Post by: zFrontier on Sat, 17 February 2018, 23:52:56
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GB for Fr87 will start on Feb. 18th 0:00 a.m. PST ;D and will last til March 18th
Join here: https://en.zfrontier.com/products/fr87-by-elemento
EVERY BOARD WILL HAVE A SERIAL NUM ON THE BOTTOM!
And here are the detailed pricing:
KIT OPTIONS:
- Full Kit with Half Plate (WK or WKL Aluminum case, PCB, Aluminum Half Plate, Aluminum Weight, plastic feet and screws) - $368 Shipping included, DHL
- Full Kit with Full Plate (WK or WKL Aluminum case, PCB, Aluminum Full Plate, Aluminum Weight, plastic feet and screws) - $368 Shipping included, DHL
- Upgrade to Gold PVD Brass Plate - + $30
- Upgrade to Gold PVD Brass Weight - + $25
- Upgrade to American Black Walnut Weight - + $35
- Colors for case: Speed Silver, Cool Gray, Dark Black, Tactical Blue
- Colors for Aluminum Plate: Silver, Gray, Black
- Colors for Aluminum Weight: Gray, Black
EXTRAS:
- Extra Aluminum Half or Full Plate - $20
- Extra Gold PVD Brass Half or Full Plate - $65
- Extra Aluminum Weight - $20
- Extra Gold PVD Brass Weight - $55
- Extra American Black Walnut Weight - $65
- Extra PCB - $70
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IC link (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93672.0)
Post by: zFrontier on Sun, 18 February 2018, 01:50:54
At around half of the GB period, Elemento submitted the design to the factory for a prototype.
Due to the intricacy of the structural design, a rather small MOQ and the backlog of CNY orders the factory fails to deliver the proto in time.
While Elemento and we are waiting for the factory to get us a proto:
- Revised PCB design has also been submitted to a different factory.
- Plate samples have been CNCed in house and checked for the mountings / alignment.
- Battery housing sample has been 3d printed and checked.
- Wooden material samples has arrived and will be CNCed in house.
To all those who have joined this GB, we promise we will deliver one of the best customs to you and will not fail your trust.
To everyone who is interested in this project, we apologize for the lack of updates and we will open up a pre-order after we receive the final proto.
Early Prototype ↓
This is a prototype of the very initial design.
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With this proto, we discovered the following issues:
- the surface finish was underwhelming
- the structure was kept as simple as possible to hide all the screw holes on the surface, so it was basically a 2 piece case with an integrated plate on top and bottom mounted
- lack layout support
- lack switch top removal support
- not sleek enough
RGB ↓
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As you can see the screw holes are on the integrated plate and are all hidden when keycaps are installed. But an integrated plate is neither ideal for customizability (layout support / color combinations / different materials) nor typing experience.
Therefore, drastic structural changes have been made to the design:
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Screws are hidden in the rubber bump on, top mounted plate, switch-top removal, weight moved towards the back.
3D printed battery housing ↓
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Post by: Hako on Sun, 18 February 2018, 03:15:24
Post by: zFrontier on Sun, 18 February 2018, 03:36:49
Any chance we can get some real color samples for the cases (especially for the blue)?
That's possible since the factory Elemento picked will come back online after CNY
Post by: audax989 on Sun, 18 February 2018, 06:07:23
Post by: blacksimon on Sun, 18 February 2018, 07:35:59
Post by: vtachkov on Sun, 18 February 2018, 13:10:17
Post by: bmilcs on Sun, 18 February 2018, 19:37:25
What firmware will the PCB support? Can we please have more details?
Post by: Mainian on Sun, 18 February 2018, 20:08:47
I AM SUPER INTERESTED IN THIS. However, my main concern is the programmable option.
What firmware will the PCB support? Can we please have more details?
I think this was on the reddit post. But it will be programmable through a web app.
Post by: zFrontier on Sun, 18 February 2018, 20:57:27
Will it work with rechargeable batteries? I don't remember if it was confirmed in the interest check but I believe it was asked.
Elemento will work out a rechargeable solution once the factory comes back online ;)
Post by: zFrontier on Sun, 18 February 2018, 20:58:16
I AM SUPER INTERESTED IN THIS. However, my main concern is the programmable option.
What firmware will the PCB support? Can we please have more details?
I think this was on the reddit post. But it will be programmable through a web app.
Many requested QMK, we will have QMK in our discussion with Elemento
Post by: bmilcs on Mon, 19 February 2018, 10:03:47
I AM SUPER INTERESTED IN THIS. However, my main concern is the programmable option.
What firmware will the PCB support? Can we please have more details?
I think this was on the reddit post. But it will be programmable through a web app.
Many requested QMK, we will have QMK in our discussion with Elemento
Yeah if you can have open source QMK, that would make this an instant buy. Relying on a web app is no bueno, especially when spending this much on a keyboard :).
Post by: Vadurr on Fri, 23 February 2018, 01:26:14
Post by: zFrontier on Fri, 23 February 2018, 01:50:52
A few questions... How much will the board weigh with the stock aluminum options? How long will the battery last for bluetooth mode? How long will it take to charge the battery to full?
this should weight at around 3-4 pounds (1.5kg+) with stock alu options.
The factory Elemento contacted will be back from holiday next we and we would be able to get the latest sample and test everything out by then ;)
Post by: SadisticReap on Fri, 23 February 2018, 14:23:09
Post by: adam.baranyai on Fri, 23 February 2018, 23:46:09
* Does the PCB allow split backspace and/or split right shift or just the traditional TKL layout?
* Do I necessarily need to add weight to the keyboard or there's an alternative method to cover the battery compartment?
* What's the lightest possible weight of the keyboard and what parts do I need to purchase if that's my goal?
* How does the battery life look like if I don't use the keyboard as a Christmas decoration (eg: no backlight or fancy led strips)?
I'm wondering if there's any forum where these are all discussed that I obviously missed? The GB already went live but I don't feel confident purchasing quite an expensive keyboard without knowing anything about the technical parameters.
Post by: mkarlsson on Sun, 25 February 2018, 18:06:08
Post by: Randalljai on Mon, 26 February 2018, 01:13:04
Joined in! Tactical blue + half plate
What made you choose half plate? I never tried it out and I'm still not sure which to choose
Post by: mkarlsson on Mon, 26 February 2018, 13:22:50
Joined in! Tactical blue + half plate
What made you choose half plate? I never tried it out and I'm still not sure which to choose
I have never tried it before either. I expect it to be softer or mushier which I like. Also the sound will probably be different.
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 28 February 2018, 01:45:03
Post by: zFrontier on Wed, 28 February 2018, 03:56:27
I'm considering joining this group buy but have a lot of unanswered questions in my head that I couldn't find answers to in any topics (IC, GB, Reddit, zfrontier). The questions are the following:
* Does the PCB allow split backspace and/or split right shift or just the traditional TKL layout?
* Do I necessarily need to add weight to the keyboard or there's an alternative method to cover the battery compartment?
* What's the lightest possible weight of the keyboard and what parts do I need to purchase if that's my goal?
* How does the battery life look like if I don't use the keyboard as a Christmas decoration (eg: no backlight or fancy led strips)?
I'm wondering if there's any forum where these are all discussed that I obviously missed? The GB already went live but I don't feel confident purchasing quite an expensive keyboard without knowing anything about the technical parameters.
* split right shift is available
* yes
* the lightest combination will be: an aluminum half plate + American black walnut weight
* Elemento will have it tested and we will update the numbers once available (hopefully before the GB ends)
Post by: zFrontier on Wed, 28 February 2018, 04:00:20
Just curious, if I want to change/add something to my GB order, how can I go about that?
just send us your changes to your order along with your order no. to support@zFrontier.com :)
Post by: JDragon on Wed, 28 February 2018, 17:27:24
Post by: adam.baranyai on Wed, 28 February 2018, 22:08:47
Quote
* split right shift is available
* yes
* the lightest combination will be: an aluminum half plate + American black walnut weight
* Elemento will have it tested and we will update the numbers once available (hopefully before the GB ends)
Cheers. Few more questions:
* Does the PCB allow split backspace as well?
* Yes to what? :) The question was: "Do I necessarily need to add weight to the keyboard or there's an alternative method to cover the battery compartment?"
* Do you know the weight of any of the light weighted combinations? I mean the weight in grams or in kilograms? Is it closer to 3 kg or to 1 kg?
* If Elemento doesn't manage to give tech details about the keyboard before the GB finishes, will the GB be extended?
I really would like to know more details about this keyboard but seemingly most of the certain parameters known so far are related to look and feel. What I see is amazing and all my appreciation goes to the designer. I'm desperately hunting for a Bluetooth mechanical keyboard since a long while though and to me, weight and battery life is as important as programmability (which I also don't know much about) and layout. I feel a bit silly asking these questions though. Looks like the answers are either obvious to everyone else or simply most people don't care about these details. :rolleyes: Anyhow, I'll keep an eye on the GB to see if you guys manage to find out what exactly is for sale here other than an amazing looking and finely crafted piece of aluminum with some additional weight.
Post by: wowremy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 00:19:31
Post by: Kevadu on Thu, 01 March 2018, 01:14:24
I want this to be my first custom build. Is this a good idea?
You have to start somewhere. Probably the best place to start is a board you want.
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 01 March 2018, 01:16:26
Well put - if this is your board, then go for it! (Funny, you posted this right as I was replying to them, too, lol)I want this to be my first custom build. Is this a good idea?
You have to start somewhere. Probably the best place to start is a board you want.
I want this to be my first custom build. Is this a good idea?
It's gonna be my first and I'm stoked! :D
Thanks, will do!Just curious, if I want to change/add something to my GB order, how can I go about that?
just send us your changes to your order along with your order no. to support@zFrontier.com :)
Post by: wowremy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 12:39:12
Post by: Puddsy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 15:21:39
Am I going to want an extra pcb in case if soldering errors? Was thinking of getting both plates, should I get at least 1 pcb per?
always good to get extras just in case if you can afford it
Post by: bmilcs on Thu, 01 March 2018, 15:34:48
Am I going to want an extra pcb in case if soldering errors? Was thinking of getting both plates, should I get at least 1 pcb per?
I was considering doing this --- for the simple fact that you could have TWO sets of switches & programmed PCB's. For me, I'd probably have a lubed tactile switch and then a lubed linear ;P.
Post by: Puddsy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 15:37:18
Am I going to want an extra pcb in case if soldering errors? Was thinking of getting both plates, should I get at least 1 pcb per?
I was considering doing this --- for the simple fact that you could have TWO sets of switches & programmed PCB's. For me, I'd probably have a lubed tactile switch and then a lubed linear ;P.
this is exactly why i double up
Post by: wowremy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 18:31:37
Post by: Puddsy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 19:22:45
This being my first build, what will I need other than switches and stabilizers?
USB cable and keycaps, maybe batteries for the bluetooth
Post by: vtachkov on Thu, 01 March 2018, 19:33:23
This being my first build, what will I need other than switches and stabilizers?
USB cable and keycaps, maybe batteries for the bluetooth
Don't forget some decent lube!
Post by: wowremy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 20:29:16
This being my first build, what will I need other than switches and stabilizers?
USB cable and keycaps, maybe batteries for the bluetooth
This being my first build, what will I need other than switches and stabilizers?
USB cable and keycaps, maybe batteries for the bluetooth
Don't forget some decent lube!
Thank you gentlemen. I wont need to solder in the usb thing, or buy a micro controller? No idea what im doing.
Post by: Puddsy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 20:30:03
This being my first build, what will I need other than switches and stabilizers?
USB cable and keycaps, maybe batteries for the bluetoothThis being my first build, what will I need other than switches and stabilizers?
USB cable and keycaps, maybe batteries for the bluetooth
Don't forget some decent lube!
Thank you gentlemen. I wont need to solder in the usb thing, or buy a micro controller? No idea what im doing.
nope, just need a cable
PCB should come SMD presoldered
Post by: Kevadu on Thu, 01 March 2018, 21:16:15
Post by: Puddsy on Thu, 01 March 2018, 21:18:23
Because I have to ask: Costar stab support?
can tell from the shape of the cutout: no
Post by: zFrontier on Thu, 01 March 2018, 21:34:50
Quote
* split right shift is available
* yes
* the lightest combination will be: an aluminum half plate + American black walnut weight
* Elemento will have it tested and we will update the numbers once available (hopefully before the GB ends)
Cheers. Few more questions:
* Does the PCB allow split backspace as well?
* Yes to what? :) The question was: "Do I necessarily need to add weight to the keyboard or there's an alternative method to cover the battery compartment?"
* Do you know the weight of any of the light weighted combinations? I mean the weight in grams or in kilograms? Is it closer to 3 kg or to 1 kg?
* If Elemento doesn't manage to give tech details about the keyboard before the GB finishes, will the GB be extended?
I really would like to know more details about this keyboard but seemingly most of the certain parameters known so far are related to look and feel. What I see is amazing and all my appreciation goes to the designer. I'm desperately hunting for a Bluetooth mechanical keyboard since a long while though and to me, weight and battery life is as important as programmability (which I also don't know much about) and layout. I feel a bit silly asking these questions though. Looks like the answers are either obvious to everyone else or simply most people don't care about these details. :rolleyes: Anyhow, I'll keep an eye on the GB to see if you guys manage to find out what exactly is for sale here other than an amazing looking and finely crafted piece of aluminum with some additional weight.
Thank you for showing much love to this project :) and sorry for missing some points on the previous answer :(
No, it will not support split backspace
You can only cover up the battery compartment with a weight
Elemento dont currently have every component, but the early structural prototype was around 1.5kg. We dont have the exact numbers but with the lightest combination you should be looking at something between 1.5-2 kg
Yes, we will definitely extend the GB if necessary
Post by: zFrontier on Thu, 01 March 2018, 21:35:48
Because I have to ask: Costar stab support?
No :(
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 02 March 2018, 00:04:42
Because I have to ask: Costar stab support?
can tell from the shape of the cutout: no
Since I've never built one before, what makes them different? I adore the costars on my WASD, and was looking forward to putting some on this... Is there really no way to make it work?
Post by: adam.baranyai on Fri, 02 March 2018, 00:32:21
Quote
Thank you for showing much love to this project :) and sorry for missing some points on the previous answer :(
No, it will not support split backspace
You can only cover up the battery compartment with a weight
Elemento dont currently have every component, but the early structural prototype was around 1.5kg. We dont have the exact numbers but with the lightest combination you should be looking at something between 1.5-2 kg
Yes, we will definitely extend the GB if necessary
No worries. Thanks for unfolding the specs zFrontier. ;)
I can't wait to hear more details from Elemento about programmability and battery life on Bluetooth.
QMK and a few months of battery life would be much appreciated but I guess we don't know much about these details at this point in time.
Will keep an eye on all the related pages to find more details about these parameters.
Post by: Kevadu on Fri, 02 March 2018, 01:20:29
Since I've never built one before, what makes them different? I adore the costars on my WASD, and was looking forward to putting some on this... Is there really no way to make it work?
Costar mounts are a slightly different shape than plate-mounted Cherry stabilizers for...no real reason, actually. Slightly narrower and longer. It is possible for a plate to support both by essentially having extra small notches in the stabilizer mounting holes.
The differences are entirely historic. There is absolutely no technical reason why somebody couldn't make a mount for costars with the same dimensions as plate-mounted Cherry stabs. But nobody does. I guess it's just too niche? I've seriously thought about 3D printing my own or something.
Post by: wowremy on Fri, 02 March 2018, 18:30:21
Post by: Puddsy on Sat, 03 March 2018, 00:57:17
Do I use plate mounted stabs for this?
no, PCB mount
Post by: wowremy on Sat, 03 March 2018, 03:45:43
Regular or screw in?Do I use plate mounted stabs for this?
no, PCB mount
Post by: Vadurr on Sat, 03 March 2018, 03:58:21
Regular or screw in?Do I use plate mounted stabs for this?
no, PCB mount
That's up to you!
Post by: RavenPanther on Sun, 04 March 2018, 20:00:08
Since I've never built one before, what makes them different? I adore the costars on my WASD, and was looking forward to putting some on this... Is there really no way to make it work?
Costar mounts are a slightly different shape than plate-mounted Cherry stabilizers for...no real reason, actually. Slightly narrower and longer. It is possible for a plate to support both by essentially having extra small notches in the stabilizer mounting holes.
