Picked this bad boy up NIB on Ebay. I couldn't resist. The value was too great, a Deck 82 Ice (albeit with 2kro) for a third the price?! Yes pls. This one is the PS/2 version, which is far and away the most common. Supposedly there is a USB version as well according to TG3's website, but I have never seen one. It has 7 levels of backlighting with red LEDs, which are togglable by holding the Fn key + up or down arrow keys, or by holding Fn and hitting 1-7 to go directly to the desired level. First thing to note: The keycaps are all the same profile. I found this was no trouble at all to get used to. Some people complain about this tho. You can replace the keycaps with normal concave ones if you prefer those, though it may be tricky finding them in the correct sizes to fit this board.
This is what the backlighting looks like. The LEDs illuminate the legends more than anything else, which I find is rather nice. They do what they're supposed to and stay out of the way.
Second thing to note: A metal back cover. It's aluminum, not steel, but still. Not many keyboards sportin' metal back covers these days. If you think your Filco or Leopold has no flex, let me tell you about what no flex really feels like. This thing has plate mounted switches, a thick and deep plastic upper, and a metal back cover. It doesn't bend no matter how hard you try. Rock solid A++++
Also not the lack of rubber feet. This was meant to be mounted in a squadcar, not sit on a desk.
third thing to note: The keycaps have a weird almost slightly embossed rectangle on them. If we flip one over we can see the white plastic. TG3 says these are "double shot & sublimated." I think what this means is that they have stamped two pieces of plastic together, the white middle and black outer parts, and then dye subbed black on the top to make the legend. Not a traditional "double shot," but hey, whatever works I guess.
Next thing to note is the reason the keys feel like forcing your fingers into wet sand whenever you try to type: They saran wrapped right over the keyswitches. Yep, that's all the "spillguard" consists of. Again, whatever works...
After tearing that fukin plastic wrap off... we actually have a nice looking board. Note the MX Grey switch for the spacebar. A lot of people complain about the stiffness of the spacebar. I don't really care though.
Last thing to note: The spacebar is a different profile than the rest of the keys. Srsly TG3, wtf is up with this? Perhaps this has something to do with it being mounted in a squadcar again, perhaps at a downward angle? That might explain this orientation...
So to conclude... This is a very very solid keyboard. If you're in the market for a small form factor board with MX Blacks, the build quality is superior. Especially when you consider these can be found relatively easily on ebay for $50.00 USD or less depending on condition, it would seem foolish to get something like a Noppoo Choc Mini for twice the price... That being said, there are the aforementioned quirks like the keycaps all having the same profile, the spacebar, the fact that it's 2kro, etc... And that's going to be a turnoff to a lot of people. However keycaps are easy to swap and 2kro is nbd unless you have hooves for hands.
TG3 Electronics BL82 - RECOMMENDED.
