[IC] TKC1800 Kit, QMK PCB, Plate (G80/G81 compatible) Official Announcement

[crtexcnndrm99]

Updates for the possible matte army/vintage green, limited run colour?

Basically, replicating ramnes' keyboard here:

http://i.imgur.com/igpNHgQ.jpg

[Delirious]

This one supports alps. Winning!

Okay, that’s cool and all, but where in the hell are you going to find an 1800 compatible alps set?

[pixelpusher]

This one supports alps. Winning!

Okay, that’s cool and all, but where in the hell are you going to find an 1800 compatible alps set?

Show Image

Maybe.  What board is that?  Not sure how you would incorporate BAE though

[Delirious]

More

This one supports alps. Winning!

Okay, that’s cool and all, but where in the hell are you going to find an 1800 compatible alps set?

Show Image

Maybe.  What board is that?  Not sure how you would incorporate BAE though

It's from a datacomp laptop for the Asian market. It has skcm pine whites, fully functional with xt to ps2 converter.
BAE is just a regular ansi 2.25u mounting with an extra set of stab in place of the Pipe key. The one on the left.





I also incorporated BAE before with my UK78 board, abs plate.

[TheKeyCompany]

More

This one supports alps. Winning!

Okay, that’s cool and all, but where in the hell are you going to find an 1800 compatible alps set?

Show Image

Maybe.  What board is that?  Not sure how you would incorporate BAE though

It's from a datacomp laptop for the Asian market. It has skcm pine whites, fully functional with xt to ps2 converter.
BAE is just a regular ansi 2.25u mounting with an extra set of stab in place of the Pipe key. The one on the left.

Show Image

I also incorporated BAE before with my UK78 board, abs plate.

Show Image

Show Image

Wow. That’s sexy. How scarce are those? I REALLY want one. I’m a sucker for vintage and even more so for obscure layouts. Thanks for sharing.

[TheKeyCompany]

What type of USB?

Mini. We considered doing USB-C but in the end it gives almost no benefit, costs more to implement, and makes custom cables more difficult to obtain. You can hardware your cable so I imagine if you really want USB-C or Micro you can make something work.

[pixelpusher]

More

This one supports alps. Winning!

Okay, that’s cool and all, but where in the hell are you going to find an 1800 compatible alps set?

Show Image

Maybe.  What board is that?  Not sure how you would incorporate BAE though

It's from a datacomp laptop for the Asian market. It has skcm pine whites, fully functional with xt to ps2 converter.
BAE is just a regular ansi 2.25u mounting with an extra set of stab in place of the Pipe key. The one on the left.

Show Image

I also incorporated BAE before with my UK78 board, abs plate.

Show Image

Show Image

That is an amazing setup for sure.  I remember the recent GMK BAE interest check revealing that their bae mold doesn’t work with any existing pcbs.  Interesting to see that these old boards did it in a logical manner.

Again, very beautiful build you have there

[iHateKnives]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

[TheKeyCompany]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

I don’t have a quote just yet. I’m STILL waiting on this new assembly place. I have a quote but not a sample. As soon as the new sample is received and tests 100% we will announce pricing. Expect around $200 total for thrbkit.

We will have GMK PCB mounted stabs available for sale with the kits and they are fully compatible with the plate.

[iHateKnives]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

I don’t have a quote just yet. I’m STILL waiting on this new assembly place. I have a quote but not a sample. As soon as the new sample is received and tests 100% we will announce pricing. Expect around $200 total for thrbkit.

We will have GMK PCB mounted stabs available for sale with the kits and they are fully compatible with the plate.

Apologies for rushing and thank you for answering my queries. I'm excited for this and am happy/sad this is hitting in the same month as GMK Camping. Rest in piece, my wallet

[duynguyenle]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

As a rule of thumb, ALWAYS get PCB-mount stabilisers. If you want to use plate-mounted Cherry or Costar stabilisers, the plate actually has to be cut SPECIFICALLY to suit that specific layout. Which precludes all universal plates.

