After releasing the information needed to build the MechBoard64 (link) back in 2020, several people have organized group buys or made small batches for everyone to enjoy. Just as I had hoped for. In this context, Australian based Retro Fuzion (link) has gone the extra mile and now offer complete MechBoard64’s in nice glitter boxes. Besides the MechBoard64, Retro Fuzion also offers new Commodore 64 breadbox cases as well as other peripherals for the C64 and retro computers. Very nice! Long story short: I ended up getting my hands on both some nice new breadbox cases (link) as well as a prototype of the MechBoard64 that I could use for posting here on breadbox64.com. This post it a presentation of the MechBoard64 prototype – the Crystal Clear MechBoard64 or Clear MechBoard64.
The clear MechBoard64 came in the same glitter box as all Retro Fuzion’s MechBoard64’s. Included in the box was the adapters needed to accommodate Commodore 64 socketed keycaps and modern day microswitches. The adapters are injection molded plastic (link) and not 3D printed. The result is a much better fit compared to any 3D printed adapters I have tried.
Keep it Crystal Clear!
The main difference from my orginal version of the MechBoard64 (link) is that the clear prototype keyboard bracket is not made from powder coated aluminum, but from injection molded transparent plastic. Combined with a PCB made from transparent material, all the electric traces and components are clearly visible. The amount of work (and money…) that must have been put into making the molds for the bracket is more than I could ever manage. This is truly one of the coolest versions of the MechBoard64 I have ever seen. The copper traces looks so cool!!
…complimented by some transparent Cherry mx styled microswitches, the keyboard is certainly one of a kind.
Adding keycaps
To complete the build, I used some nice transparent keycaps from the Indiegogo campaing a few years, back (link). The keycap adapters fitted perfectly and everything came together without issues. The only minor issue I found was the stiffness of the transparent keyboard bracket. It is a little more wobbly than the metal version that I am used to. However, after installing the keybord inside a C64 case, the flexing is almost unnoticeable and therefore not a real issue.
Finished Keyboard
This is how the finished Clear MechBoard64 from Retro Fuzion looks like. The version of the MechBoard64 is the one with LEDs under the keycaps. The use of white LEDs perfectly illuminates the keyboard for late night sessions. When pressing the ShiftLock key, a green LED lights up to indicate activation.
Now I just have to build it into one of them crystal clear breadbox cases that Retro Fuzion also makes to build the coolest looking Commodore 64 I have ever seen! Thank you Retro Fuzion for making this extremely cool version of the MechBoard64! I hope it will become available for the community in the near future.
UPDATE: the complete build of the Crystal Commodore 64 can be found here (link)
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