[GB] The Smallfry Keyboard Kit (Closed for Orders, 97% shipped. SEE LAST POSTS)

[mkawa]

also, we're actively working on the announcement re: pcbs

[mkawa]

good news everyone! we're converging on the announcement. huzzah!

[SpAmRaY]

April fools.....am I right?

[geniekid]

good news everyone! we're converging on the announcement. huzzah!

[byker]

I am still willing to sell my order for below cost. If anyone is interested let me know..

[geniekid]

mkawa wanted me to post this.

The color list is this:

• Bronze
• Burnt Bronze
• Purple
• Ridgeway Blue
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Wild Green

If you wanted Purple or Titan Grey you are good to go.  Otherwise, you should resubmit the color preferences form and type the color you want into the Notes field (note that Purple is still open but Titan Grey is NOT).  If no new color is picked, mkawa will use his judgment to pick the color closest to what your desired color is.

It's possible bronze and burnt bronze will end up collapsing into a single bronze color.  Not sure which one.

[SpAmRaY]

mkawa wanted me to post this.

The color list is this:

• Bronze
• Burnt Bronze
• Purple
• Ridgeway Blue
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Wild Green

If you wanted Purple or Titan Grey you are good to go.  Otherwise, you should resubmit the color preferences form and type the color you want into the Notes field (note that Purple is still open but Titan Grey is NOT).  If no new color is picked, mkawa will use his judgment to pick the color closest to what your desired color is.

It's possible bronze and burnt bronze will end up collapsing into a single bronze color.  Not sure which one.

That 'burnt bronze' you have linked I would call gold, not burnt bronze and the bronze looks brown.

That's a real bummer was really hoping for something with more of an orange tint. 

Edit: So are you saying we can no longer change to Titan Grey?

Also I appreciate what this started out as but I've got to say this is the most disappointing group buy I've been in to date.
 

[geniekid]

mkawa wanted me to post this.

The color list is this:

• Bronze
• Burnt Bronze
• Purple
• Ridgeway Blue
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Wild Green

If you wanted Purple or Titan Grey you are good to go.  Otherwise, you should resubmit the color preferences form and type the color you want into the Notes field (note that Purple is still open but Titan Grey is NOT).  If no new color is picked, mkawa will use his judgment to pick the color closest to what your desired color is.

It's possible bronze and burnt bronze will end up collapsing into a single bronze color.  Not sure which one.

That 'burnt bronze' you have linked I would call gold, not burnt bronze and the bronze looks brown.

That's a real bummer was really hoping for something with more of an orange tint. 

Edit: So are you saying we can no longer change to Titan Grey?

I could be wrong about the actual color of the burnt bronze - there are actually two from the cerakote website.  mkawa would know.

Correct, you can no longer change to Titan Grey.  Well, you can type it in but I'm not sure what you will actually get!

[SpAmRaY]

mkawa wanted me to post this.

The color list is this:

• Bronze
• Burnt Bronze
• Purple
• Ridgeway Blue
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Wild Green

If you wanted Purple or Titan Grey you are good to go.  Otherwise, you should resubmit the color preferences form and type the color you want into the Notes field (note that Purple is still open but Titan Grey is NOT).  If no new color is picked, mkawa will use his judgment to pick the color closest to what your desired color is.

It's possible bronze and burnt bronze will end up collapsing into a single bronze color.  Not sure which one.

That 'burnt bronze' you have linked I would call gold, not burnt bronze and the bronze looks brown.

That's a real bummer was really hoping for something with more of an orange tint. 

Edit: So are you saying we can no longer change to Titan Grey?

I could be wrong about the actual color of the burnt bronze - there are actually two from the cerakote website.  mkawa would know.

Correct, you can no longer change to Titan Grey.  Well, you can type it in but I'm not sure what you will actually get!

Well that sucks because those bronze's pretty well suck and I certainly don't want any of the other colors. Oh well at least this buy can't get any worse right?

I mean maybe the bronze will look better in reality than the sample photos. 