The differences are entirely historic. There is absolutely no technical reason why somebody couldn't make a mount for costars with the same dimensions as plate-mounted Cherry stabs. But nobody does. I guess it's just too niche? I've seriously thought about 3D printing my own or something.
Well if you do, I'm absolutely interested.
I wonder what it would take to get a limited run of them made professionally...
Post by: Randalljai on Mon, 05 March 2018, 13:26:40
Post by: JDragon on Tue, 06 March 2018, 13:14:47
Post by: M4dn3ss on Sun, 11 March 2018, 06:48:53
Even if it's not compatible with the included PCB/plate, can it be used with Filco PCB/plate? I have an Alps PCB/plate from a Filco Zero
Post by: skaloola on Sun, 11 March 2018, 23:38:31
Post by: Randalljai on Mon, 12 March 2018, 00:29:30
Any chance assembly would be offered?
I second this; but I don't think they're offering switches so not sure how that'll work
Post by: skaloola on Mon, 12 March 2018, 09:08:53
Could reimburse/get em shipped to them.Any chance assembly would be offered?
I second this; but I don't think they're offering switches so not sure how that'll work
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Post by: Skynet_0 on Wed, 14 March 2018, 05:13:33
Post by: wowremy on Wed, 14 March 2018, 18:39:52
It's getting pretty close to the end of the GB - still no word on the color samples, Bluetooth data, power consumption, open-source programming, etc. I love how this board looks, but I don't think I can justify going in unless we get some more information in the next few days.Didnt they already confirm QMK? Is battery life really a deal breaker? Gosh this will be my first build and idgaf about battery life lol.
Post by: Mag_Flux on Wed, 14 March 2018, 21:27:29
I AM SUPER INTERESTED IN THIS. However, my main concern is the programmable option.
What firmware will the PCB support? Can we please have more details?
I think this was on the reddit post. But it will be programmable through a web app.
Many requested QMK, we will have QMK in our discussion with Elemento
It's getting pretty close to the end of the GB - still no word on the color samples, Bluetooth data, power consumption, open-source programming, etc. I love how this board looks, but I don't think I can justify going in unless we get some more information in the next few days.Didnt they already confirm QMK? Is battery life really a deal breaker? Gosh this will be my first build and idgaf about battery life lol.
I'm pretty sure their most recent response regarding QMK support is the one I've quoted above. I'm with others in that as much as I want to jump in on this GB I'm not going join without some more info being released hashing out details. Considering the GB is almost over, it seems that is unlikely.
For me open source software is a must for a keyboard like this. That being said, I can understand the difficulty using something like QMK considering the features this board has (read: Bluetooth) and QMK's lack of extensive support for said features. I honestly wish it would have just been kept simple and eschewed Bluetooth support as it's something I personally have no interest in, especially on something TKL sized.
Side note, I can't find the info anywhere but was anything mentioned regarding the switch orientation (i.e. south facing, etc)?
Post by: nug on Wed, 14 March 2018, 22:25:09
Side note, I can't find the info anywhere but was anything mentioned regarding the switch orientation (i.e. south facing, etc)?
LEDs are south facing according to the IC thread.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93672.msg2551856#msg2551856 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93672.msg2551856#msg2551856)
Post by: gt1989 on Wed, 14 March 2018, 22:34:12
It's getting pretty close to the end of the GB - still no word on the color samples, Bluetooth data, power consumption, open-source programming, etc. I love how this board looks, but I don't think I can justify going in unless we get some more information in the next few days.
Yeah, same exact reason why I haven't joined this GB either.
Post by: Mag_Flux on Wed, 14 March 2018, 23:04:27
Side note, I can't find the info anywhere but was anything mentioned regarding the switch orientation (i.e. south facing, etc)?
LEDs are south facing according to the IC thread.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93672.msg2551856#msg2551856 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93672.msg2551856#msg2551856)
Thanks for sharing that, I appreciate it. That's good news at least, glad to hear that.
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 16 March 2018, 00:03:03
Post by: adam.baranyai on Fri, 16 March 2018, 00:14:12
It's getting pretty close to the end of the GB - still no word on the color samples, Bluetooth data, power consumption, open-source programming, etc. I love how this board looks, but I don't think I can justify going in unless we get some more information in the next few days.
Yeah, same exact reason why I haven't joined this GB either.
+1
Post by: nathanchere on Fri, 16 March 2018, 05:34:17
I love the design and I'm willing to overlook the unknowns around the Bluetooth since I'd be happy using this one wired anyway, but programmable only 'through out web site' = dealbreaker. It doesn't have to be QMK specifically but unless a genuinely open firmware I'm not willing to invest that much money. Sad to miss out on this but not as sad as I'd be to spend hundreds on a paperweight.
Post by: JDragon on Fri, 16 March 2018, 10:10:45
Post by: darthzero on Fri, 16 March 2018, 14:34:15
Aside from the questions posed here, there were also (important to me) questions on reddit he wanted to "come back at" which he never did. It was about if we will have the possibility to buy the case or at least the upper part of it as extras... wanted to put my money in there too, extra pcb and plate, but without seeing him caring i probably will not put more money into this :(
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sun, 18 March 2018, 07:59:37
As a person who got in on the first few days i'm concerned to see the lack of communication from OP.
Aside from the questions posed here, there were also (important to me) questions on reddit he wanted to "come back at" which he never did. It was about if we will have the possibility to buy the case or at least the upper part of it as extras... wanted to put my money in there too, extra pcb and plate, but without seeing him caring i probably will not put more money into this :(
I am slightly worried now at this point. The GB was supposed to close yesterday but the page still looks to be open right now. Also there has been no messages back to my email and it doesnt look like the reddit thread has been looked at.
There was a message on reddit about extending the GB period but nothing was confirmed. OP can we can some information please? He has been online as he has posted Starry night Visuals to his instagram etc.
Post by: bmilcs on Sun, 18 March 2018, 19:38:24
To reiterate the posts above, I concur with the previous comments. The lack of transparency, official updates regarding the QMK firmware change and so on prevented me from putting my money down. If the OP wants to speak up, I imagine there'd be a lot of happy customers would indulge.
Post by: wowremy on Sun, 18 March 2018, 19:42:31
Post by: os on Sun, 18 March 2018, 19:43:42
Meh, we all knew color samples dont come till after the order is placed. OP is probably sitting in his room testing the prototype for us.
Wish OP was testing it by typing a reply here
Post by: wowremy on Mon, 19 March 2018, 02:44:10
Lets say OP was abducted and no longer on this world... Would I still get my blue elemento Fr87?Meh, we all knew color samples dont come till after the order is placed. OP is probably sitting in his room testing the prototype for us.
Wish OP was testing it by typing a reply here
Post by: RavenPanther on Mon, 19 March 2018, 04:40:12
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 19 March 2018, 09:35:18
Z Frontier is supposed to be a pretty legit vendor, right? I made sure to look around and read up on them prior to this buy starting. Maybe I'm just worried cause I had an indiegogo project go south on me recently, but I'm feeling uneasy here, too.
Yes, they are. However the lack of updates has been a concern. They have been active everyday I have checked their profile...
perhaps I will have a chat with Paypal and get them to extend my buyer protection period. The groupbuy is just longer than the 3 months.
EDIT: Just come off the phone with Paypal. On all the transactions, as long as you paid for it with buyer protection, you have got 6 months (180 days) of protection. You can start a case up until the last day of that buyer protection if nothing has been delivered or if insufficient updates have been given. The guy was also very suprised how much a keyboard could cost! :P
Post by: RavenPanther on Mon, 19 March 2018, 13:18:08
Z Frontier is supposed to be a pretty legit vendor, right? I made sure to look around and read up on them prior to this buy starting. Maybe I'm just worried cause I had an indiegogo project go south on me recently, but I'm feeling uneasy here, too.
Yes, they are. However the lack of updates has been a concern. They have been active everyday I have checked their profile...
perhaps I will have a chat with Paypal and get them to extend my buyer protection period. The groupbuy is just longer than the 3 months.
EDIT: Just come off the phone with Paypal. On all the transactions, as long as you paid for it with buyer protection, you have got 6 months (180 days) of protection. You can start a case up until the last day of that buyer protection if nothing has been delivered or if insufficient updates have been given. The guy was also very suprised how much a keyboard could cost! :P
Thanks - I made mine on a credit card and recently found it's got 120 days on average as well. It really sucks that we've got to be thinking this so early on in a buy. This is my first GB, too. :/
Post by: HotRoderX on Mon, 19 March 2018, 14:48:37
Z Frontier is supposed to be a pretty legit vendor, right? I made sure to look around and read up on them prior to this buy starting. Maybe I'm just worried cause I had an indiegogo project go south on me recently, but I'm feeling uneasy here, too.
Z-Frontier from what I have seen is very legit.. so lack of updates has been curious thought to be honest. I don't mean this in a bad way at all.. this Elemento group seemed shady from the start. The way they were talked about and lack of updates/specs left me feeling uneasy about the project. I got a feeling Z-Frontier might be facing the same issues the group buy is. There asking questions and Elemento is promising answers but then.. never coming thought... just hope this group buy doesn't ruin Z-Frontiers reputation.
Post by: wowremy on Tue, 20 March 2018, 19:07:13
EDIT: Just come off the phone with Paypal. On all the transactions, as long as you paid for it with buyer protection, you have got 6 months (180 days) of protection. You can start a case up until the last day of that buyer protection if nothing has been delivered or if insufficient updates have been given. The guy was also very suprised how much a keyboard could cost! :P
Do I want that buyer protection thing? Whats the risk without it?
Post by: wowremy on Tue, 20 March 2018, 19:08:30
Post by: the pokemon kid on Tue, 20 March 2018, 19:44:18
EDIT: Just come off the phone with Paypal. On all the transactions, as long as you paid for it with buyer protection, you have got 6 months (180 days) of protection. You can start a case up until the last day of that buyer protection if nothing has been delivered or if insufficient updates have been given. The guy was also very suprised how much a keyboard could cost! :P
Do I want that buyer protection thing? Whats the risk without it?
Yes, I would always try and have buyer protection when you can. It means that if anything is off, you are able to start a claim with either Paypal or your credit card company. This means you are protected if someone decides to take the money and run or the product isnt what you paid for.
Post by: JDragon on Tue, 20 March 2018, 22:17:29
Post by: wowremy on Tue, 20 March 2018, 23:42:22
Post by: nathanchere on Tue, 20 March 2018, 23:54:05
Just curious, what are people worried about exactly? Battery life and QMK?
For me mostly Bluetooth quality and firmware availability which isn't through some obscure web page which isn't going to be supported forever.
Post by: wowremy on Wed, 21 March 2018, 00:00:11
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 21 March 2018, 01:51:51
Just curious, what are people worried about exactly? Battery life and QMK?
For me, I honestly just hope that the keyboard will be completed and functional. I don't have many expectations as it's my first buy for something on this scale (I've been in cap and switch buys) and this board checks about every box I have.
I probably won't use the Bluetooth but it'll be a great feature to have built in if I need it, and I don't really care about programming my board so QMK support is no big deal. But I have/had the money at the time this buy started and I'd grown sick of seeking out TKL boards only to find I was just barely too late to jump in on it. I was so excited for this board, having caught it in time to be a part of it, that I was constantly refreshing the page while waiting for the buy to unlock so I could secure myself a spot on the off chance that it would run out of slots or something, so I'm pretty sure I have board #1 as well lol
Post by: zFrontier on Wed, 21 March 2018, 03:03:11
I sincerely apologize for not posting an update earlier. Rest assure that Elemento and we will make this board great.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 21 March 2018, 07:23:56
Updates on reply 1#.
I sincerely apologize for not posting an update earlier. Rest assure that Elemento and we will make this board great.
Thanks for the response! Looking forward to further updates! Great prototype images by the way :D
Post by: JDragon on Thu, 22 March 2018, 00:21:58
Post by: nathanchere on Thu, 22 March 2018, 04:50:28
Updates on reply 1#.
I sincerely apologize for not posting an update earlier. Rest assure that Elemento and we will make this board great.
(insert updates now the GB has already closed and still not addressing questions about bluetooth and firmware)
Glad I skipped this one.
Post by: nug on Thu, 22 March 2018, 07:32:14
(insert updates now the GB has already closed and still not addressing questions about bluetooth and firmware)
It would have been nice if they had communicated while the GB was open. I'm sure the lack of updates stopped some people from joining.
Will the pre-order price be same as the original ($368) price?
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 30 March 2018, 15:32:25
Updates on reply 1#.
I sincerely apologize for not posting an update earlier. Rest assure that Elemento and we will make this board great.
Any more updates?
Post by: audax989 on Fri, 30 March 2018, 16:41:42
Post by: laminam on Fri, 30 March 2018, 16:59:20
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
Post by: RavenPanther on Sat, 31 March 2018, 00:07:53
gb concluded without us ever seeing color samples or bt working :(
But the board will be "great" ... Don't worry.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
I'd have jumped ship already if it weren't ZFrontier. Though I'm still very close to doing so. My first GB/custom board isn't going so well. Caveat Emptor for sure :l
Post by: HotRoderX on Mon, 02 April 2018, 02:35:19
gb concluded without us ever seeing color samples or bt working :(But the board will be "great" ... Don't worry.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
I'd have jumped ship already if it weren't ZFrontier. Though I'm still very close to doing so. My first GB/custom board isn't going so well. Caveat Emptor for sure :l
i wouldn't jump to conclusions yet! I mean honestly this isn't that bad at all! Things happen and the design is radical. I have my own misgivings about this group buy for other reasons. Mainly the lack of details. Which if that was a issue people should have simply not bought in. Yea some delay's and things are to be expected. I mean its completely justifiable. Your a Manufacture what are you going to tool up for a order of 200-300 keyboard's... that are going to be 150 dollars profit each to manufacture.. are do you tool up for the keyboard order thats like 5000-6000 at 100 bucks a pop. I mean since you can only manufacture one at a time. Obviously the bigger order gets priority. Special when it would come to making a 1 off custom unit as a prototype.
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 03 April 2018, 23:35:17
gb concluded without us ever seeing color samples or bt working :(But the board will be "great" ... Don't worry.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
I'd have jumped ship already if it weren't ZFrontier. Though I'm still very close to doing so. My first GB/custom board isn't going so well. Caveat Emptor for sure :l
i wouldn't jump to conclusions yet! I mean honestly this isn't that bad at all! Things happen and the design is radical. I have my own misgivings about this group buy for other reasons. Mainly the lack of details. Which if that was a issue people should have simply not bought in. Yea some delay's and things are to be expected. I mean its completely justifiable. Your a Manufacture what are you going to tool up for a order of 200-300 keyboard's... that are going to be 150 dollars profit each to manufacture.. are do you tool up for the keyboard order thats like 5000-6000 at 100 bucks a pop. I mean since you can only manufacture one at a time. Obviously the bigger order gets priority. Special when it would come to making a 1 off custom unit as a prototype.
My issue I'm having is communication. Even if it's little updates, or just really... any kind of interacting, honestly. But maybe that's just not how things are done in group buys - I'm new to this. So, I'll just keep my fingers crossed since this board is, theoretically, the perfect board for me.
Post by: HotRoderX on Wed, 04 April 2018, 02:31:40
gb concluded without us ever seeing color samples or bt working :(But the board will be "great" ... Don't worry.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
I'd have jumped ship already if it weren't ZFrontier. Though I'm still very close to doing so. My first GB/custom board isn't going so well. Caveat Emptor for sure :l
i wouldn't jump to conclusions yet! I mean honestly this isn't that bad at all! Things happen and the design is radical. I have my own misgivings about this group buy for other reasons. Mainly the lack of details. Which if that was a issue people should have simply not bought in. Yea some delay's and things are to be expected. I mean its completely justifiable. Your a Manufacture what are you going to tool up for a order of 200-300 keyboard's... that are going to be 150 dollars profit each to manufacture.. are do you tool up for the keyboard order thats like 5000-6000 at 100 bucks a pop. I mean since you can only manufacture one at a time. Obviously the bigger order gets priority. Special when it would come to making a 1 off custom unit as a prototype.
My issue I'm having is communication. Even if it's little updates, or just really... any kind of interacting, honestly. But maybe that's just not how things are done in group buys - I'm new to this. So, I'll just keep my fingers crossed since this board is, theoretically, the perfect board for me.
