[IC] Whi65 | Round 2 Prototpyes Ordered | (9/4/2021 Update)

[adsfqwer]

I hope this works out and you keep making boards. I personally would love to see a TKL board with this design language.

[Ranger_Trivette]

with a magikarp badge would be perfect 

[billy.types]

Hi everyone, it has been a while since our last update. Nothing much has happened since then we have just been waiting for the PCBs to be delivered so we that we can start building the board, there was some sort of delay at the manufacturer's end.

However, the good news is that they were able to finish the PCBs last week and were able to deliver it a few days ago. The PCBs themselves are looking very clean, really happy with how they turned out. The mill-max hot-swap sockets and the silk screen print came out really nice as-well. I have attached a few pictures show it off, the PCB finish and silkscreen art are not final yet, we will be changing that for our production units. This is just something we had put together for the prototypes, just to gauge the print quality but for the final PCBs we are working on a special art piece for that. We will keep everyone updated as figure that out.

Over the past few days we have been able to put together a QMK firmware for our board and flash it. We tested the PCB and the hot-swap sockets and everything seems to working well, which is great to see. We teased a little sound test on our Instagram page (https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17898552104019054/) and currently are working on getting some sound tests done soon.

So stay tuned for that, I also just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for their comments, constructive feedback and support. We really appreciate it

[billy.types]

with a magikarp badge would be perfect 

LOL I agree that would be so sweet, unfortunately not sure how the folks at Pokemon would feel

[billy.types]

Hi everyone, we just posted our initial sound test for the Whi65 R1 prototypes.

Check it out here:

Board Config:

• Plate: Frosted polycarbonate
• Switches: Alpaca V2 Linear lubed with 205g0 and filmed with Deskeys
• Stabilizers: Durock V2 stabilizers lubed with 205g0, XHT BDZ on wires, and holee modded
• Foam: None

[Neely_12]

This actually looks really nice. The design is clean and elegent. Not really a fan of 65% but idk this is nice

[Brankir]

I’m so glad I found this! That E-lilac is all that I’ve been wishing for. Please keep that and I’ll buy it no matter what! It is absolutely gorgeous! And I love the weight and brass design.. great job. This has made me really excited for this board.

[tjx7]

1. I don't like this screwless implementation because of the small screws you are forced to use (usually they are ****ty and low quality, usually)
2. you might not be able to screw the top few screws with JWK switches, definitely not with Gat Inks (eye-balling off render)
3. that front-height is yikes, will probably be hard to use especially with a 7° typing angle as well
4. why so much foam? whats the point of muting everything? why isolate the plate?
5. total mass? mass of weight?
6. approximate price?
7. A 65% gasket mounted keyboard Another 65% gasket mounted keyboard *with blocker
8 at least the design is somewhat different (definitely been done before though) and its not a top right blocker
9. you sneaky mother****er, this **** is hotswap. you added standoff cutouts on the plate so this is just noob-bait (65%, gasket mount, hotswap, blocker, foam, foam, and more foam)
10. also it only has 4 standoffs? good luck?

personally, I don't think 6 months is enough time. Maybe I'm wrong, who knows. I'm just some random dude on the internet, take this with a grain of salt

grr how dare it be beginner friendly by being hotswap!11!!1 maybe some of us don't know how to solder/ cant afford a solder iron + the gear/ hotswap is easier/ some of us prefer hotswap? hotswap = noob am i right guys

[gotgoodiez]

Any updates on new sound tests with different material? Also do you guys plan on going through another round of protos before a gb?

[billy.types]

Any updates on new sound tests with different material? Also do you guys plan on going through another round of protos before a gb?

We had some small minor changes we wanted to make and thus we def are working on getting a second round of prototypes done before we finalize things for the GB. As for sound tests when we have our second round prototypes we will make sure to do 3 or 4 sound tests with different plate materials and foam options.

[eggydesu]

I'm really hoping this GB happens and that it is unlimited.
I don't think I've ever wanted a board so badly

[legendaky]

Would you consider a green colorway?

[ralukiii03]

really love the look of this keyboard and i am highly considering getting one. i think if a rose gold colour way would be available would look amazinf

[billy.types]

We would like to officially like to announce our vendor partners for the upcoming Whi65 group buy. Its an honor to be working with such established companies in the keyboard space. We are beyond excited to see our designs come into fruition and this is just one of the steps in that direction.

USA - Space Cables
CA - Ashkeebs
EU - Mykeyboard
UK - Proto[Typist]
SEA - Zion Studios
AUS - DailyClack

More details about the group buy to follow soon. Thanks!

[billy.types]

Forgot to make this update, so adding it now:

After testing the Whi65 out and using it as a daily driver we found a few things that we didn't quite like and thus we wanted to make some tweaks before we went into our second prototype run.

