space invader keyboard and a dell at101w at my local thrift store for 1 buck each.
Bro what
Damn, really nice video. You really tried a lot of places, just shows how hard it is to find some nice vintage keyboards these days.
Thanks! Yah, now that I'm more involved with the community here, I realize I'm definitely not the only one doing this. I'll do another Vintage Hunt in a few months just to track how times change. I remember thrift store shopping as a college student and seeing mechanical keyboards, saying to myself "who would ever buy keyboards this big??"
I go to recyclers and I found some pretty nice old vintage dome with sliders for $2 each. I sell them on ebay after restoring them and make a huge profit. I cant find any vint blacks or alp but at least I can buy them with the money I make from selling off other vintage boards.
Surprised you passed up on some nice rubber domes (the ergonomic one and the bondi blue Imac one). Not all rubber domes are created equal!
And a bit of advice if you're hunting for vintage stuff: if you see a mech keyboard with the original old Computer that came with it and you find them at a good price, just grab both of them. A lot of old computers have proprietary connectors and they won't work without the keyboard. And they don't really take up a lot of space most of the time (I mean, your apartment seems to be plentyful for keyboards, I'm sure you could get a couple of vintage pc stuff in there). Also, don't gut them for the keycaps.
You got a good deal on that low profile Cherry keyboard, but maybe try some of the unique rubber dome stuff if you get them on the cheap (unless you're a mech snob). They'd make for some good comparison vids I think.
Generic Green Squid I proudly admit that I am a mech snob. lol. I think there are only a few vintage computer systems I'm interested in but for the most part it's primarily mechanical keyboards
i found an old KeyTronic "ergoforce" ps2 keyboard from the 90's yesterday in a foreclosure business building. I was told i could keep anything i found that i wanted. I found this keyboard, some really old mouses, and an old HP Pavilion PC with Windows 2000 on it and it works! Besides that i found a few brand new laptops still in the box. but they're just some old notebooks from like 2012 so not a huge find. I'll probably put linux on them or something. My favorite find is the old keyboard lol
I was lucky the other day, found a Focus FK-2001 with ps2 adapter for $2 recently in a Goodwill in Tucson.
Great videos, keep it up man!
Thanks! Lucky man! Post photos on geekhack, reddit or deskthority about it!
Adrian Plascencia are you freaking kidding I'm here in Tucson! I can't find any vintage Keyboard in goodwill(the one near wok and roll)
Yeah sadly the days of finding vintage mech keyboards at thrift stores are long gone. I remember in the 1990s I could easily find a Model M or OmniKey, AEK or IIGS keyboard and even a 122 key terminal F! (Austin MN home of Hormel, that's probably why the terminal F was at the store). Even here in Rochester MN, home of Mayo Clinic, nowadays it's the same crap seen here, once in a while I'll find a modern gaming mech board.. And sadly we don't have any recycling centers around, only in the Cities. And since I'm visually impaired I can't just hop into a car and drive. But I still look and hope.
Dude, you drove SOOOOO far. From redmond to kirkland to lynwood down to down town seattle..... respect the commitment.
Haha the secret is....I didn't do it all on one day
@@MechMerlin you cheeky bastarddd ;) Lucky the weather matched up then i guess
Been to RE-PC. They had a dead unicomp model m for $50. Although you can definitely haggle with them.
I have two WYSE Terminal keyboards and use some of the caps on my actual keyboard.
cool to see a another mech keyboard fan from the seattle area, this video inspired me to head to re pc first thing in the morning tomorrow
Shaun Andrews hey man if you're up for it, we have our winter meetup at the living computer Museum this coming Saturday from 12 to 4. You should come check it out!
Thats awesome, i didn’t realize until watching more of your videos there was a community out here. Definitely going to come if I’m not busy with work!
Lived in the Greater Seattle Area and I have always kept an eye out for mechs when I went out thrifting but never had any luck. Wish i was able to make it to the winter meetup but school/work kept me busy :(
Seattle Summer meetup happening this year again! Check out www.ckeys.org for details!
Great research !.. i knew it mechanical keyboards are sold way overpriced....
I actually work at a thrift store, and my manager actually told me that if they get old keyboards they just throw them away. Truly tragic.
5:09 see that keyboard in the very low right corner, I have that one
I found a razer blackwidow ultimate 2013 at a goodwill where I am for six dollars!
i got an acer mechanical keyboard its old from 2008 its white for the trim and black color from junk to gaming
Great vid man
3:45 it has a nice keycaps thoo!!! the second from the top
i want this to be a real series
Lol there are only two episodes so far haha.
