HAL KB2100 review (Cherry M7)

Skip to 7:41 for a typing demonstration.
Today we look at a pre-MX Cherry switch! This cool little 60% is quite a nifty oldie. Hope you enjoy the video! :).
Intro by Kyle Carter
Outro by Facundo Cabanne
My keyboard reviews: bit.ly/1TbOtft
My switch teardowns: bit.ly/2C1QGHz
My TOP X videos: bit.ly/2FmpZfd
My XL typing demos: bit.ly/2OoAW3w
My tutorials and featurettes: bit.ly/2OrkLUh
My unboxing videos: bit.ly/2TSrr0m
I'm Thomas and I do videos and reviews on mechanical keyboards ranging from the most sickening modern RGB gaming keyboards to vintage hardware relics, or sometimes keycaps or keyswitches ranging from Cherry MX to Alps SKCM to IBM buckling springs and anything in between.
Follow me on Twitter for updates on my keyboard videos! / chyrosran22
The practice sentence was: "Hello my name is Thomas and I'm typing on a HAL KB2100 right now. This is a cool little keyboard, another old 60% I'm reviewing in September! Hope you enjoyed it!"

[@greyareaRK1]

Cherry's designer created the all plastic keyboard after dropping a KB2100 on his toe.

[@prenestina]

Such underrated comment!

[@SockyNoob]

Lmao

[@catoflado4977]

Makes sense haha

[@mickc.4992]

Love these late nite keyboard reviews

[@TheRjee]

Early morning you mean?

[@wkg19591]

Here in the US I watch these as I'm having my Saturday morning coffee. Keyboards and coffee two of my favorite things.

[@TheRjee]

@@wkg19591 lol, same

[@mcmaxmcmc]

Oh hey, something I had!... emphasis in the "had". My spacebar wasn't yellowed at all, I imagine it wasn't made of ABS like the other caps. I haven't proven it though. The board and switches echo and ping quite a lot! The typing video didn't quite do it justice there. M7 switches are scratchy by default -- I found a New Old Stock, never soldered bag of M7s in my school's Makerspace and they're still crap. They can also bind pretty badly, as my old board did bind quite a bit. :/ The spacebar stabilizer is kind of weird; it's similar to how MY spacebar works, but instead of a u-shaped rod going through, there's a rectangular bar for the stabilization. Otherwise, nice video. :)

[@treeleaf6471]

Good job Max

[@CgPallaeon]

That RUB OUT key is begging to be made for modern keycaps.

[@andrewchiappetta1262]

It's on GMK Space Cadet in place of Caps Lock.

[@XalphYT]

Cherry MX is an abbreviation for Cherry Model 10? Mind blown.

[@zrrion6the6insect6]

It actually is not. there is an M11 that predates the MX and was described as "similar to M10" but no actual M10s have been found in the wild. Cherry's nomenclature for their switches appears to be inconsistent

[@XalphYT]

@@zrrion6the6insect6 I want to believe.

[@Rowsdow3r]

I always felt like the Thru vs. Through thing was so to shorten the word to make it feel like the process of getting your food would be faster. I base this on nothing other than my own imagination.

[@jamiepeterson5646]

If you want the real answer, it was one of the spelling reforms made by Noah Webster in the US. Some stuck around, like "program" for programme. Others didn't, like "frend" for "friend". Some exist in a kind of purgatory - neither truly accepted, nor truly rejected - like "thru" for "through". Google Chrome didn't even put the red squiggles under it when I typed it.

[@leodoz1016]

@@jamiepeterson5646 I'm glad the word 'frend' never came common

[@larry_the]

"RUB OUT" and "DONUT" in one video. Must be Chyrosran22 and his sexy voice.

[@Donbros]

I am not from us or uk didn't catch only that donut thing, can you explain? XD

[@prenestina]

@@Donbros I can't speak for Brits (because I'm Russian), but I think Thomas finds the "doughnut" spelling correct and the "donut" is american spelling.

[@Donbros]

@@prenestina oh yeah it is doughnut. Thanks :D i am too used to donut and didn't realise

[@LinusBerglund]

The pronunciation of "badass" in the end is something I will steal.

