Author Topic: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!  (Read 5248 times)

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Offline NathanMisfitBuckley

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[IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« on: Fri, 21 August 2020, 07:17:51 »
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Hey Everyone,

The original creator of Hub16 and myself have decided to join together to run a group buy for an updated version of the well-received Hub16 macro pad.

Links
Original Reddit Post
Github Repo
Interest Check Form

What is it?
Hub16 is a macro pad created by the talented Josh Johnson, an Electronics Engineer from the land down under. As someone who is a proficient KiCad user and Electronics enthusiast at all times of the day, Josh wanted to design a macro pad with rotary encoders to adjust the trace and grid size in KiCad, along with enabling access to additional macros to improve his workflow. Following this, Josh added a USB hub to reduce the number of wires running across his desk, as a shorter cable could be run between the hub and primary keyboard.

At the time of writing, around 100 Hub16’s have been sold with positive feedback from people all over the world. Hub16 is both QMK and VIA compatible.

Improvements
Whilst feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, a number of improvements have been made to the design which will ship with this GB.
-Spacing of the USB ports has been improved, enabling compatibility with an increased number of cables and adaptors.
-Improved USB hub design and layout, resulting in improved performance and robustness.
-Relocation of the reset switch for accessibility.
-A Kailh hotswap socket option will be available.

Notes on the USB Hub
The hub is a four port USB 2.0 Hub with Type-C connectors, aimed at allowing connection of keyboards, mice, memory sticks, wireless receivers, and other small devices (including a second macro pad!)  to your computer.

Due to cost and space constraints, the hub has some limitations. The hub is not:
 -USB 3.x, Power Delivery, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, etc compatible.
 -Designed to charge your phone quickly. Only 100mAis guaranteed per port.
 -Designed to work with power hungry devices such as spinning hard drives.
 -Guaranteed to provide full USB 2.0 speeds and performance on all ports.
 -Suitable for use with long cables. Issues have been seen on cables longer than 2m.

Timeline

We are looking to have a relatively quick turn around on the group buy as the design is proven and final prototypes are in the works. Boards will be sourced from the same supplier as the earlier production run so not anticipating any issues.

The goal is to have all orders shipped within 10 weeks of the group buy finishing. A timeline will be confirmed when the GB opens following quoting from the PCBA and enclosure suppliers. Our biggest risks to on time delivery is delays in PCB assembly and international freight.

In an improvement from the original run, we are planning to ship from North America, the UK, and Australia. This should result in quicker and cheaper freight than shipping everything from Australia.

Pricing
We are aiming for pricing to be the same as the first run, at $70 USD + freight.
(As of 17th of August, $70 USD is £53 GBP, $97 AUD, and €59 EUR.)

A kit includes:
SMT Assembled PCB (encoders not soldered).
Acrylic sandwich case.
2 x Rotary encoders.
2 x Encoder knobs.


Final words

If this sounds like something you are interested in, please fill out the Interest Check so we can gauge interest and allow us to finalise pricing and timelines.
Have a great day.

Thanks,

Josh and Nathan
« Last Edit: Fri, 21 August 2020, 07:31:35 by NathanMisfitBuckley »
Nathan

Offline -Jerry-

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Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 21 August 2020, 07:21:33 »
Good luck with this, I have a Hub16 myself and love it - the perfect little almost numpad with encoders.
"Romeo"     "Split75"   "Melody96"     "KBD8X MKII"     "Womier K87"

Offline NathanMisfitBuckley

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Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 21 August 2020, 07:45:01 »
Good luck with this, I have a Hub16 myself and love it - the perfect little almost numpad with encoders.

Thank you Jerry  :thumb:
Nathan

Offline TiamDesigns

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  • Location: Toronto
Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 21 August 2020, 16:34:31 »
I'd definitely be interested in one.

Offline MS85

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  • Location: Italy
Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 23 August 2020, 12:04:37 »
Another happy owner here, typing (actually copying and pasting with one tap) on my Hub16 :-)

A very flexible device: compared to other alternatives, the 4x4 grid combined with the encoders gives you plenty of space to pack a lot of functions in a very compact format, not limiting it to just simple media control functions and a few shortcuts. The USB-C hub is an additional very welcome feature. Finally, since the micro is already integrated in the PCB and you don't have to add a controller, the assembly is really fast and easy. Now the addition of a hotswap socket option sounds definitely interesting too.

I'm not very much into RGB but, if you are, there is plenty of bright unicorn puke available for the underglow with a nice diffusion from the frosted base layer :-)

I customized a little the QMK keymap and I’m now fine tuning my AHK script for MS Office suite. I'm planning to use it mostly for work to speed up my workflow a little bit, so I went for some silent sky/forest to match the scope.
Oh, and of course fooling around with some guitar knobs and keycaps to see what fits best

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Offline -Jerry-

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Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 24 August 2020, 12:22:00 »
Those are some nice knobs, I really should get some fancier ones for mine (I’m still running stock)
"Romeo"     "Split75"   "Melody96"     "KBD8X MKII"     "Womier K87"

Offline MS85

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  • Location: Italy
Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 25 August 2020, 11:30:42 »
Those are some nice knobs, I really should get some fancier ones for mine (I’m still running stock)

Yep, time ago, while I was working on a little DIY project, I found out that if you look for "encoder knobs" on amazon or other channels, you can find at 99% knobs with some sort of notch, while I was looking for plain ones. If you look for "guitar knobs" there are plenty and sometimes even less expensive for the same quality.

These ones are quite heavy so they add a little wiggle (nothing terrible) and "filter" a little bit the click making it smoother. But I'm using them with 4 different signals per each encoder (two when the encoder is realeased and two when it is pressed), so in this case a heavier knob is slightly less tiring to press and rotate.
And yes, I think it complements the pad quite well :-)

Offline Tefrem34

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  • Location: US
Re: [IC] Hub16 Macro Pad - Shipping Worldwide!
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 26 August 2020, 16:32:19 »
It is funny, I just happened to watch the youtube video on this board last night. What a trip. I really like the concept of all the usb c connectors and the passthrough.

Offline lan_lach

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