[IC] Type K - Tented Ergo keyboard (10/08/2023 - GB STARTING ON AUGUST 20TH)

[syke]

Do you mind me asking why not run it as an open group buy, a la 7v?

Much rather wait to get my hands on it, than not get my hands on it at all 

+1

[Visionaire]

Do you mind me asking why not run it as an open group buy, a la 7v?

Much rather wait to get my hands on it, than not get my hands on it at all 

+1

He said it's difficult to manufacture and the company they're working with has advised them to run smaller amounts at a time. Thus, they're running them to their liking and selling in-stock FCFS. Indicated they intend to run more than once if all goes well.

[orim23]

Do you mind me asking why not run it as an open group buy, a la 7v?

Much rather wait to get my hands on it, than not get my hands on it at all 

+1

He said it's difficult to manufacture and the company they're working with has advised them to run smaller amounts at a time. Thus, they're running them to their liking and selling in-stock FCFS. Indicated they intend to run more than once if all goes well.

FCFS means its gone in 30sec. Lots of disappointed people. Also i personally like the fact that with GB you order a board and like a year later it turns up. Makes the whole hobby relaxed. While in Stock FCFS makes the whole thing more fast paced and more competitive.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

[KingOfMemes]

Do you mind me asking why not run it as an open group buy, a la 7v?

Much rather wait to get my hands on it, than not get my hands on it at all 

+1

He said it's difficult to manufacture and the company they're working with has advised them to run smaller amounts at a time. Thus, they're running them to their liking and selling in-stock FCFS. Indicated they intend to run more than once if all goes well.

FCFS means its gone in 30sec. Lots of disappointed people. Also i personally like the fact that with GB you order a board and like a year later it turns up. Makes the whole hobby relaxed. While in Stock FCFS makes the whole thing more fast paced and more competitive.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

But who doesn't like a little race and competition?

[Visionaire]

Do you mind me asking why not run it as an open group buy, a la 7v?

Much rather wait to get my hands on it, than not get my hands on it at all 

+1

He said it's difficult to manufacture and the company they're working with has advised them to run smaller amounts at a time. Thus, they're running them to their liking and selling in-stock FCFS. Indicated they intend to run more than once if all goes well.

FCFS means its gone in 30sec. Lots of disappointed people. Also i personally like the fact that with GB you order a board and like a year later it turns up. Makes the whole hobby relaxed. While in Stock FCFS makes the whole thing more fast paced and more competitive.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk

I mean, I understand your point, I'm simply sharing what was said earlier in the thread. There are pros and cons of each method and believe OP will take them into account and come up with a solution they're comfortable with.

[FlitzDeelman]

But who doesn't like a little race and competition?

Me. I’d rather just get my paws on that board.

But I get that demand is crazy now. I’ll take my chances with what Gok can manage. If I have the money at that time.

For what it’s worth, I think the Tind raffle as run by LeandreN was nice though - enough time to fill out the form and get it right. I missed out, but it was OK. With the Tind I’m fairly sure he’ll have one next year again, and he mentioned a TKL recently...

[AspiringMechKeebFan]

On another note, the PCBs are finally in the queue for production so I should have a functional prototype by next month. In the mean-time, I will be working on designing an adjustable testing rig so I can quickly try out different layouts + tenting & angle options.

Any updates on this?

[KingOfMemes]

On another note, the PCBs are finally in the queue for production so I should have a functional prototype by next month. In the mean-time, I will be working on designing an adjustable testing rig so I can quickly try out different layouts + tenting & angle options.

Any updates on this?

That comment was posted 2 days ago

[AspiringMechKeebFan]

*facepalm*
I somehow read July as June, wow.

Sorry for the ping.

Sent from my Redmi K20 Pro using Tapatalk

[Zephyraeon]

Hi gok - just my 2c - I'd love to see a 3/1/3 bottom row support. thanks as always and whatever you decide, i'd be in.

I guess if I remove 2.75u space altogether it would allow me to offer 3u or 2u+1 on the left but I don't think there is enough room on the right because it's already really close to the fold line.

