[IC] Troublemaker - FRL Compact 1800 keyboard

[kbye]

Troublemaker



Troublemaker is a compact-1800 minus the F-row. It is top mounted via the PCB, which will allow for plateless builds.
When I designed Nue, it was meant to be a board I used at home. Now that I'm back in office for work, I wanted a more work-centric layout.
Thus, troublemaker was born. It's called troublemaker due to the massive headaches I incurred while designing it.

Interest check form: https://forms.gle/gQoJybE6pqUGhf2M6

Discussion and feedback on my discord: https://discord.gg/Sv9a37n


DETAILS

• Case Angle: 7 degrees
• Mounting: PCB Top Mount (o-ring experimental)
• Case Material(s): 6063 aluminum, Frosted polycarbonate
• Weight Material(s): Sandblasted Brass, Polished Stainless Steel
• Accent Material: Polished Stainless Steel
• Front Height: ~18mm
• Plate:  Aluminum, PC, FR4
• 1.2mm Atmel PCB + C3 daughterboard. QMK/VIA compatible
• no PCB/case foam but will provide files to have them cut if you desire

I wanted a work board which meant having a numpad, but also wanted a compact layout with isolated arrow keys in order to avoid accidental keypresses.
A subtle cherry-style lip helps keep the case profile low and allows for a place to rest your palms, but a common problem is that it interferes with the arrow cluster in CP1800 layouts.



I am not a fan of how far the lip extends out in vintage boards (see G80-1800), so with troublemaker I kept the profile flat on the arrow keys. This creates some visual interest and provides uniform bezel widths around the board (0.5u on the top/middle/bottom, 0.25u on the sides and arrows)


LAYOUT

• Stepped Caps
• ISO
• Split Backspace
• Split Numpad
• 6.25U/7U/10U/3U Split Bottom Row

Layout should accommodate a broad audience and I have no interest in changing it at this time.
The decision to use 3U split space instead of 2.25/2.75 is because I personally like 3U and want to push more designs to include them. 3U wires will be included.
10U for memes


COLORS

Colors not final. Would like to run 2/3 colors max.

Black


Blue-Grey / Silver


E-white



PRICING/AVAILABILITY

• $450 USD (tentative)
• 50-100 units depending on interest
• Group Buy in Q4 2022
• Ran by me @ store.studiokestra.ca (ships from Canada)

REVISIONS

Prototype R1 (August 2021)

Photo album: https://imgur.com/a/HXBT3rr (courtesy @jlai.keebs)

• USB aligned to indicators
• E-White top / Polycarbonate bottom
• Interior Brass Weight
• *Screwless* exterior

Feedback notes:
Used for a couple months for work. Typing feel was decent, wasn't a big fan of the sound which I initially attributed to the PC bottom.
This was my first "screwless" exterior design, where the screws were located on the interior beside the switches.
I had issues with the switches interfering with the screws which made it hard to assemble/disassemble.
Indicator LEDs rattled the top case.

Prototype R2 (April 2022)

Photo album: https://imgur.com/a/2S9J2Yq (courtesy @stillchromatic)

• Centered USB Port
• Black Alu top/bottom, Stainless Steel Weight, Raw Alu Accent
• Blue-Grey Alu top/bottom, Sandblasted Brass Weight, Stainless Steel Accent
• Interior Brass Weight
• *Screwless* exterior

Feedback notes:
Screw / switch interference was fixed.
Switched indicators to SMD mounted RGB lights to prevent the rattling.
Sound was a bit better, but I figured out that the meh acoustics were due to the mounting style.
Some screwhole tolerances needed fixing but overall I liked the visual appeal.

Prototype R3 (Planned for Aug 2022)

• USB Port location dictated by IC
• New color TBD
• Case/Weight Materials TBD
• Refine engraving
• Exterior screw design, Geon molded feet
• Add tadpole mounting option
• Add gummy-o ring mounting option

The interior screw design is not user-friendly so I'm ditching it. The final proto will be assembled via exterior screws covered by Geon molded feet.
I am also adding 2 more mounting methods. My hope is that the tadpoles will soften the bottom-out sound that I don't like.
Adding O-Ring as another mount option (a plate would be mandatory in this case).


TO-DO

• finish gathering feedback
• order 3rd prototype
• send to streamers for review
• prepare for GB

Thanks for looking!

[o3okevin]

Yoooo let's ****in go board of the year

[finalarcadia]

Very nice design, good work

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Tapatalk

[pixelpusher]

I like the solution for the front bezel.  Hopefully your attention to detail in revisions will make this a phenomenal board.

[noodleman]

take my money!

[mmayhem17]

looking good 

[Rob27shred]

I'm ready to make some trouble!

[ankit]

I wanted a work board which meant having a numpad, but also wanted a compact layout with isolated arrow keys in order to avoid accidental keypresses.
A subtle cherry-style lip helps keep the case profile low and allows for a place to rest your palms, but a common problem is that it interferes with the arrow cluster in CP1800 layouts.

Show Image

This is so cool. I realllly like this idea/aesthetic.

[reticent]

The duo tone aesthetic with the brass weight and the stainless steel accent piece is probably my favourite part of the board. That and the fact that the arrows are detached without having a huge ass lip.

Great work man, you know I'm in for sure.

[Cylent]

Goddammit, 1 day after I purchase the odin v2 you post this IC. I will be watching your IC carefully, GLWIC! 