Trying to be constructive here...I much prefer this http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/finishes/H-246Q/desert-gold/



This color was what I was imagining when I think burnt bronze...

I'm going to be so hyped if us that ordered bronze get burnt bronze cerakote. It is one of the most popular cerakote colors, so I'm sure they have painted it before

Show Image

Of course if we don't want any of the mentioned colors can we just get it raw finished??  ???
 

[Yslen]

I have an order for a raw finish notched plate... I think, not sure how to check this. Am open to trades if someone gets stuck with a colour they don't want and would prefer raw. Equally open to selling whole kit.

[mashby]

I'd still prefer raw if that is an option.

[zflamewing]

mkawa wanted me to post this.

The color list is this:

• Bronze
• Burnt Bronze
• Purple
• Ridgeway Blue
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Wild Green

If you wanted Purple or Titan Grey you are good to go.  Otherwise, you should resubmit the color preferences form and type the color you want into the Notes field (note that Purple is still open but Titan Grey is NOT).  If no new color is picked, mkawa will use his judgment to pick the color closest to what your desired color is.

It's possible bronze and burnt bronze will end up collapsing into a single bronze color.  Not sure which one.

I'll be leaning toward the bronze.  It looks very dark and some of the examples of it on the net have it as kind of a coppery bronze.  I'm willing to take the risk.  If you need a test subject let me know.

[mkawa]

I'd still prefer raw if that is an option.

if you already had raw as your choice, you're getting a raw plate. i may be able to fit a few more raw plates in, but painted is going to be much easier for me to deal with at this point

note that the final bronze color will be either bronze or burnt bronze, not both. the more noise i hear in the thread towards burn or non-burnt will be the color we go with.

[Skuloth]

I want to know what the announcement is.

[tbc]

please burnt bronze

that other bronze is a trainwreck.

[SpAmRaY]

bronze is a trainwreck.

+1

So is this group buy.

If the bronze is going to be brown I'd rather get  titan grey to match my top plate.

Also considering how long this is dragging out with only 'surprise coming soon', it really sucks.

I only bought into this because I thought it was for a good cause and the turnaround was going to be quick.

[mkawa]

i'm quite happy with where the announcement is right now and i'm trying extremely hard to get everyone to agree that it's OK to announce.

[CPTBadAss]

I'm just going to say it's a real shame that pink didn't make the color cut. It's amazing.

[Skuloth]

I'm just going to say it's a real shame that pink didn't make the color cut. It's amazing.

You are neglecting to realize that purple > pink

[mkawa]

people do love dat purple

[fatchoi]

people do love dat purple

Hi mkawa, thanks for your efforts. I've updated my order (#1098) to burnt bronze.
The form doesn't contain the burnt bronze in the first 2 questions, so I just entered bronze as dummy, and input "burnt bronze" in the notes section as instructed.

[fatchoi]

mkawa wanted me to post this.

The color list is this:

• Bronze
• Burnt Bronze
• Purple
• Ridgeway Blue
• Robin's Egg Blue
• Wild Green

If you wanted Purple or Titan Grey you are good to go.  Otherwise, you should resubmit the color preferences form and type the color you want into the Notes field (note that Purple is still open but Titan Grey is NOT).  If no new color is picked, mkawa will use his judgment to pick the color closest to what your desired color is.

It's possible bronze and burnt bronze will end up collapsing into a single bronze color.  Not sure which one.

I like the burnt bronze more. If there's a convergence, could you please announce it first, such that we could make a last-minute change?

[V1ral]

I've been trying to stay optimistic, but even I have to say that those color options are disappointing.

[r3nfr0]

As long as things keep moving forward I'm happy.

That being said I think most people thing burnt bronze should be a little more orange. Although I'm not invested in that color at all.

[slickmamba]

What is the deadline for color choice?  I have purple but I'm thinking about robin egg

[r3nfr0]

I'm officially in the let mkawa pick the best color for me camp.

[Zeal]

Just to confirm -- if we originally chose "Titan Gray" from the very beginning, will that still be the case (clear coat Ti, iirc)?