EDIT: I could change the right spacebar to 3u which splits to 1+2 as well and would appease those that use their right thumb for spacebar. The problem then becomes keyset support where there are currently no GMK sets that I know of which offer 3u spacebars.

For keycap compatibility if you changed left side to 3u or 2u+1u and kept right side as is, most existing spacebar kits would be compatible (2x1u, 1x2u, 1x2.25u) but it would give the option of people having long spacebar or not on the left. Also with those lengths there would a symmetrical 0.5u overhang on both sides.

Alternatively keep as is but give left side 1.75u+1u compatibility, I think 1.75u spacebars are about as easy to find as 3u but there won't be doubling up of stab holes (and most sets would have an extra 1.75u shift as 1.25u shift is used for split right shift for type-k).

I'll be trying for one of these regardless but would appreciate an option that was a bit easier to fill with existing keycap set design.

[gok_nz]

Hi gok - just my 2c - I'd love to see a 3/1/3 bottom row support. thanks as always and whatever you decide, i'd be in.

I guess if I remove 2.75u space altogether it would allow me to offer 3u or 2u+1 on the left but I don't think there is enough room on the right because it's already really close to the fold line.

EDIT: I could change the right spacebar to 3u which splits to 1+2 as well and would appease those that use their right thumb for spacebar. The problem then becomes keyset support where there are currently no GMK sets that I know of which offer 3u spacebars.

For keycap compatibility if you changed left side to 3u or 2u+1u and kept right side as is, most existing spacebar kits would be compatible (2x1u, 1x2u, 1x2.25u) but it would give the option of people having long spacebar or not on the left. Also with those lengths there would a symmetrical 0.5u overhang on both sides.

Alternatively keep as is but give left side 1.75u+1u compatibility, I think 1.75u spacebars are about as easy to find as 3u but there won't be doubling up of stab holes (and most sets would have an extra 1.75u shift as 1.25u shift is used for split right shift for type-k).

I'll be trying for one of these regardless but would appreciate an option that was a bit easier to fill with existing keycap set design.

Regarding the symmetrical aspect, dual 3u would actually be more symmetrical (I had to cheat before on the right side by sliding the 3 keys towards the alpha a bit to pull it away from the ridge of the tent).

1.75 isn't good because it is not a stabilised key so it wouldn't work well for spacebars.

I understand your concern about keyset compatibility but this is a bit of a case of trying to establish trends because I believe that 3u spacebars are better than 2.25 and 2.

[Kalabalik]

Keycap set designers don't want two include 3u spacebars in their sets because there are basically no keyboards that support them. Keyboard designers don't want to support 3u spacebars because there are basically no keycap sets that include 3u spacebars.

Someone has to go first.

[gok_nz]

Keycap set designers don't want two include 3u spacebars in their sets because there are basically no keyboards that support them. Keyboard designers don't want to support 3u spacebars because there are basically no keycap sets that include 3u spacebars.

Someone has to go first.

You don't have to. You can do 1x 3u and 2u +1u on the other side. Aside from the sets that I already run, I've been speaking to a prominent keycap designer and they plan to include 3u on their GMK sets as well.

[konstantin]

Alternatively keep as is but give left side 1.75u+1u compatibility, I think 1.75u spacebars are about as easy to find as 3u but there won't be doubling up of stab holes (and most sets would have an extra 1.75u shift as 1.25u shift is used for split right shift for type-k).

1.75u space is no good because it's a 40s-only size, so a lot of sets don't include it (justifiably so). 3u / 2u+1u is a better solution.

[Poesjuh]

But... since right shift is 1.25 you’ll have a 1.75u shift spare in pretty much all kits


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[regionfree]

looking forward to this!

[Zephyraeon]

Alternatively keep as is but give left side 1.75u+1u compatibility, I think 1.75u spacebars are about as easy to find as 3u but there won't be doubling up of stab holes (and most sets would have an extra 1.75u shift as 1.25u shift is used for split right shift for type-k).