Truthfully it really really depends.. majority of group buys I have seen.. there not a terrible lot of updates. Thats not to say that some don't take it to the extreme with tons of updates, Majority don't. Two of the ones I am in right now.. The updates where at the very start "Paying Vendor and manufacturing has started... the other was Order Placed with Vendor." On both of those the next step I would expect to hear something back would be that its about to ship out. I mean some leaders will tell ya there going to be packaging are that manufacturing is 50% done but most don't. It can take a while for things to ship out. I think on average people end up waiting longer for a group buy to finish. Its uncommon for a group buy to be on time. I hope this helps cause they can be confusing group buys in general. Special if your new to the keyboard scene.
Post by: thokir on Wed, 04 April 2018, 02:49:25
I think on average people end up waiting longer for a group buy to finish. Its uncommon for a group buy to be on time. I hope this helps cause they can be confusing group buys in general. Special if your new to the keyboard scene.Yeah, pretty much this.
For the first one, two or even three groupbuys one will be kinda disappointed with having to wait that long for the stuff to arrive... but with experience one will learn that estimated shipping dates aren't something trustworthy. Some might ship in time, but most will be late.
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 04 April 2018, 22:06:02
I think on average people end up waiting longer for a group buy to finish. Its uncommon for a group buy to be on time. I hope this helps cause they can be confusing group buys in general. Special if your new to the keyboard scene.Yeah, pretty much this.
For the first one, two or even three groupbuys one will be kinda disappointed with having to wait that long for the stuff to arrive... but with experience one will learn that estimated shipping dates aren't something trustworthy. Some might ship in time, but most will be late.
gb concluded without us ever seeing color samples or bt working :(But the board will be "great" ... Don't worry.
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
I'd have jumped ship already if it weren't ZFrontier. Though I'm still very close to doing so. My first GB/custom board isn't going so well. Caveat Emptor for sure :l
i wouldn't jump to conclusions yet! I mean honestly this isn't that bad at all! Things happen and the design is radical. I have my own misgivings about this group buy for other reasons. Mainly the lack of details. Which if that was a issue people should have simply not bought in. Yea some delay's and things are to be expected. I mean its completely justifiable. Your a Manufacture what are you going to tool up for a order of 200-300 keyboard's... that are going to be 150 dollars profit each to manufacture.. are do you tool up for the keyboard order thats like 5000-6000 at 100 bucks a pop. I mean since you can only manufacture one at a time. Obviously the bigger order gets priority. Special when it would come to making a 1 off custom unit as a prototype.
My issue I'm having is communication. Even if it's little updates, or just really... any kind of interacting, honestly. But maybe that's just not how things are done in group buys - I'm new to this. So, I'll just keep my fingers crossed since this board is, theoretically, the perfect board for me.
Truthfully it really really depends.. majority of group buys I have seen.. there not a terrible lot of updates. Thats not to say that some don't take it to the extreme with tons of updates, Majority don't. Two of the ones I am in right now.. The updates where at the very start "Paying Vendor and manufacturing has started... the other was Order Placed with Vendor." On both of those the next step I would expect to hear something back would be that its about to ship out. I mean some leaders will tell ya there going to be packaging are that manufacturing is 50% done but most don't. It can take a while for things to ship out. I think on average people end up waiting longer for a group buy to finish. Its uncommon for a group buy to be on time. I hope this helps cause they can be confusing group buys in general. Special if your new to the keyboard scene.
Yeah, I get it. I just sort of feel like this was forgotten. The buy even went a few days over as if they forgot to end it. But as far as things being dragged out, I completely understand. I've done a few kickstarters/Indiegogo backings. But you've both definitely eased my feelings a little bit - plus I keep finding more good stuff about zFrontier, so that helps!
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 18 April 2018, 03:55:08
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 04 May 2018, 14:22:13
Post by: the pokemon kid on Fri, 04 May 2018, 14:32:35
A word from zFrontier would be great, it's been six weeks since the last update.
I talked to Alex (ZFrontier) earlier, there an update coming. I will let him explain the situation, however I am expecting a delay...
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 04 May 2018, 22:41:07
A word from zFrontier would be great, it's been six weeks since the last update.
I talked to Alex (ZFrontier) earlier, there an update coming. I will let him explain the situation, however I am expecting a delay...
Alright, thank you! And damn, you watch this post like a hawk haha.
Post by: zF_ScrambledEggz on Sat, 05 May 2018, 06:14:09
In short, I sincerely apologize for lack of updates, some issues occurred, but things are back on track and should proceed fast in the following weeks.
Really sorry for the lack of news here, but Elemento and us did encounter some issues:
To be frank, the factory Elemento first contacted was not able to meet the requirements after the intricate structural upgrade that includes many parts in different materials, so we help Elemento out and moved on to a new source.
And that take quite some time as communication back and forth wasnt smooth
But Elemento and we have things sorted out and things are back on track, I will be responsible for this thread and have updates from time to time, solid or not, to keep you guys in the loop.
Again, sorry for the miscommunication.
Thank you for your support!
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 08 May 2018, 23:42:42
Hi guys, Alex here
In short, I sincerely apologize for lack of updates, some issues occurred, but things are back on track and should proceed fast in the following weeks.
Really sorry for the lack of news here, but Elemento and us did encounter some issues:
To be frank, the factory Elemento first contacted was not able to meet the requirements after the intricate structural upgrade that includes many parts in different materials, so we help Elemento out and moved on to a new source.
And that take quite some time as communication back and forth wasnt smooth
But Elemento and we have things sorted out and things are back on track, I will be responsible for this thread and have updates from time to time, solid or not, to keep you guys in the loop.
Again, sorry for the miscommunication.
Thank you for your support!
Hey Alex, thanks for the update! Have a few questions on this:
Will Elemento have a presence here, on the forums?
What structural changes were made that caused an issue at the factory?
Is there any kind of MOQ, and if so, what percentage are we at towards meeting it?
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 09 May 2018, 06:29:09
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 09 May 2018, 18:26:08
I didnt know that there was an MOQ as the GB has ended and a manufacturer has been found...
Good point, I didn't think about that lol.
Post by: zF_ScrambledEggz on Fri, 18 May 2018, 00:42:23
Hi guys, Alex here
In short, I sincerely apologize for lack of updates, some issues occurred, but things are back on track and should proceed fast in the following weeks.
Really sorry for the lack of news here, but Elemento and us did encounter some issues:
To be frank, the factory Elemento first contacted was not able to meet the requirements after the intricate structural upgrade that includes many parts in different materials, so we help Elemento out and moved on to a new source.
And that take quite some time as communication back and forth wasnt smooth
But Elemento and we have things sorted out and things are back on track, I will be responsible for this thread and have updates from time to time, solid or not, to keep you guys in the loop.
Again, sorry for the miscommunication.
Thank you for your support!
Hey Alex, thanks for the update! Have a few questions on this:
Will Elemento have a presence here, on the forums?
What structural changes were made that caused an issue at the factory?
Is there any kind of MOQ, and if so, what percentage are we at towards meeting it?
Hi Raven,
Yes, I will ask him to have an account here.
The major problem is the battery housing, possible interference with the PCB if not milled perfectly. also, as elemento move on to a rechargeable design, safety becomes a more important thing. NiMH becomes the idea choice for battery, but then worries like people using non-rechargeable batteries occurs. First off, Elemento tried to redesign the contact springs since some rechargeable batteries have their negative exposed to the side and thus some structural changed. And then that was reversed since that really limits the choice of battery and some places might not be able to find those exact batteries. These back and forth costs a lot of time.
And yes, Elemento will be heading to China, again, to check on the manufacturing process.
Post by: RavenPanther on Sat, 19 May 2018, 00:27:42
Hi guys, Alex here
In short, I sincerely apologize for lack of updates, some issues occurred, but things are back on track and should proceed fast in the following weeks.
Really sorry for the lack of news here, but Elemento and us did encounter some issues:
To be frank, the factory Elemento first contacted was not able to meet the requirements after the intricate structural upgrade that includes many parts in different materials, so we help Elemento out and moved on to a new source.
And that take quite some time as communication back and forth wasnt smooth
But Elemento and we have things sorted out and things are back on track, I will be responsible for this thread and have updates from time to time, solid or not, to keep you guys in the loop.
Again, sorry for the miscommunication.
Thank you for your support!
Hey Alex, thanks for the update! Have a few questions on this:
Will Elemento have a presence here, on the forums?
What structural changes were made that caused an issue at the factory?
Is there any kind of MOQ, and if so, what percentage are we at towards meeting it?
Hi Raven,
Yes, I will ask him to have an account here.
The major problem is the battery housing, possible interference with the PCB if not milled perfectly. also, as elemento move on to a rechargeable design, safety becomes a more important thing. NiMH becomes the idea choice for battery, but then worries like people using non-rechargeable batteries occurs. First off, Elemento tried to redesign the contact springs since some rechargeable batteries have their negative exposed to the side and thus some structural changed. And then that was reversed since that really limits the choice of battery and some places might not be able to find those exact batteries. These back and forth costs a lot of time.
And yes, Elemento will be heading to China, again, to check on the manufacturing process.
Awesome, thank you for the response!
If you're accepting input on batteries: while I'd prefer NiMH, it's a perfectly acceptable choice, especially when it comes to not having to deal with LiPO shipping hassle. As far as sizes, my vote goes for either a standard AA size, or an 18650 size. 18650 has good capacity and dimensions, but it would be a good idea to incorporate charging while they're inserted in the board so people don't have to worry about buying a specialty charger.
Either way, looking forward to hearing more as development proceeds :]
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sun, 20 May 2018, 12:57:10
Snip
I agree with Raven Panther, a standard AA size battery would work perfectly!
As far as timescales, do know how much of a delay are we looking at?
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 21 May 2018, 09:25:04
Thanks for the updates!
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 22 May 2018, 19:28:51
I'm also still curious about QMK. It was mentioned a few times in this forum, but I never saw a confirmation that the board will support it.
Thanks for the updates!
Snip
I agree with Raven Panther, a standard AA size battery would work perfectly!
As far as timescales, do know how much of a delay are we looking at?
Both good questions, wrote my response late at night and wasn't thinking much haha. I'm also interested in more info on these.
Post by: wowremy on Fri, 25 May 2018, 16:19:01
Anyone regret getting the wood and want my brass weight? Trade + price difference.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 31 May 2018, 10:23:52
Snip
Can we please get some answers to the above questions please. You have been online answering questions in your other GB threads, however we are feeling slightly forgotten here...
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 06 June 2018, 06:28:06
(https://i.imgur.com/07Iy3Ak.png)
Post by: HotRoderX on Wed, 06 June 2018, 09:45:00
Hi guys, I have just emailed this to Zfrontier asking for an update but also asking for some much needed answers to some of your questions.Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/07Iy3Ak.png)
to play devil's advocate perhaps there trying to get answers from Elemento and getting the run around. Are being told they will get answers soon™. I could see that being why Zfrontier is dragging there feet with answers. Cause from what seen Zfrontier is always pretty upfront. Honestly when the group buy was running Elemento set off so many redflag's for me as being sorta shady. This is just my humbled opinion. Given some answers would be better then the radio silence people are getting about the entire thing.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 06 June 2018, 11:24:23
Hi guys, I have just emailed this to Zfrontier asking for an update but also asking for some much needed answers to some of your questions.Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/07Iy3Ak.png)
to play devil's advocate perhaps there trying to get answers from Elemento and getting the run around. Are being told they will get answers soon™. I could see that being why Zfrontier is dragging there feet with answers. Cause from what seen Zfrontier is always pretty upfront. Honestly when the group buy was running Elemento set off so many redflag's for me as being sorta shady. This is just my humbled opinion. Given some answers would be better then the radio silence people are getting about the entire thing.
Yes, but it was a month ago they came back and said there was issues with the product. It then took 13 days to reply to RavenPanthers question.
Also, the question of Colour samples, Bluetooth questions and QMK support are still outstanding since mid Febuary. Surely they can drag an answer out of Elemento in three and a half months.
Post by: slk on Thu, 07 June 2018, 00:58:20
Post by: ELEMENTO on Thu, 07 June 2018, 12:42:33
We received some parts and PCB last week, and this is what you are looking at:
[attach=1][attach=2][attach=3][attach=4]
[attach=5][attach=6][attach=7][attach=8]
This unit is Cool Gray.
Unfortunately, our board is likely not QMK compatible mostly due to the light effects we want to achive. However, we will have our own Windows-based software for macro and light effects editing. Our PCB do have an onboard flash for memorizing all your settings.
The battery life depends significantly on LEDs. With all lights off, 4 AAA should last 1.5 weeks based on medium usage (like 4 hours per day). The Bluetooth module is a 3.0 version, instead of a BLE one, for better compatibility with older devices.
For Bluetooth signal, we have no problem with normal typing scenarios. But signal shielding on the bottom is expected since the bottom case is fully enclosed.
For the timescales, sadly, we will need an extra month or two.
Thanks!
Post by: Starston3 on Thu, 07 June 2018, 12:59:04
Thanks for supporting us. Apologies for lack of updates. Here they are:
We received some parts and PCB last week, and this is what you are looking at:
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
This unit is Cool Gray.
Unfortunately, our board is likely not QMK compatible mostly due to the light effects we want to achive. However, we will have our own Windows-based software for macro and light effects editing. Our PCB do have an onboard flash for memorizing all your settings.
The battery life depends significantly on LEDs. With all lights off, 4 AAA should last 1.5 weeks based on medium usage (like 4 hours per day). The Bluetooth module is a 3.0 version, instead of a BLE one, for better compatibility with older devices.
For Bluetooth signal, we have no problem with normal typing scenarios. But signal shielding on the bottom is expected since the bottom case is fully enclosed.
For the timescales, sadly, we will need an extra month or two.
Thanks!
Are there any plans to support QMK or port the Windows-based software for macros /etc to macOS?
Post by: plus_one on Thu, 07 June 2018, 13:05:50
Thanks for supporting us. Apologies for lack of updates. Here they are:
We received some parts and PCB last week, and this is what you are looking at:
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
This unit is Cool Gray.
Unfortunately, our board is likely not QMK compatible mostly due to the light effects we want to achive. However, we will have our own Windows-based software for macro and light effects editing. Our PCB do have an onboard flash for memorizing all your settings.
The battery life depends significantly on LEDs. With all lights off, 4 AAA should last 1.5 weeks based on medium usage (like 4 hours per day). The Bluetooth module is a 3.0 version, instead of a BLE one, for better compatibility with older devices.
For Bluetooth signal, we have no problem with normal typing scenarios. But signal shielding on the bottom is expected since the bottom case is fully enclosed.
For the timescales, sadly, we will need an extra month or two.
Thanks!
Can you talk more about the lighting effects you are trying to incorporate? Would things like changing the lights based on caps/num lock be possible, or is it more of a color-cycling thing?
Also, I really appreciate the update! Thanks!
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 07 June 2018, 14:22:17
Snip
Hi Elemento, really appreciate the update and you joining Geekhack. Has alleviated some of the stress I have had over this GB!
Any chance of getting a shot of the raw PCB on its own? Also can we get a shot of the SMD RGB's in action?
Is there an ETA on the other colours? Interested to see how they have come out.
Post by: os on Sat, 09 June 2018, 08:27:11
Thanks for supporting us. Apologies for lack of updates. Here they are:...
Looking great so far!
Will you at least be publishing the source code under a free software or at least open source license?
Post by: rioc on Wed, 13 June 2018, 07:37:08
Thanks for supporting us. Apologies for lack of updates. Here they are:
We received some parts and PCB last week, and this is what you are looking at:
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link) (Attachment Link)
This unit is Cool Gray.
Unfortunately, our board is likely not QMK compatible mostly due to the light effects we want to achive. However, we will have our own Windows-based software for macro and light effects editing. Our PCB do have an onboard flash for memorizing all your settings.
The battery life depends significantly on LEDs. With all lights off, 4 AAA should last 1.5 weeks based on medium usage (like 4 hours per day). The Bluetooth module is a 3.0 version, instead of a BLE one, for better compatibility with older devices.
For Bluetooth signal, we have no problem with normal typing scenarios. But signal shielding on the bottom is expected since the bottom case is fully enclosed.
For the timescales, sadly, we will need an extra month or two.
Thanks!
Nice, finally found this GB thread :))
sent a mail to zF, but that can be ignored now.
shipping stage will be around September then I guess?
also, any colour samples of the tactical blue?
really looking forward to this board :)
Post by: Giorgio on Wed, 13 June 2018, 08:41:25
I don't have windows.
Post by: Mainian on Wed, 13 June 2018, 19:20:59
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 13 June 2018, 19:22:40
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Post by: Mainian on Wed, 13 June 2018, 20:45:02
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Post by: rioc on Thu, 14 June 2018, 01:52:23
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
the software might work with Wine..?