[HoffmanMyster]

I am still interested in Vector Purple and Aqua, my original choices.  Who do I have to pay off to make that happen?

[mkawa]

OK folks, it's time


WHAT ARE WE ANNOUNCING?

We have exciting news for you today.

THE FACTS

Let's not mince words. The Smallfry Keyboard Kit is horrendously late. The complexity of the kit, number of customers, and vagaries of manufacturing have destroyed the original lead time estimates, and all semblance of the original budget.

In less depressing news, Input Club, the keyboard cartel consisting of our own superstars HaaTa, Parak and Over^Kill have been expanding their line of keyboard kits driven by the the Input Club Infinity programmable keyboard controller. The Infinity controller is a brand new design powered by a 32-bit ARM microprocessor and is fully programmable via a convenient web tool or command line. Further, the Infinity controller footprint is small enough to be integrated directly onto keyboard PCBs _without_ a separate Teensy or Arduino-based controller board.

Input Club has been redesigning the most popular keyboard kits with the Infinity controller, starting with the 60% Infinity, and now the Infinity Ergodox, both distributed by Massdrop.com.

ERGO, ANNOUNCEMENT

Input Club has been developing a new 40% keyboard based on the JD40 layout made famous by jdcarpe. The Infinity JD40 will feature the Infinity keyboard controller and new PCB layout. The Infinity JD40 will add a metric tonne of gee whiz features over the old JD40 PCB and further, construction of the board is made substantially easier by the removal of the separate teensy. This new Infinity JD40 is also going to be distributed by Massdrop.com.

A-WHAAA?!?!

Yes! You heard me right. Massdrop.com will be providing every member of the Smallfry Keyboard Kit group buy with an Infinity JD40 PCB! In addition to providing a brand new, cutting edge PCB, our own Andrew "Kash" Lekashman of Massdrop.com will be personally helping to fulfill every Smallfry Keyboard Kit order. That, my friends, is true keyboard dedication.

WHY is this Infinity JD40 PCB so great?

To recap, the JD40Club PCB will use the same fully programmable, integrated 32-bit controller as the Infinity 60% keyboard kit and the Infinity Ergodox keyboard kit, but in a 40% form factor. For those that remember the Sega Saturn, original Playstation, and every Nintendo console of the 1990s, this keyboard is more powerful. What's that I hear? Yes, that is the exciting march of perpetual progress.

WANT! WHEN?

Development of the Infinity JD40 has made great progress. However, development is ongoing. Development is currently at the late design to early prototype phase. Massdrop.com and Input Club will be providing updates and sneak peaks as development progresses. Massdrop.com plans on releasing their the Infinity JD40 Kit, which will include a vastly different case design, in late June, which will put final Smallfry Kit delivery at in the June to July timeframe. The PCB used in the Infinity 40% will be the same as the one everyone in the Smallfry Keyboard Kit will be receiving, and to save money all of the PCB’s will be made in the same run.

RECAP

The Smallfry Keyboard Kit is receiving a free upgrade as Input Club and Massdrop have designed a new PCB for all Smallfry Kit GB members. mkawa@geekhackers will still providing all Smallfry Kit components EXCEPT for the PCB. Further, Massdrop.com will just be leveraging its logistics team and buying scale to help out in the way where we can have the greatest impact.

We are in the beginning stages of this process, and as such, Andrew@massdrop, folks@Input Club and mkawa@geekhackers will be updating the thread as development proceeds with sign-up instructions, prototype media and other details. Stay tuned!

You can find information about the Infinity 60% keyboard at https://www.massdrop.com/buy/infinity-keyboard-kit and https://www.massdrop.com/buy/infinity-ergodox. Further, the Infinity keyboard configurator will be updated to support the new Infinity JD40 PCB when it arrives.

[Ceedog]

Holy crap! This is fantastic! Definitely seems worth the wait!

[Ceedog]

Although, what happens to us schmucks that bought a Teensy from Geekhackers?

[Skuloth]

Also, what happens to us schmucks that bought a Teensy from Geekhackers?

