[GB] Prophet 60% Keyboard Kit (Complete)

[westfoxtrot]

Which one do I go with

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Disclaimer: Brass is not max approved and he won't run it as it doesn't align with his vision for the board, don't bother him about these.

PC and brass all day.

Is there a planned r2 with a frosted PC option? Or are these just protos.

These are private runs and Max has explicitly said he won't run brass, probably same for PC

Curious to know why. Do you know was it because of cost/sound/weight?

doesn't align with the designers vision of the board

PC is more a technical limitation of the design - it's tricky to have it support a robust thread for the screw points as there's not enough space for heat set inserts so I think some work needs to be done around hardware for the board before there's a large run of it.

Just FYI for all this run was not organised by me - I'm not opposed to the PC though my unit is not perfect and I think you lose a little of what makes it special with the PC variant. It's not something I'd be comfortable running as is.

Regards to a round 2 - there's no firm plans one way or the other. I don't treat boards as "work" so for me I like to keep things interesting by not re-treading the same space, I'm not saying it won't happen again but due to the time commitment of running a group buy I don't feel comfortable running multiple boards at once and I have other boards I'd like to make in the meantime.

All that said - I really hope those who bought a PC/brass variant are really pleased with the board and that it meets up to what they want. At the end of the day I'd like everyone to have a board that makes *them* happy rather than aligns with what I want the board to be.

Which one do I go with

Show Image

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Show Image

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Disclaimer: Brass is not max approved and he won't run it as it doesn't align with his vision for the board, don't bother him about these.

PC and brass all day.

Is there a planned r2 with a frosted PC option? Or are these just protos.

These are private runs and Max has explicitly said he won't run brass, probably same for PC

Curious to know why. Do you know was it because of cost/sound/weight?

With regards to why I don't like the brass there's a few reasons. Firstly, I'm really not a fan of the way it adjusts the sound profile. Of course this is personal preference and YMMV but I think it negatively affects this enough that my brass base sits in a box unused*. Secondly, I actually think that one of the advantages of prophet as it comes is the weight - it's heavy enough to not be knocked around but light enough you can carry it to and from the office (if that ever happens again). Thirdly, the cost increase is substantial considering it subtracts from the overall experience.

*No it's not for sale - not at any price

[datfroyodoe]

Curious to know why. Do you know was it because of cost/sound/weight?

With regards to why I don't like the brass there's a few reasons. Firstly, I'm really not a fan of the way it adjusts the sound profile. Of course this is personal preference and YMMV but I think it negatively affects this enough that my brass base sits in a box unused*. Secondly, I actually think that one of the advantages of prophet as it comes is the weight - it's heavy enough to not be knocked around but light enough you can carry it to and from the office (if that ever happens again). Thirdly, the cost increase is substantial considering it subtracts from the overall experience.

*No it's not for sale - not at any price

ah damn so it was all 3. thanks again for the detailed insights! can't wait to my board to arrive and try it out.

[infinii]

Just got mine delivered today from Illumkb

Very surprised to open and see a keyboard case included included. Sorry no pics and not sure when I'll get around to building it yet.

[westfoxtrot]

Just got mine delivered today from Illumkb

Very surprised to open and see a keyboard case included included. Sorry no pics and not sure when I'll get around to building it yet.

Glad to hear it arrived safely!

[hkiri]

Does MyKeyboard already have their Prophets?

[zekth]

Received mine! Also pretty amazed by the fact it includes a bag also! 

[Ensaum]

Received mine! Also pretty amazed by the fact it includes a bag also! 

Just got mine delivered today from Illumkb

Very surprised to open and see a keyboard case included included. Sorry no pics and not sure when I'll get around to building it yet.

Ohhh, please post pics when you are able!

[westfoxtrot]

Does MyKeyboard already have their Prophets?

