I have had a thought of linking up the chinese market with the world before
and after a chat with berserkfan weeks ago, I am even more confident that this is gonna work.
It was about a plan to start up GB once in a short period of time about the chinese products that are cheap and fun
And this is the very first project that I have been working on since last month,
A value-edition DIY keyboard bundle that includes everything you need for a working keyboard other than keycap.
TL;DR
Spoiler:
This is a bundle that may suit your need if you'd like to try and build your customized keyboard but you don't know where(or too lazy) to get everything, in a cheaper price
And its also an Aluminium Housing Keyboard that meets its price
As I have said this bundle would include nearly everything that u originally might have to source from different places
I grouped all of them up from the China market and put them all in.
By the mean time, I would also like to introduce the products from china to you guys. There are these many options to build a board when sourcing china!
And if you guys would like, we can hold more GBs to get these with cheaper price
With a large batch, it comes with a pretty decent price!
The following are included
1.)Red Scarf II GH-DT version (Named : Red Scarf II ISO)
Spoiler:
In short, a GH and DT only version of Red Scarf II with addition of an ISO layout to the PCB
So it is capable of doing all the things it can do now + ISO layout ( a more complete /versatile version) http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57424.0 http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=57976.0
77 key layout ,Runs Atmel 32U4, Fully programmable , full led support with 3 levels of light and a breathing mode
and its good with both PCB mounted and Plate mounted switches
The numpad part can be dislocated, to form a 60% keyboard.
But it still can be soldered back to form a whole 77.
All IC and SMD parts are presoldered, the only soldering work need to do is to solder the switches and LED to the PCB!
The Red Scarf 2 is actually designed for the chinese market, it does not contain an ISO layout as most chinese uses standard ANSI layout
This is kind of the first custom keyboard with new layout that is designed originally in china, and is also for sale in the market
I think this is a pretty good product which is attractive with its layout and at the same time, do not touches the Copyright issue
As i have actually been playing keyboard for quite a long period of time in china, and 悬壶济世 is one of my very good friend
I asked him to provide me an ISO version of the 77 (red scarf 2) and asked for more anodizing options (more colours, as theres only 3 colours in china)
And he is nice enough to promise that this particular version will be exclusive for GH and DT
Up til now, the PCB is still under constant modification.
But as he is doing his GB in China, he said he will handle orders from us at late may or early June
but i will be getting some colour platesas as sample of the anodized aluminium soon!
2.)Aluminium Housing + MKC legs
Spoiler:
An Aluminium Housing (semi aluminium-housing to be precise) that comes in 3 parts
For Chinese version, there will only be three anodizing colour : Red, Black and original Silver
For the GH-DT version (Red Scarf II ISO), we are gonna have more anodizing options
Samples of anodized Al will be sent to me very soon and i will update you guys ASAP
3.) Anodized Aluminium Plates
Spoiler:
1.5mm Anodized Aluminium Plates, similar to the case, originally with only 3 anodizing option.
And we have more options coming up soon that is exclusively for the GB in GH and DT
The plate will be universal now.
For 1800, winkey, winkeyless, ISO, ANSI
All of them are compatible
4.) 100 Plate Mounted Black Swithces
Spoiler:
I have only sourced black swithces atm, I will keep on trying to get more options
5.) Stablizers
Spoiler:
The brand new stabalizers are produced by Hammer, which u may have heard of his 60% case and plates
It comes with black wire in 7 2x , 1 6.25x and 1 7x stablizer which can fit any layout you like!
6.) Switch Stickers
Spoiler:
switch stickers designed and manufactured by hc3277738
they are made of PET or PVC, with varies kinds of colours which can be chosen in the bundle!
From my experience, PVC are more rigid and sticks better
7.)Lindy Cable
Spoiler:
Quality Cable!
