[GB] AL1 (Shipping, QMK Codes Open Sourced)

[LightningXI]

Update:

There is a little delay for shipping the keyboards out. They are supposed to be shipped out on last Sunday but now the shipping will start from tomorrow.

The reason is the PCB factory soldered the diodes in the wrong direction. Alsoran asked me to solve this problem by changing the QMK codes. However, for the columns of the matrix, we used a 74hc154 decoder chip which only works in one direction. That means changing the code won't make the PCB work. Alsoran decided to manually re-solder the diodes for the PCBs. He's doing it at a speed of 40 min per PCB. Totally 32 international orders will be handled first. Hopefully he can finish the work within one week. Finished/QCed kits will be sent out in several batches in this week. I'm really sorry for the delay.

**** happens, and at least we get a double QC on the functionality of the PCB.

Not a big deal for me. I hope it all resolves well!

[TerryMathews]

Update:

There is a little delay for shipping the keyboards out. They are supposed to be shipped out on last Sunday but now the shipping will start from tomorrow.

The reason is the PCB factory soldered the diodes in the wrong direction. Alsoran asked me to solve this problem by changing the QMK codes. However, for the columns of the matrix, we used a 74hc154 decoder chip which only works in one direction. That means changing the code won't make the PCB work. Alsoran decided to manually re-solder the diodes for the PCBs. He's doing it at a speed of 40 min per PCB. Totally 32 international orders will be handled first. Hopefully he can finish the work within one week. Finished/QCed kits will be sent out in several batches in this week. I'm really sorry for the delay.

Glad to see you all caught and fixed this fundamental error. I don't think you could've resolved this through code.

Since you're using a decoder, are you going to publish that code on GitHub?

[superdoedoe]

Thanks for the Update - Keen for this!

[TriangleLab]

Glad to see you all caught and fixed this fundamental error. I don't think you could've resolved this through code.

Since you're using a decoder, are you going to publish that code on GitHub?

Yes, both the code and pcb files will be open sourced.

[afrokobe]

Update:

There is a little delay for shipping the keyboards out. They are supposed to be shipped out on last Sunday but now the shipping will start from tomorrow.

The reason is the PCB factory soldered the diodes in the wrong direction. Alsoran asked me to solve this problem by changing the QMK codes. However, for the columns of the matrix, we used a 74hc154 decoder chip which only works in one direction. That means changing the code won't make the PCB work. Alsoran decided to manually re-solder the diodes for the PCBs. He's doing it at a speed of 40 min per PCB. Totally 32 international orders will be handled first. Hopefully he can finish the work within one week. Finished/QCed kits will be sent out in several batches in this week. I'm really sorry for the delay.

Thanks for the updates! Do the 32 international orders include ones with engraving?

[superdoedoe]

Update:

There is a little delay for shipping the keyboards out. They are supposed to be shipped out on last Sunday but now the shipping will start from tomorrow.

The reason is the PCB factory soldered the diodes in the wrong direction. Alsoran asked me to solve this problem by changing the QMK codes. However, for the columns of the matrix, we used a 74hc154 decoder chip which only works in one direction. That means changing the code won't make the PCB work. Alsoran decided to manually re-solder the diodes for the PCBs. He's doing it at a speed of 40 min per PCB. Totally 32 international orders will be handled first. Hopefully he can finish the work within one week. Finished/QCed kits will be sent out in several batches in this week. I'm really sorry for the delay.

Thanks for the updates! Do the 32 international orders include ones with engraving?

Iirc they ship later.

[TriangleLab]

Thanks for the updates! Do the 32 international orders include ones with engraving?

Yes

[TriangleLab]

At least 4 buyers asked for additional brass plates. I'm sorry to say all the brass leftovers are gone.

List of leftovers:

• a lot of PCBs
• keyboard cases (with same color plates): Red * 1, Purple * 1, titanium grey * 1, pink * 1, New dark blue/purple * 4 2
• additional aluminum plates: black * 1, titanium grey * 1, red * 1, purple * 2,  New dark blue/purple * 1

edit:



added one pic

[LightningXI]

At least 4 buyers asked for additional brass plates. I'm sorry to say all the brass leftovers are gone.

List of leftovers:

• a lot of PCBs
• keyboard cases (with same color plates): Red * 1, Purple * 1, titanium grey * 1, pink * 1, New dark blue/purple * 4 2
• additional aluminum plates: black * 1, titanium grey * 1, red * 1, purple * 2,  New dark blue/purple * 1

edit:

Show Image

added one pic

Were there any brass leftovers plates that were successfully transferred to group buy buyers? Just wondering who got and who didn't.

Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk

[xZ3ROx]

I inquired pretty early on about getting an extra brass plate + pcb and was not successful...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[TriangleLab]

Were there any brass leftovers plates that were successfully transferred to group buy buyers? Just wondering who got and who didn't.

There were only 4 brass plate leftovers. Alsoran distributed 3 to Chinese buyers (including Taiwan). And one was kept for himself.

He intended to make some new brass versions but decided not to at least, because his financial status is really bad and he wants to ship the kits asap.

[LightningXI]

Were there any brass leftovers plates that were successfully transferred to group buy buyers? Just wondering who got and who didn't.

There were only 4 brass plate leftovers. Alsoran distributed 3 to Chinese buyers (including Taiwan). And one was kept for himself.

He intended to make some new brass versions but decided not to at least, because his financial status is really bad and he wants to ship the kits asap.

Got it. Thanks for the clarification.

[floris]

He intended to make some new brass versions but decided not to at least, because his financial status is really bad and he wants to ship the kits asap.

Hope PayPal releases the money quickly after shipping, so Alsoran can finally get his money.

[trikoi00]

Looking to sell my spot of Black with Red plate. Please message me and we can get it sorted before it shipped.

[prozach]

How long should we expect for shipping transit to the west coast US?

Trying to figure out if everything I need to build it will be here by the time it gets here.

[superdoedoe]

How long should we expect for shipping transit to the west coast US?

Trying to figure out if everything I need to build it will be here by the time it gets here.

Normally a couple days. I wouldn't say longer than 2 weeks though

[TechieWeirdo]

Alsoran emailed me yesterday asking me for my number. Said that shipping of my kit is pending now. Hype!

[vtachkov]

Tracking info was updated for DHL. This is the last step guys!

[xZ3ROx]

switches: check
switch films: check
stabs: check
keycaps: check
lube: check 
solder: check
leds: no need
AL1: patiently waiting

[Petch]

Tracking info was updated for DHL. This is the last step guys!

You got another email?

[MegalaDump]

Tracking info was updated for DHL. This is the last step guys!

You got another email?

Also wondering this. Was asked for number yesterday but no update since.

[vtachkov]

Tracking info was updated for DHL. This is the last step guys!

You got another email?

Also wondering this. Was asked for number yesterday but no update since.

Yep, I received an email notification that the paid paypal invoice was updated with tracking and the status was changed to shipped.

I think I'm also the first person on the order list, so maybe Alsoran is sending them out in order.

[TechieWeirdo]

Edit: I'm an idiot. Ignore me.

[superdoedoe]

hyppppe

[Petch]

Are people getting tracking info?

[TriangleLab]

I just asked Alsoran about the shipping progress. Only a part of the orders have been sent out. If you haven't got the tracking number, your order haven't been shipped. Alsoran didn't have money to pay the shipping for all the orders. The rest orders are holding by the transport proxy currently. Alsoran is waiting for the defrozen of partial money on PayPal so he can pay the transport proxy the rest of the shipping fee. Sorry about that

[LightningXI]

I just asked Alsoran about the shipping progress. Only a part of the orders have been sent out. If you haven't got the tracking number, your order haven't been shipped. Alsoran didn't have money to pay the shipping for all the orders. The rest orders are holding by the transport proxy currently. Alsoran is waiting for the defrozen of partial money on PayPal so he can pay the transport proxy the rest of the shipping fee. Sorry about that

Thanks for the update. I provided my phone number but received no tracking info so that must be what happened. Can't wait!

Sent from my mobile using Tapatalk

[TechieWeirdo]

I just asked Alsoran about the shipping progress. Only a part of the orders have been sent out. If you haven't got the tracking number, your order haven't been shipped. Alsoran didn't have money to pay the shipping for all the orders. The rest orders are holding by the transport proxy currently. Alsoran is waiting for the defrozen of partial money on PayPal so he can pay the transport proxy the rest of the shipping fee. Sorry about that

Thanks for the update.

Sidenote: Sorry if this was answered, but what firmware is the PCB running?

[xondat]

I just asked Alsoran about the shipping progress. Only a part of the orders have been sent out. If you haven't got the tracking number, your order haven't been shipped. Alsoran didn't have money to pay the shipping for all the orders. The rest orders are holding by the transport proxy currently. Alsoran is waiting for the defrozen of partial money on PayPal so he can pay the transport proxy the rest of the shipping fee. Sorry about that

Thanks for the update.

