60% Keyboards were my gateway drug into custom keyboards. I loved the small form-factor. I loved the simplicity. I loved how easy it was to throw in into a bag and take it with me. The main problem I had when first switching to a 60% keyboard was getting used to using function layers. My first 60% keyboard was the POK3R by Vortex. This was around 2013 or 2014 so that was pretty much the only option at the time. ...
I have so many draft blog posts. Seriously, my ADHD is so bad that I’ll start a post with great intentions and plans for the whole thing. But then my brain will just shut off. I’m starting this post off like this because the last real blog post I wrote was a year ago about last years meetup. Anyway, today was the second Motor City Mech Meetup. This time in a new location, actually in Detroit! It seemed like there were less people in attendance this year and I’m sure that had to do with the max capacity of the venue. ...
The “Nixie” Switch So one of the most popular “retro” switches I remember hearing about in the past was the Nixdorf, or “Nixie” switch. These switches were only produced for a short time in the 1980s and they used to sell for waaaaayyy too much on the second hand market. Apparently they were a really nice sounding, smooth feeling switch. I wonder if the smoothness came from years of use before the keyboard community got their hands on them. But they were selling for like, $7 a switch. So I added it to the list of switches I’d never get to try. But recently Cherry decided to remake the switch using the equipment and techniques they have developed over the years, and thus the Cherry MX Black Clear-Top was born. Admittedly it’s not as catchy a name as the original but will it live up to the hype? ...
So over the weekend was the Motor City Mech Meetup, a keyboard meetup graciously hosted by The Key Company. It was a pretty small meetup and (possibly) the first one to be hosted in Michigan but boy was it a blast. It was hosted in the TKC warehouse in Troy, Michigan which is only about 30 minutes from where I live so it was a no brainer to go. We were lucky enough to get a few “celebrities” of the keyboard world to come out for the meetup. Dutch, Captain Sterling, and Mochi Crafts were all in attendance which was a huge treat for me personally because Marie of Mochi Crafts has been a friend of mine for a decade or so from an even more niche community, the now defunct MacThemes. ...
It took me way longer than I care to admit to discover these Gummy O-Ring mounted keyboards. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. When I finally discovered them I thought they were an interesting mounting style and I wanted to try it out. It’s pretty easy to get a Bakeneko60 from Cannon Keys, but I’m not a huge fan of the painted finish and lack of a weight. I mean, obviously I’d love to get my hands on a UNIKORN, but the group buy ended before I knew about it and the aftermarket prices are outrageous! Enter the Ciel, by ChickenMan. The Ciel is a premium 60% Cnc Bakeneko with an internal brass weight. That caught my attention. So I joined the group buy (Sadge) and waited. 5 months later, it’s here!! ...
When I started my keyboard journey I bought a Razer Blackwidow Chroma Tournament Edition. This keyboard was marketed towards gamers and had all the bells and whistles of a “gaming” keyboard. Poorly designed software. Loud, clicky keys. And of course, The RGBs! I soon found that I didn’t like it much as I had originally expected (even though I’ve owned Razer products in the past and was never really happy with them). I wasn’t a fan of how the board felt. The keycaps felt cheap. The matte finish on the case felt weird. The non-standard bottom row was hard to find after market keycaps for, something I had just then found out existed. It just wasn’t for me. I had also recently started browsing r/mk and was seeing all of the cool keyboards people were posting. I kept seeing Pok3rs all over the place and I thought that the (even) smaller layout was really interesting. I had no idea that 60% keyboards were even a thing. I mean, I had just found out that some keyboards didn’t have number pads! Well, it didn’t take me long to purchase a Pok3r for myself. I fell in love with it, even if it did have Cherry MX Blue switches. Fast forward maybe 6 or 7 months and I’m really interested in 60% keyboards. I started getting deeper and deeper into the hobby and the scene surrounding it. I made a few friends in the hobby. I discovered geekhack and group buys. I spent too much money on keycaps in a profile I thought I liked but turned out to hate. But I hadn’t built my own keyboard and I decided that it was time. I was so proud of the final build. I still have some photos of it on Instagram. This was probably six or so years ago and a lot has changed. I no longer have that fist build, and to be honest, I’m no sure I would even want it. I really had no idea what I was doing. I’ve built a lot of keyboards since then, and I mean, a lot. Many different sizes and styles. Different switches and stabilizers. I started to actually take the time to lube each switch instead of just trusting the factory lube. I decided I wanted to take all of this knowledge and build myself another 60% keyboard. ...
The ModeSixtyFive is a keyboard that I was really excited for. I liked the clean look. I liked the customization. There were so many different options for colors, case materials, plates, mounting styles, etc. I really wanted to try this thing out. So I ordered one. Waited the three or so months for the first group buy to ship. I received while in the hospital and decided the build it the day I got home. ...
Recently I built a Mercutio keyboard. It’s a little through hole 40% keyboard. It’s pretty cute and I really like the way it looks. This isn’t my first 40% that I’ve built. The first one was a Planck but I could never get used to the “ortholinear” layout so it has mostly collected dust on my shelf. I’ve wanted to try a staggered 40% for a while now but I couldn’t justify the price for a lot of the kits. Then one day I got a Discord notification that the Mercutio was in stock. I think the group buy had extras or something, I don’t remember. I thought to myself, “eh, lets check it out.” and found out that the kit started at only $55. “Well, that’s reasonable!” I though so I purchased one. I also decided to order some 7305 MillMax Sockets to make it hot-swappable. Once it arrived, I got to building. ...
Porting the Frosty Flake to VIA So I want to preface this by saying that I am not a programmer. Not by any means. I am also not an electrical engeneer. I’m just a dude that really likes keyboards. Like, a lot. Okay, with that being said, let’s continue. For those that don’t know, the Frosty Flake is a custom PCB to control the CoolerMaster Quick Fire Rapid. I got mine from 1upkeyboards but as far as I know, they are no longer being produced. The Frosty Flake was designed to use the TMK Keyboard Firmware but was later ported to QMK. I’m not going to get into QMK in this post but it’s definitely worth looking into in your own time. ...
Using ubports on my Nexus 6P as a daily driver. So I love tech. I love tech and the Open Source community. But I’m no developer so I have to do other things to help out and contribute. So one of the ways I’ve decided to do that is by testing software and in this case I’m testing ubports for my old Nexus 6P. I’ve been using different versions of Android for the past 9 or so years and over all I’ve been really happy but I’ve always liked the idea of different operating systems. As far as phones are concerned there are really only two main mobile operating systems, Apple’s iOS (or whatever they are calling it now) and Android. Now a lot of OEM’s customize their version of Android with features but it all remains the same AOSP (Android Open Source Project) base. ...