Product

Portico68 Black Label - Build Kit

65%

Hot Swap

Buy From:

TheKeyDotCo

$159.99

€151.22

£131.14

Vendor Description:

Welcome to your gateway into mechanical keyboards. Portico68 Black Label is our premium entry-level keyboard designed to give you the perfect balance between form and function. It has an anodized aluminum case and a compact 65% keyboard layout. 🌟 Hotswap PCB – No soldering! It's easy to build the keyboard and change switches when you want. 🛠️ Assembly Required – Building the Portico68 will take you 60–90 minutes. We've designed this to be a perfect starting place if you've never built a keyboard before. We've created a <a href="https://thekey.company/pages/portico-build-tutorial">Build Tutorial</a> with photos to walk you through every step. ⚠️ Switches and keycaps are not included. You'll need to buy these separately. Download the <a href="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1679/2319/files/Portico68Plate.dxf?v=1645816676">plate file →</a> Product images are photographs. <h2>Specs</h2> Premium Anodized case colors <ul> <li>Rosé</li> <li>Obsidian</li> <li>Bombay</li> <li>Angora (e-white)</li> </ul> Typing angle: 7 degrees Plate <ul> <li>Mounting style: Gasket-mounted, for a luxurious and cushioned typing feel</li> <li>Plate material: FR4</li> <li>Plate thickness: 1.5mm</li> </ul> PCB <ul> <li>Hot swap – no soldering required. It's easy to insert and change switches.</li> <li>In-switch RGB. Note: these are not individually addressable. </li> <li>Compatible with <a href="https://caniusevia.com/">VIA</a> </li> <li>USB-C connection. Includes a starter black cable.</li> </ul> Stabilizers <ul> <li>Screw-in, PCB-mounted stabilizers</li> <li>Housings: includes 5 sets</li> <li>Wires: includes four 2u wires and one 6.25u wire</li> <li>Made by C³Equalz </li> </ul> <h2>What's Included</h2> When you buy Portico68 Black Label, you'll get: <ul> <li>Case (top and bottom pieces) </li> <li>PCB </li> <li>Plate </li> <li>Silicon dampening mat </li> <li>Felt dampening mat </li> <li>Standoffs </li> <li>Screws</li> <li>USB-A to USB-C cable</li> <li>V3 Stabilizers</li> </ul> Switches and keycaps are not included. You'll need to buy these separately. <h2>Assembly Guide</h2> Portico68 Black Label is a keyboard kit. You will have to assemble it yourself. You'll also need to buy separately: <ul> <li>Switches (x67)</li> <li>Keycaps </li> </ul> Assembling a complete Portico68 keyboard will take around 60–90 minutes. See our written <a href="https://thekey.company/pages/portico-build-tutorial">Build Guide</a>, complete with photos, for a walkthrough of every step. <div style="text-align: left;" data-mce-style="text-align: left;"> </div> <h2>Keymap and RGB Settings</h2> The default Portico68 layout can be adjusted in <a href="https://caniusevia.com/">VIA Configurator</a>. You can adjust the RGB settings by holding down the Layer key (the key immediately to the right of the spacebar) and pressing: <ul> <li>Q - RGB toggle on/off</li> <li>W - RGB mode cycle</li> <li>E - RGB hue increase</li> <li>R - RGB hue decrease</li> <li>T - RGB saturation increase</li> <li>Y - RGB saturation decrease</li> <li>U - RGB brightness increase</li> <li>I - RGB brightness decrease</li> <li>A - RGB effect speed increase</li> <li>S - RGB effect speed decrease<img data-mce-fragment="1" src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1679/2319/files/portico68-v2_keymap_480x480.png?v=1651941039" alt="" data-mce-src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1679/2319/files/portico68-v2_keymap_480x480.png?v=1651941039"> </li> </ul> <h2>Common Questions</h2> Is this easy to build for beginners? Yes! We designed this specifically for folks who have never built a keyboard before. You have to be mindful of small parts like screws, and check that things work, but it’s a straight forward process that anyone can do. A brief summary of steps is: <ol> <li>Assemble and attach the stabilizers to the PCB.</li> <li>Screw together the plate and the PCB.</li> <li>Put this into the case, and screw it together,</li> <li>Insert switches.</li> <li>Put on keycaps.</li> </ol> And you’re done! You can get the full rundown in our <a href="https://thekey.company/pages/portico-build-tutorial">Build Guide →</a> How do I configure the keymap? Portico is compatible with VIA Configurator, which is an easy to use app. You click to change what keypresses do, and changes take place instantly—you don’t need to flash your keyboard to apply the changes. Read more about <a href="https://keyboard.university/guides/using-via-configurator">using VIA Configurator →</a> In addition to this build kit, what else do I need to buy to build a complete keyboard? You’ll need to buy switches and keycaps. <ul> <li> Switches: Portico68 uses 67 switches and works with MX-style switches. We recommend buying 70+, so that you have a few extra in case a pin gets bent or you lose one. </li> <li>Keycaps: Portico68 has a 65% keyboard layout and is compatible with most custom keycap sets; it doesn’t feature any unusual key sizes. As always, take care to double check the keycaps you’re buying to ensure it would fit on the Portico68 layout!</li> </ul> This layout is missing keys! How do I type them? You access the missing keys via another “layer” of keys. It's like typing numbers or symbols on your smartphone, or holding 'shift' on your keyboard to type capital letters. For example, to type F1, you would press FN + 1. Pressing FN toggles the next layer so you can access more keys that aren’t on the default layer. This can all be configured in <a href="https://keyboard.university/guides/using-via-configurator">VIA</a>. <h2>Sound Test</h2> If you're interested in hearing what this board sounds like, check out this sound test done by <a href="https://youtu.be/XXh8bLjer7M">dutchmasterw</a>. His typing video features: <ul> <li>Keyboard: Portico68 Black Label</li> <li>Switches: Dragon Fruit</li> <li>Keycaps: JTK Night Sakura</li> </ul>