I was wondering the same thing.

[Skuloth]

Another important question. Will spock still be on the pcb?

[Ceedog]

Another important question. Will spock still be on the pcb?

This is the real question.

[mkawa]

I'll be refunding people for teensies over the next week or so. I'll contact people with teensy orders to arrange for a method of refund.

[SpAmRaY]

Can we just get everything but the PCB?

I'm not interested in waiting an unknown amount of time for something that is NOT what I paid for.

[Yslen]

Cool announcement, I'm very interested to see how this turns out now I'll go read up on the pcb.

[Greeeg]

If massdrop is fulfilling the PCBs late July? Does that mean that you will be able to ship the remaining components before then? Isn't painting 75% of the plates the only remaining step?

This is a little disappointing since I have been prototyping a Bluetooth mod based on a teensy compatible PCB.

[dashing_girlboy]

Can we just get everything but the PCB?

Ditto. Can we get our hands on the kit except the pcb, especially for those with their plates already done. And what about those with extra PCB order? D:

[tbc]

If massdrop is fulfilling the PCBs late July? Does that mean that you will be able to ship the remaining components before then? Isn't painting 75% of the plates the only remaining step?

This is a little disappointing since I have been prototyping a Bluetooth mod based on a teensy compatible PCB.

this post makes me sad smiley sad

sad smiley

[fatchoi]

As an international buyer, I'm concerned if MD will pay the direct shipping to my country for PCB? And the remaining of the kit (except PCB) will be shipped by mkawa separately?

Thanks

[mkawa]

Yes, you can get everything but the PCB. You will owe nothing more for the shipping. Shipping is still covered; even though the origin will be massdrop HQ for final kits, the money you originally paid for shipping, including international, will still pay for shipping of the upgraded kit.

a couple more points from an email i just wrote:

Thanks for your patience! yep, you're going to get a brand new whiz bang pcb, and one that will be completely assembled save for the switches. i'm pretty excited about the new board actually. no more teensy weirdness, and firmware that tracks with the infinity 60% and the infinity ergodox (and .. maybe more? ); there will be a much easier configurator for layers, which is super important for the 40% layout, etc.

[Ceedog]

Can you comment on LED support? I know the old board had holes but no traces, and I was wondering if I'd still need hookup wire.   

[mkawa]

If massdrop is fulfilling the PCBs late July? Does that mean that you will be able to ship the remaining components before then? Isn't painting 75% of the plates the only remaining step?

This is a little disappointing since I have been prototyping a Bluetooth mod based on a teensy compatible PCB.

this post makes me sad smiley sad

sad smiley

woah, that also makes me smiley sad..

would you be interested in working on an infinity bluetooth mod? 

this would be cool enough that i'd be interested on helping out with development 

[mkawa]

Can you comment on LED support? I know the old board had holes but no traces, and I was wondering if I'd still need hookup wire.   

you won't need that annoying teensy to usb hookup wire anymore.

it's not clear yet whether there will be room for LEDs. stay tuned for news from Input Club on that one.

[Ceedog]

I was looking into making a mod using a cut-down Handheld Scientific USB Bluetooth adapter. It'd be cool if someone figured out a more concise integration.

[mkawa]

there's been enough people writing for burnt bronze that i'm going to go with that color. if you have a strong preference for bronze instead of burnt bronze, speak now or hold your peace!

[mkawa]

would teensy people be interested in having that money go to a completely custom color?

[mkawa]

I am still interested in Vector Purple and Aqua, my original choices.  Who do I have to pay off to make that happen?

purple's done. is the robin's egg blue close enough to aqua for you? if not, we can work out an aqua.

[mkawa]

someone asked me about the donation status now that massdrop will be donating pcbs. it's going to help quite a bit, but i'm far enough over budget at this point that the original payments still won't yield enough revenue for a donation. i still plan on donating to the foundation out of my own pocket once this is done.

in fact, i previously donated tools and some electronics kits to smallfry's family. fwiw, please trust my heart is still there. this is and has always been a passion project for charity. i don't plan on letting that change.