[GB]Simply 60 – ft. Gold Plated Stabilizers!

[Dreamre]

How does Sprit's PCB compare with GONS?

[howthegodschill]

I shipped out 4 GB orders yesterday (some are already delivered/on the vehicle for delivery), and am in the process of packing more today. Counting the stabs/packing & bubble wrapping everything in generous layers is taking lots of time. I should have everything done and shipped by tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!

A lot of people are frustrated right now with the Sprit case delay, so know that your transparency with this is appreciated.

[rpeterclark]

Order received! It was packed wonderfully and the gold plated stabs look super nice. I'll be working on this over the weekend. :-)

Thanks Zeal!

[FreeChemicals]

I've also received the set today & would like to thank you again!

ps. The cable (and everything else) looks amazing!

/edit

Might as well add a picture:

[Zeal]

How does Sprit's PCB compare with GONS?

I can't really speak for GON as I don't have one of his PCBs, but SPRiT's PCB has 13 standoff holes (if you make a custom case and decide to screw all 13 in for a super rigid feel or use the Model 3 case). The acrylic plate allows for 12 of the 13 standoff supports to be screwed in. SPRiT PCB also comes factory pre-soldered with diodes and resistors, whereas normal NERD60 PCBs come only w/ the controller & other small parts soldered. Both are 1.6mm thick, SPRiT's comes ready in black and white (not sure about NERD60). Mini USB for SPRiT 60 is through hole soldered, whereas GON's is surface mounted.

That's probably the only differences I can think of off the top of my head, hardware wise.

I shipped out 4 GB orders yesterday (some are already delivered/on the vehicle for delivery), and am in the process of packing more today. Counting the stabs/packing & bubble wrapping everything in generous layers is taking lots of time. I should have everything done and shipped by tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!

A lot of people are frustrated right now with the Sprit case delay, so know that your transparency with this is appreciated.

Understandable. He's working hard on emailing each user & confirming address prior to shipping. People are getting their cases, but they may not be the vocal ones (I know since he's showed me pictures of boxed up orders ready to ship). Boxing up individual orders takes a lot more time when compared to preparing a bulk shipment. This GB however is completely separate from SPRiT's GB, as I'm fulfilling all shipments.

Order received! It was packed wonderfully and the gold plated stabs look super nice. I'll be working on this over the weekend. :-)

Thanks Zeal!

Be sure to post pics of the worklog!

I've also received the set today & would like to thank you again!

ps. The cable (and everything else) looks amazing!

/edit

Might as well add a picture:

Show Image

Thanks for sharing! Not everything is pictured in there right? I'm sure I included the m.2x5 screws and lube. Also yay for fast shipping :)


Note to self: Need to buy more tape.

[Dreamre]

Thanks for the response Zeal. In terms of the re-programming of the board, how is the program that does that? I'm guessing this is also fully backlit too right?

[Zeal]

Thanks for the response Zeal. In terms of the re-programming of the board, how is the program that does that? I'm guessing this is also fully backlit too right?

SPRiT PCBs can be programmed here: http://boot.winkeyless.kr/bootMapper/
All macros / key mapping can be set with the online bootmapper. Yes, the board is fully backlit and has different lighting settings / modes (caps lock LED is off by default, as it's used as an indicator). You can also create your own custom lighting effects if you know how.

infiniti has also written a pretty nice guide explaining how to flash & program the PCB.

[FreeChemicals]

I've also received the set today & would like to thank you again!

ps. The cable (and everything else) looks amazing!

/edit

Might as well add a picture:

Show Image

Thanks for sharing! Not everything is pictured in there right? I'm sure I included the m.2x5 screws and lube. Also yay for fast shipping :)


Note to self: Need to buy more tape.

You're absolutely right, I'm not sure why I haven't included those when I took the picture! I kind of enjoyed f5'ing the DHL page to see how fast it was being shipped .. ;D

[Ouro]

I'm a noob but I want to build my own keyboard and this seems like a really well priced kit.

If I were to purchase this all I would need are switches to solder onto the PCB and a controller like teensy, yes?

[Evo_Spec]

I'm a noob but I want to build my own keyboard and this seems like a really well priced kit.

If I were to purchase this all I would need are switches to solder onto the PCB and a controller like teensy, yes?

The controller is already on-board, all you'd need is a case and solder the switches and LED's if you choose.