Lindy Cable are very popular in china, mainly because of the style added to your board with its coiled cable
But as i know, ppl may need a longer cable rather than the 0.5m -ish coiled cable
therefore i have also sourced for options like 1m and 2m straight cables from lindy
8.) LED
Spoiler:
Very cheap in china, I will likely be ordering 2x3x4 LED
as normal 3mm LED may be too high and top cherry profile keycaps
though 3mm has more colour options, i think 2x3x4 LED are easily if its do no have much experience in this
4-6 colours will be available, eg Green, Red, Blue, White, Orange, Yellow
With the above bundle, what u need next is a set of keycaps that you would love to be on this set
This bundle will come at price around 150-200 USD + shipping and paypal fee, depending on the amount of orders we have
Accepts Seperate orders from the bundle (like i only want item 1 2 3)
I wonder if there are metal inserts or something to block off the non utilized key spaces. I think i saw them on the Lightsaver but i'm not wholly sure.
Anodizing sample is gonna arrive soon
Im gonna take better picture of them before uploading
Blue and Gold anodizing option will be added in our groupbuy
After the modifications,this board shall not be called value-edition
as i think it has it own specialties and can stand toe-to-toe against other DIY boards!
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Last edited by GhostofHarry on 28 May 2014, 17:11, edited 1 time in total.
is there enough interest in this to continue onward with it as a group buy?
&
if so what kind of timeline are we looking at?
I am still under preparation for this groupbuy
ensuring all the sources to be able to support this GB is important
moreover, im trying work with the designer to see if we can improve the product and have a sample before we start the GB
I hope everybody will know what kind of board are they buying before they declare to join
so, i guess it will be around or before mid-june for this GB to start
GhostofHarry wrote:
I am still under preparation for this groupbuy
ensuring all the sources to be able to support this GB is important
moreover, im trying work with the designer to see if we can improve the product and have a sample before we start the GB
I hope everybody will know what kind of board are they buying before they declare to join
so, i guess it will be around or before mid-june for this GB to start
That timeline sounds great! And thank you for doing the homework in advance, i'd rather be really sure everything will pan out. Don't think im rushing you
Also, this case is different from the Alu case, is this an option or just a testbed for the sample board?
SL89 wrote:
Also, this case is different from the Alu case, is this an option or just a testbed for the sample board?
Thats the Chinese Version 77
as we are redesigning the PCB to fit ISO layout also, we need to get the sample of the new design again to ensure everything works fine before we mass produce
SL89 wrote:
Also, this case is different from the Alu case, is this an option or just a testbed for the sample board?
Thats the Chinese Version 77
as we are redesigning the PCB to fit ISO layout also, we need to get the sample of the new design again to ensure everything works fine before we mass produce
This would be really interesting! And I'm problaby going to buy a set.
But just a few questions.
So diodes are presoldered on PCB? And they support NKRO?
You solder backlight LED by yourself? Problaby because of colour choice?
Do you program controller by yourself or is there a pre made firmware? If there is a firmware, what features does it have?
Do the Atmel 32u4 come presoldered? If not, do you have suggestions of what to use?
Sry if this has been answered before.
Sincerely
beltet wrote:This would be really interesting! And I'm problaby going to buy a set.
But just a few questions.
So diodes are presoldered on PCB? And they support NKRO?
You solder backlight LED by yourself? Problaby because of colour choice?
Do you program controller by yourself or is there a pre made firmware? If there is a firmware, what features does it have?
Do the Atmel 32u4 come presoldered? If not, do you have suggestions of what to use?
Sry if this has been answered before.
Sincerely
yes, diodes are presoldered, and should have NKRO (to be confirmed, i am not extremely sure)
and yes, you can solder the LED by yourself, and LED choices are provided in the GB
no sure what u are asking about but hope i got your questions correctly
The controller has a pre-made firmware, and has a simple GUI that guides you easily to your designated layout. Further details will be given in the groupbuy post
the IC is pre-soldered, what you need to solder are switches and LED
hope this could answer your questions
Last edited by GhostofHarry on 05 Jun 2014, 17:40, edited 1 time in total.