[@fitz5487]

Rub out haha

[@BaeBox]

drive thru donut made my day and it's only 8am for me, thank you so much for the content :)

[@griegpedersen1253]

Those "secondary legends" are just the standard ASCII abbreviations for the control codes. CTRL-H = BS (Backspace) CTRL-I = HT (Horizontal Tab) and so on.

[@sky6252]

Yooo currently questioning reality and my existence so I came for the nice calm reassuring voice to calm me down. Thanks

[@NoEntertainment]

Damn. Keyboard looks older than 1981, I thought this was gonna be another one of those mid-70s boards (not TOO far off though). Love the form factor and sound of it. Also, at least Drive-Thru and Donut make sense with the spelling, getting rid of all the extra letters..."xmit" I have no idea about

[@sihwanchang3062]

When you finally decide to sleep but you see a new video

[@isidoreseville6015]

"xmit" is commonly used shorthand for "transmit" in the radio, telecommunications, electrical engineering, and computer science communities. Likewise, "xfr" is shorthand for "transfer". The "x" is often used to replace "trans" or "cross" when brevity is required, such as roadsigns that say "deer x-ing" (deer crossing) or "RR x-ing" (railroad crossing).

[@psider1522]

I think it's interesting that in some places where "transmit" and "receive" both need to be specified in shorthand it is written as TX/RX. (such as BASE-T ethernet) I like the visual of TX but I think linguistically Xmit makes far more sense when X=trans shorthand in everything else.

[@roundduckkira]

x-mas is another example but weird as "Christ" isn't cross but makes sense when you think about it

[@Chyrosran22]

One of my colleagues used to abbreviate "crystals" as "xtals" which I thought was even worse xD .

[@psider1522]

​@@Chyrosran22 I think that's standard for schematics of circuits and sometimes PCB labelling: XTAL = crystal, and XO = crystal oscillator (sometimes xtal alone is used for crystal oscillators as well) maybe that's where they picked it up lol

[@isidoreseville6015]

@Psider Yes, electrical engineering uses "X" to abbreviate crystal when combined with other words, as in OCXO for "oven controlled crystal oscillator".

[@D9Beats]

Wow so close to 100k! Congrats!

[@aidanleung1298]

when you dropped the kb i flinched a little lol

[@charleshughes1417]

Omg that beast's sound is deeeeep

[@ei96byod]

Those yellowed keys are the colour of butter! They look positively delicious!!😆

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Could we make a brioche with them? :-D

[@wkg19591]

Oooooohhhhh yeahhhhhhhhh....

[@heikoblady2499]

Missed opportunity to call it the HAL 9000

[@lucidmoses]

Way back in the day when creating communications cables the data send was wired to the others data receive and vice versa. This meant that the transmit data wires had a cross over on them. Made an elongated x if you like. XMIT was always a reminder to cross over the two transmit wires but I don't know if that was the intent or not. And I have no idea how that relates to radio.

[@kevinsvideodump]

Trans is sometimes replaced by X as an abbreviation, because trans means cross, or across, and the letter X as a symbol is a cross. For example, xfer, xlator, xmit.

[@ozofer5285]

Maybe try contacting Audible? I think they will hire you in a hurry. Love the relax and calming feeling of your videos. Keep it going.

[@wisteela]

Great to see a radio related keyboard

[@apple-de8tx]

watching this casually at 1 am is really gopd

[@mikelucas435]

hey Thomas, curious to see if you have any plans to review any Redragon products anytime soon? they're a budget brand of gaming peripherals. they're even sold at big box retailers here in the States. I have the K556 Devarajas keyboard with Outemu Brown switches and I love it personally, for $55 it's a great keyboard but I'd love to see you do a video on a Redragon! keep up the good work mang 👊🏻

[@880User088]

Yo Chyrosran22 congrats in advance for the 100K subs !

[@nostalgianinja]

This keyboard has quite a *thunk* sound to it. I like the acoustics. Pity the switches are rather dirty though, wonder how they'd feel New-Oldstock or in good nic...

[@Dan-vb5gc]

Wow almost 100k!