[asciisii]

Insanely nice, too bad its a form factor I could never use  ) Really love the lip

[spedywin]

looks so hot

[BRSxIgnition]

Love the style of this case and the target price is dead on.

Excited to see how it sounds and feels, especially with tadpole and O-Ring gasket mounts.

I think Navy Blue may work well rather than Blue-Gray, but the black and white are both super sleek with the three tone base/weight combo.

Will be watching this with great interest.

[Draxion]

I'm in

[clik_clak]

Gorgeous board!

I'm definitely going to try and grab one of these when they run!

[misswaffle]

Yet another amazing design!! Love the look of this and the layout

[BasedCoper]

Great job with another fantastic project. GLWIC

[irithyll]

Really interesting in seeing how the third round prototype will turn out!

[bshendy]

Interesting bezel, Big long thic brass weight w/ an internal weight under alphas, subtle branding, an IC that's straight to the point and isn't ostentatious, new interesting option in a relatively uncompetitive 1800 layout market...

This is like getting delivered an A+ steak that's perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper.

On a side note, this reminds me a lot of the Venn65, which isn't a bad thing by any means.

[Arithmetics]

+1 for 3u nice to see people finally implementing

[synthetics]

Hot.

[Ashen_21]

Damn this looks clean!

[TyPo.mk]

Pretty cool board, looks nice

[Ghostinn]

Arrow cluster blocking the lip is a really gorgeous visual part of this board, excited to see this move forward!

[infinitum]

damn nice front lip, might cop.
glwic!

[L0fi]

Really like the mirror finish on the back. Definitely gonna consider because I/m looking for a good full-size kb. GLWIC

[fujitasenpai]

Goddammit, 1 day after I purchase the odin v2 you post this IC. I will be watching your IC carefully, GLWIC! 

Exactly my situation. And yeah I'm definitely getting this one as well. I love the simplicity of it.

[bitbot]

nice looking board 

[LegendsWorks]

Joining this for sure

[deska]

this is so clean! I especially love the spacing around the arrows

[treeleaf64]

Need more mounting tab for stability

[BRSxIgnition]

Would be interesting to see how O-Ring gets implemented - would potentially make mounting points a non-issue if it was the primary mounting method.

[granola bar enthusiast]

very cool, will consider getting

[kbye]

Thanks for all the good feedback so far.

• a lot of you want to see burgundy so I will prototype that for R3
• someone asked for caps and numlock LEDs but doesn't make sense because I already have the indicators there
• I prototyped a PCB with flex-cuts (not shown but pictures in my discord). Plateless, it gave an uneven typing feel and bottomed out the switches so unlikely I will implement
• I forgot to put in the IC form whether people prefer sandblasted stainless steel or polished. but I received 2-3 comments that they prefer sandblasted SS
• I would love to run it with some regional vendors but that would probably increase the price of the board. I also like to personally QC the boards. but we'll see, I'll leave that open

idk who keeps putting this in my ICs lol but ty <3 you all

Need more mounting tab for stability

Typing is quite stable because it is top mounted, but will be revising mounts slightly for the tadpole mounts anyway.

[empa]

def. keen on this one. subscribed

[hottrout]

Nice layout.

[acme64]

this is mislabeled
1800 - f row is a 65% with number pad

[SwitchKeys]

Inject this into my veins

[clik_clak]

this is mislabeled
1800 - f row is a 65% with number pad

It’s far closer to an 1800 than a 65.

Imagine thinking you can tell a designer what to label their keyboards as.

[WK]

I don't like it. I LOVE IT!

[Bachoo]

All your boards have been nothing but bangers bro, GLWIC <3

[JQ27]

I love me some FRL 1800 boards. 

[KurtKurtson]

Very nice. I support the tadpole mount. Looking forward to use this board alongside my Cypher and the incoming W1-AT. By far the best layout for office use.

[GraffitiDecos]

I like this a lot!

Silly question: how well do the indicators work? On my cypher they are pretty much useless ; the angle doesn't work, they aren't bright enough and they bleed to into the adjacent keys.

Also, Canadian designer/vendor? Saving on shipping is a definite plus!


Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

[LumiP]

I absolutely adore this design! GLWIC!

Honestly, I don't need another FRL 1800 but what I can tell you is that if this comes out at the correct time you absolutely will have my money. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

[kbye]

I like this a lot!

Silly question: how well do the indicators work? On my cypher they are pretty much useless ; the angle doesn't work, they aren't bright enough and they bleed to into the adjacent keys.

Also, Canadian designer/vendor? Saving on shipping is a definite plus!


Sent from my SM-S901W using Tapatalk

That's a great question. The indicators are 1mm in diameter, and in testing I find the visibility to be very good.

This is revision 1 which uses THT LEDs. The photo shows the indictors in super bright flooded studio lighting. Even under harsh lighting, it's pale but still visible.


Rev2 PCBs are SMD RGB LEDs which are a lot brighter (sorry no pictures at the moment, proto is in use at my office)

There is barely any light bleed because of how close the top is to the PCB, but just to account for it, I have simple gasket cutouts that you stick onto the PCB.



 

[BRSxIgnition]

Nice to see that common issues like light bleed are being addressed. Excited to hear more ubdates regarding the project - lots of good 1800 options lately in IC.

[treeleaf64]

It is not trouble making if the design is simple

[lowercaselena]

this looks really great!! im happy to see more FRL 1800 options pop up

[turangaleela]

I'm really into this...