Yes

Also updated OP

[Joaquox]

Update 9: It has come to my attention there is some issues with some Nylon plates. We are currently trying to gauge the scope of the issue, we have previously agreed to a resolution with the manufacturer and it seems that most of the parts are testing just fine.

I didn't order nylon, do I still have to wait for this to be resolved? MyKeeb as vendor.

[Fisher]

Cool!!

[yhs]

Cool!!

No. Also my nylon plate from MK has no issues.

[westfoxtrot]

Update 9: It has come to my attention there is some issues with some Nylon plates. We are currently trying to gauge the scope of the issue, we have previously agreed to a resolution with the manufacturer and it seems that most of the parts are testing just fine.

I didn't order nylon, do I still have to wait for this to be resolved? MyKeeb as vendor.

No - it also shouldn't affect anyone who did order Nylon at the moment.

[zekth]

Here is a little album of the whole package i received for those who are still waiting for their shipping:

https://imgur.com/a/MzV3adj

[diseeease]

Got mine today and couldn't be happier. One of the best typing experiences I've had so far.

[Ensaum]

Since kits are starting to ship, if anyone is interested in trading their black wkl/standard top for my black hhkb top then send me a pm. I decided after I ordered that I need control under my pinky for what I am going to use this board for. I am located in the US.

[krautcat]

diseeease, gorgeous combination, still waiting for all this items. Bought SA Sail, Prophet (E-White WKL) and Sail deskmat (green version).

Very good, despite I don't generally like SA profile on the boards with small bezels.

[pixelpusher]

Got mine today.  Nylon plate.  Seems to fit well.  Did a dry fit of switches and it fit on the positioning pins.  Was a very tight fit but it worked. 

 Not sure what switches to put in it.  I didn’t feel anything special about the board when I tried linears.  My gateron kangaroo ink did feel really good though.  We shall see.  More experimenting to come. 

[Ensaum]

Got mine today, but got sent the wrong order I ordered hhkb with pom poly plate and got wkl with nylon plate lol.

[pott]

Just got mine. Nylon plate. Does not fit. It's too small.
* I cannot fit it over the stabs
* I cannot mount it to the keyboard: the mounting holes are too small and even if I locate one correctly (without actually mounting it), the other corners aren't aligned

It seems that the plate is shrunk down by a small amount, i.e. the ratio isn't 100%... This is so weird.

[Zeelobby]

Just got mine. Nylon plate. Does not fit. It's too small.
* I cannot fit it over the stabs
* I cannot mount it to the keyboard: the mounting holes are too small and even if I locate one correctly (without actually mounting it), the other corners aren't aligned

It seems that the plate is shrunk down by a small amount, i.e. the ratio isn't 100%... This is so weird.

It's happened to a couple others. Just heat it up slowly and stretch it out. Hairdryer, heat gun, boiling water, and stretch. Once it's in the case should help it keep it's form.

[pott]

Thanks! I soaked it for a little while into hot tapwater. I then managed to stretch-mount it. I reassembled the board and will let it stretch a while.

[pixelpusher]

So I can get the plate over the pins but it causes the pcb to curve.  When I dry fit it, without soldering, the PCB pulls off of the plate when I finally get it over the pins. I don’t know what will happen if I solder the switches.  Kinda wishing I would have just bought a PP plate. 

Any chance of extras available in the near future?

[pott]

Ditto. I worry about a soldered PCB. I did a hotswap build for now to test it out.

That being said, this worry apart, I am truly enjoying this keyboard. It's just really nice and looks great!

[Aerizu]

So I can get the plate over the pins but it causes the pcb to curve.  When I dry fit it, without soldering, the PCB pulls off of the plate when I finally get it over the pins. I don’t know what will happen if I solder the switches.  Kinda wishing I would have just bought a PP plate. 

Any chance of extras available in the near future?

I have the same predicament. Definitely interested if there are any plans for extra plates.