In fact, the only time you generally see the use of plate-mount stabilisers is for hand-wired builds without PCB, or on OEM off-the-shelf keyboards (for ease of assembly)

[iHateKnives]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

As a rule of thumb, ALWAYS get PCB-mount stabilisers. If you want to use plate-mounted Cherry or Costar stabilisers, the plate actually has to be cut SPECIFICALLY to suit that specific layout. Which precludes all universal plates.

In fact, the only time you generally see the use of plate-mount stabilisers is for hand-wired builds without PCB, or on OEM off-the-shelf keyboards (for ease of assembly)

Got it! Thanks for the detailed response. Am excited for this <3

[TheKeyCompany]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

PCB only will be around $45-$50 USD. ROUGH ESTIMATE. Please don't hold me to this. If this manufacturer doesn't work out, the price could go up by as much as $10 per.

I just hope this new sample gets here quick (its in transit) and we can test it out, place the order before Chinese New Year puts a halt to manufacturing. 

[TheKeyCompany]

Calling all Alps fans.

Here is an imgur link of the Alps plate with some notations on things that are not quite finalized or in question.

Any feedback provided would be greatly appreciated.

Things:

-What stabilizer is preferred. I think plate mount Costar will be the easiest to be compatible with all types of Alps caps out there
- Has anyone tried an MX / Alps combo cut out on a plate? Ive never seen it done, curious if it has.

That is all. Waiting to hear from y'all.

[avtar]

Thanks for the update! Those plate colours look awesome.

[TheKeyCompany]

We received the new PCB from the factory this past weekend. Everything tested good and we were pleased with the quality of the build.

Just awaiting a final quote, and I plan to place the first order this week. Stock will be limited from the first run (~100 units), we want to ensure quality in the production models. Once the first order is fulfilled and everything goes smoothly, we will open up a second round of orders.

Here are some shots of the new board.

And for fun, some pics of the new candy pink case with the purple plate.

[xZ3ROx]

Wow, that pink is Hot!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shadowrealmwarez]

I really love that OLED screen just for giggles.

[avtar]

Do want https://i.imgur.com/E2Dki9V.jpg

[Paopawdecarabao]

Wow!

[_rubik]

Do want https://i.imgur.com/E2Dki9V.jpg

I agree. I would love more info on the oled display. Is the display being offered in the GB, or is that something we'll need to source?

[TheKeyCompany]

Do want https://i.imgur.com/E2Dki9V.jpg

I agree. I would love more info on the oled display. Is the display being offered in the GB, or is that something we'll need to source?

If there is enough interest we can try to make it a little easier. We can have a HEX file that will make it work out of the box, and once we figure out a way to mount it and make it look nice, a kit could be an option. Worst case scenario we can make a DIY guide and direct everyone to the parts and the procedure.

[Vigrith]

We received the new PCB from the factory this past weekend. Everything tested good and we were pleased with the quality of the build.

Just awaiting a final quote, and I plan to place the first order this week. Stock will be limited from the first run (~100 units), we want to ensure quality in the production models. Once the first order is fulfilled and everything goes smoothly, we will open up a second round of orders.

Here are some shots of the new board.

And for fun, some pics of the new candy pink case with the purple plate.

Wonderful pictures! I'm curious as for how the two runs are gonna go - if this has been decided, will the colours offered for both be identical as well as pricing? I'm getting one for sure and if everything's going to be the same through both runs I'll just pick the one which has the best timing for me personally.

[TheKeyCompany]

We received the new PCB from the factory this past weekend. Everything tested good and we were pleased with the quality of the build.

Just awaiting a final quote, and I plan to place the first order this week. Stock will be limited from the first run (~100 units), we want to ensure quality in the production models. Once the first order is fulfilled and everything goes smoothly, we will open up a second round of orders.

Here are some shots of the new board.

And for fun, some pics of the new candy pink case with the purple plate.

Wonderful pictures! I'm curious as for how the two runs are gonna go - if this has been decided, will the colours offered for both be identical as well as pricing? I'm getting one for sure and if everything's going to be the same through both runs I'll just pick the one which has the best timing for me personally.

Thanks!

I plan to sell the full kits along side the PCBs / plates on their own until we run out of stock on something. That will generate some capital to paint some more cases and gauge interest / gauge demand.