Post by: Giorgio on Thu, 14 June 2018, 01:58:42
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.
Post by: HotRoderX on Thu, 14 June 2018, 02:24:49
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.
Post by: wowremy on Thu, 14 June 2018, 02:36:39
Post by: Giorgio on Thu, 14 June 2018, 04:41:07
mac whoNo qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.
Post by: rioc on Thu, 14 June 2018, 04:56:27
mac whoNo qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.
dunno... sounds like nonsense ;)
but you could give it a spin with Wine (https://www.winehq.org), maybe that'll work... (or something like it)
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 14 June 2018, 05:09:47
mac whoNo qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.
dunno... sounds like nonsense ;)
but you could give it a spin with Wine (https://www.winehq.org), maybe that'll work... (or something like it)
Im not clued up on Mac stuff but to me it just sounds like you have a drinking problem... :P
Post by: rioc on Thu, 14 June 2018, 05:55:01
Im not clued up on Mac stuff but to me it just sounds like you have a drinking problem... :pdunno...sounds like nonsense ;)mac whocan I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?You can VM windows.
I don't have windows.
but you could give it a spin with Wine (https://www.winehq.org), maybe that'll work... (or something like it)
Wine is for linux, I don't eat at Mac
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 14 June 2018, 21:07:34
No qmk tmk compatibility isn't good. Why can't you improve the existing software, or pay the developer?
I don't have windows.
You can VM windows.
I will be fair, using a Windows VM to code a keyboard on a Mac or Linux isn't ideal.
Oh, I won't argue that. But he's acting like he can't do it and won't ever be able to do it.
Updating the firmware in a VM isn't ideal. I had some troubles with the pok3r. Go figure what will happen with a keyboard made in 100 pieces, with a custom firmware, that will not be sold or updated anymore after this GB.
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.
I need to adopt this mindset, this is a beautiful way to live life. Anything that's extra is always a pleasant surprise! :]
Post by: rioc on Fri, 15 June 2018, 01:47:47
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.I need to adopt this mindset, this is a beautiful way to live life. Anything that's extra is always a pleasant surprise! :]
don't we all first need to get a life? :p
Post by: Puddsy on Fri, 15 June 2018, 09:22:47
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.I need to adopt this mindset, this is a beautiful way to live life. Anything that's extra is always a pleasant surprise! :]
don't we all first need to get a life? :p
keyboards or death
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 15 June 2018, 17:44:30
can I just ask why you bought into the keyboard if you knew going in there was a chance that it might not be Mac friendly? I am just kinda curious cause I always go into things thinking what I see is what I get. Given if there is some kinda nifty addon/upgrade after the fact then great. Otherwise I just assume things are the way they are.I need to adopt this mindset, this is a beautiful way to live life. Anything that's extra is always a pleasant surprise! :]
don't we all first need to get a life? :p
I live life through receiving packages in the mail!
Post by: mkarlsson on Wed, 04 July 2018, 15:43:55
Post by: RavenPanther on Sat, 07 July 2018, 18:29:57
Hi ELEMENTO, how are things doing? Any updates?
Yeah, was waiting to post until today. It's been a month, was hoping for some kind of check in. Even if it's just a short continuation of the last check-in.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 09 July 2018, 05:05:24
Post by: rioc on Mon, 09 July 2018, 05:36:53
Just so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
what? that's an option?
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 09 July 2018, 11:01:21
Just so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
what? that's an option?
Yeh, of course. Just phone Paypal and they will do it for you...
Post by: rioc on Mon, 09 July 2018, 15:09:03
TILJust so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
what? that's an option?
Yeh, of course. Just phone Paypal and they will do it for you...
Post by: Mainian on Mon, 09 July 2018, 19:52:49
Just so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
Awesome! Thanks
Post by: the pokemon kid on Tue, 10 July 2018, 05:03:11
Just so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
Awesome! Thanks
TILJust so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
what? that's an option?
Yeh, of course. Just phone Paypal and they will do it for you...
Make sure you phone them though, dont just cancel it. They need to know what is going on otherwise you will just be getting a refund.
Post by: sheepish.alpaca on Sat, 14 July 2018, 01:11:04
Just so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
Honestly, given how ****ty Elemento (and to some extent zF) has been about giving updates, I'm strongly considering doing it. Kinda steamed too since I cancelled my KBD 8X GB slot (which was running at the time and looks beautiful from all the posts here and on reddit) to get in on this.
Edit to add: I don't think it's too much to ask them to update on a weekly or biweekly basis, given how few updates/contacts all the GB participants have received so far.
Post by: RavenPanther on Sat, 14 July 2018, 21:42:02
Just so everyone knows. We are at 110 days since they took payment via Paypal. We have another 70 days of buyer protection. Make sure you contact Paypal to cancel and restart the payment before the 180 days ends. This gives you another 180 days of buyer protection!
Honestly, given how ****ty Elemento (and to some extent zF) has been about giving updates, I'm strongly considering doing it. Kinda steamed too since I cancelled my KBD 8X GB slot (which was running at the time and looks beautiful from all the posts here and on reddit) to get in on this.
Edit to add: I don't think it's too much to ask them to update on a weekly or biweekly basis, given how few updates/contacts all the GB participants have received so far.
What really frustrates me is that zF has a ton of other buys going on and seems to be interacting with them on a number of channels, not just here. Why is FR87 getting no love? If it's because of something on Elemento's part, they should either be urging Elemento to be more open with us, or they should be covering their own asses and doing something about it. Cancel the buy, postpone it, whatever.
Post by: Mainian on Sun, 15 July 2018, 22:13:49
Post by: mkarlsson on Mon, 16 July 2018, 01:34:07
Check your emails I guess. I received an email from zF about this groupbuy yesterday. Claiming an ETA of September.
Yep, saw it, at least we have something. The blue they showed look great by the way.
Post by: rioc on Mon, 16 July 2018, 01:50:28
yep, really happy I went with blue. Will match nicely with Sol DarkCheck your emails I guess. I received an email from zF about this groupbuy yesterday. Claiming an ETA of September.
Yep, saw it, at least we have something. The blue they showed look great by the way.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 16 July 2018, 18:30:45
I for one am really dissapointed that it has taken another month to get this update.
1. You have confirmed that the ETA is now September... Lets see how long that will last. We are now at the point of shipping and we have pictures of 2/4 colours and no proper pictures of the PCB or the parts for the bluetooth/ battery compartment.
2. You have confirmed the colour of the tactical blue... Something that should of been done in the prototyping phase or at the beginning of the GB. NOT mid groupbuy!
3. Why at no stage in your pre GB posts did you say what the colour codes you were using were? Or is this just the closest Pantone to the anodized finish? Can we perhaps know what the other pantone colours are then to get a proper idea of what to expect?
4. You have said repeatedly that you are going to give us more updates. However that has fallen short of the mark multiple times. Elemento has made one post and then none of the questions directed to them have been answered. How do we know that these aren't false promises like before?
5. A PCB update in 1-2 weeks... Why has there been no movement on this before now? Surely that can be created seperately from the case? or were the PCB and case not finished designs which we were sold?
Throughout this whole groupbuy, I felt like I have been fobbed off. We get enough information to keep us happy for another month and then radio silence once again.
I strongly suggest to everyone who is within this GB to call Paypal and to make sure that they can extend their buyer protection. At this rate we will be well past the 180 days of Buyer protection before we see something nearly complete.
Post by: darthzero on Mon, 16 July 2018, 23:27:54
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 17 July 2018, 21:19:21
Why are they not pushing this update to the place where the originally announced it? Perhaps to try and quell the public conversations about this GB?
I for one am really dissapointed that it has taken another month to get this update.
1. You have confirmed that the ETA is now September... Lets see how long that will last. We are now at the point of shipping and we have pictures of 2/4 colours and no proper pictures of the PCB or the parts for the bluetooth/ battery compartment.
2. You have confirmed the colour of the tactical blue... Something that should of been done in the prototyping phase or at the beginning of the GB. NOT mid groupbuy!
3. Why at no stage in your pre GB posts did you say what the colour codes you were using were? Or is this just the closest Pantone to the anodized finish? Can we perhaps know what the other pantone colours are then to get a proper idea of what to expect?
4. You have said repeatedly that you are going to give us more updates. However that has fallen short of the mark multiple times. Elemento has made one post and then none of the questions directed to them have been answered. How do we know that these aren't false promises like before?
5. A PCB update in 1-2 weeks... Why has there been no movement on this before now? Surely that can be created seperately from the case? or were the PCB and case not finished designs which we were sold?
Throughout this whole groupbuy, I felt like I have been fobbed off. We get enough information to keep us happy for another month and then radio silence once again.
I strongly suggest to everyone who is within this GB to call Paypal and to make sure that they can extend their buyer protection. At this rate we will be well past the 180 days of Buyer protection before we see something nearly complete.
I'm learning a lot from this group buy. Sadly, I used my CC and I'm not sure they'll be as forgiving as PayPal.... Or did the checkout on the site when we purchased go through paypal? Honestly, I can't remember, it's been so long.
Post by: Jkush463 on Tue, 17 July 2018, 23:31:43
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 18 July 2018, 04:52:44
Snip
Over here in the UK we have got the Consumer protection act which goes along with most credit cards. Section 75 states that items bought over £100 and less than £30k put the CC provider partially liable if things go wrong. So to combat this they give the customer protection. Usually its 90 days however it depends on the type of product you bought and in this case I think you would be ok to have gone over this time limit...
I am guessing you are in the US, so I would contact your credit card provider and see what they are able to do!
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 18 July 2018, 16:56:21
SnipI am guessing you are in the US, so I would contact your credit card provider and see what they are able to do!
Yeah, I have my fingers crossed they'll be able to help me out and extend things.
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 26 July 2018, 19:40:14
Post by: rioc on Fri, 27 July 2018, 00:03:27
Has anybody seen Input Club RE:Type? I'm tempted to jump ship for that. IC seems more reliable than ZF at this point... I really wish zFrontier would take charge with this buy. I see them being revered for other GB projects, which is why I went in on this buy with such little info on the board. I figured that even if ELEMENTO wasn't on the up-and-up, that they'd own up to the issues and be open with what's going on.meh, retype is nothing for me... I don't like being locked down to a single layout... also no half plate, doesn't look good, it's just bland
Post by: HotRoderX on Fri, 27 July 2018, 00:25:05
Has anybody seen Input Club RE:Type? I'm tempted to jump ship for that. IC seems more reliable than ZF at this point... I really wish zFrontier would take charge with this buy. I see them being revered for other GB projects, which is why I went in on this buy with such little info on the board. I figured that even if ELEMENTO wasn't on the up-and-up, that they'd own up to the issues and be open with what's going on.
I don't know I hadn't heard a lot of good about input club. They seem almost shady at times. They tend to hold back info until brought public. Like guy asked a simple question if I order XYZ how will it ship. They refused to tell him saying they couldn't. Then he gets on reddit and suddenly they admit they don't know they ship thought a 3rd party that just ships things.
Then there is the K-Type they abandoned that project December was the last update. Glad they got into a pissing match with massdrop but as a customer. I could honestly careless I would have liked to have had my product supported.
Then they blamed Massdrop for the inferior stabilizers that rattle. They supposedly tried to get Massdrop to go with better. There Whitefox they released not the ones from massdrop suffered the same issue from reports. They also suffered the same static issues with the PCB from what read that the first two generations had from Massdrop.
Then the switches they produced remember first few batches were lubed in such a way they basically become liner's from the factory. I think they got that worked out finally. I just wouldn't trust Massdrop. Sure Z-Frontier hasn't been the best people to deal with on this drop but. this was a single drop and it could be Elemento that is the problem.
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 01 August 2018, 00:20:37
Has anybody seen Input Club RE:Type? I'm tempted to jump ship for that. IC seems more reliable than ZF at this point... I really wish zFrontier would take charge with this buy. I see them being revered for other GB projects, which is why I went in on this buy with such little info on the board. I figured that even if ELEMENTO wasn't on the up-and-up, that they'd own up to the issues and be open with what's going on.meh, retype is nothing for me... I don't like being locked down to a single layout... also no half plate, doesn't look good, it's just bland
That's true, I hadn't thought about that. It's kind of sad, I forgot what made this keyboard special because it's been so long :/
Has anybody seen Input Club RE:Type? I'm tempted to jump ship for that. IC seems more reliable than ZF at this point... I really wish zFrontier would take charge with this buy. I see them being revered for other GB projects, which is why I went in on this buy with such little info on the board. I figured that even if ELEMENTO wasn't on the up-and-up, that they'd own up to the issues and be open with what's going on.
I don't know I hadn't heard a lot of good about input club. They seem almost shady at times. They tend to hold back info until brought public. Like guy asked a simple question if I order XYZ how will it ship. They refused to tell him saying they couldn't. Then he gets on reddit and suddenly they admit they don't know they ship thought a 3rd party that just ships things.
Then there is the K-Type they abandoned that project December was the last update. Glad they got into a pissing match with massdrop but as a customer. I could honestly careless I would have liked to have had my product supported.
Then they blamed Massdrop for the inferior stabilizers that rattle. They supposedly tried to get Massdrop to go with better. There Whitefox they released not the ones from massdrop suffered the same issue from reports. They also suffered the same static issues with the PCB from what read that the first two generations had from Massdrop.
Then the switches they produced remember first few batches were lubed in such a way they basically become liner's from the factory. I think they got that worked out finally. I just wouldn't trust Massdrop. Sure Z-Frontier hasn't been the best people to deal with on this drop but. this was a single drop and it could be Elemento that is the problem.
You make a good point. That's disappointing, to say the least. I'm glad other GBs I'm in are going better than this, cause this has certainly soured my opinion of GBs and zFrontier.
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 07 August 2018, 19:07:43
We are now on two months of no communication from either Elemento or ZF - save for a single email from ZF which is unacceptable in my eyes as the buy is being run in here, not through my email. I see other buys by ZF that are getting frequent attention, while this gets buried.
Post by: mkarlsson on Wed, 08 August 2018, 05:10:03
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 08 August 2018, 06:09:09
Bumping this in hopes it gets ZF attention.
We are now on two months of no communication from either Elemento or ZF - save for a single email from ZF which is unacceptable in my eyes as the buy is being run in here, not through my email. I see other buys by ZF that are getting frequent attention, while this gets buried.
Dont forget about the update in 2 weeks which is now a week late...
(https://i.imgur.com/MWfnGLm.jpg)
Post by: the pokemon kid on Tue, 14 August 2018, 05:30:30
We have just 29 days of buyer protection left and if you don't extend then there is nothing that PayPal will be able to do, if the product the never sent out or has even more major delays.
It has taken 151 days so far to get the pictures of two out of the four colours. We also have no proper updates on the PCB!
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 14 August 2018, 18:18:24
Just your friendly reminder to contact Paypal to extend your buyer protection!
We have just 29 days of buyer protection left and if you don't extend then there is nothing that PayPal will be able to do, if the product the never sent out or has even more major delays.
It has taken 151 days so far to get the pictures of two out of the four colours. We also have no proper updates on the PCB!
Any idea how many times PayPal will extend?
Post by: Starston3 on Tue, 14 August 2018, 22:02:04
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 15 August 2018, 04:30:25
How does extending buy protection work?
So there is one of two ways it works.
1. You get Zfroniter to refund you and you then pay the invoice with the same money. Give you another 180 days of buyer protection
2. You open a dispute with Paypal and it is extended for however long the case takes.
if you decide not to, then you can be up **** creek. We are talking, if the product arrives and its got a monster dent in it, you can't go to Paypal and get your money back. You just have to hope that Zfrontier are good people and will replace it. There is no protection if something goes wrong or if the GB extends into next year...
Post by: mkarlsson on Wed, 15 August 2018, 10:01:35
Post by: rioc on Wed, 15 August 2018, 10:04:39
Check your email guys, new update there...nice, but image links are broken
Post by: mkarlsson on Wed, 15 August 2018, 13:55:48
Check your email guys, new update there...nice, but image links are broken
I asked Alex about that and he sent me the pics. Don’t know if I should be the one posting them.
Post by: rioc on Wed, 15 August 2018, 14:39:16
I think everybody got the second mail with the picsCheck your email guys, new update there...nice, but image links are broken
I asked Alex about that and he sent me the pics. Don’t know if I should be the one posting them.
