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

[SpAmRaY]

5. i should actually be able to pack up the partial kits i owe people today.

Any chance these are going out soon?

[Peglah]

Will this keyboard be compatible with ISO layout?

[jdcarpe]

Will this keyboard be compatible with ISO layout?

This keyboard is way too small to support either standard ANSI or ISO. And if you mean only the ISO Enter, no to that also.

[mkawa]

5. i should actually be able to pack up the partial kits i owe people today.

Any chance these are going out soon?

ok, so i have:

a couple different fastener choices that i'd like people to try out
stabs
usb jacks that aren't super useful anymore, but hey, if you still need one, bam!
plates
gaskets
the new fastener scheme is o-ring secured. there is a bolt and a locknut for each mounting hole on the board. the bolt and nut are designed so that there is a teensy bit of space between the top of the bolt and the plate. the o-ring is then stretched between the bolt-head on the top plate and the bolt head on the bottom plate.

the idea is for it to work like this:

[SpAmRaY]

At some point the innovating has to end so these can be fulfilled. There is always another delay.

I guess I'll just have to hope this shows up at some point I'm sick of coming to this thread and getting pissed every time because of the empty commitments.

[Greeeg]

5. i should actually be able to pack up the partial kits i owe people today.

Any chance these are going out soon?

ok, so i have:

a couple different fastener choices that i'd like people to try out
stabs
usb jacks that aren't super useful anymore, but hey, if you still need one, bam!
plates
gaskets
the new fastener scheme is o-ring secured. there is a bolt and a locknut for each mounting hole on the board. the bolt and nut are designed so that there is a teensy bit of space between the top of the bolt and the plate. the o-ring is then stretched between the bolt-head on the top plate and the bolt head on the bottom plate.

the idea is for it to work like this:

Show Image

I'm not quite sure how this will work for a keyboard. For the wallet it's pressing the pates against the flat stack of cards. and it makes sense, because you want to be able to remove and insert cards.
The keyboard is always at a constant spacing... Won't we require standoffs to ensure the plates are aligned anyway, or is the sorbathane gasket rigid enough to ensure this?
The wallet also appears to have machines grooves for the oring to sit, so it doesn't protrude out so much. This would add signifigant cost to the pates, as it is a different machine method.

So while I guess it looks nice on the wallet. I guess what I'm getting at is what does it add to the keyboard that a standoff between the plates wouldn't?

[nubbinator]

At some point the innovating has to end so these can be fulfilled. There is always another delay.

I guess I'll just have to hope this shows up at some point I'm sick of coming to this thread and getting pissed every time because of the empty commitments.

Slowly becoming GH60, round 2.

[mkawa]

i didn't have fasteners, so i bought some fasteners and some o-rings. but OK, i will send your kit without fasteners ray. i think i will also send it by throwing it at your head.

yes, the gasket is 80 duro (hard), and the previous expectation was that the user would poke holes in them for long fasteners, which i could not find (i think dorkvader has them).

i am still happy to actually donate money to the walter family for those who have any concern for charity and don't just enjoy *****ing. if you do not believe that you will ever receive product (unless you complain? i don't know, you are the one doing the reasoning here), which is the total of your liability in this project, then please let me know and you will not receive product, but i will donate your entire contribution to the walter family.

thanks.

[byker]

i didn't have fasteners, so i bought some fasteners and some o-rings. but OK, i will send your kit without fasteners ray. i think i will also send it by throwing it at your head.

yes, the gasket is 80 duro (hard), and the previous expectation was that the user would poke holes in them for long fasteners, which i could not find (i think dorkvader has them).

i am still happy to actually donate money to the walter family for those who have any concern for charity and don't just enjoy *****ing. if you do not believe that you will ever receive product (unless you complain? i don't know, you are the one doing the reasoning here), which is the total of your liability in this project, then please let me know and you will not receive product, but i will donate your entire contribution to the walter family.

thanks.

I know you are no longer an admin, but this comment seems extremely rude. You said, almost two weeks ago, that you would ship, and I quote, "today". Ray is already accepting something less than what he ordered (Plates instead of pcb/plates). And from my perspective, Ray isnt even complaining, let alone *****ing. He asked if you followed your word from two weeks ago, and then stated that he is sick of all of these empty commitments.  You keep innovating, yet from what I can see, most people just want what they signed up for. Anyways Im no longer in this gb so I will stop commenting..