Initially all the colors and stock black cases will be available but in limited quantities. We had some bumps in the road during the first few runs of paint, so we have some B stock we can sell eventually. Now that we've done about 10 runs of the cases or so the quality is very consistent and we've worked out the bugs.

Which products are you specifically interested in? Maybe I should run a survey and see what everyone is thinking so I can prepare.

[Paopawdecarabao]

What is the weight fully assembled? I'm goin for the green kit,

[avtar]

Which products are you specifically interested in? Maybe I should run a survey and see what everyone is thinking so I can prepare.

I'm hoping to get one kit (pink case, purple plate) and a stock black case.

[Vigrith]

Thanks!

I plan to sell the full kits along side the PCBs / plates on their own until we run out of stock on something. That will generate some capital to paint some more cases and gauge interest / gauge demand.

Initially all the colors and stock black cases will be available but in limited quantities. We had some bumps in the road during the first few runs of paint, so we have some B stock we can sell eventually. Now that we've done about 10 runs of the cases or so the quality is very consistent and we've worked out the bugs.

Which products are you specifically interested in? Maybe I should run a survey and see what everyone is thinking so I can prepare.

I appreciate the detailed explanation, I believe I follow what your plan is.

A survey sounds like a good idea, personally I want a full kit (possibly 2), painted (white and/or pink) kit - not sure if you're planning on offering assembly, likely not, but I have friends that can help with that in any case.

[iHateKnives]

Can't wait! Prolly getting myself the black case or some B-stock cos I wanna paint it beige like old keyboards

[crtexcnndrm99]

Can't wait! Prolly getting myself the black case or some B-stock cos I wanna paint it beige like old keyboards

I’m sure they’d be able to sell you the original beige case - that’s what they start as before they paint it, so it’d be pointless actually painting it beige


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mogo]

Can't wait! Prolly getting myself the black case or some B-stock cos I wanna paint it beige like old keyboards

I’m sure they’d be able to sell you the original beige case - that’s what they start as before they paint it, so it’d be pointless actually painting it beige


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I believe the 1800's that TKC has are actually black plastic, not the beige ones.

edit: if you really wanted some authentic beigeness, you could always buy an old board off ebay, like this yellowed one.

[iHateKnives]

Can't wait! Prolly getting myself the black case or some B-stock cos I wanna paint it beige like old keyboards

I’m sure they’d be able to sell you the original beige case - that’s what they start as before they paint it, so it’d be pointless actually painting it beige


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I believe the 1800's that TKC has are actually black plastic, not the beige ones.

edit: if you really wanted some authentic beigeness, you could always buy an old board off ebay, like this yellowed one.

Good suggestion! Would do that if I was living in the states I think shipping will just bite me in the ass. A can of spray paint is barely 10 dollars here

[Vloshko]

Run a survey for sure. Also I'm most likely going in for 2, one for me and one for the lady. Blue and pink, the ones in the second to last image of the op.

[Rayndalf]

Will the PCB offer 6KRO?

[TerryMathews]

Will the PCB offer 6KRO?

We've got NKRO on by default, it feels like fewer and fewer computers have trouble dealing with NKRO but is a configurable option via magic keys or by recompiling.

[Spaceman1200]

cant wait to grab a pcb and plate for my 1800! Are you guys really based in Detroit? im close enough to be willing to do a local pickup on my order lol

[Rayndalf]

Will the PCB offer 6KRO?

We've got NKRO on by default, it feels like fewer and fewer computers have trouble dealing with NKRO but is a configurable option via magic keys or by recompiling.

That's great. I didn't see any mention of the rollover, so I assumed the worst, but looking back on the (over-engineered) design of the PCB it should have been obvious

[TerryMathews]

Will the PCB offer 6KRO?

We've got NKRO on by default, it feels like fewer and fewer computers have trouble dealing with NKRO but is a configurable option via magic keys or by recompiling.