Sidenote: Sorry if this was answered, but what firmware is the PCB running?

Original plan was TMK, I haven't followed whether it changed at any point.

[TriangleLab]

Sidenote: Sorry if this was answered, but what firmware is the PCB running?

I made the firmware for Alsoran using TMK originally. Then it's changed to QMK since QMK is more popular now.

I will release the QMK source codes and PCB files by this weekend.

[TechieWeirdo]

Sidenote: Sorry if this was answered, but what firmware is the PCB running?

I made the firmware for Alsoran using TMK originally. Then it's changed to QMK since QMK is more popular now.

I will release the QMK source codes and PCB files by this weekend.

Thanks!

[odd]

I got mine in today and I'll tell you I am VERY UNHAPPY. Here are the issues I see just after 5 mins of looking at it

1. Top and bottom anno colors are completely different colors
2. TON of scratches on the bottom that were there BEFORE the anno
3. The bottom anno is just pathetic, it looks part of it was smeared on with fingers, seriously
4. Top anno is not uniform at all, it's a multitude of different colors hues.

I got the new special color if anyone cares so maybe your's will be fine if you got the standard color. I'm still at work but I'll take pics of this when I get home.

edit: pics





and no it's not pic angles showing the busted color, it really looks like that well worse in person to be honest.

[LightningXI]

I got mine in today and I'll tell you I am VERY UNHAPPY.

This surely doesn't bode well. Also, I haven't received my tracking number.

[vtachkov]

I received mine today as well. Red top and black bottom. The anodization looks fine on mine, consistent all around, but there were a couple of markings on the bottom from pre-anno. I don't see any anodization issues with the top part.

Unfortunately mine came with a slight dent in the upper-right corner. Not as bad as the TGR 910 fiasco, and not really noticeable when looking from the front, so I'm not too upset about it. The packaging could've been better and might've prevented the dent from happening.

All in all for how much we paid for this case, in comparison to other customs, I can't really complain. I'll put up some pictures when I can get some natural light tomorrow.

[xZ3ROx]

I got mine in today and I'll tell you I am VERY UNHAPPY. Here are the issues I see just after 5 mins of looking at it

1. Top and bottom anno colors are completely different colors
2. TON of scratches on the bottom that were there BEFORE the anno
3. The bottom anno is just pathetic, it looks part of it was smeared on with fingers, seriously
4. Top anno is not uniform at all, it's a multitude of different colors hues.

I got the new special color if anyone cares so maybe your's will be fine if you got the standard color. I'm still at work but I'll take pics of this when I get home.

edit: pics

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

and no it's not pic angles showing the busted color, it really looks like that well worse in person to be honest.

Not gonna lie, it looks horrible.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[Puddsy]

I got mine in today and I'll tell you I am VERY UNHAPPY. Here are the issues I see just after 5 mins of looking at it

1. Top and bottom anno colors are completely different colors
2. TON of scratches on the bottom that were there BEFORE the anno
3. The bottom anno is just pathetic, it looks part of it was smeared on with fingers, seriously
4. Top anno is not uniform at all, it's a multitude of different colors hues.

I got the new special color if anyone cares so maybe your's will be fine if you got the standard color. I'm still at work but I'll take pics of this when I get home.

edit: pics

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

Show Image

and no it's not pic angles showing the busted color, it really looks like that well worse in person to be honest.

looks like it wasn't cleaned after anodizing

[jaymaikan]

Received black/black kit today. Anodizing is nice and consistent on the top piece, however the bottom of the base is faintly splotchy even after a wipe down. It has a different specularity in harsh lighting versus the top which could be from different batches but it seems like good quality anodizing on the top and fair quality on the base (saving $?). Inner chamfering seems to have a minute milling imperfection at nearly all the corners (milling fast, saving $?), but becomes unnoticeable at a foot away. Alsoran unknowingly did have to front all the money for production I believe. No imperfections otherwise.

odd's looks like b-stock though.

[Petch]

Ugh, kinda worried about that 'new' purple/blue now

[afrokobe]

this doesnt sound good

[TerryMathews]

Well, at least this buy is on schedule. Marking my calendar.

[noricon]

I am also kinda worried about the dark blue at the moment. That picture doesn't look like the color that was pitched and those ano issues are worrying.

[megaforce]

Well, at least this buy is on schedule. Marking my calendar.

Marking your calendar for a sub-par product?