Post by: mkarlsson on Wed, 15 August 2018, 14:43:15
I think everybody got the second mail with the picsCheck your email guys, new update there...nice, but image links are broken
I asked Alex about that and he sent me the pics. Don’t know if I should be the one posting them.
Ah true, my fault.
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 16 August 2018, 22:04:33
Check your email guys, new update there...
What the absolute ****?! I haven't gotten anything in my emails as far as I can tell!
ZFrontier, why are updates to the group buy not being posted in the group buy thread?
Post by: Randalljai on Thu, 16 August 2018, 23:31:02
Post by: HotRoderX on Fri, 17 August 2018, 03:12:59
Check your email guys, new update there...
What the absolute ****?! I haven't gotten anything in my emails as far as I can tell!
ZFrontier, why are updates to the group buy not being posted in the group buy thread?
Did you check your spam folder? That would be my first guess as to what happened to your email's.
Second guess is depending on who you use for a Email provider ((I know most use Gmail)) They might have email's from Zfrontiers home region blocked. I am guessing its china.
Third thing why don't you just ask someone who got the email to post a update. People are being so cagey with this stuff its kinda insane. I mean since ZFrontier isn't updating and neither is Elemento. Then go ahead post the email's. They don't like it tough they should have followed geekhack guide lines and posted updates to the thread.
Also if its this upsetting to you Raven why not go ahead and do a buyer protection claim with paypal.
Post by: wholypantalones on Fri, 17 August 2018, 06:34:01
Third thing why don't you just ask someone who got the email to post a update. People are being so cagey with this stuff its kinda insane. I mean since ZFrontier isn't updating and neither is Elemento. Then go ahead post the email's. They don't like it tough they should have followed geekhack guide lines and posted updates to the thread.
Why doesn't someone just post the email instead of telling people to go read an email they didn't get? Makes sense.
Post by: rioc on Fri, 17 August 2018, 06:49:36
Quote
Hi all,
First of all, I would like to apologize that I could not keep up the update due to being to occupied coordinating many other GBs and shipping.
Now we are at a stage where we have all the housing, metal parts done and sorting should begin early Sept once packages and other assembly parts are ready. Packaging should be ready soon as well. The annoying part is that the PCB manufacturer is now fixing some issues we discovered during inspection.
Anodizing, done. Laser etching, done. Requesting photos from the manufacturer.
PVD, done. Took the manufacturer 3 trials and attempts to perfect them.
Custom rubber feet, done.
Package, ongoing.
Assembly parts, ongoing.
PCB, ongoing. RGB refresh rate was not desired, staring long time into the backlight is not comfortable. Manufacturer currently working on fixing this issue.
If you need help extending paypal protection, feel free to let me know. I will help you with this. And zFrontier as a company and a business will be responsible for your purchase.
Best,
Alex
included pics album: https://imgur.com/a/QlVwKvF
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 17 August 2018, 23:37:20
Check your email guys, new update there...
What the absolute ****?! I haven't gotten anything in my emails as far as I can tell!
ZFrontier, why are updates to the group buy not being posted in the group buy thread?
Did you check your spam folder? That would be my first guess as to what happened to your email's.
Second guess is depending on who you use for a Email provider ((I know most use Gmail)) They might have email's from Zfrontiers home region blocked. I am guessing its china.
Third thing why don't you just ask someone who got the email to post a update. People are being so cagey with this stuff its kinda insane. I mean since ZFrontier isn't updating and neither is Elemento. Then go ahead post the email's. They don't like it tough they should have followed geekhack guide lines and posted updates to the thread.
Also if its this upsetting to you Raven why not go ahead and do a buyer protection claim with paypal.
1. Yes. Nada.
2. Could be valid, I'll have to look in to it since I do use gmail.
3. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyone could post them at any time, not really sure what to say to this.
4. Honestly, I keep forgetting. Was PayPal required when buying from the US store? I know I used a credit card, but I can't remember if it processed through paypal or not. If it didn't, I'm probably just gonna have to straight drop out as I doubt my CC will be willing to do the process stated previously. I'm also hesitant to mess with it as I'm 99% sure I got the first one and if it does go through, I'd really like to have serial #1... lol.
Snip
Thank you : ] That's a little more reassuring, I might email them and ask them to help out with my fourth point above.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 20 August 2018, 06:50:47
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 22 August 2018, 19:20:33
Got my refund through from ZFroniter and paid the new invoice to renew my 180 days of Paypal Protection! Feel a little more secure about this now!
Awesome : ] I'll be doing the same. But the point still stands, we're looking at 10 weeks from the last official comment in this thread.
Post by: slxdegrees on Sun, 26 August 2018, 00:52:00
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 30 August 2018, 22:36:14
Is that why the GB isn't shown as Sold Out on Zfrontier?
It is for me? Also, I just want to point out that I emailed zFrontier about a week ago regarding my order and haven't heard anything back. The Pokémon Kid, how long did they take to respond to your email?
Post by: slxdegrees on Thu, 30 August 2018, 22:41:30
Now it shows as sold out for me too. Pretty sure that when I wrote that comment I could place an order lol.Is that why the GB isn't shown as Sold Out on Zfrontier?
It is for me? Also, I just want to point out that I emailed zFrontier about a week ago regarding my order and haven't heard anything back. The Pokémon Kid, how long did they take to respond to your email?
Post by: the pokemon kid on Fri, 31 August 2018, 04:19:54
Is that why the GB isn't shown as Sold Out on Zfrontier?
It is for me? Also, I just want to point out that I emailed zFrontier about a week ago regarding my order and haven't heard anything back. The Pokémon Kid, how long did they take to respond to your email?
They took a day to respond. I would contact Paypal about getting a refund. That will get you on Zfrontiers radar pretty quick. I think paypal can send a message to them on your behalf...
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 31 August 2018, 20:05:35
Now it shows as sold out for me too. Pretty sure that when I wrote that comment I could place an order lol.Is that why the GB isn't shown as Sold Out on Zfrontier?
It is for me? Also, I just want to point out that I emailed zFrontier about a week ago regarding my order and haven't heard anything back. The Pokémon Kid, how long did they take to respond to your email?
Weird! I can't say for sure, but I feel like I checked it about a month ago and it showed sold out, but I can't say for certain.
Is that why the GB isn't shown as Sold Out on Zfrontier?
It is for me? Also, I just want to point out that I emailed zFrontier about a week ago regarding my order and haven't heard anything back. The Pokémon Kid, how long did they take to respond to your email?
They took a day to respond. I would contact Paypal about getting a refund. That will get you on Zfrontiers radar pretty quick. I think paypal can send a message to them on your behalf...
Ah gotcha. I'll do that, then. Still, even more trouble to go through.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sat, 08 September 2018, 19:00:32
Has anyone recieved any updates on this GB since 15th of August? We are now in the time when the delayed board was ment to being shipped.
Post by: rioc on Sun, 09 September 2018, 05:09:41
That 2 week PCB update is now 6 weeks late...no, no update yet... I'm still trusting on zFrontier to get a grip on this though, they have been pretty correct so far, it's just that the delays are annoying for sure
Has anyone recieved any updates on this GB since 15th of August? We are now in the time when the delayed board was ment to being shipped.
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 11 September 2018, 20:14:22
That 2 week PCB update is now 6 weeks late...
Has anyone recieved any updates on this GB since 15th of August? We are now in the time when the delayed board was ment to being shipped.
I've emailed them 3 times now regarding getting my payment re-done, and haven't heard anything back. Three weeks, one email a week, no response :l
That 2 week PCB update is now 6 weeks late...no, no update yet... I'm still trusting on zFrontier to get a grip on this though, they have been pretty correct so far, it's just that the delays are annoying for sure
Has anyone recieved any updates on this GB since 15th of August? We are now in the time when the delayed board was ment to being shipped.
Please help me keep my faith in them too, it's wavering hard. Not a lot of people seem to be jumping ship (or at least being vocal about it) so I'm curious what positive experiences they've had with ZF as this one is my first and it's certainly not positive.
Post by: rioc on Wed, 12 September 2018, 03:00:57
That 2 week PCB update is now 6 weeks late...
Has anyone recieved any updates on this GB since 15th of August? We are now in the time when the delayed board was ment to being shipped.
I've emailed them 3 times now regarding getting my payment re-done, and haven't heard anything back. Three weeks, one email a week, no response :lThat 2 week PCB update is now 6 weeks late...no, no update yet... I'm still trusting on zFrontier to get a grip on this though, they have been pretty correct so far, it's just that the delays are annoying for sure
Has anyone recieved any updates on this GB since 15th of August? We are now in the time when the delayed board was ment to being shipped.
Please help me keep my faith in them too, it's wavering hard. Not a lot of people seem to be jumping ship (or at least being vocal about it) so I'm curious what positive experiences they've had with ZF as this one is my first and it's certainly not positive.
Well, since it's someone else behind the production they can't influence that too much, however if things go wrong I'm sure they'd either look for other means to get it done or refund the money. (I don't mistrust them in that regard)
As for the lack of updates and not replying to mails, that's a no no. I know they've been extremely busy lately, but that's not an excuse.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 12 September 2018, 05:29:09
Please help me keep my faith in them too, it's wavering hard. Not a lot of people seem to be jumping ship (or at least being vocal about it) so I'm curious what positive experiences they've had with ZF as this one is my first and it's certainly not positive.
I bought GMK Pristine from them recently. That was extremely quick and smooth. I got the Keycaps within a few days of ordering them and that was delivery to the UK...
Well, since it's someone else behind the production they can't influence that too much, however if things go wrong I'm sure they'd either look for other means to get it done or refund the money. (I don't mistrust them in that regard)
As for the lack of updates and not replying to mails, that's a no no. I know they've been extremely busy lately, but that's not an excuse.
Well actually ZFrontier should be able to have an influence on this. They should be the ones steering the ship and making regular checks on Elemento and not just allowing to do their own thing. Especially when they find a manufacturer and then it becomes evident that the manufacturer can't do the work. At this point if I were ZFrontier I would be managing Elemento on a weekly basis, if not more frequent as they are dragging the ZFrontier brand through the mud.
Post by: darthzero on Wed, 12 September 2018, 09:16:37
Imho the ZFrontier brand is as good as it was before this gb, after all this is still a GB. Let me cite from "What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines" (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77272.0): "And it takes months, sometimes a year+ for group buys to complete. Be prepared to wait."
Well, since it's someone else behind the production they can't influence that too much, however if things go wrong I'm sure they'd either look for other means to get it done or refund the money. (I don't mistrust them in that regard)
As for the lack of updates and not replying to mails, that's a no no. I know they've been extremely busy lately, but that's not an excuse.
Well actually ZFrontier should be able to have an influence on this. They should be the ones steering the ship and making regular checks on Elemento and not just allowing to do their own thing. Especially when they find a manufacturer and then it becomes evident that the manufacturer can't do the work. At this point if I were ZFrontier I would be managing Elemento on a weekly basis, if not more frequent as they are dragging the ZFrontier brand through the mud.
This is a more or less complex product unlike some keycaps from GMK i.e., where you gather money, give it to them and the rest will be fine. Here you have to work with not one but several manufacturers to get a complete product and if one thing fails the whole product is on hold. I for one account for problems to occur in such a gb, in the end there are lots of humans involved and everyone can make mistakes.
For the communication part i totally agree that this could be better, emails only come after many complaints here which is on the outlines of OK^^... but everytime they fail an expected date they should notify us before we start to "cry". Whom to fault there? Idk, ZFrontier seems like the party who handle the money part to let us feel more secure (assumtions!!! but imagine we wouldn't have ZF and would have given the money directly to Elemento, that would have worried me) and about Elemento i don't know nothing... maybe they have lots of work with other gbs, maybe it's just one human doing this as a hobby besides a 10 hour day job and caring about two kids.
TLDR: keep calm and clack on and to elemeto/zfrontier: more updates please <3
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 13 September 2018, 05:13:58
Imho the ZFrontier brand is as good as it was before this gb, after all this is still a GB. Let me cite from "What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines" (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77272.0): "And it takes months, sometimes a year+ for group buys to complete. Be prepared to wait."
Well, since it's someone else behind the production they can't influence that too much, however if things go wrong I'm sure they'd either look for other means to get it done or refund the money. (I don't mistrust them in that regard)
As for the lack of updates and not replying to mails, that's a no no. I know they've been extremely busy lately, but that's not an excuse.
Well actually ZFrontier should be able to have an influence on this. They should be the ones steering the ship and making regular checks on Elemento and not just allowing to do their own thing. Especially when they find a manufacturer and then it becomes evident that the manufacturer can't do the work. At this point if I were ZFrontier I would be managing Elemento on a weekly basis, if not more frequent as they are dragging the ZFrontier brand through the mud.
This is a more or less complex product unlike some keycaps from GMK i.e., where you gather money, give it to them and the rest will be fine. Here you have to work with not one but several manufacturers to get a complete product and if one thing fails the whole product is on hold. I for one account for problems to occur in such a gb, in the end there are lots of humans involved and everyone can make mistakes.
For the communication part i totally agree that this could be better, emails only come after many complaints here which is on the outlines of OK^^... but everytime they fail an expected date they should notify us before we start to "cry". Whom to fault there? Idk, ZFrontier seems like the party who handle the money part to let us feel more secure (assumtions!!! but imagine we wouldn't have ZF and would have given the money directly to Elemento, that would have worried me) and about Elemento i don't know nothing... maybe they have lots of work with other gbs, maybe it's just one human doing this as a hobby besides a 10 hour day job and caring about two kids.
TLDR: keep calm and clack on and to elemeto/zfrontier: more updates please <3
I understand that I am joining a groupbuy and there can be long wait times, however I have bought a product which was sold by a reputable source and had feasible timescales. The board should of originally been here in July; with everything going smoothly. This has then been pushed back because of issues to September so that they can get work done. I have had to accept this if I want the product, however for those who don't have buyer protection, they are now in for the full ride. I also feel that 3 months is a long enough period of time for them to get things back under control and a new solution to be sorted. However the updates (Or lack there of) have made me question if that 3 month period has been long enough for them to complete this task. It has also made me question on how much ZFrontier are managing Elemento.
I can understand if they have got long work hours, a family, other commitments, however an update takes 30 minutes to write. It puts us all at ease and allows us to understand where we are at in the process. However we are being blindly lead right now which I am not okay with. I will follow your sentiment of: More updates please <3
Post by: HotRoderX on Thu, 13 September 2018, 10:55:15
Imho the ZFrontier brand is as good as it was before this gb, after all this is still a GB. Let me cite from "What is a group buy? Should I join one? Group Buy FAQ / Buying Guidelines" (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=77272.0): "And it takes months, sometimes a year+ for group buys to complete. Be prepared to wait."
Well, since it's someone else behind the production they can't influence that too much, however if things go wrong I'm sure they'd either look for other means to get it done or refund the money. (I don't mistrust them in that regard)
As for the lack of updates and not replying to mails, that's a no no. I know they've been extremely busy lately, but that's not an excuse.
Well actually ZFrontier should be able to have an influence on this. They should be the ones steering the ship and making regular checks on Elemento and not just allowing to do their own thing. Especially when they find a manufacturer and then it becomes evident that the manufacturer can't do the work. At this point if I were ZFrontier I would be managing Elemento on a weekly basis, if not more frequent as they are dragging the ZFrontier brand through the mud.
This is a more or less complex product unlike some keycaps from GMK i.e., where you gather money, give it to them and the rest will be fine. Here you have to work with not one but several manufacturers to get a complete product and if one thing fails the whole product is on hold. I for one account for problems to occur in such a gb, in the end there are lots of humans involved and everyone can make mistakes.
For the communication part i totally agree that this could be better, emails only come after many complaints here which is on the outlines of OK^^... but everytime they fail an expected date they should notify us before we start to "cry". Whom to fault there? Idk, ZFrontier seems like the party who handle the money part to let us feel more secure (assumtions!!! but imagine we wouldn't have ZF and would have given the money directly to Elemento, that would have worried me) and about Elemento i don't know nothing... maybe they have lots of work with other gbs, maybe it's just one human doing this as a hobby besides a 10 hour day job and caring about two kids.
TLDR: keep calm and clack on and to elemeto/zfrontier: more updates please <3
I understand that I am joining a groupbuy and there can be long wait times, however I have bought a product which was sold by a reputable source and had feasible timescales. The board should of originally been here in July; with everything going smoothly. This has then been pushed back because of issues to September so that they can get work done. I have had to accept this if I want the product, however for those who don't have buyer protection, they are now in for the full ride. I also feel that 3 months is a long enough period of time for them to get things back under control and a new solution to be sorted. However the updates (Or lack there of) have made me question if that 3 month period has been long enough for them to complete this task. It has also made me question on how much ZFrontier are managing Elemento.