[_PixelNinja]

Issues with the nylon plate shrinking or expanding is now a known problem on the designer's and vendor's side (Ilumkb have sent out a mail of you have purchased the Prophet from them). They will sort something out for those affected once they have all the information they need.

[pott]

I emailed the US vendor (Canonkeys) about this and while they did mention I could soak/heat it to stretch the plate, they also added they're checking with the designer to see about 'the need to take any next steps'.

We'll see. Something more concrete would have been welcome here, as needing to soak a plate upon receipt is hardly customer-friendly nor expected out of a GB, for which customers pay for a functional product.

[Zeelobby]

I mean at the same time it's a novel mounting with novel materials. In cases like this there's always risk. I'm sure vendors/max will do what is necessary to resolve the issue, but heating up and stretching a plate isn't the apocalypse. We lube switches cause they're scratchy, we add foam to improve sound. We buy custom keycaps to change the feel. We do tons of stuff to improve a board and make it optimal. Even if nylon plates require some additional love and care, it's just the nature of the material, and those and pp.plate materials make up the major appeal of the board.

[westfoxtrot]

We are currently trying to get a hold on how big of a problem we are facing with the plates - having to stretch out the nylon slightly is expected. Once we know the scale of the problem we will work on getting replacements. Sorry for any inconvenience

[westfoxtrot]

I mean at the same time it's a novel mounting with novel materials. In cases like this there's always risk. I'm sure vendors/max will do what is necessary to resolve the issue, but heating up and stretching a plate isn't the apocalypse. We lube switches cause they're scratchy, we add foam to improve sound. We buy custom keycaps to change the feel. We do tons of stuff to improve a board and make it optimal. Even if nylon and pp plates require some additional love and care, it's just the nature of the material, and those two plate materials making up the major appeal of the board.

FWIW PP shouldn't require any additional work. Nylon is a more problematic material and due to what happened behind the scenes in the manufacturing process we had more trouble than expected this side of the buy

[Zeelobby]

I mean at the same time it's a novel mounting with novel materials. In cases like this there's always risk. I'm sure vendors/max will do what is necessary to resolve the issue, but heating up and stretching a plate isn't the apocalypse. We lube switches cause they're scratchy, we add foam to improve sound. We buy custom keycaps to change the feel. We do tons of stuff to improve a board and make it optimal. Even if nylon and pp plates require some additional love and care, it's just the nature of the material, and those two plate materials making up the major appeal of the board.

FWIW PP shouldn't require any additional work. Nylon is a more problematic material and due to what happened behind the scenes in the manufacturing process we had more trouble than expected this side of the buy

Your right. I corrected. No one has had any issues with pp. Nylon as a material is just known to shrink and expand, mostly due to moisture.

[Joaquox]

Mine arrived yesterday, and I must say it's quite decent. Well done Max!

[westfoxtrot]

Mine arrived yesterday, and I must say it's quite decent. Well done Max!

Looks great 

[pott]

Black Prophet, Nylon plate, Mauves, GMK Taro R2.

[westfoxtrot]

Black Prophet, Nylon plate, Mauves, GMK Taro R2.

Looks really nice! Hope you are pleased 

[pott]

Very much so! I'm still a little worried about that Nylon plate; it pulls on the PCB's extremities a lot. This is a HS build so it's ok, but on a soldered PCB I'd worry a little. I'm letting it stretch though it has been a week so...

[kew0184]

I just built my Prophet today but i foundnthat my PCB doesnot working. Only 50% of all key works. I will try to continue troubleshoot tomorrow.

Black WKL prophet / Gat black KS3

[westfoxtrot]

I just built my Prophet today but i foundnthat my PCB doesnot working. Only 50% of all key works. I will try to continue troubleshoot tomorrow.