1.75u space is no good because it's a 40s-only size, so a lot of sets don't include it (justifiably so). 3u / 2u+1u is a better solution.

But 3u spacebars aren't usually in 40s *or* spacebar kits. I trust gok's judgment so I'll be buying extra kits for 3u spacebars as none of my spacebar kits came with any (although I have a few 1.75u spacebars...). Hopefully more designers will include 3u spacebars as gok has suggested so it's not too much of a problem going forward. We're going to have to wait at least a year so have plenty of time to find what we need.

Just a bit bummed because I like to do secondary ALPS builds for my keyboards (although expecting the included PCB won't support ALPS), and it's going to be extremely tough finding compatibility with ALPS keycaps with this layout.

[konstantin]

But 3u spacebars aren't usually in 40s *or* spacebar kits. I trust gok's judgment so I'll be buying extra kits for 3u spacebars as none of my spacebar kits came with any (although I have a few 1.75u spacebars...). Hopefully more designers will include 3u spacebars as gok has suggested so it's not too much of a problem going forward. We're going to have to wait at least a year so have plenty of time to find what we need.

Several GMK sets have already included 3u keys in their spacebars kits, and more are following suit. It's a fairly recent development (2020), but it's gaining popularity.

[mrpetrov]

If there was ever an ergo board to make 3u spacebars move toward the mainstream, it's this board. I definitely support this 3u layout.

[julianz]

Hey, just wondering why on the left side, the Q and A stagger is almost ortholinear while the A and Z stagger is closer to a 0.5u distance?
My personal 2cents is, for the left hand the bottom row of alphas is kinda far, with the B key being a key that really far and i keep making mistakes with that key. Not sure if you feel the same

Would it make more sense to shift the Z to the left more? And then the XCVB keys can also move leftwards and be closer to the F key

Anyways hope you have a good day! Looking forward to the keeb nonetheless

[gok_nz]

(Attachment Link)
Hey, just wondering why on the left side, the Q and A stagger is almost ortholinear while the A and Z stagger is closer to a 0.5u distance?
My personal 2cents is, for the left hand the bottom row of alphas is kinda far, with the B key being a key that really far and i keep making mistakes with that key. Not sure if you feel the same

Would it make more sense to shift the Z to the left more? And then the XCVB keys can also move leftwards and be closer to the F key

Anyways hope you have a good day! Looking forward to the keeb nonetheless

The simple answer is that it was just how it ended up after preserving the stagger of the main keys in the middle.
It's an interesting thought though. The issue that I can see will be the effect it has on the 4th key on the left column since I don't want to push it out further since it would make the tenting point taller. I guess the left shift could shrink but that sort of opens up a cna of worms and you also need to think about what effect that has on the right side since you'd want it balanced.

[konstantin]

(Attachment Link)
Hey, just wondering why on the left side, the Q and A stagger is almost ortholinear while the A and Z stagger is closer to a 0.5u distance?
My personal 2cents is, for the left hand the bottom row of alphas is kinda far, with the B key being a key that really far and i keep making mistakes with that key. Not sure if you feel the same

Would it make more sense to shift the Z to the left more? And then the XCVB keys can also move leftwards and be closer to the F key

This looks like pretty standard stagger for the ZXCV row. W, E, R etc. are also staggered correctly. I wouldn't touch it. Q is the only key that's slightly off, but I think that will hardly be a problem.

[002_GT]

poggers

[menuhin]

I've to express my unpopular keyboard option amidst the current trend:
I've always thought the Alice keyboard design looks quite ugly to my eyes, and I found it quite intriguing that it sells so well. And most of the Alice variants, e.g. with arrow cluster look even more bizarre and imbalanced.

However, perhaps I've seen so many posts about the Alice design, and perhaps it's GOK - this design has achieved a degree of elegance and balance that I finally found it looks appealing.

[leexy]

thank u for ur valuable opinion

[break]

thank u for ur valuable opinion

And thank you for your uselessly snarky contribution to this thread.

