Ancestors

Written by Electronic Eel on 2024-04-07 at 20:20

I've got a new keyboard for several weeks now that I want to show: the Tex Shura

I was looking for a small keyboard for my electronics bench because the bench is always full and I still need a keyboard there. While there are even smaller models out there, I wanted something still comfortably usable and where I don't have to learn complicated chordings. It saves space by moving the F-keys onto an Fn-layer. Also it has a trackpoint, so I don't need a mouse on the bench anymore.

I find this keyboard so nice that since getting it I have mostly moved it to the couch and use it for browsing there, using the bluetooth option to connect it to my livingroom pc. I guess I will order another one for the electronics bench...

Thanks go to @chipperdoodles for making me aware of Tex and their product lineup with a post several weeks ago.

https://tex.com.tw/products/shura-diy-type

[#]MechanicalKeyboard #keyboard #review

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Toot

Written by Electronic Eel on 2024-04-07 at 20:21

The trackpoint works exactly as on the Thinkpads, so after using a Thinkpad I felt directly at home. The "DIY" version of the Keyboard is higly configurable. Not only can you install your own keyswitches, but you can choose different layout styles like ANSI or ISO return keys, split the shift and space keys and so on. This is done with metal inserts that you can screw into the switch holding plate. You get a nice selection of keycaps with it, but I bought an extra set of German keycaps and mixed them to have the keycaps with the correct print for my layout. I also ordered the aluminium front bezel because that is the only way to get the two keys above the left and right cursor keys, used for convenient PageUp/Down and Home/End with Fn.

I have Cherry Ergo Clear switches installed. After adding rubber dampening rings I quite like them.

The keyboard is programmable, so you can program the scancode you want each key to output, what to do on the Fn-layer and also implement small macros and so on. So for example if you prefer Ctrl/Fn instead of Fn/Ctrl, this is easy to change. You can click all this together on the Tex website and then create a small config file you upload to the keyboard.

Only downside is that the firmware of the keyboard is not Open Source like on my Keyboardio. Also the config tool isn't available offline or the config file documented, so should Tex close shop it would need a bit of RE to reconfigure your layout.

But other than those non-open downsides I really like it.

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Descendants

Written by jaseg on 2024-04-07 at 20:40

@electronic_eel How does the trackpoint feel compared to the Thinkpad laptop ones? I tried a mechanical keyboard with a trackpoint once before, but that one had the rubber dome of the trackpoint mounted on a stalk because they couldn't fit the sensor package between the keys, and that stalk produced a noticeable dead zone and made it much less pleasant to use compared to the Thinkpad ones.

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Written by Electronic Eel on 2024-04-07 at 20:47

@jaseg I don't feel a difference with the trackpoint. The rubber is a bit stiffer, but that is probably more due to the thinkpad getting old than the Tex being stiff...

Tex has mounted the trackpoint sensor with a screw-in bracket, small pcb and flatflex cable onto the holding plate. Also they use specially cut keycaps around the trackpoint. This all is a bit more involved, but it means it is at the right height and it works just as you expect it. I didn't notice any dead zones.

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Written by jaseg on 2024-04-07 at 20:49

@electronic_eel That sounds like a great solution.

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Written by Electronic Eel on 2024-04-07 at 20:52

@jaseg I would show a photo, but to really see it you have to remove most of the keycaps which is a bit of work. But I remember there were several review videos on youtube, probably you can see the sensor mounting there if you are interested.

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Written by jaseg on 2024-04-07 at 20:54

@electronic_eel That you said the thing isn't mounted with a 20mm stalk on top already convinced me 😄

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Written by Axel ⌨🐧🐪🚴😷 | R.I.P Natenom on 2024-04-07 at 21:00

@electronic_eel @jaseg: Yep, the Tex Shura and Shinobi use the same thumbstick parts as more recent Thinkpads do. The old Tex Yoda II model (more or less Shura's predecessor) was even marketed as external Thinkpad keyboard by Lenovo in some Asian countries: https://watchmono.com/blog-entry-8060.html

The Yoda II (and probably the Yoda I, too) though had a very different and much more sensitive (read: nearly too sensitive) thumbstick as it sat on a long rod and also actually moved a bit when you used it.

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Written by Axel ⌨🐧🐪🚴😷 | R.I.P Natenom on 2024-04-07 at 21:12

@electronic_eel @jaseg: Just for reference: I'm about to switch my daily driver at work from a worn, probably 7 or 8 years old Tex Yoda II to a brand new Tex Shura (the black and silent one, see https://chaos.social/@xtaran/112208601227083408) and I'm currently using the other one (red, tactile and noisy, the DIY variant) as daily driver at home. 🙂

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