[Zeal]

I'm a noob but I want to build my own keyboard and this seems like a really well priced kit.

If I were to purchase this all I would need are switches to solder onto the PCB and a controller like teensy, yes?

I offer the common 4 Cherry switches on my product page as well. The other less common switches can be arranged if I have stock. (All except for Clear & White).
 
Controller is already soldered onto the PCB. It uses the ps2avr, not a teensy (those are usually for hand wiring).

The only thing you'll need is a case & mini USB cable.

[howthegodschill]

Three different confirmed shipping emails have got me foaming at the mouth with anticipation. So glad I get off of work early tomorrow.

[exitfire401]

Alright, finally placed my order. Decided I couldn't resist doing an all clear and gold (already have springs and gold sip sockets are on the way) themed board. I'll have to figure out what to do about LEDs though. I really wanted those color shifting ones =( Once again though, thanks for the awesome GB dude.

[Zeal]

Three different confirmed shipping emails have got me foaming at the mouth with anticipation. So glad I get off of work early tomorrow.

It's like Amazon prime shipping, but faster!

Alright, finally placed my order. Decided I couldn't resist doing an all clear and gold (already have springs and gold sip sockets are on the way) themed board. I'll have to figure out what to do about LEDs though. I really wanted those color shifting ones =( Once again though, thanks for the awesome GB dude.

You picked white matte plate, but mentioned doing an all clear & gold build. Will PM for confirmation & some other info.

Btw, those 2x3x4 rgb leds are really cool. Haven't been able to find any other ones in that form factor...

[exitfire401]

Three different confirmed shipping emails have got me foaming at the mouth with anticipation. So glad I get off of work early tomorrow.

It's like Amazon prime shipping, but faster!

Alright, finally placed my order. Decided I couldn't resist doing an all clear and gold (already have springs and gold sip sockets are on the way) themed board. I'll have to figure out what to do about LEDs though. I really wanted those color shifting ones =( Once again though, thanks for the awesome GB dude.

You picked white matte plate, but mentioned doing an all clear & gold build. Will PM for confirmation & some other info.

Btw, those 2x3x4 rgb leds are really cool. Haven't been able to find any other ones in that form factor...

White matte was correct. I misspoke in the post haha. I'm looking for the matte look.

[exitfire401]

Wow...DHL doesn't **** around. My package is already in Ohio.

[Zeal]

Wow...DHL doesn't **** around. My package is already in Ohio.

Not yet..That's just sending the customs info to their main sorting hub in Ohio ahead of time so it clears customs within 30mins. It'll prob arrive in Ohio around 3am EST and camp there for a while during the weekends til midnight Monday and start moving again. If you had ordered earlier, I prob could have packed your order before the same day cut-off time on Thursday.

[exitfire401]

Wow...DHL doesn't **** around. My package is already in Ohio.

Not yet..That's just sending the customs info to their main sorting hub in Ohio ahead of time so it clears customs within 30mins. It'll prob arrive in Ohio around 3am EST and camp there for a while during the weekends til midnight Monday and start moving again. If you had ordered earlier, I prob could have packed your order before the same day cut-off time on Thursday.

No problem haha. I was just surprised to see anything that close in the shipping info. I'm in no rush anyways. Won't have the case or switches for the board until March anyways.

[rand77]

Just started assembling everything today.  Unfortunately ran into a few issues.  A few keys are completely non-functional ("e" , "backspace" and "left-alt").  Also there seems to be other random issues where keys sometimes continually registered (e.g. "eeeeeeeeeeeeee") and random delay when pressing other keys.

Checked the diodes for the non-functional keys, and the they seem ok (~0.65V forward voltage drop).  The switches are mx blacks with Sprit 50g springs.  Below are the pics of my soldering job, it doesn't looked like I shorted anything

http://i57.tinypic.com/534dqw.jpg

Does anyone know anything I can try?

[Zeal]

Hmm, could you provide a picture of the solder joints?

[rand77]

Having issues with imgur (I don't think it accepts a 36 MP image).  Here it is on dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/raltnw7x6i1zoy2/DSC00137.JPG?dl=0

[Zeal]

Hard to tell with the lighting, but some joints could use some reflowing. Solder joints should look like nice shiny "volcanos". Some are a bit too low, and some look like the PCB wasn't heated along with the pin.

