German geekhackers information exchange!

[Aufwind]

Hello at all,

since in the younger past appearently many german user registered to this forum, the user rowdy suggested for us to exchange information about mechanical keyboards in germany. I found this idea nice and thought of starting a thread for that.

If I have chosen the wrong subgroup for this thread, I beg the admins to move it to an appropriate one. Thanks! :-)

I will start with what I have:

• There is a possibility to import Filco and Topre keyboards from "The Keyboard Company" in the UK which have a German Layout. Link: http://www.keyboardco.com/index.asp Both seem to be popular in this forum.
• Then there is getDigital.de a german online shop who has Filco, Das Keyboard and Leopold in stock.
• The Zowie Celeritas is available at amazon.de
• There is german more or less detailed article about mechanical keyboards on tom's hardware http://www.tomshardware.de/Mechanische-Tastaturen-Theorie-Praxis-Guide,testberichte-240784.html that seems note worthy.

If you have some more information about shops that sell mechanical keyboards or other useful information I - and all other geman people - will be glad and thankful to here about it. :-)

_{Sorry for my bad english, I am no native speaker. :-)}

[snoopy]

Welcome!

If you're looking for informations about german/european shops or nice people to trade with, maybe have a look at deskthority.net (There's also a german subforum)

Also, if you're new to mechanical keyboards have a look at german ebay. There are a lots of used Cherry G80s for not much money. They are good for modding, experimenting or to get a feeling for the cherry switches.

 

[Aufwind]

Danke snoopy! ;-) Does it happen that you know which switches are built into the G80? Do they have always the same Switches? I don't like the compact 1800 Model. But the standard 3000 seems lovely.

[snoopy]

You can identify whats inside the G80 or what caps it has with the model-number: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_article_numbers

Most of them that are currently sold on ebay are MX black

[TheSoulhunter]

MX-clears feel like rubberdomes and they are no real improvement over rubberdomes?
No one buys/likes reds? The gold on the contacts helps to reduce lag?
5 Thumbs down for the article on Tomshardware ;P

[Aufwind]

Well, I am no expert. Only a newby. :-D Is this article really that incorrect?

[TheSoulhunter]

Gold on any kind of electrical contacts is just used to prevent oxidation...
Oxidation can cause interferences (think of analog audio or video signals) or completely prevent the current flow, not lower latency per se.

Everyone who thinks clears feel like rubberdomes probably never tried em or has numb fingertips imo...
And even if they would feel exactly like rubberdomes it would be still be a improvement (lifetime, possibility to use different keycaps, etc.).

The reason not that many people have boards with reds is that not that many boards were actually produced...
The ones that were produced sold kinda fast even tho they were priced higher than the black/blue/brown counterparts in most cases.

I guess the thing is that black/blue/brown MX switches appeal to broader audience, they are the the average-Joe MX switches, hence they are found on more boards, hence they are sold more, but that doesn't mean they are better than the others. Look at LCD monitors for example... Most people buy TN panels and are happy with em, but that doesn't mean they are "the best" (we all know IPS panels are the best, right? :D). "Most sold" doesn't equal "best product", also with things like our beloved MX switches it depend by a huge amount on personal preferences, and these shouldn't be mixed into a guide/review, STAY NEUTRAL!