The changes we have made are the following:

- gasket strips have been made wider going from 2.5mm to 4mm to allow for easy application
- the space between the PCB and bottom case has been increased from 1mm to 2.5mm, to give more room for the board to flex without bottoming out
- screws were added to the mid spacer to allow for an easier assembly
- switched from Phillips M1.2 screws to Torx M2 screws to give more durability
- plates were updated to add "leaf spring" type cuts around the edges to allow for easier flex



- the weight's mounting design had to be updated to accommodate for the above changes

[mr_foggy]

this will be my last 65%. please make it unlimited.

[bert039]

I love this too!! Hope it's an unlimited gb, gorgeous board

[bert039]

Ah crap, just read that the board is named after Toronto raptors kawhi. As a Warriors fan I'm really conflicted now 

[HidenLotus]

Just an opinion post nothing crazy.

I love the design of this board, I'll probably pick it up, but a few things bug me.

1. Typing angle (which you've addressed)
2. I don't think a badge is necessary. I'd rather have the extra 2 keys . The board design speaks for itself imo, I wish that functionality wasn't reduced. Just a preference. The badge itself looks nice
3. I LOVE the weight at the back and think it adds a lot of personality, but I think the circle should just be complete from a design perspective.

Looking forward to some of the changes you've made and looking forward to more sound tests! Colourways are sleek. I'm gonna go for the blue and gold.

[huahin_nat]

Will be my first 65% board
Missed the IC - how do I make sure that I can stay in the loop when it becomes available for reservation?

[conternecticus]

Love the navy blue and lilac! Where will the boards be shipped from?

[billy.types]

Will be my first 65% board
Missed the IC - how do I make sure that I can stay in the loop when it becomes available for reservation?

Join our Discord, we are constantly providing updates there.

Love the navy blue and lilac! Where will the boards be shipped from?

Our manufacturer will be based out of China.

Would you consider a green colorway?

For now we are going to stick with the 4 colorways we have. Depending on how this groupbuy goes that might be an option in a potential future round 2 GB.

[Plurrkeebs]

i want this to come into gb faster

[gihrenzabi]

I really love the deep blue option, hoping GB will start soon

[billy.types]

I LOVE the weight at the back and think it adds a lot of personality, but I think the circle should just be complete from a design perspective.

The semi circle actually represents a fish bowl, so thats the inspo behind that. Regardless, having a full circle would not be possible as there would be nothing to hold up the inside of the circle that is not covered by the brass weight, keeping it a semi circle was key. The aluminum material that is in side the circle and has a cut out to let the brass weight design show would not be possible as it would fall off.

I love this too!! Hope it's an unlimited gb, gorgeous board

this will be my last 65%. please make it unlimited.

I'm really hoping this GB happens and that it is unlimited.

Thank you for the comments, unfortunately this will be a limited FCFS group buy, where we will be allocating a fixed number of units for each of our vendor regions. At the moment, we do not have the exact numbers but, that will be coming soon. If you are worried that your region will not enough units, be sure to join our Discord and let us know.

[billy.types]

Hi, we wanted to update everyone on the current status of things.

Round 2 of prototypes have been ordered!!! We have worked with our manufacturer and found a way to proto all four colorways. There will be two of each; Black, Deep Blue, E-White, and E-Lilac. We are also prototyping our custom screws, foams/gaskets, PCBs, and extra badge finishes.

Currently this process has set us back a month or two. Thus unfortunately, we will have to push the GB to the end of Q4 2021 or early Q1 2022 :rainge: We promise we are doing everything possible to bring in timelines. But, obtaining and testing the second round of prototype units is our highest priority. We at, 383 Boards, do not want to rush the process of bringing a keyboard to the community. We need this second prototype run to test our changes and also make sure the colorways are up to our standards. At the end of the day, we just want to put out the best product we can.

As for price. We are currently and have been in long talks with all the parties involved. A few of our manufacturers are standing firm on not providing us mass production quotations till after the prototype run is complete. This is due to the fast changing material prices and the global chip shortage. They want the quotation to GB date window to be smaller, which is understandable in today's market. Apart from speaking to manufacturers, we also need to speak to all our vendors and make pricing agreements with them once we have the quotations. Thus at this time we will not be releasing a price. It will only come after proto2 is completed.

We know this has been a long wait. Everyday we try to accomplish something else and push things a long. We hope that you all can wait a little bit longer as we do our due diligence with this prototype run. We are very sorry for the delays, and hope you all stick around. We promise it will be worth it in the end!

[dinhthe]

Can you provide a stock PE foam for this keyboard

[swifthunting]

I absolutely love the way this board looks. This would be my first fully custom mech! (if i can afford it…)

[nuuw]

If this can deliver on the promise the renders made, this could be a big boy board.

[SuperSonixx]

Colors look great! Definitely keeping my eyes out for this one!

[Aquathegreat]

Very Excited for this!!!!

[granola bar enthusiast]

if the badge is interchangeable will we the files ever be public so it might be possible to put our own designs on it?

[8um8lebee]

will we the files ever be public so it might be possible to put our own designs on it?

That's what I heard. I guess in lieu of actually offering any other badges in this GB.