Illuminated keybaords on ebay

[rogerg (Roger)]

I've used one of these keyboards for the last couple of years in my observatory and have come to quite like it. They don't come up for sale very often, and when they do it's usually $79 or there abouts. These are only $25.

They're illuminated, and a compact style (home, end, etc key possitions are different to make the keyboard more compact). Cursor and number pad are in good positions and enter and backspace are normal sized. I very much like the feel of them, they feel solid and nice to type on (much nicer than a Logitech "Logitech ultra flat dark-shine" keyboard I bought last week since I couldn't find any of these for the couple of months!). The illumination is OK but I haven't ended up using it too much, but it's useful now and then. Some might not like the transparent style of the keys.

I thought I'd mention them as they are cheap for what they usually sell, are compact and illuminated (so suitable for observatories).

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/i-Rocks-Multi...item20b0f10c6b

Roger.

[Doomsayer]

Yes these are very useful in the dark. The best ones have black keys with back Illuminated lettering, usually with dimmable red or blue lighting. I have a Saitek keyboard in the observatory. Jaycar sell similar but not quite so good back illuminated keyboards.

Another variation is the Bluetooth/USB projection keyboard. A small module projects the red outline of a qwerty keyboard onto a hard surface - the projected outline has an active link back to your laptop or PDA or phone.

[rogerg (Roger)]

Originally Posted by Doomsayer

Jaycar sell similar but not quite so good back illuminated keyboards.

Yeah, wouldn't touch those with a barge pole. Purchasing one of them was the last time I didn't actually test a keyboard before buying it. The keys are horrible to press - many times not registering, and the enter and/or backspace keys are odd sizes. It does have variable dimmer with blue and red light, but that's the only good thing about it. That one now sits in the open half of my observatory where it doesn't matter if it dies due to moisture etc

[bird (Anthony Wesley)]

Yeah, good things. I have one that can be switched between blue and red backlighting. It comes on in blue by default but gets quickly switched to red :-)

cheers, Bird

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by bird

Yeah, good things. I have one that can be switched between blue and red backlighting. It comes on in blue by default but gets quickly switched to red :-)

cheers, Bird

Have you got a link for your one Anthony?

[Zaps]

Originally Posted by Doomsayer

I have a Saitek keyboard in the observatory.

The Saitek Eclipse keyboards are excellent. Key presses are nice and positive, the red lighting is effective, and the dimmer switch works well.

My only gripe with them is that the default backlight color is blue, so you have to change it once the PC has booted and the KB driver is loaded.

Cycling through the available colors (blue, red, violet, then off) can sometimes be awkward in the dark and then has to be repeated every time you reboot your computer.

Still, definitely one of those devices you get so used to that you struggle a little when it's not there.

Link: http://www.saitekusa.com/prod/eclipseii.htm

[Zaps]

These look good too:

http://www.luxeed.com/en/product_01.php

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by Zaps

Cycling through the available colors (blue, red, violet, then off) can sometimes be awkward in the dark and then has to be repeated every time you reboot your computer.

Couple of minutes with a soldering iron? Cut the blue and violet tracks and jumper them to the red (might need a couple of diodes)? red, red, red, off.