[mkawa]

yes, i hadn't done that yet, and yes, it was quite rude, and frankly pretty satisfying. i work very long hours at a job that pays me money, and then i use that money, which is not money that was paid to me by spamray, to finish production (and, because of the way these things work, i have to produce about 2x what my obligation is, in addition to the budget blowing out for every single ordered kit). this project eats up time and money that i would love to put elsewhere, for example, into a donation to smallfry's family or their choice of charity.

if this were a community group buy, about 20 people would have just dropped out of running it and/or disappeared from the face of the earth. but this isn't. this is my group buy, and even though i am paying for people to make snide remarks about me, i continue to do so. i don't appreciate these snide remarks, and there are many ways that you can extricate yourself from this particular situation such that you would feel no need to make the snide remarks and i wouldn't have to listen to them. yet, here i am.

as you say, i have been held to a certain decorum in the past, but putting one's chin up for people who blame you for pretty much everything bad that happens in their internet and/or consumer life has taken its toll. i will deliver these things to you, but at this point the schedule in which i do that is going to have to live within the realm of possibility, which may not be compatible with your patience. sorry, but that's how it's going to have to work. now if you'll excuse me, i have to manage the quoting out, paying for and logistics of cutting another 50lbs of titanium sheet, test fitment of the new pcb in the old gasket design, design a new fastener system that is reliable and repeatable, work with exotic industrial lubricants to provide something cool and previously unobtainable to the community, and put 60-70 hours a week into the job that pays for all this. does it excuse being late? not really. but them's the breaks sometimes.

i'm in a pretty crappy position, you're in a crappy position (albeit a hundred dollars of crappy position vs a few thousand+), and the least we can do is not try to make it more crappy for each other than it has to be.

thanks.

[Tindron]

How did the ridgeway blue plates turn out?  Have you got any pictures of them?

[SpAmRaY]

Surely my $162 dollars is enough for me to get my plates and a gasket? 

Please don't spend anymore of your money on me, send me what I've asked for and I'll gladly pay you an additional $13 for shipping after I receive the items.

Mkawa, clearly you are a broken person. I'm sorry to see what you've become and do hope you get some help.

[cjhard]

yes, i hadn't done that yet, and yes, it was quite rude, and frankly pretty satisfying. i work very long hours at a job that pays me money, and then i use that money, which is not money that was paid to me by spamray, to finish production (and, because of the way these things work, i have to produce about 2x what my obligation is, in addition to the budget blowing out for every single ordered kit). this project eats up time and money that i would love to put elsewhere, for example, into a donation to smallfry's family or their choice of charity.

if this were a community group buy, about 20 people would have just dropped out of running it and/or disappeared from the face of the earth. but this isn't. this is my group buy, and even though i am paying for people to make snide remarks about me, i continue to do so. i don't appreciate these snide remarks, and there are many ways that you can extricate yourself from this particular situation such that you would feel no need to make the snide remarks and i wouldn't have to listen to them. yet, here i am.

as you say, i have been held to a certain decorum in the past, but putting one's chin up for people who blame you for pretty much everything bad that happens in their internet and/or consumer life has taken its toll. i will deliver these things to you, but at this point the schedule in which i do that is going to have to live within the realm of possibility, which may not be compatible with your patience. sorry, but that's how it's going to have to work. now if you'll excuse me, i have to manage the quoting out, paying for and logistics of cutting another 50lbs of titanium sheet, test fitment of the new pcb in the old gasket design, design a new fastener system that is reliable and repeatable, work with exotic industrial lubricants to provide something cool and previously unobtainable to the community, and put 60-70 hours a week into the job that pays for all this. does it excuse being late? not really. but them's the breaks sometimes.

i'm in a pretty crappy position, you're in a crappy position (albeit a hundred dollars of crappy position vs a few thousand+), and the least we can do is not try to make it more crappy for each other than it has to be.

thanks.

You are a legend. A smaller man would have bowed out, refunded as much as he could, and offered an apology towards the investments that could not be returned. You are not that smaller man. Right now you are taking a beating for events that were unfortunate, but understandable.