[@kevinsvideodump]

Space bars are usually made of a different type of plastic than the smaller keys, so that's why they often yellow either more or less than the other keys.

[@Chyrosran22]

Yes, it's common for them to yellow more because they're usually made out if ABS even if the rest are PBT. However it's quite rare for it to be the opposite way around xD .

[@maaxx100]

If MX signifies "Model 10", then does ML signify "Model 50"?

[@humanoidrobot8967]

MX Switches are resilient, as the MX Blues on my keyboard have had survived countless smashings and stuff going to them, and still work. There are better options though. Also Thomas, are you going to review Gateron Opticals in the near future?

[@Chyrosran22]

I don't have a board with them, no.

[@horacegentleman3296]

Those caps are beautiful.

[@runrin_]

those enormous symbol legends 😍

[@dorstefan]

Will you do a review for the keyboard of a HAL9000?

[@docmcstuffins6300]

those are some sexy caps

[@XalphYT]

The next time that someone asks me if buying SA-profile caps from Signature Plastics is worth it, I’m going to show them this video. These caps are decades old and still look good.

[@outtheredude]

The Keyboard Company in the UK sells a very nice set of Filco dark chocolaty brown with creamy white symboled semi-uniprofile tall spherical ABS doubleshots for around 60-odd quid. Almost certainly Signature Plastics jobs at a very affordable price. Got a set of these on my Filco Majestouch 2 with Cherry MX Blacks for that old school linear smooth sandy feel & solid sound with a nice touch of deep ping. ;-)

[@ObiTrev]

You could do American Morse Code (Railway Morse) on the spacebar alone! LISTEN TO THAT BABY PURR!!!

[@wkg19591]

Hal? If the keyboard starts saying that it knows that you and Dave are planning to unplug it be sure to keep your helmet close by!

[@sirmattias]

my man here about to hit 100K!!!

[@Lemminjoose]

The last time I was this early, Thomas still had a mullet.

[@Chyrosran22]

Wow, that WAS a long time ago xD .

[@Lemminjoose]

@@Chyrosran22 You ought to surprise everyone and bring it back for your next ama, lol. It's always nice to revive a classic from time to time!

[@Chyrosran22]

@@Lemminjoose I would if I could still grow the hair! xD

[@TheJuanvisu]

Did you know that Nintendo made a mechanical keyboard? It was the HVC-007. You should review it ;)

[@SockyNoob]

Very pingy and deep sounding thanks to the case.

[@EricSartor]

unrelated, is it possible to "fix" a keyboard that binds? one of mine does (Apple A1048). ive tried googling but "key binding" unfortunately has 2 meanings...

[@tobiasnoll7691]

I just got a keyboard with 145 of these switches on it. It came out of an old industrial machine from the company I work for. Unfortunately, there's no way to get the keyboard to work on a modern machine without making a new PCB since the machine this came out of had a ridiculously high voltage for a keyboard.

[@Killer-ku8nf]

That keyboard is so nice

[@voodoolilium]

oooo is that a new outro, or have I missed a few videos? I like it!

[@jamiepeterson5646]

The main problem with the HAL keyboards is that when you press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, it just says "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that". Also they're kinda hard to turn off.

[@lastride9159]

Incredible

[@iwaju9227]

You use right shift? Barbaric!

[@JailbreakNation]

I’ve got a Tektronix M7 crosspoint keyboard that was very used and unfortunately exhibits the same issues you described. Scratchy and binds frequently

[@Banom7a]

bring back rub out key for modern board!

[@Rauhaas]

My M7 board feels the same. Extremly scratchy. I got it quite clean, but it seems to have had quite a bit of use.

[@gearedloop3195]

So what i've just heard, if keyboards were *birds,* this is the *birb.*

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Great video as usual. That honestly sounds like a keyboard from WWII. (Not that I would know what that would actually sound like!)

[@KayvonJavid]

2:30 AM and not regretting watching this video

[@Ralesk]

Is it KB2100 because it's 2100g heavy? :D

[@tashagodspell]

I want a Cherry E46 M3

[@HudsonGTV]

It looks like a mini version of the Chyron 4044 keyboard. EDIT: It looks like you thought the same.