3:13 - Smith Corona F**ing leafsprings. Get the hell away from that thing XD
The bane of Thomas's existence.
"...intense, unbelievable, indescribable fuckness of the switches."
So..I worked at a Goodwill distribution center responsible for donated tech..I would refurb the good stuff to be sold online and actually anything old wouldnt be thrown out..it would be cleaned up and sold online.. You wouldn't believe what people donate.. Old and new.. It just shocked me
I got a very old HP ergo keyborad from 2001
the xerox is maybe an 1800 from 1983? idk lol
I found a Redragon 1 handed gaming mechanical keyboard for $10. I know that this is not vintage but it still a good deal. I also found a Leopold Fc3456-A with brown switches at a good will outlet for $2, I do not know how old it is but I could not find any new ones on the internet.
I found a thrift store mechanical keyboard for 4 bucks CAD. Not too shabby, I'm going to make it my main board from here on out.
nice hunt! good vid!
Wow this is surprising... The goodwill in kirkland is actually the one at the bottom of my hill.
Oh nice, yeah that one is pretty empty these days.
i pulled the better buckling spring the model f xt from a neighbors house for free
The Apple Extended Keyboard and IBM Model M that you saw looked great, why didn't you buy them?
Good video, though! Thumbs up and subscribed! Please make more cool keyboard reviews.
God bless!
Thanks for the kind words! I already had a model m, and I just couldn't justify paying that price even for the AEK.
Is the AEK II usable on today’s Mac OS? I still have one from about 25 years. I loved typing that.
I have a Dell gyum series, model m azerty [got scammed, the guy said it was qwerty], and a noname I still gotta unpack
Found one on the upperroom of my house from the 80s
What are the chances of my keyboard with 5 din at connector being a mechanical? How can I tell if it is? I don't want to damage it's keys, no keycap puller.
I'd get a keycap puller to be absolutely sure. Having a DIN isn't a for sure indicator
I love you mech Merlin!
www.pckeyboard.com/ Just get a new unicomp keyboard. They're created using the same tooling system as the model M. I personally switched from a razer blackwidow chroma to one of these keyboards because the buckling switches just feel way better for typing.
The last store you went to that box of black keyboards I found a Dell Windows 1998 quietkey not sure exactly what the model is but I know it is Dell Windows and I know it was made in 1998 so it's Windows 98
Quiet keys feel mechanical, but they're not. I actually typed on one for a week thinking it was haha
you sent me here from reddit. interesting video thanks!
Hey! Welcome to my channel! I wish I would have found something more amazing than a G84, but maybe I'm a little too late to the game.
i've been trying to do this recently, but on public transit.
It's quite difficult even without using public transit.
Just go to a recycling center if you have one near you.
merlin i have a question, can you add anti ghosting or rollover to vintage boards, i have an compaq mx1800 i giot browns an few blues and a cherry mmx silver on the space the whole board thocks however anit ghosting is non exsiant in these days, i can only press a few keys a the time and when playing games makes it impossible to play . (Is there a way o make old boards anti ghost or add N KEY rollover)
You could make a modern PCB for it!
I've never seen this man without his hat........
Lol you must not watch my UA-cam stuff haha
@@MechMerlin lol i usually only watch your GB news
If your still keyboard hunting, flea markets usually have tons of keyboards!
Ooh that's a good tip!
That apple keyboard is legit tho...
Muhammad N yes it is! But too expensive for me!
I have a WYSE keyboard that uses RJ9 connector. How can I get it work on USB?
I think we've got a converter for those on QMK. You still have to build it tho.
@@MechMerlin any references please? Much appreciated
@@obayalattar Yeah I believe it's just called Wyse converter where it converts the 4P4C cable to USB.
He should've bought the AEK and IBM model Ms.. even at that price. He could have sold them for 100s today; even after heavy use.
lol I know right
Not the model M!!! :((
Is there anyplace I can find vintage keyboard in Japan? Maybe PC98 keyboard
I'm unsure, I've never been to Japan. I know they have a very strong enthusiast community there.
im desparate. the only keyboard i can find is a cherry my 3000, should i get it? its 8 bucks.
If you like how it feels, get it!
