linkKBD75v2

I had lots of fun building my first mechanical keyboard. The kit I used was the KBD75v2 which is almost always available in KBDFans.com. Just can't go back to using non-75% keyboards.

linkSwitches

I used Kailh Box Jades for my switch which I believe strikes the right balance of clicky-ness and weight. Although having the loudest click, the Kailh Box Navies are too heavy for everyday use. On the other hand, NK Sherbets are barely distinguishable from ordinary MX Blues.

linkChallenges

Didn't want to build my own keyboard for a long time because I am not confident with my soldering skills, but ironically, soldering wasn't the hardest part -- it was lubing the stabilizers (the wires you find in your Spacebar, Backspace, Shift and Enter) and literally putting band-aids so that it would sound better.

linkFeatures

Some of the prominent features include:

• ISO Enter: really wanted to have a keyboard the supports this reverse letter L shaped key. This is common for European keyboards but not so much for us which uses the ANSI layout.
• Stepped Caps Lock: this prevents accidentally pressing the Caps Lock key when you want to type the letter A. But also, aesthetics.
• Underglow indicator for Caps Lock: the LED turns RED when Caps Lock is turned on. I had fun doing this because the software provided to map the keys doesn't include this feature natively. You have to manually compile the code and load it to the PCB. (Nerd alert)

linkFinished Product

02-Jan-2021