Unicomp Two Tone Ultra Classic Model M Black Buckling Spring 104 Key USB Keyboard

I have a keyboard from Unicomp that I have been happily using for years. The thing was good and heavy with great haptics. Love it. Decided recently to buy this Unicomp Two Tone Ultra Classic Model M Black Buckling Spring 104 Key USB Keyboard for another office. When the unit arrived, I noticed that the plastics had changed considerably from the one I had and were much flimsier than the original model I had purchased years ago. What happened next was, to say the lest, disappointing.The unit exhibited a defect that rendered it useless, specifically, attaching the keyboard to a computer resulted in a continuous sequence of lower-case L characters being sent to the computer. The offending letter key was removed and the spring was checked per the instructions sent with the keyboard. The key was reassembled to the keyboard but the problem persisted. Striking the problem key stopped the emission of the character briefly, but it resumed output of the character at the repeat rate after the repeat onset time. No amount of striking the L-key would stop this behavior from happening, though striking any other key besides the offending key would. If the L-key is struck again, it would resume continuous output of its letter.Now, this might have been easier to deal with were it not for the abject failure of the Unicomp support process to recognize that the product was under warranty and offer to exchange or repair it without a fee, especially after I reminded them of this fact and no response was forthcoming. Instead I was asked to "Buy the Class 1 Repair service ... and process the payment for repair of [my] keyboard." To add insult to injury, I would have to pay to ship the product to them. The shipping inconvenience and cost I might have endured but to expect me to pay to get something that is new to work as it should was just too much on principle alone.This defect should have been caught in QA. It wasn't. When contacted, Unicomp support should have known the provenance of the unit based on the serial number and date of manufacture, realized the product was under warranty, and followed the procedure for a warranty return. This didn't happen and it is indicative of poor training or a lack of real interest in the customer care process. Unicomp makes this assertion on the bottom of every one of the pages on their web site: "To compete successfully against products made in Asia, we must focus on producing the highest quality products at the lowest possible cost while providing the highest level of customer service." I suggest that the business not write that kind of check unless it intends to make good on it.So, I am returning the product to Amazon for a refund. I *may* give Unicomp another chance by ordering one of these from them directly if I can, though it won't be this particular model if I do. I don't get the advantage of Amazon free shipping, but I'll live with that if I can get one of these things that actually works as well as the one I already have. If my experience with Unicomp improves, I'll update this review.

I remember fondly the first time I ever used a buckling spring keyboard. Those were the same days I spent inserting floppy disks and installing my first ever copies of Windows 1.0 onto a brand new IBM PC at my workplace. I remember fondly typing on one of those original IBM keyboards with the clickity clacking, it was the electronic version of a typewriter....so tactile and noisy.So fast forward about 30 years and now here I am again, typing on a buckling spring keyboard. Funny how things go around and around. Anyway, I had always wanted to get one of these given that I really liked the feeling of mechanical keyboards. I had been using a Cherry MX Blue keyboard. Also tried some of the other variations of switches, and they were fine, but I still longed for the original Model M keyboard. Those other key switches just didn't have that pushrod feeling that the buckling springs give you.So Unicomp is the only way to relive that feeling. Since it's not easy to get one in Canada, I hesitated since the shipping was expensive. But I saw that amazon has an affordable shipping option to Canada, so I finally bit the bullet after finding a new job and thinking I would reward myself. I read some of the reviews and was put off by some of the quality control issues, but hey, you only live once! Amazon has their A-Z guarantee and so it was worth the risk.While I was unboxing it, I was definitely put off by the instruction sheet that said the keys may fall off during shipment, or the springs inside may get jammed, with explanation how to fix those issues. Also, the build quality of the shell is indeed suspect since the keyboard creaks like a 75 year old floorboard when you pick it up, but once the keyboard is in place, you wince at the cheesy graphics (mine is the black model). In retrospect, I think I should have gotten the white model instead since the black one looks definitely low rent. I did a once over to make sure every key was functioning and clicking as expected. Everything was ok, and I started typing.....I am reliving those glory days of the original PC keyboard. Good to be back! What else to say? It's a keyboard, and it works. I don't have an original keyboard to compare it too but they key action definitely feels more substantial/ckicky/bouncy than any of those other mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches. Probably not good for the gamer crowd. Your fingers do get a little bit of a workout with every keypress, but every keypress you do will toughen you up and make you more of a man! It's like the stories you'll tell your kids about trudging through the snow 10 miles to get to school. The long lost art of typing on a buckling spring keyboard is back.