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KBK update for Sunday, 28th February

Omron B3K has suddenly become a lot more complicated. Omron themselves–who for big name YouTube channels were willing to provide factory tours in both 2015 and 2019—refused to say a thing (about anything, not just B3K), such is my irrelevance. This has earned them a coveted place in the Keyboard Hall of Shame.

Андрей Студенцов (chromov113) has provided two interesting sets of photos, however. B3K-T13LN-L is a model used in the backlit Logitech G413, but lacks the light pipe found in all other models. B3K-T135 is a Creative PRES model. Note the lack of suffix on the model number: the reason for this is unclear, but the example he found is branded only by Omron. There is a separate B3K-T135C, listed in Omron Product Code Change AMP-Z-2007029, but whether that is a separate Creative-branded model or whether the “C” suffix here has a different meaning, is not known.

Omron Product Code Change AMP-Z-2007029—found on two websites of vendors who previously dealt with B3K (and now added on the B3K page)—lists four models: B3K-L135, B3K-T135 (used by Creative), B3K-T135-L and B3K-T135C. B3K-L135 could be linear (from the model number) and is shown with the same grey plunger as the linear Romer-G model B3K-L13L. A second type is depicted, possibly B3K-T135-L; like B3K-L135 this has only Omron branding. The “L” suffix here does not appear to denote Logitech, possibly similar to how B3K-T13LN-L has both “L” and “-L” present in the model number. (The three vendors who list B3K parts—TTI, Anglia and Arrow—were of no use. TTI did not even respond.)

The document also implies that lot numbers containing a “C” in the fifth position indicate Chinese manufacture, while those with “R” in the fifth position indicate Japanese manufacture. (Vintage Omron B2x switches uses “R”, as one might expect.) Inspection of the lot numbers on the Romer-G switches sold in China suggests that there may be production lines in both China and Japan, with a shift towards China as of the 1st of October 2020 as a reward for the pandemic.

Unfortunately, the more we discover about B3K, the more we realise that we do not know. It is a remarkably complex series considering that the mechanical keyboard market had collapsed, and is largely avoided by major switch manufacturers (with far too much reliance on an exponentially-growing list of secretive, muddled and often anonymous Chinese firms). One has to wonder whether any of these B3K models are used outside of the gaming market, such as for industrial control panels. This may never be known. Sadly we are likely to learn more about products from decades past than we are about a product currently on the market.

View within the updates for 2021

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