I think many of you know the board from the Interesting Finds thread. With the help of HzFaq who was so kind so drive to the seller and personally pick up this beauty (I can not thank him enough
) I managed to get my hands on this beauty, and for a good price too
.
I must admit that I was more excited about getting this board than I was when I got my NIB SSK.
The board is in an amazing shape, like it got never used, or at least only a few times. The caps have no shine whatsoever, the case has no scratches is more than perfect. Not to mention is ANSI! I just hate that left short ISO Shift
The switches are MX Blue, the older variant where the stem has no notch, also the slider color is a little brighter. I'm not a big fan of MX Blue, in fact the last time I have used them I hated it so much I sold the board, but in a strange way I love how they feel in on the Dolch, the click is more silent and the weight is lighter. I simply love typing on the board.
Some have wondered if I'm going to pull a GH on this board and start ripping off the caps and switches, well the answer is NO, NO WAY! In fact I didn't even opened the case, it's in a such a good shape I didn't want to ruin the rubber feet and Dolch badge on the back. The only "sacrilege" I have made was to swap the Esc cap with a BroBot I got from Madhias, I have also swapped the top of the switch with a Nixie Black clear top (HzFaq was so nice to send me 2 of those switches
)
Unlike classic Cherry 1800 boards the case on Dolch is flat, is has no angle, but it has some feet you can use to tilt the board, this makes it very nice to type on. The ribs on the Dolch case give a very nice industrial look.
Unlike everything I have read on the Wiki and on other sources this board didn't came with a RJ11 plug (6P6C) but instead it has a RJ10 (4P4C). Before I got the board my plan was to swap the whole original cable with a normal PS/2 one, but after I saw how nice the board is I decided to try something else, as I didn't want to modd the board in any way.
Waiting for the board I made a first adapter using a RJ11 socket from a ADLS filter only to realize when I got the Dolch that the board has RJ10
Lucky me I had a RJ10 socket in one of my boxes with stuff I keep just in case, so I made quickly an adapter. The Dolch board speaks PS/2 , only the plug is different
I had also an ID Innovations PS/2 to USB active adapter I have bought some time ago from
http://techkeys.us that works like a charm
I'm not really happy with the adapter I have made, I like a clean look, this one works fine, but it looks too improvised and I just can't be happy with it. I have already ordered the parts for a new improved version. As soon as I have everything I need I will make the new one and I will post photos
Just in case someone is interested here are the pin-outs for the Dolch connector, it doesn't make a difference if the plug is RJ11 or RJ10 as pins 1 and 6 are not used.
As a conclusion I really love this board, I have been typing on it for the last few days and it's a pleasure. Also the layout is very nice, I find 1800 layout better than TKL, the arrow position is better and you also have a numpad (not that I need one
) for the same footprint. I must say that the board is also very compact, I have lived under the impression that Dolch keyboards are big, at least that is the conclusion you take looking at the photos, but in reality it is surprisingly compact.
60% are still number one for me, but from time to time typing on Dolch is like a breath of fresh air. I know all the IBM Buckling/Model F/Beamspring fans will frown now but I like the Dolch keyboard more than my SSK. Sorry but this is the truth
Again BIIIIGGGGGG thanks to HzFaq for helping me get a board I have wished to own for a long time
It's a beautiful board and I just had to own one 