I can understand if they have got long work hours, a family, other commitments, however an update takes 30 minutes to write. It puts us all at ease and allows us to understand where we are at in the process. However we are being blindly lead right now which I am not okay with. I will follow your sentiment of: More updates please <3
Honestly you shouldn't enter group buy's make this one your last. Look at ESPECTRO look at the up's down and everything with it. Most of us no longer have buyer protection either. Its a risk you take when you go into a group buy. There was a possibility it be done in 40 day's that was back in like February/March. The group buy runner even forgot about geekhack and for the longest time was only posting updates to discord. He has done everything he can reasonably be expected to do to get the boards produced thought. I am excited to get mine, I am also nervous but mostly excited.
Then to top it off keep in mind this isn't the only group buy Z-Frontier is running while you think its the most important cause your a part of it. They have most likely dozen others there managing that are the most important group buy to the people in them also. I am sure its a balancing act of trying to get information get out updates. Keep people focused etc etc.
Post by: nathanchere on Fri, 14 September 2018, 02:54:02
Honestly you shouldn't enter group buy's make this one your last. Look at ESPECTRO look at the up's down and everything with it. Most of us no longer have buyer protection either. Its a risk you take when you go into a group buy. There was a possibility it be done in 40 day's that was back in like February/March. The group buy runner even forgot about geekhack and for the longest time was only posting updates to discord. He has done everything he can reasonably be expected to do to get the boards produced thought. I am excited to get mine, I am also nervous but mostly excited.
Then to top it off keep in mind this isn't the only group buy Z-Frontier is running while you think its the most important cause your a part of it. They have most likely dozen others there managing that are the most important group buy to the people in them also. I am sure its a balancing act of trying to get information get out updates. Keep people focused etc etc.
No, this kind of overly apologetic attitude is why so many group buys are still cluster****s. Because anyone who speaks up is all too often written off as a cry baby and "why didn't you read the rules - you give money, we promise nothing!". Z-frontier is not a small 2-person startup working out of their basement hand-crafting timeless heirlooms with love. They are essentially the Massdrop of the East, and it is 100% reasonable to expect better communication and honoring their initial commitments than what has happened here. I would argue that anyone who takes money from others has the same expectation if not necessarily the same capacity. Instead of "if continual delays and **** communication bothers you, don't join a group buy", how about "if you don't know what the **** you're doing and can't be bothered keeping customers informed, don't run a group buy"? The "oh well" attitude only serves to perpetuate the problems instead of offer any promise that things will get better with time.
Post by: Artemie on Tue, 25 September 2018, 04:29:52
Reddit post:
Quote
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/9iq1q6/stay_away_from_zfrontier_terrible_communication/
Aaaand OP got deleted so:
Quote
https://web.archive.org/web/20180925074145/https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/9iq1q6/stay_away_from_zfrontier_terrible_communication/
Post by: darthzero on Tue, 25 September 2018, 05:34:32
Post by: rioc on Thu, 27 September 2018, 03:56:16
https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-sept-25-2018
(most infos are at the bottom of the post)
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 27 September 2018, 09:53:49
BIG UPDATE POST:
https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-sept-25-2018
(most infos are at the bottom of the post)
Every time I send an email there is an update the next day... (I sent an email last night to Alex).
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 27 September 2018, 20:30:29
BIG UPDATE POST:
https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-sept-25-2018
(most infos are at the bottom of the post)
Every time I send an email there is an update the next day... (I sent an email last night to Alex).
And I have yet to get a reply to any of my emails since before the GB ended...
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 15 October 2018, 08:04:40
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 16 October 2018, 19:56:51
New update guys: https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-oct-9-2018
Well, I'm glad we're at least seeing some regularity now!
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 25 October 2018, 04:28:38
https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-oct-23-2018
Some pretty nice pictures in there! The finish from the photos looks top notch. They are still waiting on the PCB's and Alex has said they he is waiting for the rest of the case parts to turn up this week or next week.
Post by: rioc on Thu, 25 October 2018, 08:17:35
Starting to feel as if I should be taking a cut of the profits on this GB, because of how update to date I have kept this thread!rly? we can all read updates too ;)
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 25 October 2018, 09:55:26
Starting to feel as if I should be taking a cut of the profits on this GB, because of how update to date I have kept this thread!rly? we can all read updates too ;)
Well the 8 email threads with Alex that have prompted updates/ response that day or the day after on 4 occasions, Also getting him to extend the buyer protection to all that wanted it, should warrant some sort of reward. ;) When should I expect my duck octogon in the post?
Post by: waqar on Tue, 06 November 2018, 21:45:02
Post by: mkarlsson on Sun, 11 November 2018, 16:39:32
Is it shipping yet?
Not that I am aware of
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 12 November 2018, 08:37:13
I have had a short chat with Alex of Zfrontier. Here is what he had to say:
"I hit the warehouse yesterday to do some QA, and sorting is mostly done, once the PCBs arrive, they will be packed in the boxes and be ready to ship in no time.
Few parts had scratches due to transport but luckily there are some extra pieces to replace. Yet, some will need to be sent back to the factory for laser engraving since they are all numbered :(
Overall, I am happy to see all things sitting in the warehouse, and it's cool to work with Elemento :) hopefully the PCB will arrive in a week or two!"
Looks like there is a slightly delay but there is light at the end of the tunnel! :D
Post by: plus_one on Tue, 27 November 2018, 17:33:21
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 28 November 2018, 13:36:30
Given that it's been another couple weeks since I've seen an update, has anyone heard anything? It sounds like everything is coming together, but it has sounded like that for most updates we've gotten :/
I have messaged Alex once again. I think he might be snowed under because of the Black friday sale that he did. However he should either message me back or do a project update post on their website shortly.
Post by: Starston3 on Sat, 08 December 2018, 10:22:56
Code: [Select]
Our latest update form Elemento says that the PCB will wrap up in 2 weeks and we should be able to ship them out by the end of this month.
We apologize for the constant delay on this project and we are pushing the manufacturer and the designing team as hard as we could :(They should be delivered in the new year.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sun, 06 January 2019, 19:57:19
In under one month the second lot of buyer protection will run out, so those who still have buyer protection will need to lodge a dispute with Paypal before their 180 days are up.
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 08 January 2019, 22:48:43
Emailed zFrontier and got response.
Hey all, I have just pinged an email to Alex at ZFrontier
Can I ask what email address you guys have been using? I've sent, I think, eight emails now, over the course of ~11 months, and none of them have gotten a response.
Post by: Sneaky Potato on Tue, 08 January 2019, 22:59:19
Hey all, I have just pinged an email to Alex at ZFrontier as its been nearly two month since our last proper update.
In under one month the second lot of buyer protection will run out, so those who still have buyer protection will need to lodge a dispute with Paypal before their 180 days are up.
Honestly they should be paying you guys for all the work you’ve done keeping up with this GB and updating all their customers in this thread.
I’m sure GBs are no cake walk, but man...it’s been so long that I keep forgetting I’m even a part of this damn thing. Appreciate you keeping up on it for everyone.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 14 January 2019, 09:21:46
Emailed zFrontier and got response.Hey all, I have just pinged an email to Alex at ZFrontier
Can I ask what email address you guys have been using? I've sent, I think, eight emails now, over the course of ~11 months, and none of them have gotten a response.
There is two emails addresses which I usually send to. Their support one and then Alexs one. I wont give out his information however I am still waiting on a reply. Chinese new year is incoming and very little will be done over that time im sure.
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 18 January 2019, 22:09:42
Emailed zFrontier and got response.Hey all, I have just pinged an email to Alex at ZFrontier
Can I ask what email address you guys have been using? I've sent, I think, eight emails now, over the course of ~11 months, and none of them have gotten a response.
There is two emails addresses which I usually send to. Their support one and then Alexs one. I wont give out his information however I am still waiting on a reply. Chinese new year is incoming and very little will be done over that time im sure.
Yeah, I've been using Alex's. Didn't think to try the ZF support one.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sun, 20 January 2019, 20:45:44
Hope that we can get this keyboard this half of the year!
Post by: HotRoderX on Mon, 21 January 2019, 01:15:02
Post by: the pokemon kid on Tue, 22 January 2019, 06:26:38
When is Chinese New Year? I didn't think that was until next month.. I been trying to ping Zfrontier for the past 2weeks with nothing. Perhaps its just the new year causing the issue. I know it last like what month month and a half
after doing a quick Google, it is on the 5th of Feb. However the whole thing is classed as a festival and takes place over a number of days...
Post by: tusing on Sat, 26 January 2019, 19:14:33
Post by: Starston3 on Sun, 27 January 2019, 10:59:53
Latest update : https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-jan-27-2019
Post by: mkarlsson on Mon, 28 January 2019, 07:20:56
Post by: darthzero on Mon, 28 January 2019, 08:03:34
Oh man, that pcb...And apparently only one pcb manufacturer in whole Asia...
Post by: mkarlsson on Mon, 28 January 2019, 10:18:35
Oh man, that pcb...And apparently only one pcb manufacturer in whole Asia...
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 28 January 2019, 10:21:26
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Post by: HotRoderX on Mon, 28 January 2019, 12:29:46
Post by: the pokemon kid on Thu, 31 January 2019, 10:53:31
This is to update people who managed to get their buyer protection renewed to renew it once again... We are nearly at 360 days since I bought it!
Post by: lakeboredom on Thu, 31 January 2019, 11:11:49
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 31 January 2019, 15:42:59
I just got my google calendar notification to say that there is 15 days left of my second lot of buyer protection.
This is to update people who managed to get their buyer protection renewed to renew it once again... We are nearly at 360 days since I bought it!
I'm still waiting to get a reply from ZF about the first round of buyer protection.
I started the hobby in January, and I just gotta say this was the first GB I joined and the last to deliver.Similar situation here.
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Post by: the pokemon kid on Wed, 13 February 2019, 09:34:51
I really hope that he responds soon as I still really want this board!
I urge any of you who still have buyer protection to do the same!
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 18 February 2019, 12:45:19
"Elemento and us are, super frustrated with the PCB supplier. But we are being pushed back again and again. We are told today that factory is now back from the Chinese New Year holidays and are working on them.
We have been in contact with them every business day ever since last year. They gave us some alleged deadlines and we provided them in the updates but obviously that did not work out. Again, we are sad how this turned out and it's been a physically and mentally draining journey. However, we will carry on. "
However as of yet, they have not replied to my outstanding Paypal dispute which will automatically be awarded to me in 5 days time if they don't respond. I just want to be reissued my order so I can continue having buyer protection!
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 18 February 2019, 21:30:50
Post by: plus_one on Tue, 19 February 2019, 10:20:36
Finally got a reply from ZFrontier and this was their response:I really wish they would communicate things like this more. This would be a far less frustrating group buy if they kept us in the loop, even if there's little we can do about the problems.
"Elemento and us are, super frustrated with the PCB supplier. But we are being pushed back again and again. We are told today that factory is now back from the Chinese New Year holidays and are working on them.
We have been in contact with them every business day ever since last year. They gave us some alleged deadlines and we provided them in the updates but obviously that did not work out. Again, we are sad how this turned out and it's been a physically and mentally draining journey. However, we will carry on. "
However as of yet, they have not replied to my outstanding Paypal dispute which will automatically be awarded to me in 5 days time if they don't respond. I just want to be reissued my order so I can continue having buyer protection!
Anyway, here's hoping we end up getting great keyboards out of the chaos
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 04 March 2019, 13:36:55
TL;DR below:
Quote
Still waiting for the PCB to arrive. PCB manufacturer told us they will deliver in March.
Post by: oldcat on Mon, 04 March 2019, 14:50:02
For those curious, there is an update on their website: https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-mar-2-2019 (https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-mar-2-2019)
TL;DR below:QuoteStill waiting for the PCB to arrive. PCB manufacturer told us they will deliver in March.
This is probably longest wait. I was on the fence of joining when it came out.
Hope it all works out well and you guys get the board in a good shape.
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 05 March 2019, 16:30:56
QuoteStill waiting for the PCB to arrive. PCB manufacturer told us they will deliver in March.
And from back in January, it was:
Quote
Still waiting for the PCB to arrive. PCB production was heavily delayed by the factory due to low quantity to make way for larger orders.
And early October, it was:
Quote
Sorting shall begin next week, PCB should arrive late Oct. For detailed updates, check the last project update post.
The September project update before that:
Quote
MoreKeyboard housing and accessories:
Metal parts: All milled and finished anodizing in late Aug to early Sept. After inspecting, Some gray parts were around 1-2 pantone code darker, got them back for re-anodizing to match the original gray advertised.
Plastic parts: All milled and done in late Aug, early Sept. Battery chamber, done, CNCed ABS, sprayed black, perfectly textured. Plastic Washer, done, sits between the on/off metal switch and the battery chamber. However, after pre-assembling we discovered that the tolerance was a bit off, rendering the switch wobble more than we could accept. Hence, these two are now being machined again..
Wood Piece: Done.
Package: Done this week.
PCB:
PCB is the most frustrating part. It has not been a pleasant journey working with the current PCB vendor. They promised to deliver in late June and early July. But there are always some minor issues from the post production units that didn't meet our standard.
Revision 1 was the one in the early prototype: in-switch RGB, RGB Strip, USB Type-C, BT, fixed layout. R2 changed the PCB to mother and daughter board to incorporate better with the internal design, changed the side RGB strip configuration, and added multiple layout support. R3 added charging circuit and DIP. Revision 4 fixed some issues detected when testing and has recently been approved. Phase 1 to Phase 2 was a drastic change: tray mount to top mount, 1 PCB to 1 mother and 3 daughter boards (2 high-density SMD LED strip, 1 Type-C port), fixed layout to flexible layout while incorporating in switch SMD. Slowly adding more features to the PCB thus generated many unwanted issue.
BT 3.0 + BLE connection, 4-5m connection (full metal housing, full plate). Delay, not an issue (surely there will be delay, but not noticeable when work and casual gaming) (noticeable delay might occur when you pair many BT devices to a single machine). Could easily switch between (Windows, MAC, iOS) machines via Fn + function short cuts.
That being said, we bear full responsibility for the lack of communication and overall unsatisfactory group buy experience:
Problems we had during this group buy with the designer and factories:
- Miscommunication. Three parties are involved: Elemento, PCB vendor, and zFrontier. Communication were often times unilateral. Demands and feedback weren't clearly delivered.
- Lack of supervision over the production process. Happens when working with larger factories: smaller projects were postponed and bigger projects were prioritized when project managers were not in the place of constantly overseeing the production phase.
- Not taking immediate action when the factory failed to deliver. We put our trust into the said PCB vendor, but they were not able to deliver on time and created more issues. They are competent, in fact. But their attitude towards the project wasn't quite in the right place. We didn't take immediate action to push them or switch vendor, believing they could still make it right. Fact is, yes, they did, but too much time were wasted.
We sincerely apologize for our poor service for this project.
Elemento and zFrontier are pushing the factories to deliver every single day. We do not want to deliver a product that is sub-par to our standard. And thus many parts where rejected and ordered for a re-make.
Again, I am sincerely sorry and feel immense regret for the lack of communication.
What to expect:
•Fr87 by Elemento
Shipping ETA: October
•Regular update on every project
Best Regards,
Alex
What I'd like to know is where the accountability is. Specifically with this:
Quote
- Not taking immediate action when the factory failed to deliver. We put our trust into the said PCB vendor, but they were not able to deliver on time and created more issues. They are competent, in fact. But their attitude towards the project wasn't quite in the right place. We didn't take immediate action to push them or switch vendor, believing they could still make it right. Fact is, yes, they did, but too much time were wasted.
If this happened back in September, why is it 5-6 months later now and we're still having issues with the project not being given the priority it needs? Are there ever going to be any repercussions for this, as far as the PCB manufacturer is concerned? And where has Elemento been this whole time - like we noticed long ago, aside from the one pop-in they had here, they've been a silent partner, despite apparently designing the whole board?
I'd like to see ZF come to this thread and interact again - even if they don't have any news, seeing them interacting would be helpful. But what I'd really like to see, is all the cards laid on the table. If the PCB people are to blame, throw them under the bus. Don't take the hit for them. Let everyone see some transparency here, cause a lot of resentment seems to be building up.