Logistics is ****ing hard. Large corporations spend billions on massive bloated CRM solutions, customizing them to fit their requirements, and still mess up. Often. As a member of a community, you have the expectation of delivering completed product to everybody who entered the buy, don't have the luxury of just buying them off when you can't provide that first part, and still be able to stand when the day is done. Take the flames with a particle of salt, the people are upset, but that does not stop you. After the buy is over, someone else will swindle them out of their money but they'll have a pretty sweet special edition Titanium 40%. Their anger train will chug along elsewhere.

Stay gold Ponyboy.

[telepete]

I have far bigger problems than late keyboards and I'm jealous of anyone who doesn't. God bless you complainers and your first world problems. Hopefully you all survive your terminal hang nails and stage 4 mustard stains. Hang in there mkawa.

[fatchoi]

Hang in there mkawa... As long as you would fulfill the commitment to ship at last, I'll be happy

[hwood34]

I have far bigger problems than late keyboards and I'm jealous of anyone who doesn't. God bless you complainers and your first world problems. Hopefully you all survive your terminal hang nails and stage 4 mustard stains. Hang in there mkawa.

Oh yea, such first world problems, not getting stuff you paid for.

[telepete]

If the 'stuff' isn't food or shelter then yes. That's more or less the definition of a first world problem.

[hwood34]

If the 'stuff' isn't food or shelter then yes. That's more or less the definition of a first world problem.

Yes but most people don't go around diminishing other people's complaints about a product simply because that thing isn't literally essential to their survival.

[telepete]

Most people shouldn't be complaining here at. I'm really very sorry about your little keyboard but you should go complain elsewhere. Since this thread is meant for updates relating to the buy you can go start a thread of your own. You can call it 'hwood34's Tears' and you can cry about late GB's and how horrible mkawa is for trying to remedy this situation. I don't care about your feelings. In order to end this inane conversation, I will not be responding to whatever wimpy remark you are about to make.

[hwood34]

Most people shouldn't be complaining here at. I'm really very sorry about your little keyboard but you should go complain elsewhere. Since this thread is meant for updates relating to the buy you can go start a thread of your own. You can call it 'hwood34's Tears' and you can cry about late GB's and how horrible mkawa is for trying to remedy this situation. I don't care about your feelings. In order to end this inane conversation, I will not be responding to whatever wimpy remark you are about to make.

Well actually it's a group buy thread, so literally anything relating to the buy belongs in here. I'm not even in the buy, I just don't like people saying that having concerns isn't a valid stance. He wouldn't have to remedy a situation if one was never caused in the first place, and the way he's going about it isn't the right way in many people's eyes

[Spopepro]

<snip> I'm not even in the buy, </snip>

I see.

Perhaps you grew tired of also commenting in Harry's TaiHao thread, the GH60 thread, and any other GB thread that didn't meet your standards for justice? 

Look, this is a mess and no one will claim otherwise.  Some people are more upset than others, and others would call mkawa a friend and get upset in the other direction.  As someone *even in this groupbuy* imho it's best to leave emotion at the door and recognize that GB is not retail and this isn't as bad as it could be.  Anger and frustration is understandable but not really productive.  Arguments with people with no skin in the game is even less so.

[hwood34]

<snip> I'm not even in the buy, </snip>

I see.

Perhaps you grew tired of also commenting in Harry's TaiHao thread, the GH60 thread, and any other GB thread that didn't meet your standards for justice? 

Look, this is a mess and no one will claim otherwise.  Some people are more upset than others, and others would call mkawa a friend and get upset in the other direction.  As someone *even in this groupbuy* imho it's best to leave emotion at the door and recognize that GB is not retail and this isn't as bad as it could be.  Anger and frustration is understandable but not really productive.  Arguments with people with no skin in the game is even less so.

I was just defending the position of those who wish to complain, not complaining about the buy myself.

[mkawa]

dark blues ended up turning into purple due to the need to compress colors

[r3nfr0]

Hopefully that's the color i signed up for. That will look amazing with the DEEP SPACE set I have.

[sth]

is it totally out of line of me to offer my JD40 for sale here to people who missed the group buy?

[Skuloth]

Kawa,

Are the cases being held together by screws as well or just those orings?