That's great. I didn't see any mention of the rollover, so I assumed the worst, but looking back on the (over-engineered) design of the PCB it should have been obvious

Over-engineered is an understatement:

- Broken out I2C and SPI pins
- Proper hardware PWM support on backlight
- Hardware PWM dimming on status LEDs (currently set by firmware to max brightness, still deciding how to best implement)
- Battery detect - the idea was originally to over BT support as well. I've had trouble getting the AdafruitBLE working. If someone got this working, there is a separate power pin for battery that would allow you to do cool stuff like auto-turn off RGB when on battery

Ive been playing in QMK since long before I got involved in this project. I can say with all honesty that this will be the most advanced board on the market when it comes to QMK support.

This is going to be the board for tinkerers to develop new stuff on.

[steinerlein]

Will the PCB offer 6KRO?

We've got NKRO on by default, it feels like fewer and fewer computers have trouble dealing with NKRO but is a configurable option via magic keys or by recompiling.

That's great. I didn't see any mention of the rollover, so I assumed the worst, but looking back on the (over-engineered) design of the PCB it should have been obvious

Over-engineered is an understatement:

- Broken out I2C and SPI pins
- Proper hardware PWM support on backlight
- Hardware PWM dimming on status LEDs (currently set by firmware to max brightness, still deciding how to best implement)
- Battery detect - the idea was originally to over BT support as well. I've had trouble getting the AdafruitBLE working. If someone got this working, there is a separate power pin for battery that would allow you to do cool stuff like auto-turn off RGB when on battery

Ive been playing in QMK since long before I got involved in this project. I can say with all honesty that this will be the most advanced board on the market when it comes to QMK support.

This is going to be the board for tinkerers to develop new stuff on.

Concerning the BLE, I'd be super interested in implementing this as well! Actually, I am quite far already with a small numpad I use for testing purposes. Aside SPI, which is definitely needed for this, are there any other GPIO pins broken out? I think two or three would be needed to properly control the NRF module that Adafruit uses.

[Edit] If course, I am very interested in a PCB and maybe a plate, too

[clappingcactus]

Are you still thinking about making the "White Pearl Tri-coat, aka cocaine white." you spoke of at one point?

That Cocaine white is in production at the shop as we speak! Should have them back by Christmas time.

Any updates on this? I think I'd really enjoy having the white.

I know it sounds ridiculous and picky but I'd love to be part of this buy if there's a white kit. Any updates on it? :O

@TerryMatthews, that sounds amazing.

[TerryMathews]

Concerning the BLE, I'd be super interested in implementing this as well! Actually, I am quite far already with a small numpad I use for testing purposes. Aside SPI, which is definitely needed for this, are there any other GPIO pins broken out? I think two or three would be needed to properly control the NRF module that Adafruit uses.

[Edit] If course, I am very interested in a PCB and maybe a plate, too

Pins broken out on headers:

MOSI, MISO, SCK, SDA, SCL

Pins easily accessible but not on headers per se:

RGB data (you'd have to solder to the Din pad on RGB1), num lock, caps lock, scroll lock

Due to routing issues, they weren't brought out to points but there are unused pins on the MCU you could attach to if you're skilled enough:

PE3-6, PB0, PB4, PB5, PD5, PD6

[steinerlein]

Concerning the BLE, I'd be super interested in implementing this as well! Actually, I am quite far already with a small numpad I use for testing purposes. Aside SPI, which is definitely needed for this, are there any other GPIO pins broken out? I think two or three would be needed to properly control the NRF module that Adafruit uses.

[Edit] If course, I am very interested in a PCB and maybe a plate, too

Pins broken out on headers:

MOSI, MISO, SCK, SDA, SCL

Pins easily accessible but not on headers per se:

RGB data (you'd have to solder to the Din pad on RGB1), num lock, caps lock, scroll lock

Due to routing issues, they weren't brought out to points but there are unused pins on the MCU you could attach to if you're skilled enough:

PE3-6, PB0, PB4, PB5, PD5, PD6

That is awesome! More than enough.
Is shipping to eu going to be a problem? And of course, when are the PCBs available?

