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Northgate Omnikey Ultra vs. IBM Model M (circa 1984-1988)

S

Shadow Lord

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Hello All,

After the "which IBM Mouse thread" became a discussion on typing I looked up the Model M and it is an impressive keyboard. I personally owned the original IBM XT keyboard as well an Omnikey (not-ultra) plus the myriads of knock-off cheapies, BTC, and Logitech keyboards but no Model M. I specially like the plastic injected molding in the Model M so the keys don't wear out, I don't think the Omnikeys ever had that feature.

But the Omnikeys were solid, massive keyboards. I am typing this on an iMac BT keyboard which would cower in their presence :grin:! I must admit there was something very satisfying about the Omnikey. You felt as if you were getting something done. But I digress.

I wanted to get input from people who have used both keyboards in the past as to which one they liked better?
 
The model M's are the ones with the lettering printed into the cap, the Northgates are the ones with double injected plastic keys that will not rub off.

I think I liked the keys on the Nortgates better, but since I have a few machines on KVM and something like 9 Model M's compared to 2 Northgates (one dedicated to an Amiga) I just started using all Model M's and keep the Northgate as a spare (they keys are slightly different and I get typing errors going from one to the other).
 
The model M didn't exactly use printing on the keycaps; it's some sort of strange dye-transfer process. In any case, I've never been able to wear the legends off the model M keys.

The Northgates were nice. particularly the Ultraplus, but I got used to using an NCR keyboard with Cherry MX switches in the keys. Not nearly as noisy as the Model M and with double-shot keys. Function keys where they belong--in a vertical row, LEDs in the "lock" keys. Very nice, but no F11 and F12 keys, which is why I quit using them.
 
Unknown_K said:
The model M's are the ones with the lettering printed into the cap, the Northgates are the ones with double injected plastic keys that will not rub off.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? In my googling I found many references to molded "M" keys:

For Example (you need to click through to the third pic)

Hmmm... I should still have the Northgate in storage somewhere... Should really dig it up! it was a non-ultra model with only one set of F-Keys and the smaller enter key. But man, did it feel great!
 
Cherry keyboards are fabulous. But I am not sure the quality still carries over to the newer model. Never seen the NCR keyboard though... I always theought NCR was just another clone maker like ZEOS or Gateway 2000.
 
Back in the day, NCR made its own systems and they were generally built like tanks. Later ones were imports.

I'll have to get a photo of one of the NCR keyboards. They were pretty nifty.
 
Shadow Lord said:
I always thought NCR was just another clone maker like ZEOS or Gateway 2000.
Click to expand...

No way, they were originally National Cash Register an innovative company from about 1900. They made a few mistakes regarding computer strategy and then around 1990, they got bought by AT&T which put a couple more nails in their coffin.
 
Shadow Lord said:
Are you sure? In my googling I found many references to molded "M" keys:

For Example (you need to click through to the third pic)

Hmmm... I should still have the Northgate in storage somewhere... Should really dig it up! it was a non-ultra model with only one set of F-Keys and the smaller enter key. But man, did it feel great!
Click to expand...

I have taken apart quite a few Model M's to know what the inside of a keycap looks like (they all get stripped and washed when I get them, too many people eat and do other functions with their dirty hands on the keyboards). Anyway you will notice the inside of the removable cap is all one color with no mold marks, the inside of a Northgate cap had mold lines of the color of the printed mark on the top side, a two step injection molding process.

I forget what my model F IBM keyboard looks like under the cap (the original IBM PC keyboard), but it is probably the same. As Chuck said above the lettering does not seem to come off with wear, so whatever they used works well enough.
 
There are a few other clicky well built keyboards that use alps switches or other types, I have a Focus 2001 that is decent to type with. I forget the name of the place but there is a large popular forum just on keyboards and keyswitches.
 
I think it comes down to what you're used to, when it comes to feel, and whether the Northgate layout matters to you. I used Model Ms in high school and college, and then wrote a 290-page book using one, so I'm biased toward the Model M. Using one type of keyboard more than half my life had that effect on me.

But I'd take either a Model M or any Northgate over anything you'd find over at Office Depot right now.
 
