Building keyboard in Germany.. is it possible ?

[spaz0z]

Hello,
first it was just so that i wanted a smaller keyboard.. then i found out about keycaps and then how many cool switches there are. Because all of that i decided to build my own keyboard. Since ive learned 75% keyboard are not that common, most keycaps & wont work i decided i go for a 80% tkl. Now i have a few questions.

1. How the hell do i know which pcb to get the difference are just if i want led's and better UI right ? I just want a standard non led tkl pcb tbh (Basically the same for the mounting plate)
2. Where do i get these parts from ? Didnt find tkl pcbs on banggod or aliexpress. Wasdkeyboards, mechanicalkeyboards etc. want 40 $ shipping +19% germany taxes so i guess thats not the best idea)

[Kevadu]

You should probably just start with a kit that has the PCB and case together.  That way you know they're made to fit together.

There are a lot of PCBs out there but if you're going for a standard layout with MX switches they're really not that different from each other.  Aside from perhaps programmability.  And fancy LEDs too I guess, though more and more have that too these days...

If you really want a 75% then something like the KBD75 isn't that hard to find keycaps for.

I can't really help you with shipping to Germany though.

[Gepriester]

Hi there,
I know it can be hard finding parts in Germany but if you're looking for a Website to buy parts from, have a look at https://www.candykeys.com/
They're set in Munich and do free shipping for orders above 50€ within Germany.
Although finding a 75%+ PCB might be really since every thing is made for 40%-60% layouts.

One thing to consider might be buying a Coolermaster TKL board and then pimp it with one of these:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/High-Quality-Anodized-Aluminum-Case-Shell-For-Filco-87-Tenkeyless-Mechanical-Keyboard-Including-Key-line-separation/32617566709.html
But that might be really expensive and I have absolutely no experience in building TKL boards from scratch.