[TheKeyCompany]

Can't wait! Prolly getting myself the black case or some B-stock cos I wanna paint it beige like old keyboards

I’m sure they’d be able to sell you the original beige case - that’s what they start as before they paint it, so it’d be pointless actually painting it beige

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
[/quote]

They actually start life as a black case. B Stock cases are cases that were painted in the shop and have minor defects. You wouldn't want to paint over that with a rattle can.

[TheKeyCompany]

Do you have a rough estimate for white painted case + pcb + plate?

I'm fairly a newbie at this but... if I do get a plate, then I'll need plate-mounted stabilizers? Even though the switches are PCB mounted?

Am aware you want to be sure with prices from the PCB manufacturer. A rough approx would be killer, though. I won't hold it against you if the prices suddenly spiked up

As a rule of thumb, ALWAYS get PCB-mount stabilisers. If you want to use plate-mounted Cherry or Costar stabilisers, the plate actually has to be cut SPECIFICALLY to suit that specific layout. Which precludes all universal plates.

In fact, the only time you generally see the use of plate-mount stabilisers is for hand-wired builds without PCB, or on OEM off-the-shelf keyboards (for ease of assembly)

I have a few hundred sets of GMK screw in stabs to sell during the buy.

[TheKeyCompany]

cant wait to grab a pcb and plate for my 1800! Are you guys really based in Detroit? im close enough to be willing to do a local pickup on my order lol

Office is currently in Pontiac, across the street from whats left of the Silverdome. We are going to be moving soon, but not before this is ready to ship. Send me an email and lets figure it out.

[TheKeyCompany]

Are you still thinking about making the "White Pearl Tri-coat, aka cocaine white." you spoke of at one point?

That Cocaine white is in production at the shop as we speak! Should have them back by Christmas time.

Any updates on this? I think I'd really enjoy having the white.

I know it sounds ridiculous and picky but I'd love to be part of this buy if there's a white kit. Any updates on it? :O

@TerryMatthews, that sounds amazing.

EDIT: I should have the white cases end of this week or early next week.

[Vloshko]

Concerning the BLE, I'd be super interested in implementing this as well! Actually, I am quite far already with a small numpad I use for testing purposes. Aside SPI, which is definitely needed for this, are there any other GPIO pins broken out? I think two or three would be needed to properly control the NRF module that Adafruit uses.

[Edit] If course, I am very interested in a PCB and maybe a plate, too

Pins broken out on headers:

MOSI, MISO, SCK, SDA, SCL

Pins easily accessible but not on headers per se:

RGB data (you'd have to solder to the Din pad on RGB1), num lock, caps lock, scroll lock

Due to routing issues, they weren't brought out to points but there are unused pins on the MCU you could attach to if you're skilled enough:

PE3-6, PB0, PB4, PB5, PD5, PD6

I'm super stoked to read this Terry

[Uleoja]

Does anybody know if the PCB will work with a tx1800v2 and the tx plate?  I know it says tx1800 but not sure if V2 is any different.  Thanks!

[TheKeyCompany]

Does anybody know if the PCB will work with a tx1800v2 and the tx plate?  I know it says tx1800 but not sure if V2 is any different.  Thanks!

I don’t think they would have changed the design of the PCB. This is by no means a guarantee, but it’s safe to assume it will fit.

[Uleoja]

Does anybody know if the PCB will work with a tx1800v2 and the tx plate?  I know it says tx1800 but not sure if V2 is any different.  Thanks!

I don’t think they would have changed the design of the PCB. This is by no means a guarantee, but it’s safe to assume it will fit.

I think it will work.  You'd just be screwing in the PCB with the plate.  I hate to be a pain.  But could you direct me to some reading on how the RGB underglow would work? Maybe how you would install it once the PCB arrives?  Are you using strips? And how would you program? Thank you again!  I'll be buying one for sure! Also waiting on that r2 terminal

[TerryMathews]

Does anybody know if the PCB will work with a tx1800v2 and the tx plate?  I know it says tx1800 but not sure if V2 is any different.  Thanks!

I don’t think they would have changed the design of the PCB. This is by no means a guarantee, but it’s safe to assume it will fit.

The TX1800V2 ships with a bog standard MX1800 board from Leeku. It'll work.