[mkawa]

i've tried bolts before, and can order more long bolts..  long bolts require poking a hole through the gasket, which usually resulted in some misalignment of the gasket.. there's no point in doing both the o-rings and long bolts. the o-rings tension the gasket into compression, and the nut side of the bolts holds the gasket in place laterally without having to poke holes through anything. i have fitment for long bolts though, so i can do both, and make more gaskets available for purchase if you poke holes and then decide to switch.

sth: up to the mods.

all: you know, if you're in the boston area and would like to help, my door is always open to geekers.

[Skuloth]

i've tried bolts before, and can order more long bolts..  long bolts require poking a hole through the gasket, which usually resulted in some misalignment of the gasket.. there's no point in doing both the o-rings and long bolts. the o-rings tension the gasket into compression, and the nut side of the bolts holds the gasket in place laterally without having to poke holes through anything. i have fitment for long bolts though, so i can do both, and make more gaskets available for purchase if you poke holes and then decide to switch.

sth: up to the mods.

all: you know, if you're in the boston area and would like to help, my door is always open to geekers.

I guess I'll need to play around with it when we actually get our hands on these. I may just default back to the posts that normal JD40s use instead of the gasket

[Tindron]

I'm honestly not all that enamored with the gasket.  Using long posts would leave more of the bottom plate visible.

[njbair]

If you're worried about gasket alignment issues, you could always make the holes in the gasket larger to allow some wiggle room.

[Skuloth]

Any chance we can get a picture of just the gasket?

I'm curious if it's a solid loop or not.

[HoffmanMyster]

is it totally out of line of me to offer my JD40 for sale here to people who missed the group buy?

sth: up to the mods.

Group Buy threads are the place to sell your spot if you do not have the item in hand yet (as is the case here) - it's kind of hidden in the Classifieds rules, quoted below.  The organizer must agree to change the shipment info on their end, we can't force that.  In the event that they do not cooperate, it's best to wait for shipment and sell it in Classifieds.  If this is confusing, please let me know. 

If you are trying to sell your spot in a group buy, you should do so in the corresponding group buy thread instead of in the Classifieds.

mkawa, thank you for seeing this through to the end.  I appreciate the hard work and personal money you've put into this.

[Greeeg]

is it totally out of line of me to offer my JD40 for sale here to people who missed the group buy?

sth: up to the mods.

Group Buy threads are the place to sell your spot if you do not have the item in hand yet (as is the case here) - it's kind of hidden in the Classifieds rules, quoted below.  The organizer must agree to change the shipment info on their end, we can't force that.  In the event that they do not cooperate, it's best to wait for shipment and sell it in Classifieds.  If this is confusing, please let me know. 

If you are trying to sell your spot in a group buy, you should do so in the corresponding group buy thread instead of in the Classifieds.

I thought he was talking about the JD40 not the smallfry kit. ie he has a JD40 in his hands. And wants to sell it. Thinking that people looking at this thread might be a good target audience. I may have misinterpreted though.

[HoffmanMyster]

is it totally out of line of me to offer my JD40 for sale here to people who missed the group buy?

sth: up to the mods.

Group Buy threads are the place to sell your spot if you do not have the item in hand yet (as is the case here) - it's kind of hidden in the Classifieds rules, quoted below.  The organizer must agree to change the shipment info on their end, we can't force that.  In the event that they do not cooperate, it's best to wait for shipment and sell it in Classifieds.  If this is confusing, please let me know. 

If you are trying to sell your spot in a group buy, you should do so in the corresponding group buy thread instead of in the Classifieds.

I thought he was talking about the JD40 not the smallfry kit. ie he has a JD40 in his hands. And wants to sell it. Thinking that people looking at this thread might be a good target audience. I may have misinterpreted though.

Oh, I hadn't even considered that possibility.  sth, please clarify. 

[sth]

yes that - i have one that jdcarpe made.

[HoffmanMyster]

yes that - i have one that jdcarpe made.

I see, that makes sense.  Please create a classifieds thread as usual, but feel free to mention it / post a link in here for anyone that missed out.  All discussion should be kept to the classifieds thread, of course.

[Lostwave]

If someone wants to buy my smallfry spot, you can.  I have $172 in it.  159 + 13 shipping.

[Vio]

dark blues ended up turning into purple due to the need to compress colors

by dark blue, you don't mean ridgeway blue do you? Ridgeway blue is still happening right?

[mkawa]

Any chance we can get a picture of just the gasket?