Post by: oldcat on Tue, 05 March 2019, 16:54:30
QuoteStill waiting for the PCB to arrive. PCB manufacturer told us they will deliver in March.
And from back in January, it was:QuoteStill waiting for the PCB to arrive. PCB production was heavily delayed by the factory due to low quantity to make way for larger orders.
And early October, it was:QuoteSorting shall begin next week, PCB should arrive late Oct. For detailed updates, check the last project update post.
The September project update before that:QuoteMoreKeyboard housing and accessories:
Metal parts: All milled and finished anodizing in late Aug to early Sept. After inspecting, Some gray parts were around 1-2 pantone code darker, got them back for re-anodizing to match the original gray advertised.
Plastic parts: All milled and done in late Aug, early Sept. Battery chamber, done, CNCed ABS, sprayed black, perfectly textured. Plastic Washer, done, sits between the on/off metal switch and the battery chamber. However, after pre-assembling we discovered that the tolerance was a bit off, rendering the switch wobble more than we could accept. Hence, these two are now being machined again..
Wood Piece: Done.
Package: Done this week.
PCB:
PCB is the most frustrating part. It has not been a pleasant journey working with the current PCB vendor. They promised to deliver in late June and early July. But there are always some minor issues from the post production units that didn't meet our standard.
Revision 1 was the one in the early prototype: in-switch RGB, RGB Strip, USB Type-C, BT, fixed layout. R2 changed the PCB to mother and daughter board to incorporate better with the internal design, changed the side RGB strip configuration, and added multiple layout support. R3 added charging circuit and DIP. Revision 4 fixed some issues detected when testing and has recently been approved. Phase 1 to Phase 2 was a drastic change: tray mount to top mount, 1 PCB to 1 mother and 3 daughter boards (2 high-density SMD LED strip, 1 Type-C port), fixed layout to flexible layout while incorporating in switch SMD. Slowly adding more features to the PCB thus generated many unwanted issue.
BT 3.0 + BLE connection, 4-5m connection (full metal housing, full plate). Delay, not an issue (surely there will be delay, but not noticeable when work and casual gaming) (noticeable delay might occur when you pair many BT devices to a single machine). Could easily switch between (Windows, MAC, iOS) machines via Fn + function short cuts.
That being said, we bear full responsibility for the lack of communication and overall unsatisfactory group buy experience:
Problems we had during this group buy with the designer and factories:
- Miscommunication. Three parties are involved: Elemento, PCB vendor, and zFrontier. Communication were often times unilateral. Demands and feedback weren't clearly delivered.
- Lack of supervision over the production process. Happens when working with larger factories: smaller projects were postponed and bigger projects were prioritized when project managers were not in the place of constantly overseeing the production phase.
- Not taking immediate action when the factory failed to deliver. We put our trust into the said PCB vendor, but they were not able to deliver on time and created more issues. They are competent, in fact. But their attitude towards the project wasn't quite in the right place. We didn't take immediate action to push them or switch vendor, believing they could still make it right. Fact is, yes, they did, but too much time were wasted.
We sincerely apologize for our poor service for this project.
Elemento and zFrontier are pushing the factories to deliver every single day. We do not want to deliver a product that is sub-par to our standard. And thus many parts where rejected and ordered for a re-make.
Again, I am sincerely sorry and feel immense regret for the lack of communication.
What to expect:
•Fr87 by Elemento
Shipping ETA: October
•Regular update on every project
Best Regards,
Alex
What I'd like to know is where the accountability is. Specifically with this:Quote- Not taking immediate action when the factory failed to deliver. We put our trust into the said PCB vendor, but they were not able to deliver on time and created more issues. They are competent, in fact. But their attitude towards the project wasn't quite in the right place. We didn't take immediate action to push them or switch vendor, believing they could still make it right. Fact is, yes, they did, but too much time were wasted.
If this happened back in September, why is it 5-6 months later now and we're still having issues with the project not being given the priority it needs? Are there ever going to be any repercussions for this, as far as the PCB manufacturer is concerned? And where has Elemento been this whole time - like we noticed long ago, aside from the one pop-in they had here, they've been a silent partner, despite apparently designing the whole board?
I'd like to see ZF come to this thread and interact again - even if they don't have any news, seeing them interacting would be helpful. But what I'd really like to see, is all the cards laid on the table. If the PCB people are to blame, throw them under the bus. Don't take the hit for them. Let everyone see some transparency here, cause a lot of resentment seems to be building up.
This team should have a dedicated PCB designer addressing this issue, like we do for our project :). Even making new PCB won't take as long at all.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sun, 17 March 2019, 07:35:16
He has now refunded me however so I wont be as actively chasing. He gave me the option to pay when the boards are ready. I expect that he may honour this commitment to others too.
Post by: Sintpinty on Sun, 17 March 2019, 07:58:19
Post by: Mainian on Sun, 17 March 2019, 09:35:58
I love the case and how it's flat! Finally! Only thing is i don't have a paypal account and the group buy is going to expire tomorrow :(
Tomorrow of last year...
Post by: Sintpinty on Sun, 17 March 2019, 13:47:31
Post by: oldcat on Sun, 17 March 2019, 14:33:38
I love the case and how it's flat! Finally! Only thing is i don't have a paypal account and the group buy is going to expire tomorrow :(
Tomorrow of last year...
LOL......
Post by: nathanchere on Tue, 19 March 2019, 08:31:36
I love the case and how it's flat! Finally! Only thing is i don't have a paypal account and the group buy is going to expire tomorrow :(
Tomorrow of last year...
... butat the rate things are going you might be lucky enough to receive it yesterday next year.
Post by: plus_one on Wed, 10 April 2019, 11:59:53
Post by: HotRoderX on Wed, 10 April 2019, 13:05:23
I love the case and how it's flat! Finally! Only thing is i don't have a paypal account and the group buy is going to expire tomorrow :(
Tomorrow of last year...
... butat the rate things are going you might be lucky enough to receive it yesterday next year.
Thats being optimistic at the rate things are going. I expect this to turn into one of those group buys that never gets completed and everyone is out the money.
Post by: Etherealsound on Wed, 10 April 2019, 14:04:53
Post by: lakeboredom on Wed, 10 April 2019, 14:45:10
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Post by: HotRoderX on Wed, 10 April 2019, 15:17:26
The cases are all made, it's not like they are just going to disappear.. you guys had PayPal protection, an invincible suit of armor. You can be mad, I'm mad, but you can only wait patiently or get fed up and refund. Easy options
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Just a warning paypal protection is there as a marketing gimmick. The fine print basically says they can deny for any reason. That its not something they have to pay out on if it hurts them as a company. Also it only last 6 months. Does anyone even have proof the cases are complete? I mean Elemento sounded shady to start with. Thats why passed on the group buy. I am glad I did, but yea relying on paypal is just a let down. I have had to use them twice once they were super helpful got my refund. The other time I was SOL and denied.
Post by: plus_one on Wed, 10 April 2019, 16:03:58
The cases are all made, it's not like they are just going to disappear.. you guys had PayPal protection, an invincible suit of armor. You can be mad, I'm mad, but you can only wait patiently or get fed up and refund. Easy options
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Just a warning paypal protection is there as a marketing gimmick. The fine print basically says they can deny for any reason. That its not something they have to pay out on if it hurts them as a company. Also it only last 6 months. Does anyone even have proof the cases are complete? I mean Elemento sounded shady to start with. Thats why passed on the group buy. I am glad I did, but yea relying on paypal is just a let down. I have had to use them twice once they were super helpful got my refund. The other time I was SOL and denied.
Yeah... that doesn't quite sound like an invincible suit of armor if the vendor can deny it. Also I was a fool and let it expire without renewing, but that's shame on me.
Anyway, they do have a picture of what appears to be a large box of cases on their website in the project updates section (October 23rd), along with a picture of a couple cases from that shipment. The pokemon kid kept in fairly good contact with them, but it sounds like he lost his patience and invoked his buyer protection (which I don't blame him for)
Post by: plus_one on Thu, 11 April 2019, 10:20:16
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 11 April 2019, 23:31:46
The pokemon kid kept in fairly good contact with them, but it sounds like he lost his patience and invoked his buyer protection (which I don't blame him for)
I reached out to the support team and they said that the manufacturer still hasn't made the PCB
I would be happy to take the torch on getting updates from them. But I can't get them to respond to me. How are you getting in contact with them?
Post by: plus_one on Fri, 12 April 2019, 10:26:45
The pokemon kid kept in fairly good contact with them, but it sounds like he lost his patience and invoked his buyer protection (which I don't blame him for)I reached out to the support team and they said that the manufacturer still hasn't made the PCB
I would be happy to take the torch on getting updates from them. But I can't get them to respond to me. How are you getting in contact with them?
I sent an email to support@zfrontier.com and got a response in less than 24 hours. It sounds like other people are not having the same luck though, so YMMV
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 12 April 2019, 22:10:05
I sent an email to support@zfrontier.com and got a response in less than 24 hours. It sounds like other people are not having the same luck though, so YMMV
Gotcha, thanks! Yeah, I've emailed them a couple times at that address.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Sat, 13 April 2019, 11:51:46
The cases are all made, it's not like they are just going to disappear.. you guys had PayPal protection, an invincible suit of armor. You can be mad, I'm mad, but you can only wait patiently or get fed up and refund. Easy options
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
Except for that Buyer protection only lasts for 6 months and that time passed nearly 7 months ago...
I sent an email to support@zfrontier.com and got a response in less than 24 hours. It sounds like other people are not having the same luck though, so YMMV
Gotcha, thanks! Yeah, I've emailed them a couple times at that address.
I have been emailing Alex each time. He sent out an update on that email a while ago.
However I do email both at the same time.
I reached out to the support team and they said that the manufacturer still hasn't made the PCB
This is getting a little silly now. They have been working on those PCB's since the middle of last year. Something fishy is going on... I suspect that that the design on the PCB's isn't working and they haven't got it fixed yet.
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 15 April 2019, 00:28:11
This is getting a little silly now. They have been working on those PCB's since the middle of last year. Something fishy is going on... I suspect that that the design on the PCB's isn't working and they haven't got it fixed yet.
Agreed, PCB's don't take this many months to manufacture. I wish they'd just say it. Communication would have changed my perception of this group buy entirely, but it's still lacking (even after they acknowledged it was bad...)
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 18 April 2019, 23:33:41
I have been emailing Alex each time. He sent out an update on that email a while ago.
However I do email both at the same time.
I've been solely emailing Alex, except once to support back when the GB was still open, and I think I might have emailed the once a few months back. Still not having good luck though.
Post by: tusing on Mon, 22 April 2019, 06:18:04
The communication and handling of this GB has been atrocious. I don’t care how many projects ZFrontier has taken on, or how it’s difficult for them to handle so much on their plate. That’s a problem of their own creation. Is it really so hard to provide even a basic (read: existent) level of accountability, responsibility, and communication?
It has been months since I have received any email or update about this project. The website is updated once every few months with a random PCB-related excuse. Come on, guys. Get it together.
It’s not the first time the community has pointed this out to them. It’s not the first time they’ve apologized. Apologies are completely and utterly meaningless if you don’t actually do anything about them.
Post by: oldcat on Mon, 22 April 2019, 09:32:37
I am going to be brutally honest. I feel super scammed. I feel lied to. I will never buy from this vendor again.
Entire projects much more complex than this have finished in a fraction of the time. If they can’t get this PCB manufacturer working, they need to drop the manufacturer, eat the loss, and apologize for the delay. It is not this hard to create and design a PCB and all we have been getting for the past year+ have been trite excuse after excuse with no accountability or transparency.
The communication and handling of this GB has been atrocious. I don’t care how many projects ZFrontier has taken on, or how it’s difficult for them to handle so much on their plate. That’s a problem of their own creation. Is it really so hard to provide even a basic (read: existent) level of accountability, responsibility, and communication?
It has been months since I have received any email or update about this project. The website is updated once every few months with a random PCB-related excuse. Come on, guys. Get it together.
It’s not the first time the community has pointed this out to them. It’s not the first time they’ve apologized. Apologies are completely and utterly meaningless if you don’t actually do anything about them.
At this point ask for a refund from zfrontier for this board is probably the best advice.
Post by: tusing on Tue, 23 April 2019, 03:52:57
Entire projects much more complex than this have finished in a fraction of the time. If they can’t get this PCB manufacturer working, they need to drop the manufacturer, eat the loss, and apologize for the delay. It is not this hard to create and design a PCB and all we have been getting for the past year+ have been trite excuse after excuse with no accountability or transparency.
The communication and handling of this GB has been atrocious. I don’t care how many projects ZFrontier has taken on, or how it’s difficult for them to handle so much on their plate. That’s a problem of their own creation. Is it really so hard to provide even a basic (read: existent) level of accountability, responsibility, and communication?
It has been months since I have received any email or update about this project. The website is updated once every few months with a random PCB-related excuse. Come on, guys. Get it together.
It’s not the first time the community has pointed this out to them. It’s not the first time they’ve apologized. Apologies are completely and utterly meaningless if you don’t actually do anything about them.
At this point ask for a refund from zfrontier for this board is probably the best advice.
Unfortunately I have asked them before with no response. My emails have gone entirely ignored.
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 24 April 2019, 22:07:41
At this point ask for a refund from zfrontier for this board is probably the best advice.
Unfortunately I have asked them before with no response. My emails have gone entirely ignored.
In my case, I haven't even wanted to take that step yet. I've simply asked for them to extend my buyer protection... With no response. You'd think they'd at least want to 'hang on' to a customer that way, seeing as it's someone still displaying some faith in them.
Post by: oldcat on Wed, 24 April 2019, 22:28:01
At this point ask for a refund from zfrontier for this board is probably the best advice.Unfortunately I have asked them before with no response. My emails have gone entirely ignored.
In my case, I haven't even wanted to take that step yet. I've simply asked for them to extend my buyer protection... With no response. You'd think they'd at least want to 'hang on' to a customer that way, seeing as it's someone still displaying some faith in them.
I think Zfrontier is legit (just a bit disorganized in their international department), so they will refund you at least. Have you reached out to Alex (check spam email box too)?
Post by: RavenPanther on Sat, 27 April 2019, 22:12:55
I think Zfrontier is legit (just a bit disorganized in their international department), so they will refund you at least. Have you reached out to Alex (check spam email box too)?
Yeah, I've lost count of the number of emails I've sent out between support and direct to Alex. Probably around 11 or 12?
Post by: mkarlsson on Mon, 29 April 2019, 05:40:17
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 29 April 2019, 06:59:46
Guys!! Check your emails! Pcb’s are in!!
I just saw! Hype!
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 01 May 2019, 21:24:38
Guys!! Check your emails! Pcb’s are in!!Excite! Glad they included the pictures too, the PCBs look fantastic!
Post by: lakeboredom on Wed, 01 May 2019, 22:00:05
Post by: aszyd on Thu, 02 May 2019, 10:45:57
Post by: spyruf on Fri, 03 May 2019, 00:16:11
Post by: lakeboredom on Fri, 03 May 2019, 00:21:55
If this actually ships I might be interested in taking someone’s spot. Preferably silver.Buy the board, not the spot homie. This is literally the worst GB you could possibly buy a spot in heh.
Post by: spyruf on Fri, 03 May 2019, 22:39:23
Yeah whoops that’s what I meant.If this actually ships I might be interested in taking someone’s spot. Preferably silver.Buy the board, not the spot homie. This is literally the worst GB you could possibly buy a spot in heh.
Post by: mkarlsson on Sun, 19 May 2019, 18:50:41
Post by: plus_one on Tue, 28 May 2019, 15:52:32
Post by: mkarlsson on Tue, 28 May 2019, 18:50:10
According to their most recent project updates page, this should be shipping internationally within two weeks. It looks like we may get these after all!
Great news! Just saw it.
Quote
Fr87 by Elemento
Chinese orders fulfilled. International order shipping will begin within 2 weeks.
Post by: oldcat on Tue, 28 May 2019, 22:03:58
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 28 May 2019, 23:54:34
Saw some shipped ones in China Groups!
Mind copying some of the pics over for us?
Also, has anyone had any contact recently? I'm still trying to get ahold of ZF because there's a change to my order that I was told, back when the GB was still open, to wait until before the boards were ready.
Post by: manofinterests on Thu, 06 June 2019, 10:51:57
Post by: Etherealsound on Thu, 06 June 2019, 12:38:00
Post by: mkarlsson on Thu, 06 June 2019, 13:08:21
Post by: bball2 on Fri, 07 June 2019, 14:53:23
According to their most recent project updates page, this should be shipping internationally within two weeks. It looks like we may get these after all!
