
Just Smile
This is as personal as I will ever get.
I wish Drakenocas was a little more Latin-ish, but I found few were understanding what noci meant, so I swapped it up the wrong verb and made it look a little more Spanish. I have no idea if it has a meaning in another language.
Drake is my real name. Momma liked dragons and J.R.R. Tolkien and lots of fantasy stuff in a time when it wasn't popular to like such things. I was an adult before I saw another human being with my name on a Nickelodeon tweenager's show. Then some rap-artist had it for a name. Drake looks about as fake of a name as someone can have on the internet, so it's all fine.
I have been collecting mass-market keyboards for years; Razer, Red Dragon, Corsair, Logitech, and some other nicer, older boards that people or business that people were just going to toss in the trash. However, it was only recently that I learned that I could build one. I'm a southern boy, born and bred with blowtorch in hand, so soldering wasn't a big deal. What I am trying to learn more about is the engineering part, how to make a PCB, how to carve my own aluminum case, which is truly expensive to play at, by the way. My friend owns the proper machinery though, so I just have to buy the materials. Hopefully, one day I'll be capable, and be able to provide another source for North American markets. COVID-19 has made getting extra raw materials harder to get though.
So, I got into the customs right after Christmas of 2019, so I haven't been part of it for long, nor did I intend to get as involved as I have, but my wife past away on May 8th of this year, and building, programming, and or buying every mechanical keyboard, PCB, microcontroller, and switch I can get my hands on has been a form of therapy for me, especially during the low times.
I seem to be collecting in the 65% market more than others. I have a KBD 67 MKII soldered in black. I just ordered the V2 KBD 67 MKII in e-white. I regret it a little and wished I went with the KBD 8 MKII or the Tofu 60 or something. I am having a hard time justifying why I should buy anymore solder boards because there are so many hot swap options on the markets now. I also own a Drop Alt with one of the limited white cases on the way. I have a Lily 58, and I just preordered a Mysterium. I am hoping that I catch a NK Entry, aluminum version. I am interested in buying a Planck for a main driver, but I am worried about its USB-C issues at the moment. The Drop manufactured one. I'd buy it somewhere else, but a set of keycaps for $25 is too hard to pass up.
Anyway, I look forward to chatting with people and learning more about our expensive little hobby.