I'm curious if it's a solid loop or not.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lqqrwojt0894x5b/2015-07-12%2019.55.57.jpg?dl=0

it's solid with a gap for the usb cable. cost would have been about 5-10x more if we had put holes in. demolding around the holes would have trashed the yield. left is the 80 duro that i ended up going with. right is 40 duro (very soft) with ptfe coating that i tried after vibex reported the 40 duro being too sticky.

next run i'll consider ptfe coated 80 duro, but i'm thinking of a somewhat different gasket design for larger keyboards (Xs like bridge supports through the center instead of a gasket around the edges).

JD has spacers if you go that route. double threaded spacers are non-trivially expensive on top of the gasket price. long bolts are fine though. i'll pick up more.

[mkawa]

ridgeway blue didn't happen this batch of titan. if you really really want the dark blue (robins egg did happen), we'll have to work something out. as of right now though, rainbow doesn't have any ridgeway blue, and would have to pick up a batch of the paint to paint anything that color.

[Skuloth]

Any chance we can get a picture of just the gasket?

I'm curious if it's a solid loop or not.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lqqrwojt0894x5b/2015-07-12%2019.55.57.jpg?dl=0

it's solid with a gap for the usb cable. cost would have been about 5-10x more if we had put holes in. demolding around the holes would have trashed the yield. left is the 80 duro that i ended up going with. right is 40 duro (very soft) with ptfe coating that i tried after vibex reported the 40 duro being too sticky.

next run i'll consider ptfe coated 80 duro, but i'm thinking of a somewhat different gasket design for larger keyboards (Xs like bridge supports through the center instead of a gasket around the edges).

JD has spacers if you go that route. double threaded spacers are non-trivially expensive on top of the gasket price. long bolts are fine though. i'll pick up more.

How much would spacers run us, if we picked them up on our own?

[PandaSPUR]

Anyone wanna buy my spot....?

[jdcarpe]

Any chance we can get a picture of just the gasket?

I'm curious if it's a solid loop or not.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lqqrwojt0894x5b/2015-07-12%2019.55.57.jpg?dl=0

it's solid with a gap for the usb cable. cost would have been about 5-10x more if we had put holes in. demolding around the holes would have trashed the yield. left is the 80 duro that i ended up going with. right is 40 duro (very soft) with ptfe coating that i tried after vibex reported the 40 duro being too sticky.

next run i'll consider ptfe coated 80 duro, but i'm thinking of a somewhat different gasket design for larger keyboards (Xs like bridge supports through the center instead of a gasket around the edges).

JD has spacers if you go that route. double threaded spacers are non-trivially expensive on top of the gasket price. long bolts are fine though. i'll pick up more.

How much would spacers run us, if we picked them up on our own?

If you want to buy spacers, you want to order six (6) of these: McMaster-Carr P/N 93330A370, 4-40 threads. http://www.mcmaster.com/

You will need one (1) pack of these 4-40 screws to go with them: McMaster-Carr P/N 91772A105.

[Skuloth]

Thanks JD.

I'll definitely order them when the time gets closer, just to see what I like better.

[mkawa]

hey folks. i'm still alive, but quite ill (not mortally, just regular sick). before this thing hit me like bricks, i was bagging plates. will get back to it when i make it out of bed.

[fatchoi]

hey folks. i'm still alive, but quite ill (not mortally, just regular sick). before this thing hit me like bricks, i was bagging plates. will get back to it when i make it out of bed.

Take care man. Health is far more important than plates..

[Skuloth]

Have we gotten any news about the pcbs recently?

Also where are we at currently in production?

[jdcarpe]

Have we gotten any news about the pcbs recently?

Also where are we at currently in production?

I just got the prototype PCB a few days ago, but I haven't had time to build it up yet. It looks good, though, and hopefully production on those can start really soon.

[Skuloth]

Have we gotten any news about the pcbs recently?

Also where are we at currently in production?

I just got the prototype PCB a few days ago, but I haven't had time to build it up yet. It looks good, though, and hopefully production on those can start really soon.

Sweet. I'm excited to hear how everything goes!

[Lurch]

hey folks. i'm still alive, but quite ill (not mortally, just regular sick). before this thing hit me like bricks, i was bagging plates. will get back to it when i make it out of bed.

keep your germs off my plate!!!!!HJKFH!!!!!VBABWAWAAHHH!!!!!



ps- feel better