We use Northgate OmniKey keyboards at work, and I use a Model M at home. I like them both pretty well, but the Northgates are more configurable -- it's nice to be able to swap the caps lock and control keys in /hardware/ rather than just switching the keycaps and doing it in software. Both are excellent keyboards.
 
dave_m said:
No way, they were originally National Cash Register an innovative company from about 1900. They made a few mistakes regarding computer strategy and then around 1990, they got bought by AT&T which put a couple more nails in their coffin.
Click to expand...

1884 actually--they were nearly a century old when the IBM PC came out. Very big in the banking industry, particularly ATMs. They made mainframes as well (my avatar is a marketing photo of the NCR CRAM (magnetic) Card Random Access Memory.)

NCR was one of the seven dwarfs.
 
Unknown_K said:
There are a few other clicky well built keyboards that use alps switches or other types, I have a Focus 2001 that is decent to type with. I forget the name of the place but there is a large popular forum just on keyboards and keyswitches.
Click to expand...

Geekhack :)

Yeah, Alps are alright. My personal taste is for the Model M but I have two Alps-switch boards (Focus FK-5001, currently inoperable for unknown reasons and a Laser-brand one). My Model M variant collection is relatively impressive, if I do say so myself (with, AFAIK, only the rarest variants - M5-1, M15 - being missing from it).

The Model F keyboards (terminal, XT, AT) use a similar spring mechanism with similar keys (also dye sublimation for printing, IIRC), but different electronic mechanism. They use capacitive switches while the Model M uses a membrane arrangement like seen on many rubber dome keyboards.

Someone online (can't be bothered to try to find the page, saw it a while ago though) has published some pretty significantly incorrect info about the Model M. One such piece of misinformation being that they are capacitive - they most certainly are not, and no Model M variant was, as the term "Model M" designates that switching technology (buckling spring with membrane). The rubber dome Model Ms are a funky exception, though.
 
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So it seems as if technically and manufacturing wise the two keyboards are very similar. It just comes down to which one you like best and are used to using.
 
Eh, manufacturing wise, very different. Mechanisms are extremely different, feel is different enough, layout differs, key printing/production method differs...

End user experience differs...

That said, they're both tactile and they're both clicky, and they both have some decent longevity to them (and they both have decent resale values).
 
By manufacturing I meant they are sturdy, heavy, tank like machines that last forever. Not that per se they use the same kind of switches or exact design.
 
I have several Omnikey's and several Moldem M's and I have to say that Model M wins out. Omnikey alps switches tend to wear over time. Their click sensation tends to diminish on the highly used keys and keys such as the number pad tend to stay nice and crisp. The feeling tends to be uneven to me. If you can get a brand new Omnikey you won't have this problem for some time (probably 15 or more years).

The Model M on the other hand stays crisp for life!!! The unused number pad keys feel just as crisp as the letter keys and I love it. I have NEVER had a single key go bad on me with a Model M and I never will.
 
I am an Model M man, but I would have my dream keyboard have the great qualities of the Northgates, close to universal compatibility w/settings (support for Amiga, ATT, Tandy 1000 and XT computers), vertical & horizontal row function key layout of the Ultra T, and the great qualities of the Model Fs, membrane keyswitches, screws instead of plastic rivets, and some more modern concessions, diodes for N-key rollover, a black version with laser etched keycaps that will not wear out, windows/option keys.

Personally, I don't think that fat enter keys are necessary, especially when the right shift or the backspace key gets shortened. But I do like a separate = key on the numeric keypad, but not to cut the + key in half.
 
"Heavy" doesn't indicate the quality or lack thereof in a keyboard. Some keyboards incorporate weight to keep them stable--you can do likewise by gluing some sheet lead (available in many home centers for use as flashing) to the bottom of your keyboard.
 
I have used Omnikeys for many years (from the early 90's) but the Model M eventually won out because I have so many of them and my typing sucks going from one type to another (in my room and the lab). So my ultra T is used on an Amiga 2000 currently and my 102 is on the shelf. I must have 8 Model Ms currently (thanks mostly to recyclers).

While I like old keyboards I do prefer newer optical mice to the old ball type (nothing like a simple Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical). Since I collect PS/2 MCA machines I also have a bunch of IBM PS/2 mice of all types and Microsoft mice for old PCs.
 
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