Peripherals Mechanical Keyboards

I use the clear plastic ones that came with the Ducky boards I'm using, just helps keep the dust and Pot Noodle juices at bay.

 

I don't bother personally but Elite Keyboards have some

http://www.elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=access,roofs

 

I don't bother with one, I just make sure never to eat and drink near my keyboard.

 

I don't do cover either, afterall 6 hours a day of non use is not enough time for dust to collect.
If you are after those old school vinyl/cloth ones, I have seen them pop up on ebay from time to time. Sometimes cool ones that are branded like Commodore, Amiga, early 80's Apple logo (m0110 cover would be pretty decent for other 60%), etc.

 

Yes, I think ducky adds covers that look like old ones I remember I had in 90's...
Looks like those are not available widely any more like they were in the past.

 

Imsto finally got around to shipping Lysol's cheery replica GB! Can't wait for them to arrive

 

sweet. i'm considering getting a g80-3000 to put one set on for work. It should fit a standard ansi g80-3000 right?

 

Yes, set will fit on G80-3000 ANSI 100%.

 

I had a Quickfire TK delivered today, I've been trying it out in the office. I can see myself getting to like the reds on this one, I definitely prefer them to the blacks but I'll still be keeping the Filco at work, I just prefer the browns for all day use.

Construction is as solid as either of the other two but the finish is definitely my favourite as the case has the same satin black as the keys (they're an identical finish to those on the Filco). The font is the same as on the Quickfire Rapid but it just doesn't seem as heinous without the rest of the branding, just the CM Storm logo in grey above the number pad. It also looks sweet as hell with the red backlight glowing through it

BTW, I haven't gone to the dark side - it still has the right number of keys on the main section as it's an ISO layout

I'll get some pics uploaded when I get home, I can't do that through the office firewall.

Size comparison:


WASD backlighting with number lock off:


Full backlighting with number lock on:


With the backlighting off the cursor keys light up when number lock is off:


I don't know what the keycaps are made from but the translucent part feels slightly raised or at least has a different texture:


The camera on my tablet threw a fit when I was trying to get a pic of the bright red base plate and switches but it does make the lighting a bit more intense. The breathe mode is slightly eerie in low light as it looks like the keyboard is throbbing!

 

So has anyone got any spare single switches. I only really need brown, blue and red as I can switch the stems and springs on my Poker to get an idea of what they are like.

I would happily order some from QWERkeys, but they don't have red. Maybe my best bet is the tester pack from WASD, at least I would get to try some o rings and have a bunch of random coloured caps.

 

What switches does your poker have?

 

Guys, I'm guessing that all of you already know about this GB, but there are some bits left (unpaid) that could be picked up if someone didn't order anything there on time - DSA retro kits (Commodore-like caps).

 

sweet. where's my best bet to pick one up relatively cheaply, preferably with blues? is it worth looking at qwertz layout ones on ebay.de?

that DSA retro set pic looks pretty sweet. I've sent an enquiry to see what'd cost for what i want, but then i might have to look at getting two g80's. one would definitely be useful for work, but i'm not sure I can justify a second :/

 

No, DE layout is ISO so those really aren't a good choice if you want to use the whole set from my dyesubs since they are ANSI. Your best bet may be pc-planet.de and look for G80-3000LSCEU for blues, or last time I looked there they also had LQCEU with clears for about 55EUR. I would just have linked you but I am stuck with ie8 at work and it has a spazz on that site.

 

cheers, i'll take a look. also you get a solidarity hi5 because i too am forced to use ie8 at work.

 

Blacks. I actually really like them. I want to see what a PCB mounted brown feels like compared to my Filco, as well as the other types.

 

Yeah, my MK-85 has that option. Although I have no idea why, as it's of no practical use; but my kids love it.

 

It is crazy how quick Filco keys seem to shine up, I noticed a bit on mine after only a few months. I have never had that problem on any older keyboards, I assume it is because most black ABS keys for Cherry boards have no texture on them at all. Though I have seen it mentioned on geekhack and deskthority that Filco are particularly bad at staying shine free. I wonder if that is because most people go onto buying coloured caps which show the shine much less, or that the front printing on the ninja versions just shows shine more due to no legends breaking up the surface.

Anyway... the CM board is nice, the numpad with arrows is quite a nice way of creating a TKL size without losing the numpad. Is there a lock to keep on the Home, Page Up/Down, End etc on as with the arrow keys? It is a shame that they had to mess with the bottom row key sizes though.

 

Keycaps can be coated in a protective lacquer which sometimes adds some initial shine but prevents visible wear for much longer. Some keycaps (like the Ducky Shine) seem to have a slightly rubbery/smooth texture which seems pretty resilient to me. However, this is a coating over an opaque keycap, so probably made using a completely different process/materials.

PBT is definitely less prone to shine though, unless you are a monster typist.

 

I see, makes sense now.

I have a PBT set on my Filco now, and it feels much better, the texture alone is enough to warrant going for PBT. I also have a set of 37 (alphabet + the surrounding symbols) for my Poker on the way too. Gotta love some PBT.