In my hunt for double shot keycaps, I've found out a few things with regards to Cherry vs. Filco. I learned that I love double shot keys, Blue Cherry switches and that I really like Brown Cherry switches and that I really don't like MY switches and Black Cherry switches. So now I have a bunch of Cherry DS keycaps......where do I put them?
Enter the Das Keyboard II. Actually a Cherry PCB board with Blue switches and blank black keycaps. Designed in Austin Texas and made in the Czech Republic.
Article No: G80-3485LWNUS -2/00
Serial No: DASK2 C 00857 S05
Modell MX 3000 USB ON
So I think this keyboard is basically a Cherry G80-3000 board with Blue Cherry switches. Even though it's easy to find boards with Brown or White or the MY switch, it seems a little more difficult to find boards with the Blue switch.
Why did I want this particular board? First of all, since it's a Cherry board, the keyswap is simple. The offset CapsLock was especially interesting. And I didn't have a full keyboard Cherry Blue. And almost no Geekhacker wants anything to do with a Das board ;-))
I picked up the board today (THANKS SALCAN) and a few minutes of key swapping and here is the end result. Case and keycaps look and feel as if they were made from the same material. And the semi-gloss textured finish has a nice look.
And my new FAVE spacebar switch, the Cherry Green!! According to the Cherry Wiki, this is a 65cN clicky switch. All I know is it feels great. I'll have to throw one of these into one of my Filco Tenkeyless boards.
Anyone else out there have this board?? It feels very different to me compared to the Filco. First of all, this board is very light. Pushing on the keys with some pressure actually deforms the entire keyboard. Much less rigid than the Filco Tenkeyless and I'm sure the newer Das S which is plate mounted similar to the Filco. But it's comfortable to type on.....nothing too different than any of my other Cherry boards. I actually wonder if having the MOST rigid board is really what we want??
In any event, I'm very happy with this board. When the new Das S arrives, I'll post pics here too. Should be just as easy as the Filco to swap in some DoubleShots.
skc