I've been looking for a top-quality illuminated keyboard for two years now. Compact and slim-line laptop -like illuminated keyboards are a dime a dozen but I want a REAL keyboard. Full travel keys that actually have FEEL. And I need a PS2 port because of my 8-port KVM switch.
Saitek's Eclipse came out a while ago but the feel was mediocre, the funky design doesn't sit properly in a keyboard tray, and keytop wear was a problem. Saitek recently came out with the Eclipse II which solved many practical problems and made the shape a little less funky, but made no improvements to keyswitch feel, left durability still questionable, and its lighting is uneven. Logitech has the G15 but its shape too is a bit funky, is actually a bit too large for a keyboard tray, I'll never use all those widgets and like the Saitek, it's USB -only.
I really wanted to try and use the Eclipse II. Picked one up cheap ($45!) at Best Buy, tried to stick one of those $3 USB-PS2 adapters on it but no joy, so back to the drawing board I went.
What I needed was a converter, not an adapter. And so I went digging through the Internet to find USB to PS2 converters. Unfortunately due to extremely limited demand they don't come cheap. The least expensive one was around $80, pumping up the price of my $45 keyboard to over $140 with tax and shipping.
While I was looking for information on those converters however, I stumbled upon Déck Keyboards. I can't believe that in the hours and hours I have spent searching the Internet for illuminated or luminescent keyboards I never found Déck, only to discover them last week while searching for only vaguely related information!
So over this weekend I ordered myself the Déck Legend "Ice", in a PS2 version. It's a standard full-size conservative format keyboard, supposedly built like an APC, with good ol' Cherry keyswitches and LEDs under each long-life keycap. And if I ever decide to join the 21st century and replace my old KVM with something more current, the Legend can be converted to USB in just a few minutes with basic soldering skills.
Yeah, I know, it's $170 shipped. Not cheap by a longshot. Then again it's only $30 more than the cheesy Eclipse II with a converter, and I'd be spending just as much money next month on the power supply alone for my upcoming new PC build. There are freaks out there who would eagerly pay that much money for an old IBM Model M clickity-clack keyboard fresh in its original box, so I don't feel too extravagant.
The UPS truck should be dropping off the new keyboard on Thursday. Expect me to post a review by the weekend.
-Brad
Saitek's Eclipse came out a while ago but the feel was mediocre, the funky design doesn't sit properly in a keyboard tray, and keytop wear was a problem. Saitek recently came out with the Eclipse II which solved many practical problems and made the shape a little less funky, but made no improvements to keyswitch feel, left durability still questionable, and its lighting is uneven. Logitech has the G15 but its shape too is a bit funky, is actually a bit too large for a keyboard tray, I'll never use all those widgets and like the Saitek, it's USB -only.
I really wanted to try and use the Eclipse II. Picked one up cheap ($45!) at Best Buy, tried to stick one of those $3 USB-PS2 adapters on it but no joy, so back to the drawing board I went.
What I needed was a converter, not an adapter. And so I went digging through the Internet to find USB to PS2 converters. Unfortunately due to extremely limited demand they don't come cheap. The least expensive one was around $80, pumping up the price of my $45 keyboard to over $140 with tax and shipping.
While I was looking for information on those converters however, I stumbled upon Déck Keyboards. I can't believe that in the hours and hours I have spent searching the Internet for illuminated or luminescent keyboards I never found Déck, only to discover them last week while searching for only vaguely related information!
So over this weekend I ordered myself the Déck Legend "Ice", in a PS2 version. It's a standard full-size conservative format keyboard, supposedly built like an APC, with good ol' Cherry keyswitches and LEDs under each long-life keycap. And if I ever decide to join the 21st century and replace my old KVM with something more current, the Legend can be converted to USB in just a few minutes with basic soldering skills.
Yeah, I know, it's $170 shipped. Not cheap by a longshot. Then again it's only $30 more than the cheesy Eclipse II with a converter, and I'd be spending just as much money next month on the power supply alone for my upcoming new PC build. There are freaks out there who would eagerly pay that much money for an old IBM Model M clickity-clack keyboard fresh in its original box, so I don't feel too extravagant.
The UPS truck should be dropping off the new keyboard on Thursday. Expect me to post a review by the weekend.
-Brad