Is Filco coming with an updated TKL soon?

[fifkikker]

Hi there,

I have been lurking for a while. Now I am determined to get a white TKL Filco, with Blue swiches. Is it a good time to buy one, or is there an update expected? I would especially be happy to wait for a detachable keycord and perhaps a usb port or two would be nice.

Any educated guess (or insider information) would be appreciated!

[002]

I haven't seen any rumours of a new Filco, although some of the more recently released boards have just come out of nowhere. Imagine if keyboards got the same treatment as smartphones where some guy in a factory in China somewhere is leaking blurry-cam snaps of the latest mechanical keyboard case

Maybe there is some pattern to Majestouch releases but I haven't been paying close enough attention to notice one.

[Muirium]

Well, the way Ducky does it is a new generation of keyboard starts off with full-size (and their year of the Chinese zodiac special) then goes TKL later in the same year. Ducky is newer at this, so they've released more keyboards than Filco in recent years, and they're much more open about what's coming next. Ducky Nordic is the man to see on this forum about all that. Indeed, he explained why Ducky does full size versions before TKL: higher demand in East Asia. The west is only a small part of their business.

Filco, meanwhile, I don't know. The Minila came out of nowhere some months ago, and is a generation ahead of the MJ2, going by its USB hub. So perhaps MJ3 is coming soon. Perhaps not. Filco may be into the surprise thing like Apple.

[fifkikker]

Thanks to both of you. I will just go ahead and see what happens!

[Hypersphere]

The existing Filco TKL is one of the best available, so if you do not already have one and you are in the market for one, I would say go ahead. Another contender is CM with their QFR and QFS TKLs, which are available with Cherry mx green switches. The CM board feels even more solid than the Filco, and the heavy-duty springs add to the feeling of sturdiness. However, for general typing, it would be good to have a new switch with an actuation and bottom-out force between that of Cherry mx blue and green -- perhaps something like the Alps-inspired switches used in current Matias keyboards.

[fifkikker]

The existing Filco TKL is one of the best available, so if you do not already have one and you are in the market for one, I would say go ahead. Another contender is CM with their QFR and QFS TKLs, which are available with Cherry mx green switches. The CM board feels even more solid than the Filco, and the heavy-duty springs add to the feeling of sturdiness. However, for general typing, it would be good to have a new switch with an actuation and bottom-out force between that of Cherry mx blue and green -- perhaps something like the Alps-inspired switches used in current Matias keyboards.

Thanks for that! It will take a little bit before I find the opportunity to purchase a Filco anyway, so in the mean time I will look into your comments. Somewhere along the line I had put aside Matias, not sure why anymore because I am actually currently on a Mac so the Matias would seem an obvious candidate.

[Hypersphere]

The existing Filco TKL is one of the best available, so if you do not already have one and you are in the market for one, I would say go ahead. Another contender is CM with their QFR and QFS TKLs, which are available with Cherry mx green switches. The CM board feels even more solid than the Filco, and the heavy-duty springs add to the feeling of sturdiness. However, for general typing, it would be good to have a new switch with an actuation and bottom-out force between that of Cherry mx blue and green -- perhaps something like the Alps-inspired switches used in current Matias keyboards.

Thanks for that! It will take a little bit before I find the opportunity to purchase a Filco anyway, so in the mean time I will look into your comments. Somewhere along the line I had put aside Matias, not sure why anymore because I am actually currently on a Mac so the Matias would seem an obvious candidate.

I am primarily a Mac user, although I also use Linux and Windows. My daily driver is an IBM SSK, but I have been sampling a number of other keyboards, mainly because I am intrigued by the efficiency of 60 - 80% designs. I wanted to like the Poker II, but the build quality is not good enough in the current model and I miss the arrow keys. The Matias switch is interesting, and I liked typing on a Mini Tactile Pro, but I dislike the styling of this and the PC version (Mini Quiet Pro). Right now, I am typing on a Leopold FC660M with Cherry mx blues. I like the layout and the build quality, but I think I would prefer a slightly heavier switch. So, unless I acquire a Matias, I will most likely go back to the IBM for most of my work.

[bhtooefr]

Mind you, there are other smaller layouts designed around Alps... a couple 60% designs being worked on, and there's a tenkeyless Filco Zero...

Any Alps-based board can be modded to use Matias switches, too.

[Hypersphere]

Mind you, there are other smaller layouts designed around Alps... a couple 60% designs being worked on, and there's a tenkeyless Filco Zero...

Any Alps-based board can be modded to use Matias switches, too.

Is the Filco Zero only available in Asia and Australia? And what are "XM white" switches?

What are the 60% designs with Alps switches that are being worked on? Are these custom DIY projects, or are they commercial ventures?

Are any commercial outfits using Matias switches other than Matias?

I do think that Alps switches in general and Matias switches in particular ought to get more serious attention.

[bhtooefr]

XM whites are, as I understand, quite horrible switches.

I believe the Zeros are hard to get here, but that doesn't make it impossible - I remember back when Filco and Topre had zero US presence, and the only way to get their boards was to using Japanese buying services.

The 60% designs... there's the Duckmini V2 which is designed to take either Cherry or Alps on the same PCB (but the GB is over), and some people are building theirs around Matias switches, and there's an Alps variant of the GH60 in progress, I believe.

[Muirium]

All of which trip RJ's "unprofessional!" alarm. If you like Matias switches, you either have to put up with one of their plastic bubble retro iMac matching keyboards or go custom. End of list.

The reason other manufacturers aren't going Matias is that Cherry MX switches have caught on and clearly have some prestige. Oh, and caps. Matias prices switches right, but so far there haven't been any takers besides we intrepid solderers.

[Hypersphere]

Checked web sites for the Filco Zero and found that it has been discontinued.

Perhaps if enough intrepid solderers start making custom boards with Matias switches, some company might take notice and decide to produce a Matias-switched board. And who knows? My dissatisfaction with currently available off-the-shelf choices might reach activation energy level and compel me to take up a soldering iron and venture onto the PCB battlefield.