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What's the closest thing to an A1243 right now?

S

seggy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 13, 2016
707
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Question as title.

I HATE the Magic keyboards. I liked the A1243 well enough.

- Full size with numpad. Current Mac specific layout with transport / volume / brightness / Mission Control keys
- Wired USB-C with at least one through A port. If C then that would be ok too. No BT/other wireless.
- A solid scissor like the, again, A1243's. No mechanicals.
- White keys.
- Backlighting unnecessary.
- A pipedream, but Touch ID (I know this definitely isn't happening but hey, I can dream).

?
 
myself being a massive fan of the A1242 (same as A1243 but without the numpad) I did acquire a bunch of these over the last few years. I can't stand any of the newer keybards. just have a look every now and then on ebay, new old stock can still be found to this day.
 
I realize it's an option, but I would be after something new at the moment. Whatever I buy may be NOS but it has been sitting around for at the very least 10 years (and most likely longer).
 
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Looks like that will be the best bet. I have Matias keyboards, I just didn't ever equate them making a scissor clone lol. Thanks for the tip
 
Update:

I ordered one Matias to test. Has not got here yet.

...but then doing my first post-pandemic giant tech cleanout after Christmas, have discovered A1243's of my own 😁, but along with way more Magic Keyboards🤮...

I could swear I cut them out of so many Mac orders after experiencing the first examples of each gen... 🤷‍♂️

Will be interesting to see how the Matias fares against this mix of well-to-barely-used 1243's, and whether I'll need to buy any more at all. Currently temporarily replaced my main Macs with 1243's and they're very close to what I remember, so I'm pretty happy, even though there are a couple of outiers which obviously need some maintenance.
 
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I have a used 1243 I got off eBay at least 10 years ago. Still works great today. Only thing is the USB cable is paper thin. I wish it was thicker.

I still have a 1048 from an old iMac g5 brand new then. Works good too. And the Bluetooth version of the 1048 I got at goodwill for 5 bucks. Works great too.
 
Actually the Bluetooth version is a1016. Works great on old machines but not the new m4 Mac mini.
 
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tonmischa said:
Before ordering 80 keyboards for a new facility, my company tested several wired Mac keyboards. We finally settled on the LMP.
lmp-adapter.com

LMP USB numeric Keyboard (ISO) - LMP

KB-1243, 110 keys, 2x USB Ports, Aluminum [...]Read More from LMP USB numeric Keyboard (ISO)
lmp-adapter.com lmp-adapter.com
This was the one that was most compatible (F-Keys, Shortcuts during Boot)
It also felt closest to the original A1243.
Click to expand...
Isn't the ANSI version more closely resembling the A1243?
https://lmp-adapter.com/product/lmp..._keyboard-layout=us&attribute_pa_color=silver
It appears to more closely match the layout of the A1243 than the Matias keyboards (the delete, back-slash, return, right shift, and space bar are normal size on LMP and wider on Matias).
The LMP seems to be thicker than Apple and Matias? The Apple is thinner than Matias by a half a millimeter.
 
joevt said:
Isn't the ANSI version more closely resembling the A1243?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I should have added that I am from Germany. So its ISO for me, and ANSI for you. :)

joevt said:
The LMP seems to be thicker than Apple and Matias? The Apple is thinner than Matias by a half a millimeter.
Click to expand...
We have original A1243 at the old facility, so everyone is used to it.
We didnt measure the thickness, we just tried them and felt that the LMPs are closest to the orginal.
 
tonmischa said:
Before ordering 80 keyboards for a new facility, my company tested several wired Mac keyboards. We finally settled on the LMP.
https://lmp-adapter.com/product/lmp-usb-numeric-keyboard-ansi (US)
https://lmp-adapter.com/product/lmp-usb-numeric-keyboard-iso (EU and others)
This was the one that was most compatible (F-Keys, Shortcuts during Boot)
It also felt closest to the original A1243.

EDIT: Adding US Version
Click to expand...
Very interesting, thanks.

My main distributor also lists it (with an asterisk) - I'll have to contact them to see if they can get hold of it.
 
joevt said:
Does Apple use A1243 for both ISO and ANSI Apple keyboards?
wikipedia doesn't have any info about that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_keyboards
Maybe they have different model number (starts with a M)?
Click to expand...

According to the following listing, the German version is an MB110D/B (and I found other listings for a MB110D/A) but still goes by A1243.
www.kleinanzeigen.de

*Apple* QWERTZ Tastatur USB - MB110D/B

Zum Verkauf steht eine USB-Kabel gebundene *Apple* Tastatur, Modell MB110D/B, QWERTZ, mit 2...,*Apple* QWERTZ Tastatur USB - MB110D/B in Berlin - Wilmersdorf
www.kleinanzeigen.de www.kleinanzeigen.de

This listing has what claims to be a UK keyboard with model number MB110B/A, which would presumably be ISO, but there’s no picture of the actual keyboard:
www.ebay.com

Apple A1243 Aluminum USB Wired Keyboard - Numeric Keypad UK English (MB110B/B) 885909511891 | eBay

For your protection and ours, security stickers are added to all products and serial numbers are recorded. They are sold as collectibles only.
www.ebay.com

This site has a range of European keyboards with many model numbers, only some of which start with MB*, but which do confirm that the UK layout is ISO:
 
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