Black WKL prophet / Gat black KS3

Did it test OK before building? if it's definitely a faulty PCB then the vendors all have replacements so please open a support ticket with them

[Zurg Eon]

I've built mine with a nylon half plate. It fit fine on the pins without needing to stretch it. However, the plate and PCB assembly became slightly twisted which meant that the top right corner lifted itself up from the pin. This led to a rattling noise when typed on in that corner. Luckily this straightened itself out over tree or four days and it no longer rattles.

Overall very happy with the looks, sound and the flexy feel. It's built with Gateron Black Ink switches. Thank you for a great board, westfoxtrot!



P.S.: Having to worry about only two stabilisers is pretty nice. Shout out to Jae-3soteric for advocating split left shift for an extra key for gaming!

[pixelpusher]

I already shared my pics on discord, but I'll put it here too.  I used Gateron yellow KS-3s lubed on the stem and housing with 205g0.  1/2 POM (delrin) plate cut from Ponoko.  I didn't need to do anything to available plate file.  Just uploaded it and got it at my house about 10 days later.  Fantastic feel and sound.  Couldn't be happier.

Kinda addicted to it at the moment.  Looking for a white WKL or HHKB if anyone has one to sell 

[Ensaum]

I already shared my pics on discord, but I'll put it here too.  I used Gateron yellow KS-3s lubed on the stem and housing with 205g0.  1/2 POM (delrin) plate cut from Ponoko.  I didn't need to do anything to available plate file.  Just uploaded it and got it at my house about 10 days later.  Fantastic feel and sound.  Couldn't be happier.

Kinda addicted to it at the moment.  Looking for a white WKL or HHKB if anyone has one to sell 

(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)

I'm trying to upload the dxf to get a plate made, but it keeps getting stuck at 100% optimization and perpetually loading. Did you have this problem?

[pixelpusher]

No I didn’t have any problems. Did you rename it?  Maybe it doesn’t like the file name you picked?  Maybe try another browser?  I uploaded a 1/2 plate file.

[Ensaum]

Nope, just uploaded it directly from the zip. I did try in Edge and had the same problem.

[pixelpusher]

Nope, just uploaded it directly from the zip. I did try in Edge and had the same problem.

I just tried uploading the same file that I uploaded 2 weeks ago and it's stuck at 100%. Must be an issue with their site.  Probably can't upload anything atm.  Either email support or wait until tomorrow to try again?

[Ensaum]

Nope, just uploaded it directly from the zip. I did try in Edge and had the same problem.

I just tried uploading the same file that I uploaded 2 weeks ago and it's stuck at 100%. Must be an issue with their site.  Probably can't upload anything atm.  Either email support or wait until tomorrow to try again?

Yeah, I just emailed them and I'll try again tomorrow.

[westfoxtrot]

Updated OP to address PCB and Nylon plate issues.

[kchlam]

Finally got around to filming a typing test and doing a short write-up about the Prophet! Simple and elegant. Can't wait to see what you guys have to offer in the future!

[westfoxtrot]

Finally got around to filming a typing test and doing a short write-up about the Prophet! Simple and elegant. Can't wait to see what you guys have to offer in the future!

nice write up and thank you for the kind words 

[Rew23]

Unsure if this similar to the issues that was addressed in the most recent update on the OP, but when I hit spacebar the entire column of 6yhb activates. May just be a borked pcb or I shocked it or something. Gonna have to  grab some extra pcbs and plates when they go up.

[nasp]

Unsure if this similar to the issues that was addressed in the most recent update on the OP, but when I hit spacebar the entire column of 6yhb activates. May just be a borked pcb or I shocked it or something. Gonna have to  grab some extra pcbs and plates when they go up.

Sounds like bridged pins on your MCU

[westfoxtrot]

Unsure if this similar to the issues that was addressed in the most recent update on the OP, but when I hit spacebar the entire column of 6yhb activates. May just be a borked pcb or I shocked it or something. Gonna have to  grab some extra pcbs and plates when they go up.

This is different to the more common issue. If you open a support ticket with your vendor they can offer a replacement