I remember back in 2010-2011 I found like 6 mechanical buckling spring keyboards and 1 cherry keyboard. not knowing anything about electronics at the time and seeing a "life hack" video saying you can wash your keyboards in the dishwasher I ruined them all. have not found one since.
Oh man! Well here's to you finding more in the future and this time, knowing how to clean them up!
I'm surprised it ruined them, they should work if dried before using.
I am looking for an old mechanical keyboard that I had in the 90s. I can`t find this one. It was a perfect clicky big keyboard with a blue print on the top (left or right) something like "PLATROON". The connector was the old round big 5 PIN. I don`t remember exactly... I think without Windows buttons. The keys are white shining color. What is that model? Can someone help???
How much did you spend for gas though? X-D
This was an old video, and I was driving a corolla then, so probably about 5-6 gallons?
People need to also appreciate and differentiate between bad and good rubberdome keyboards, you probably missed some special keyboards there... for example, the BTC keyboards are rubber domes but suprisingly tactile! I think that with time, keyboard lovers will exapand their scope, as many mechanical keyboards don't event type that good also.
I quite dislike my BTC lol. It was cool for awhile but then I greatly prefer my mechanical switches.
3:23 I would take this
you say $75 is too much for an ibm model m but im gonna buy a $178 wyse cherry mx keyboard and i'll never financially recover from it
That is way too much money for a wyse
I buy past week a Cherry G80-1000 (NIXDORF COMPUTER) with vintage black for 2$!!!!
That is a great find! My jealousy is raging. I hope you post photos of it on either Deskthority, Reddit, or Geekhack!
x'D .... Yes i did it but not much response for people. Look it: imgur.com/a/q8K4j ... I love clicky one, so i change vintage black stems for blue ones doing the "ghetto green".
Xab Deth how did you find stuff that are not on eBay.
6:15 cursed audio
It's me casting a curse on you to be addicted to keyboards.
He got insanely red ears at the beginning.
What keycap color do you think it matches the most? (Gmk or SP) lol.
i've found a KU6-SG-1000 with alps keys, i don't know if it's mechanical. Anybody knows?
If it's got Alps keys, then it's mechanical! Alps is a kind of mechanical switch!
such a shame that all of these model ms have been getting thrown out...
The gas money one spends for finding a vintage, might as well get a new one. Or, yes, like the end of your video, there is always eBay.
Brother keycaps work with topre!
+Symplesy unfortunately, I don't think these were Topre compatible. Do you know which ones are?
MechMelin, stop triggering me with all that talk of poor Model Ms being throwned in the trash!!! 😭😭😭 hahaha :p
Lol, it happened. I'm just reporting haha
Am i the only one who isn't a huge fan of mechanical keyboards?? I had a Das Keyboard, but I actually prefer BTC switches.
Not everyone's gonna like mechanical keyboards. You do you!
New subscriber here.
WYSE PCE US x 2 , Cherry MX black, 1 working 1 for spares. FREE
Can you clarify?
@@MechMerlin you asked what we found and what it cost.
@@h8r1dx4 Ahh ok I didn't even realize you were responding to me lol, this video is like 5 years old!!!!
@@MechMerlin all good.
what is the sound? :'v oh plsss
Hello. I'm not understanding what you mean. What sound are you talking about?
$75 for a model m is a cop idk what you talking about
Not if you don't like Model Ms that much lol.
@@MechMerlin true. I just expect people to get it because it's old
I wish there was a way to convert my original IBM KB-9910 membrane keyboard to mechanical.
Thank you. God bless, Revelation 21:4
Who knows, there probably is!
Oh ibm model m expsensive
man this is so not worth the effort .
LT YV I totally agree. I think if it was like 2008 it would have been a more fruitful adventure.
I think it's very much worth the effort, especially if you want something unique.
Dude, get a fade. Your hair looks so bad. The length on top is okay, but you gotta fade the sides and give yourself a lineup.
Got any recommendations? COVID has done a number on what I care about these days lol.
@@MechMerlin I recommend just buy your own clippers, blades, razors, etc. Learn how to fade your own hair, there are dozens of tutorials how. You'll save hundreds of dollars per month and you lessen the risk of getting transmittable shit like ring worms and infections ew. Btw, you're Filipino, right? I love your vids, dude! Jollibee is the GOAT!
Glad you like the videos more than my hair lol! I apologize if that distracted you from the content of my channel!
@@MechMerlin Cut your own hair, dude. I promise you it's such a life saver! Love your shit keep on keeping on.