The “Nixie” Switch So one of the most popular “retro” switches I remember hearing about in the past was the Nixdorf, or “Nixie” switch. These switches were only produced for a short time in the 1980s and they used to sell for waaaaayyy too much on the second hand market. Apparently they were a really nice sounding, smooth feeling switch. I wonder if the smoothness came from years of use before the keyboard community got their hands on them....
So over the weekend was the Motor City Mech Meetup, a keyboard meetup graciously hosted by The Key Company. It was a pretty small meetup and (possibly) the first one to be hosted in Michigan but boy was it a blast. It was hosted in the TKC warehouse in Troy, Michigan which is only about 30 minutes from where I live so it was a no brainer to go. We were lucky enough to get a few “celebrities” of the keyboard world to come out for the meetup....
It took me way longer than I care to admit to discover these Gummy O-Ring mounted keyboards. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. When I finally discovered them I thought they were an interesting mounting style and I wanted to try it out. It’s pretty easy to get a Bakeneko60 from Cannon Keys, but I’m not a huge fan of the painted finish and lack of a weight....
When I started my keyboard journey I bought a Razer Blackwidow Chroma Tournament Edition. This keyboard was marketed towards gamers and had all the bells and whistles of a “gaming” keyboard. Poorly designed software. Loud, clicky keys. And of course, The RGBs! I soon found that I didn’t like it much as I had originally expected (even though I’ve owned Razer products in the past and was never really happy with them)....
The ModeSixtyFive is a keyboard that I was really excited for. I liked the clean look. I liked the customization. There were so many different options for colors, case materials, plates, mounting styles, etc. I really wanted to try this thing out. So I ordered one. Waited the three or so months for the first group buy to ship. I received while in the hospital and decided the build it the day I got home....