Reading a project update on zFrontier:
(http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/06/I-dont-believe-you.gif)
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 10 June 2019, 11:24:01
Post by: Etherealsound on Mon, 10 June 2019, 11:49:45
I'd really like to see pictures if anyone has received them (so that I can feel more relaxed about the lack of shipping notice for myself). I don't even care if they are fully built, just seeing the case would be enough
I'll try and post some photos once I receive them
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 10 June 2019, 17:08:05
(https://i.imgur.com/LoV9lEq.jpg)
Post by: pixelpusher on Mon, 10 June 2019, 17:08:58
Of course they remembered the Walnut weight I added, but forgot the Brass Weight on my original order. Contacted them just now. Will let you guys know in a year or so when I hear back.Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/LoV9lEq.jpg)
well, it looks great!
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 10 June 2019, 17:21:07
Of course they remembered the Walnut weight I added, but forgot the Brass Weight on my original order. Contacted them just now. Will let you guys know in a year or so when I hear back.Thank you for posting it! It does look nice, and I'm hoping the quality holds up tooShow Image(https://i.imgur.com/LoV9lEq.jpg)
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 10 June 2019, 17:25:15
Post by: manofinterests on Tue, 11 June 2019, 00:29:17
[attachimg=1]
Post by: wildcat on Tue, 11 June 2019, 01:12:53
Post by: pixelpusher on Tue, 11 June 2019, 14:56:10
Post by: RavenPanther on Tue, 11 June 2019, 23:52:41
Though I'm excited to see that it's real. Good to see positive comments about it as well. How well does it seem to have been packed? Has anyone tested to make sure things work yet?
Post by: wildcat on Wed, 12 June 2019, 00:51:33
I was building and just stopped before soldering cuz I want to use 86 layout and don’t know how to remap the keys. As zFrontier mentioned, no qmk but a window-based app for mapping and led setting. Can’t find it anywhere.. If someone knows, plz help me.
Emailed Alex and he already read but no response yet.
Post by: blighty on Wed, 12 June 2019, 01:14:23
Finally... :'(Looks like they never got around to putting the LEDs on the south side like they said they would.
Post by: pixelpusher on Wed, 12 June 2019, 11:11:24
Finally... :'(Looks like they never got around to putting the LEDs on the south side like they said they would.
They look south to me. If not you can Pick up some of the washers from novelkeys. Perfect solution if you need to use cherry profile caps on upside down switches.
Post by: plus_one on Wed, 12 June 2019, 15:16:57
Anyone built it with 84 or 86 layout?I'd like to know the answer to this as well. Does the board come with instructions on how to get the app to remap keys and change the LED's?
I was building and just stopped before soldering cuz I want to use 86 layout and don’t know how to remap the keys. As zFrontier mentioned, no qmk but a window-based app for mapping and led setting. Can’t find it anywhere.. If someone knows, plz help me.
Emailed Alex and he already read but no response yet.
Post by: wildcat on Wed, 12 June 2019, 17:42:44
Anyone built it with 84 or 86 layout?I'd like to know the answer to this as well. Does the board come with instructions on how to get the app to remap keys and change the LED's?
I was building and just stopped before soldering cuz I want to use 86 layout and don’t know how to remap the keys. As zFrontier mentioned, no qmk but a window-based app for mapping and led setting. Can’t find it anywhere.. If someone knows, plz help me.
Emailed Alex and he already read but no response yet.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZVrSDDa.jpg)
Nothing about remapping :(
And number 3 is missing. lol
Post by: wildcat on Wed, 12 June 2019, 18:07:12
Finally... :'(Looks like they never got around to putting the LEDs on the south side like they said they would.
They look south to me. If not you can Pick up some of the washers from novelkeys. Perfect solution if you need to use cherry profile caps on upside down switches.
(https://i.imgur.com/t14arlB.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/tR1IT3G.jpg)
The LEDs are south-facing.
I gave up to build it with 86-key layout.. Alex, zFron support, Elemento all ignored my emails.
Assuming there is no app for mapping, I made it 87 keys.. ;(
I found that I can’t turn on the LEDs on bluetooth mode not like zfrontier said.
The design of this board is pretty much satisfying but except that, very disappointing in many aspects.
Post by: RavenPanther on Wed, 12 June 2019, 18:51:10
The LEDs are south-facing.
I gave up to build it with 86-key layout.. Alex, zFron support, Elemento all ignored my emails.
Assuming there is no app for mapping, I made it 87 keys.. ;(
I found that I can’t turn on the LEDs on bluetooth mode not like zfrontier said.
The design of this board is pretty much satisfying but except that, very disappointing in many aspects.
Disappointed to hear this :( Would you mind sharing what contact info you have on Elemento? I've been unable to track anything down, though I haven't looked since early on in the buy.
Post by: blighty on Wed, 12 June 2019, 20:12:14
Finally... :'(Looks like they never got around to putting the LEDs on the south side like they said they would.
They look south to me. If not you can Pick up some of the washers from novelkeys. Perfect solution if you need to use cherry profile caps on upside down switches.Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/t14arlB.jpg)Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/tR1IT3G.jpg)
The LEDs are south-facing.
I gave up to build it with 86-key layout.. Alex, zFron support, Elemento all ignored my emails.
Assuming there is no app for mapping, I made it 87 keys.. ;(
I found that I can’t turn on the LEDs on bluetooth mode not like zfrontier said.
The design of this board is pretty much satisfying but except that, very disappointing in many aspects.
Well, that's great! I hope these are worth the wait!
Post by: wildcat on Thu, 13 June 2019, 02:48:51
I was rushing. I just noticed that I sent it to the same named wrong company. My bad. Anyway, I don’t know why zFrontier keeps ignoring us. It’s frustrating. I confirmed that he read my email on that day, but no response yet.The LEDs are south-facing.
I gave up to build it with 86-key layout.. Alex, zFron support, Elemento all ignored my emails.
Assuming there is no app for mapping, I made it 87 keys.. ;(
I found that I can’t turn on the LEDs on bluetooth mode not like zfrontier said.
The design of this board is pretty much satisfying but except that, very disappointing in many aspects.
Disappointed to hear this :( Would you mind sharing what contact info you have on Elemento? I've been unable to track anything down, though I haven't looked since early on in the buy.
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 13 June 2019, 22:49:32
I was rushing. I just noticed that I sent it to the same named wrong company. My bad. Anyway, I don’t know why zFrontier keeps ignoring us. It’s frustrating. I confirmed that he read my email on that day, but no response yet.
Darn. How do you know it was read? That's honestly even more upsetting to me. It's not that they don't have time to read emails, it's that they're purposefully choosing not to acknowledge them.
Post by: Etherealsound on Fri, 14 June 2019, 00:34:23
I was rushing. I just noticed that I sent it to the same named wrong company. My bad. Anyway, I don’t know why zFrontier keeps ignoring us. It’s frustrating. I confirmed that he read my email on that day, but no response yet.
Darn. How do you know it was read? That's honestly even more upsetting to me. It's not that they don't have time to read emails, it's that they're purposefully choosing not to acknowledge them.
Honestly, with non-Asian orders, zFrontier probably has the worst correspondence of any vendor I've ever dealt with. It's pretty much enough to make me never purchase anything from them ever again. I've heard only good things for people in Asia though so I guess we know where their priorities lie.
Post by: wildcat on Fri, 14 June 2019, 05:18:59
I was rushing. I just noticed that I sent it to the same named wrong company. My bad. Anyway, I don’t know why zFrontier keeps ignoring us. It’s frustrating. I confirmed that he read my email on that day, but no response yet.
Darn. How do you know it was read? That's honestly even more upsetting to me. It's not that they don't have time to read emails, it's that they're purposefully choosing not to acknowledge them.
Honestly, with non-Asian orders, zFrontier probably has the worst correspondence of any vendor I've ever dealt with. It's pretty much enough to make me never purchase anything from them ever again. I've heard only good things for people in Asia though so I guess we know where their priorities lie.
My email account has that function. See the attachment below :(
I don’t want to purchase anymore either even I live in Korea next to China. People in my community also blame them.
Post by: RavenPanther on Fri, 14 June 2019, 16:42:36
Honestly, with non-Asian orders, zFrontier probably has the worst correspondence of any vendor I've ever dealt with. It's pretty much enough to make me never purchase anything from them ever again. I've heard only good things for people in Asia though so I guess we know where their priorities lie.
Back when the GB started, I was getting good correspondence (at least as far as emails go) from both the support email as well as Alex, himself.
My email account has that function. See the attachment below :(
I don’t want to purchase anymore either even I live in Korea next to China. People in my community also blame them.
Interesting, I wonder if mine has that option and I just haven't found it. And that's a shame to hear, I only bought into this GB, being my first, based on all the positive comments zFrontier had at the time.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 17 June 2019, 16:45:39
I am very happy with the overall finish of the board, the ano is very clean. The board is lighter and the material feels thinner than I expected but its not bad. The case feels hollow currently however that might change once I have got switches installed. Also the weight will increase when the 4x AAA's are installed.
The box it comes in is very impressive, the foam is pretty nice. The box could easily be dropped and the board not feel a thing.
The PCB is interesting, it has some caps soldered directly to it, something that I havent seen before. They stick out quite a way and might restrict what you can have under i.e foam, sorbathane etc
The one thing I am a little dissapointed at is the firmware which is being used on the board. From what I have been able to find so far, there is no software to control the board. There is a dip switch on the backside which allows me to change from ISO to ANSI. Then the rest of the RGB controls etc are pre setup shortcuts. However I have no way of changing my caps lock to a locking caps lock (Making my purchase of Cherry lock switches redundant). I am not someone who uses FN keys however I cant really see a way of adding these...
Post by: wildcat on Tue, 18 June 2019, 03:01:41
uploaded a fr87 build video.
still no answers from zfron. :(
Post by: plus_one on Tue, 18 June 2019, 11:42:13
Nice video! Does that last lighting mode show different lighting under keys that change functionality when the menu/layer key is pressed? That's really cool (and would be even cooler if the layer keys were programmable)
uploaded a fr87 build video.
still no answers from zfron. :(
Post by: RavenPanther on Thu, 20 June 2019, 23:30:36
I received a shipping notification about two or three days ago. Said it would be arriving the 21st by 8pm. Got an updated test last night saying it'd arrive today, and it managed to come just before I was off to work! I got a chance to open it up and visually inspect everything. This board is absolutely gorgeous! At some point I felt a little uneasy with what I spent on it, but between the build quality and the packaging, I'd venture to say it's worth it.
Alex emailed me yesterday (prior to getting an updating shipping notification) that the board had been shipped and apologized, saying that they threw in a bit extra that I had emailed about way back at the start of the buy. I'd rather not go into detail as I think it was just a kind gesture for my specific situation. When the package arrived, it was packed very well, wrapped several times over with bubblewrap, and quite a bit of tape. All the components inside came in 'frosted' bags, and while I don't think they're anti-static bags, I didn't seem to experience any issues with static. That said, I haven't had a change to test the board yet.
Sadly, I don't have any pictures yet, but anything that I could take would be very similar to what's been posted above. All in all, at least visually, I'm very happy with the board. I can't wait to get a chance to sit down and get it set up.
Post by: Dubbvis on Fri, 21 June 2019, 12:21:00
Post by: tusing on Sat, 22 June 2019, 06:30:44
When we originally bought the board, if I understand correctly, the intention was that even though the board may not use QMK, we'd be able to remap stuff.
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 24 June 2019, 03:44:13
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 24 June 2019, 13:04:00
Beautiful board, but the fact that I cannot remap the switches makes this a $400 paperweight.
When we originally bought the board, if I understand correctly, the intention was that even though the board may not use QMK, we'd be able to remap stuff.
I had the same assumption, and I'm disappointed that the keys aren't remappable at all. If they could do anything to address that, I'd be very happy. I hope you can sell it to make your money back if it's really useless to you as-is. I know I'd be tempted to buy that brass plate if you sold it alone, but I can't justify the full board sadly.
Still no response about my missing brass weight. Anyone had luck contacting zfrontier?
I hear back when I reach out using the support@zfrontier.com email within 1-2 days, but that's only been for status updates on the GB as a whole.
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 24 June 2019, 14:42:27
edit: Got it, open side up indeed. Just had to be patient and push harder. Kinda scary ha. Anyone rip the red wires out of the connector thing yet?
Post by: lakeboredom on Mon, 24 June 2019, 15:16:37
Got a response last night thankfully. I'd been using contact@zfrontier with their website support button. Thanks for the info on the other email.Still no response about my missing brass weight. Anyone had luck contacting zfrontier?
I hear back when I reach out using the support@zfrontier.com email within 1-2 days, but that's only been for status updates on the GB as a whole.
Post by: the pokemon kid on Mon, 01 July 2019, 16:30:51
(https://i.imgur.com/EkOHtFp.jpg)
Much like WildCat, I have had the same PCB issue where the number 8 switch grounds on the case. A bit of tape over the switch pins sorted this right out however this is a rather large oversight from ZFrontier/ Elemento, but hey what else was to be expected?
I have also dinged Alex to see if there is any software for the board incoming, however nothing back yet. I would quite like to use the lock switches I bought, but also I would like a GUI button on the right side of the bottom row...
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 01 July 2019, 17:37:36
Here is my FR87 Built up! Glad that it is finally built! The board feels way better once built!That's a great looking build! PLEASE let us know if you hear anything about software. If this board was programmable I'd almost forgive the delays... almost...Show Image(https://i.imgur.com/EkOHtFp.jpg)
Much like WildCat, I have had the same PCB issue where the number 8 switch grounds on the case. A bit of tape over the switch pins sorted this right out however this is a rather large oversight from ZFrontier/ Elemento, but hey what else was to be expected?
I have also dinged Alex to see if there is any software for the board incoming, however nothing back yet. I would quite like to use the lock switches I bought, but also I would like a GUI button on the right side of the bottom row...
Post by: tusing on Mon, 08 July 2019, 04:59:54
Post by: aszyd on Mon, 08 July 2019, 08:56:21
Post by: Starston3 on Mon, 08 July 2019, 09:12:46
Have these shipped to US customers yet? I haven't gotten a shipping invoice yet and need to know if I need to start reaching out to ZF about my order.
Yes... i received mine about 2 weeks ago, there were others that got theirs before me.
Post by: shansoft on Sun, 14 July 2019, 20:32:08
Or at least swapping the alt and winkey position.
Post by: SolidCactus on Mon, 15 July 2019, 08:54:27
Post by: lakeboredom on Tue, 16 July 2019, 03:48:04
https://mkultra.click/collections/tkl/products/a87-plate-foam
Post by: Starston3 on Tue, 16 July 2019, 08:37:53
This should work with the fr87, right guys?
https://mkultra.click/collections/tkl/products/a87-plate-foam
Looks like it might. Though from some of the video reviews posted, it doesn’t do much to reduce sound.
Post by: mkarlsson on Sun, 28 July 2019, 16:57:49
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190728/eba93d61a29f760beaa8eca788163d20.jpg)
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190728/f9fd908ac99ebedc7d1cb1228b1e68cb.jpg)
Post by: SolidCactus on Fri, 29 November 2019, 16:54:06
Fr87 by Elemento
Working on a PCB replacement for all orders.
https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-nov-15th-2019 (https://en.zfrontier.com/blogs/project-updates/project-updates-nov-15th-2019)
Post by: lakeboredom on Fri, 29 November 2019, 19:37:55
Post by: the pokemon kid on Tue, 03 December 2019, 18:39:06
Has anyone used this board over Bluetooth?
Post by: plus_one on Mon, 09 December 2019, 17:32:05
My only assumption is the left shift which is slightly off alignment...
Has anyone used this board over Bluetooth?
I've honestly been hesitant to build it, given that they are working on a replacement. I haven't tested the PCB yet, but I could try pulling it out and testing it without soldering switches onto it
Post by: the pokemon kid on Fri, 13 December 2019, 09:13:50
My only assumption is the left shift which is slightly off alignment...
Has anyone used this board over Bluetooth?
I've honestly been hesitant to build it, given that they are working on a replacement. I haven't tested the PCB yet, but I could try pulling it out and testing it without soldering switches onto it
The fix might be down to the PCB grounding on the case. I completely forgot I had to install electrical tape on the PCB to stop it from touching the case and those keys not working.