Hello, new here and already overwhelmed

[Skribbles]

Hey everyone,
For about a week now I've been researching switches, cases, springs, key caps and have learned so much from here and /r/mechanicalkeyboards.. but everything just seems to be getting pretty overwhelming. The options are endless and I hardly understand most of the acronyms thrown around here, but I know that'll get easier with time.

Still not sure where to start. The dream is to build an ErgoDox, but just trying to find an affordable place in the Bay Area to get laser cutting time hasn't been easy. Otherwise, been thinking about just going for it and buying a Pok3r with clear switches and replacing the caps with a PBT set. Start small right? The community here seems great and looking forward to learning more about this. Not looking forward to all the money I want to spend 

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

There's a lot more to keyboards than most people realise.  When I started looking a few years back there was much less choice, but compared to what I had been using there were too many options even then.

To help with the acronyms, there's a glossary thread.

One place to get an Ergo Dox is Massdrop - they run a drop from time to time.  Get all the bits you need, no need for any laser cutting.

Pok3r is another very popular keyboard.  They have PBT keycaps already, don't they?

Many people start with a Pok3r of some sort.  Lots of support, standard layout, with or without backlighting, PBT keycaps, aluminium cases ...

[jacobolus]

Still not sure where to start. The dream is to build an ErgoDox, but just trying to find an affordable place in the Bay Area to get laser cutting time hasn't been easy.

Come to the meetup at the end of the month:

Kiibohd 16
February 27th 2015
Saturday 1 PM

Massdrop HQ
100 Bush Street, Suite 1000
San Francisco, CA  94104

I’m sure some folks there will have suggestions about places to do prototyping, etc.

[Skribbles]

Welcome to Geekhack!

There's a lot more to keyboards than most people realise.  When I started looking a few years back there was much less choice, but compared to what I had been using there were too many options even then.

To help with the acronyms, there's a glossary thread.

One place to get an Ergo Dox is Massdrop - they run a drop from time to time.  Get all the bits you need, no need for any laser cutting.

Pok3r is another very popular keyboard.  They have PBT keycaps already, don't they?

Many people start with a Pok3r of some sort.  Lots of support, standard layout, with or without backlighting, PBT keycaps, aluminium cases ...

Thanks for the glossary link, that'll be really helpful! And as far as Pok3r keycaps go, it seems the newer white LED versions are made with ABS keycaps, whereas the older, non-LED version had PBT caps. And yea, seems like I'm going to add Massdrop to one of my daily websites I visit now. Thanks for the response!

Still not sure where to start. The dream is to build an ErgoDox, but just trying to find an affordable place in the Bay Area to get laser cutting time hasn't been easy.

Come to the meetup at the end of the month:

Kiibohd 16
February 27th 2015
Saturday 1 PM

Massdrop HQ
100 Bush Street, Suite 1000
San Francisco, CA  94104

I’m sure some folks there will have suggestions about places to do prototyping, etc.

Great timing, yea I think I'll swing by. Do people sell things at these meetups? Or is it just a show and tell kind of meetup?

[romevi]

It's definitely overwhelming. The first time I got into mech keyboards was in late 2008/early 2009 and the only reason people seemed to be getting Cherry was for the custom keycap designs; everyone agreed that the best board was the Model M, so that's what I got. The Korean keyboard community was starting to make its way to the west, so that boom brought an onslaught of choices!

Now it's so overwhelming as there are too many options, but it's definitely best to start small and work your way up. The Pok3r is a fine keyboard to start with. Once you get the hang of it, you can move on to better boards. 

[CoolGrayAJ]

Still not sure where to start. The dream is to build an ErgoDox, but just trying to find an affordable place in the Bay Area to get laser cutting time hasn't been easy.

Come to the meetup at the end of the month:

Kiibohd 16
February 27th 2015
Saturday 1 PM

Massdrop HQ
100 Bush Street, Suite 1000
San Francisco, CA  94104

I’m sure some folks there will have suggestions about places to do prototyping, etc.

Oh, this is awesome!  I work about 5-6 blocks away! Stuff usually on sale there? Mainly looking for keycaps.

[FrostyToast]

He Ergodox is definitely a great place to start!
It gives you some soldering experience and once you're done you can start learning one of the most prolific layouts we have come up with.
Finding keyboard meets is also great since you get a really natural introduction to the community.
I hope you aren't too overwhelmed by all of this information. Just don't spend too much money during your initial stay here. I know I had some regrets from my first 2 years.

[xtrafrood]

Hi, people love their Pok3rs! Welcome

[rowdy]

Thanks for the glossary link, that'll be really helpful! And as far as Pok3r keycaps go, it seems the newer white LED versions are made with ABS keycaps, whereas the older, non-LED version had PBT caps. And yea, seems like I'm going to add Massdrop to one of my daily websites I visit now. Thanks for the response!

That's a shame.  You can get backlight-friendly PBT sets, there are a few out there now.