I've to express my unpopular keyboard option amidst the current trend:
I've always thought the Alice keyboard design looks quite ugly to my eyes, and I found it quite intriguing that it sells so well. And most of the Alice variants, e.g. with arrow cluster look even more bizarre and imbalanced.

However, perhaps I've seen so many posts about the Alice design, and perhaps it's GOK - this design has achieved a degree of elegance and balance that I finally found it looks appealing.

I agree, for what it's worth. Alice layouts have an interesting core - split, tilted alphas on a single physical unit - but some of the updates miss the mark and look unbalanced or overdesigned. I'm not sure if it's tenting, the bottom row layout or the narrower side bezels, but Type K really seems to hit the mark.

[tempo]

Looking forward to this one

[Scriba]

I'm interested, prefer space bar on the right though (like many others).

[nandgate996]

Aluminium bottom is better，balance the center of gravity！

[fabijolo]

Wdym, I don't think it effects the gravity/balance in any way, since the weight of the aluminium is still on top, and the bottom is a even surface, so I really don't see how the bottom material should effect that

Aluminium bottom is better，balance the center of gravity！

[gok_nz]

I'm interested, prefer space bar on the right though (like many others).

The next revision will come with 3u spacebars that can be split into 2u + 1u so you can have the full spacebar on either side.

With regards to the bottom being aluminium, I think that would make it far too heavy for a wedged shaped board because it would be really difficult to pick up.

[gok_nz]

The PCBs have arrived and I've added photos of them.
Some minor updates to the OP with regards to plans on changes to the design.

[hkhawk]

Awesome updates. So excited for this (but also fully aware it'll be nearly impossible to get).

[Visionaire]

Its so cruel to have the money sitting here waiting and yet no way to give it to you for this!

[menuhin]

Its so cruel to have the money sitting here waiting and yet no way to give it to you for this!

Well, then you can PM OP and fund him for his prototyping process if you have so much $ sitting and so much incentive to use your $ to make this project happens 

[Visionaire]

Its so cruel to have the money sitting here waiting and yet no way to give it to you for this!

Well, then you can PM OP and fund him for his prototyping process if you have so much $ sitting and so much incentive to use your $ to make this project happens 

If it would guarantee me a board, I'd be happy to help

[menuhin]

Its so cruel to have the money sitting here waiting and yet no way to give it to you for this!

Well, then you can PM OP and fund him for his prototyping process if you have so much $ sitting and so much incentive to use your $ to make this project happens 

If it would guarantee me a board, I'd be happy to help

True, some GB runners have early-bird supporters this way, similar to kickstarters.
I'm sure gok has a good enough reputation to get support for his prototyping.

[krey]

i am very impressed with how this is looking.

[ricepixer]

So far, this is the ONLY ergo that I have ever wanted.  That combo of black, smokey pc, and stainless steel is so hot.

[Arithmetics]

got those OG spacekeys. 3u will be interesting...

[samuelcc]

This is sick...
Hope there's enough quantity so everyone that like it can get one.

[of_sam]

Hadn't checked in on this in a bit. Those pcbs...wow! Super excited for this one.

[vurtomatic]

These keycaps would be sweet for the board.

[MisterKnife]

Isn’t it safer on my desk when nobody is able to lift it? A response to the bottom part not being from an alloy

[Visionaire]

Anyone else come back to this thread a couple of times a week just to stare at the photos again? haha

[hottrout]

I pop into it every week.

[The.Ryan.Gamer]

Any idea on Pricing?

[gok_nz]

Any idea on Pricing?

It's still up in the air.

On another note, I've updated the IC with new renders (aside from the exploded view) of the revised design and layout.
In short, dual 3u spacebars and a 7-degree tent.

[The.Ryan.Gamer]

Any idea on Pricing?

It's still up in the air.

On another note, I've updated the IC with new renders (aside from the exploded view) of the revised design and layout.
In short, dual 3u spacebars and a 7-degree tent.

Thanks Gok.

[Ben2707]

So far, this is the ONLY ergo that I have ever wanted.  That combo of black, smokey pc, and stainless steel is so hot.

Ditto