[IC] The Basis - an ortho 65%(ish) keyboard with rotary encoders

[snagy]

Hi folks!

I've been working on my personal project keyboard, The Basis, for a while now, and I've now that I've gone through a few iterations I'm very happy with my prototypes.



I'm still trying to decide if I want to make a small run of these, so this is a true 'interest check' in that I'm curious if anyone's actually interested enough for me to move the project that direction.  I've posted this on reddit and keebtalk, and I'd love to get the opinions of anyone here who didn't see it there.

The IC form is here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=ZvIFUCDVtUCBP-i1NR4nYWqfCYTyXR5KsyzSyLwLJspUNlIySzRDSUREQUJOMTlaQ1JUSkhDUjZEVC4u

A gallery of photos of a mono prototype in a frosted polycarb case is here: https://imgur.com/gallery/Xw8Xv4J

Some shots of an earlier prototype showing the split layout is here: https://imgur.com/gallery/lWS7OVc

A quick sound test (recorded with my phone) of the board with the wool case and plate dampers, and gat black ink silents, can be found here:

The Basis is an ortholinear 65%(ish) keyboard with three rotary encoders.



The keyboard is designed to be a developer’s dream daily driver keyboard. The encoders are positioned for frequent, workflow-integrated use, and the key layout was aligned with a typical laptop keyboard to enable friction free switching from working at your desk to working on the go.

There are two configurations for the Basis - the mono (single piece) keyboard, or a split keyboard with two independent halves connected with a cable.



The PCB is designed to be completely hotswappable - even the rotary encoders. We designed a custom plate fitting that slots over your encoders to fully secure them while allowing them to be hotswapped as easily as any keyswitch key. But, if you want to solder your switches and encoders, you can do that too.



The PCBs run ARM processors with USB-C connectors, onboard audio, RGB underglow lighting and electrostatic discharge protection. The Basis runs on QMK firmware, and will support VIA for easy key binding.

The high profile frosted polycarbonate case has no visible seams or screws on the outside. A configurable weight or sound dampener sits under the plate, and additional dampening can be added between the plate and PCB to create a more muted audio experience.



The layout uses ‘ergo’ style keycaps, with a mix of 1.5u and 1u modifiers. The spacebars can be configured as 4 x 1u, 2 x 1u and 1 x 2u, or 2 x 2u. Or, if you want, 1 x 3u and 1 x 1u. The PCB only supports MX-compatible switches, and EC11 compatible encoders with push switches.



After multiple prototyping stages and extensive testing, the Basis keyboard is ready to be an endgame keyboard. Because of the multiple components and expensive-to-machine case geometry, the expected price may be somewhere above $500 for the case, weight, PCB, plate and associated hardware.

More photos of the Basis and updates on the project can be found on our instagram, at https://www.instagram.com/_tangent_space_/

[FlitzDeelman]

Can both halves be master?

In other words, it sounds like both halves have USB-C connectors, so will there be two connectors per half, with hardware/software to allow either to be master? Or perhaps either half to be used independently?

And what is your timeframe for getting to GB? There are a few exciting boards for me which are hitting GB in the next while.

But I must say, this seems pretty exciting in itself, thanks for sharing!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[snagy]

Can both halves be master?

In other words, it sounds like both halves have USB-C connectors, so will there be two connectors per half, with hardware/software to allow either to be master? Or perhaps either half to be used independently?

Indeed both halves have USB-C connectors.  The board uses the QMK "handedness by pin" functionality, so either side can be master or used independently without needing to reflash or reconfigure anything.

I don't have any timeframe for a GB, because that would be highly dependent on the scope of the GB.  If the quantities are low enough I may just fund a small run myself and sell them 'in-stock' instead of going the GB route.

[FlitzDeelman]

Great, thanks! I’ll keep an eye on this. It looks very good after one or two initial passes, though I still need to read in more detail. 

[psxndc]

$500? Oof. I get it, no hate because it is what it is, but that's too rich my blood.

[snagy]

$500? Oof. I get it, no hate because it is what it is, but that's too rich my blood.

Yeah, totally.  That's an extremely conservative estimate based on what the components cost at very low volumes (basically what the prototypes cost me) plus a margin to cover additional expenses (packaging/tariffs/etc).  I'd rather run this IC at the highest price it might be and then see if I can get it lower instead of teasing a low price and then not being able to match that.

[x86ect]

Yes please!

[KingOfMemes]

$500? Oof. I get it, no hate because it is what it is, but that's too rich my blood.

Yeah, totally.  That's an extremely conservative estimate based on what the components cost at very low volumes (basically what the prototypes cost me) plus a margin to cover additional expenses (packaging/tariffs/etc).  I'd rather run this IC at the highest price it might be and then see if I can get it lower instead of teasing a low price and then not being able to match that.

Are the encoders a big part of the vision for this project? The only reason I ask is because the layout and case are awesome without them, and if you could shave off some $$ by nixing the encoders I think there would be a lot more people (myself included) jumping on board.

[snagy]

The encoders are definitely a huge part of the layout to me.  I didn't have the encoders I would probably build a case around the boardwalk PCB.

The main cost driver is the thick, seamless case with the sweeping curves and angled sides.  No sides are parallel and the mounting system requires a chunky base (so both parts are relatively expensive) to secure the plate the way I want.

The encoder bits (the custom skirts) add a few bucks to the cost but it's not major compared to the main case/weight/plate/PCB total.