Extreme input device: The story of a wooden keyboard for 1,500 euros 146 comments
Image: Quartz
From the community comes an interesting article from user Quartzer about its keyboard, which beats some graphics cards in terms of price. While he was initially happy with his Ducky Black Mamba, his experiences working from home showed him that things could be even better.
Because when Corona started, the home office became the new office and by chance the quartz user came across a GMMK Pro that was supposed to replace his old Ducky. Overwhelmed by the fact that the GMMK wiped the floor with his Black Mamba, he took an interest in it again and disappeared into the depths of the mecha world.
Still not satisfied
So he came across the announcement that Mod Musing wanted to bring a very limited barebones keyboard to the market with Mod Encore.
The pure case (Image: Quartz)
When the sale took place on June 12 of this year, Quartzer stood back and stared at his smartphone in fascination:
My pulse was racing. 6:59 p.m…. refresh refresh refresh… yes… it should be the copper one, it was only then that I really made the decision and wanted to accept the extra. Refresh…. Refresh… 7:00 p.m. Refresh… That’s it: the start of the sales. Quickly add everything to your cart, checkout and pay with Quickpay via the “Shop” app with your credit card. In total the process took me about 12 seconds and my pulse was somewhere but not where it should be.
As the “keyboard” was actually just an empty case, we still had to provide a PCB, the keys and the switches themselves. The final optical touch was then added by artist Wally Patina, who gave the copper base a unique patina.
Costs and conclusion
As is often the case with hobbies and perfection, the costs of such projects can be higher than you think.
Component costs, housing including soldering PCB €473.17 Fashion Stabilizer €11.40 Cherry ClipIn Stabilizer €16.00 Shipping from USA €21.33 EuSt & DHL Fee €115.73 Patina 330 Service, €97 MillMax sockets €48.44 MilMax welding service €40.49 ABS plate for ISO support €25.00 cable €20.00 GMK MTNU keycaps €213.00 Used WS Brown switches €17.50 Haimu MP tactile switches €7.70 Black feet for body €7.23 Various spare parts €150 – 200 € (175 € for the final total) Total approx. €1,522.96
And while this keyboard isn’t a bargain, Quartzer wouldn’t mind putting up with the cost and effort to get that typing experience.
If you want, you can watch the keyboard audio clip at the end of your reader article and get a second impression.
Comments and advice are expressly desired
As always, questions, suggestions, praise and criticism regarding the article from the reader are expressly welcome in the comments to this post and in the corresponding thread. Tips on other reader projects or experience reports are also welcome.
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