C'mon man, don't play yourself. That finish is unacceptable for a $300 keyboard.

[Oblotzky]

Well, at least this buy is on schedule. Marking my calendar.

I'm pretty sure people would prefer to have a flawless product.

[xZ3ROx]

I would have to agree with both posts above. I wonder how the anodizing issues got past QC'ing? I understand paypal froze the funds but ignoring issues like that and knowing that there are flaws that people are going to be concerned about and still ship the kits? Being my first custom keyboard and at $300, id expect a flawless kit. I'm sure @TriangleLab will chime in with information...i hope

[clasicks]

information?

I mean, they hand packed the box with that purple board in it... IF they felt good enough about that, that they were like Ok cool lets ship this out to our customer, what else is there to say?

Anyone in this GB: Looks like a great powdercoat/cerakote candidate!

[vtachkov]

Alright, here's those pictures I promised. Ignore the white crap on the plate / in the case. The additional parts were taped to the plate which left adhesive after I pulled it off. Tried to clean it off with rubbing alcohol but I need to go over it once more lol. (Note don't tape stuff to the case, or at least use better tape)





Here you can see the markings on the bottom I mentioned. They look to be in the same exact place as xZ3ROx's case, so maybe something was going on here with the factory.


Aaaaand the dent. Kinda crappy but you can't really see it from the front.


If I decide to keep this then the imperfections don't bother me too much, but YMMV. While mine looks pretty good at normal viewing / typing distance, there are a few very minor imperfections if you look close enough. I believe the special blue was anodized at a different factory than the standard colors, so at the very least I don't think anyone with standard colors has to worry about the anodization.

Final note: For a sub $300 (base) case with a mirror-polished brass weight, it's not too bad. Packaging could've been a lot better (I'd pay extra for any custom to get a custom box made), and I have no idea how that blue anno passed QC, it's very disappointing. TriangleLab, if you hope to run another GB in the future, don't let it discourage you, but you have quite a few improvements to be made, and you'll need to earn back some of this trust by dealing with our criticisms.

[Peppermint216]

Having spoken with trianglelab via pm I am pretty certain alsoran qc'ed, packed and shipped these. That dent on the corner would ruin it for me, the bottom scratches are not great but it is on the bottom and out of sight thankfully.

The purple/blue anode is appalling and I wouldn't accept it.

[TerryMathews]

Well, at least this buy is on schedule. Marking my calendar.

Marking your calendar for a sub-par product?

C'mon man, don't play yourself. That finish is unacceptable for a $300 keyboard.

You misunderstood my meaning. I'm marking my calendar for the 180 day mark for PayPal protection. I'm not falling into another EXENT fiasco.

[TriangleLab]

It's a sad day for all of us. As some of you may know, I have another Group Buy has been delayed for months because I don't want to run two GBs at the same time. For this group buy, I helped Alsoran with the PCB and firmware as a friend, and I don't get money from it. This group buy goes with much more problems than I thought. I wouldn't run this GB if I knew this situation. As a GB runner, I've been pushing Alsoran to do everything correct and fast, asking for photos to keep you updated. Unfortunately, there are so many things I can't control. I'm sorry about all the issues.

For now I can see there are at least two major problems. The first is odd's anodizing issues on dark blue case. The second is the dent on vtachkov's case. I asked Alsoran last night (time in China) about the quality issues. He woke up before dawn and answered several of my questions. Here are the summarizations:

1. He hasn't directly answered my question why the dark blue case passed QC. (I will ask again when he wake up again.)

2. The dent on vtachkov's case should be caused by shipping damage. He was supposed to use EVA inner packings but ended up with the current poor packing due to the lack of funds. He will give compensation for the dent.

3. The dark blue cases were anodized in a different factory with other colors. The way they do this color is to sink the case in the ano pool for a really long time. That's the possible reason of the inconsistency. He will talk to the ano factory and give solutions by 04/26 12:00 AM.

4. A possible solution is to re-anodize all the dark blue cases to this color: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93258.msg2556349#msg2556349 This color was the original plan but it wasn't available when he did the ano.

5. I have asked him to hold all the rest packages for shipping in the transport proxy company.

Anyone who have received a problematic kit, PM me the detailed descriptions of your issues with photos. Please keep it short and accurate. I'll help you to resolve the problems.

[Petch]

4. A possible solution is to re-anodize all the dark blue cases to this color: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=93258.msg2556349#msg2556349 This color was the original plan but it wasn't available when he did the ano.

I will happily wait for that