Could you try reflowing some of the affected keys and provide some closer up shots of them?

Plugging in the keyboard into a USB hub could also sometimes cause problems.

[rand77]

Hard to tell with the lighting, but some joints could use some reflowing. Solder joints should look like nice shiny "volcanos". Some are a bit too low, and some look like the PCB wasn't heated along with the pin.

Could you try reflowing some of the affected keys and provide some closer up shots of them?

Plugging in the keyboard into a USB hub could also sometimes cause problems.

Thanks, I'll definitely re-do some of the solder joints tomorrow and see what happens.  Hopefully it fixes the issues.

[rand77]

I re-soldered some of the faulty joints today, and re-flowed any solder joint that did not look good.  It turns that one pin on the "e" key wasn't soldered correctly.  The other keys were fixed by flashing the correct keymap [keymain_NKRO.hex and keymap_part(thumb)(face)(XTen).hex].

However, sometimes I still get repeated key presses, almost as if the key is stuck (e.g. "eeeeeeeeeeeeee").   This seems to be occurring on many different keys, and doesn't appear to be specific to any one key . Curiously, these problems ONLY occur over USB, PS2 is working just fine.   Also, I noticed that the key repeat rate is incredibly fast when holding down a key using both  ps2 and usb.

Pictures of the soldering job and complete build are here:

http://imgur.com/a/B76dT


Could it be a switch debouncing issue? 

[Zeal]

That's odd. Sounds like you have the setting where Ducky keyboards can force a faster repeat rate/delay. Have you checked your keyboard repeat delay / repeat rate under CP?

I don't think it's a debouncing issue. You can double check with EK switch hitter though: https://elitekeyboards.com/switchhitter.php

[rand77]

Just tested with EK switch hitter, it seems to be OK for the most part.  I've only seen it detect one instance of chatter, and I cannot seem to repeat any more instances. 

I've played around with a few lower levels for repeat delay / repeat rate.  Lowering the repeat rate certainly has made the keyboard appear much more "normal". 

The repeated key presses still occur, but slower.  Whenever this occurs it locks out all other keys, and you need to repress the repeating key for it to stop.

[rand77]

Good news!  It seems the key repeat issue is only a problem when using my USB 3.0 ports.  It seems there might be an incompatibility with the USB 3.0 controller on my motherboard.   I will try to update the drivers for the USB controller.

If I plug the keyboard into a USB 2.0 port it works fine.   They keyboard is working perfectly now.

[Zeal]

Good news!  It seems the key repeat issue is only a problem when using my USB 3.0 ports.  It seems there might be an incompatibility with the USB 3.0 controller on my motherboard.   I will try to update the drivers for the USB controller.

If I plug the keyboard into a USB 2.0 port it works fine.   They keyboard is working perfectly now.

That's great to hear! Strange that your USB 3 ports are causing issues. I plugged in my board into one and didn't notice any problems.

[Defect]

10/10 would buy from Zeal again.

[Ouro]

Does this pcb support leds on the pcb like nerd?

[Zeal]

Does this pcb support leds on the pcb like nerd?

Do you mean surface mount LEDs between the switch rows? If so, no it doesn't.

The PCB does support in-switch LEDs however.

[impreziv]

Any chance you'll do another run of this? I'd really like to get my hands on a white PCB and clear plate, but it seems that they've both sold out. I feel like that setup would work best with my blue Tex case 

[Zeal]

Any chance you'll do another run of this? I'd really like to get my hands on a white PCB and clear plate, but it seems that they've both sold out. I feel like that setup would work best with my blue Tex case 

What's remaining is all that's left. I do have plans to run a similar GB or a full set w/ another PCB later on though.

[bazh]

dammit can I get some gold plate stab only? my 3 pcb have been on hold just because I hadn't found some of these

[Alastoris]

Any chance you'll do another run of this? I'd really like to get my hands on a white PCB and clear plate, but it seems that they've both sold out. I feel like that setup would work best with my blue Tex case 

What's remaining is all that's left. I do have plans to run a similar GB or a full set w/ another PCB later on though.

I look forward to your next run!

[random_rockets]

Just got my board today with some japanese kit kats 10/10 customer service and shipping was quick

[wlhlm]

Not sure if that's the right place here, but I'm looking for a white matte 5mm plate. Are there any leftovers? Or is there another place I can look for them?