[@Ucceah]

scap the S.A., those are absolute OG keycaps!

[@DSM-114]

how do you get your hands on keyboards like these?

[@protato911]

"420usd adjusted for inflation", eh, still cheaper than some custom Mech.

[@protato911]

@Disciplexeon The Operator yeah, I built mine for about 250, fullsize, full aluminium case, pbt caps and a mix of box navy, Zealios v2 78g and Box Royal switch. Just saying that some Custom are ridiculously expensive.

[@nakulverma7148]

That is some serious thocc.

[@SuburbaniteUrbanite]

Feels like I’m listening to a radio broadcast of the BBC in the 40s.

[@YouKnowMyName241]

6:04 oh no, what are you doing!!

[@TommyFenstermacher5150]

6:37 So could it be considered the HAL Destroyer?

[@ahmedt3807]

Do c3 tangerine 🍊

[@Supertimegamingify]

If MX is the tenth model, is ML the 50th?

[@cw7422]

Xmit is communications shorthand for transmit.

[@YourCitizen]

Imagine rage slamming that keyboard

[@silvers2359]

Can you review the ducky one 2 mini?

[@moondaysss_5521]

I like borger

[@Nikkhochen]

Le borger

[@docmcstuffins6300]

le borg

[@CharlesHydronium]

1:16 you'll love french then m8 xd

[@jovanbabovic5941]

Hey Chyrosran, is it just me or your voice somehow changed ?

[@outtheredude]

Hmmm. He has been having trouble hitting the high notes in "HIDEOUS!" of late. ;-)

[@chickenchuggets6395]

Do a vid on the most loudest switches if you can I’m trying to make a hell board of loudness HAHAHA Please

[@hax0rz36]

Tactile MX Brown? ...What?

[@cheesefoam3635]

Don't watch too many of this guy's videos so can someone tell me if he reviewed holy panda switches before?

[@XalphYT]

Cheese Foam Nope. Thomas does not ride the meme bandwagon. His channel isn’t filled with Reddit-tier 60% garbage boards with the newest random hotness in MX-case switches installed. Still, if he did make a video on that switch for you, I am sure it would be up to his regular standard.

[@fmachine86]

Glad I stayed awake :)

[@xellos5]

niceee

[@bodhidangerbarbian2510]

damn u, i was just about to claim first comment

[@samuelschwager]

About 2 months und ist xmas! :p

[@NortelGeek]

X=Trans. I see it all the time in telecom. Xfer makes a lot more sense to me than does "Trfr" or "Trsf" 😉

[@Chyrosran22]

Yeah no :p .

[@NortelGeek]

@@Chyrosran22 I wish I had more than one G80-9035. I would love to be able to send you one. They're Cherry boards but use a metal mounting plate and six bolts to hold it together. They're absolute tanks--and have loads of ACNYMs to laugh at. You could have a RLS LOD to go with your RUB OUT keys.

[@jonathans.5424]

whi is it so uncomfortable to see the space bar being pressed by the index finger... im i the only one?

[@petermuller608]

MX = Model 10? Mind blown O_o

[@Dyto69]

The F key says “Fack”

[@bbuggediffy]

Baddaezz review mate

[@KangoV]

Transmit = TX, Receive = RX.

[@omghelpless]

i actually think i was his 100k subscriber😂

[@rosejackson517]

it looks like the chyron aircraft carrier

[@MatthewHill]

Dafuq is this "keelo" thing you keep referring to?

[@datapoint6859]

If anyone reading these comments has a full CT-2100 in working order, please let me know. I don't want to buy it, but I'll need your help, and I am prepared to do unspeakable things to get it.

[@apple-de8tx]

don-ut?????

[@eggdog4920]

Only 900 subs until 100k

[@snowfault1684]

No one in the comments that’s early is even talking about the keyboard or probably not gonna watch the video

[@Boyetto-san]

Is it just me or is there a bit more vocal fry in Thomas' voice than usual?

[@samuelyoung1]

3rd!!!!! holy shit!!! i love this HAL keyboard!!!!

[@mugensharp]

second

[@tftgaming_77real34]

when you third