Author Topic: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)  (Read 217827 times)

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Offline ImBZppl

  • Posts: 40
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #550 on: Sat, 19 March 2016, 00:14:12 »
I just got one of these in today from Taobao for just shy of 210 USD. The thing is gorgeous. My biggest issue at the moment is that I need a new plate so my backspace and tilde keys are in the right places, as well as (imo) better bottom row sizes. Is there a CAD file for this layout? I'd love to get one done in aluminum.

The plate I have now is this one.

Horribly focused cell phone pics of the board (no switches or caps yet. Hopefully she'll be done by Monday):

Show Image


Show Image


Was that the one that I linked by 菊少666? Cause it is no longer being sold and you happen to have it :thumb:

Looks like yours is version 1 of the smart 68 and if I remember correctly that may have been the one with the front fn switch that looked messed up from soldering? You might want to check the PCB.
« Last Edit: Sat, 19 March 2016, 00:30:32 by ImBZppl »

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #551 on: Sat, 19 March 2016, 04:27:55 »
Was that the one that I linked by 菊少666? Cause it is no longer being sold and you happen to have it :thumb:

Looks like yours is version 1 of the smart 68 and if I remember correctly that may have been the one with the front fn switch that looked messed up from soldering? You might want to check the PCB.

Yeah, that's the one! It seems he relisted it at a lower price, as the link you put up was for 1800 RMB and I got this for ~1300. It is a version 1, and the front switch did look a bit botched when I got it in. It was mostly just flux residue luckily, and after some cleaning and a resolder, looks and works like it's brand new! I had to put my light (Blue springs) Blacks in it as I don't have any clears on hand, and I really hate linear switches, so that's no good, but the keyboard itself is really nice. Having dedicated arrow keys and a caps lock again is gonna take some getting used to, as opposed to using my Pok3r.
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline turboloser

  • Posts: 104
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #552 on: Sun, 20 March 2016, 19:06:51 »
Was that the one that I linked by 菊少666? Cause it is no longer being sold and you happen to have it :thumb:

Looks like yours is version 1 of the smart 68 and if I remember correctly that may have been the one with the front fn switch that looked messed up from soldering? You might want to check the PCB.

Yeah, that's the one! It seems he relisted it at a lower price, as the link you put up was for 1800 RMB and I got this for ~1300. It is a version 1, and the front switch did look a bit botched when I got it in. It was mostly just flux residue luckily, and after some cleaning and a resolder, looks and works like it's brand new! I had to put my light (Blue springs) Blacks in it as I don't have any clears on hand, and I really hate linear switches, so that's no good, but the keyboard itself is really nice. Having dedicated arrow keys and a caps lock again is gonna take some getting used to, as opposed to using my Pok3r.

What is your takeaway from it so far? Build quality is alright? Etc.

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #553 on: Mon, 21 March 2016, 16:56:08 »
What is your takeaway from it so far? Build quality is alright? Etc.

So far, I'm enjoying it a lot. Having arrow keys again is an adjustment for sure, and I wish I had a plate with the backspace and tilde keys in the opposite positions, but I can work around that. I also wish the board was Mini USB instead of Micro, but I digress. As far as build uality goes, the letter between "Tab and "W" seems to be non-functional, which I'll be trying to work out in just a minute (I didn't notice it until I had to use it just now). As far as concerns about pulling out switches when changing caps, I wouldn't be. The switches seem to grab the plate well enough to avoid being pulled out and they feel very solid.

The plate is extraordinarily light, but feels solid (it should, it's carbon fiber). The case feels great and the Fn button is a very thick aluminum rod and feels incredibly durable. The PCB is attached to the case via a handful of brass standoffs, then the plate is held down with a set of screws into the standoffs. My gripe with the standoffs is that if you use the plate I have, there's a standoff directly under the "Backspace" key that can interfere with the stabilizer and make the key stick. With a different layout, this wouldn't be problematic at all, though.

Overall, I'm loving the board and would absolutely recommend it if you're willing to spend some time figuring out a couple of the quirks of the board. I'd say another revision with slightly better thought put toward layout and standoff spacing would bump it from a 9.4 to a perfect 10/10.
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline turboloser

  • Posts: 104
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #554 on: Mon, 21 March 2016, 21:27:59 »
What is your takeaway from it so far? Build quality is alright? Etc.

So far, I'm enjoying it a lot. Having arrow keys again is an adjustment for sure, and I wish I had a plate with the backspace and tilde keys in the opposite positions, but I can work around that. I also wish the board was Mini USB instead of Micro, but I digress. As far as build uality goes, the letter between "Tab and "W" seems to be non-functional, which I'll be trying to work out in just a minute (I didn't notice it until I had to use it just now). As far as concerns about pulling out switches when changing caps, I wouldn't be. The switches seem to grab the plate well enough to avoid being pulled out and they feel very solid.

The plate is extraordinarily light, but feels solid (it should, it's carbon fiber). The case feels great and the Fn button is a very thick aluminum rod and feels incredibly durable. The PCB is attached to the case via a handful of brass standoffs, then the plate is held down with a set of screws into the standoffs. My gripe with the standoffs is that if you use the plate I have, there's a standoff directly under the "Backspace" key that can interfere with the stabilizer and make the key stick. With a different layout, this wouldn't be problematic at all, though.

Overall, I'm loving the board and would absolutely recommend it if you're willing to spend some time figuring out a couple of the quirks of the board. I'd say another revision with slightly better thought put toward layout and standoff spacing would bump it from a 9.4 to a perfect 10/10.

Neat, keep me posted. I want to know how it breaks in over time.

Could you also post pics?

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #555 on: Tue, 22 March 2016, 01:01:53 »
Neat, keep me posted. I want to know how it breaks in over time.

Could you also post pics?

Sure can! It's dressed in Dolch as it's the only set I have with a 1.75u Shift (I have Vortex RGBY mods, but I don't care for a lot of different colors).

More
The back of the board has a very clean and simple look:


Here's the board before it got any caps:


All the blues I use nowadays have springs from blacks in them, it's a comfort thing. I also decided to add white LEDs for the hell of it. Unfortunately, these switches already had SIP sockets in them, and the legs aren't long enough to play well with the hot-swapping feature. This basically means that not all of my LEDs are working 100% of the time.

The Micro-USB port is machined out and has a nice look/feel to it. I personally prefer my cables on the left (like the Pok3r), but centered is fine and doesn't get in the way of anything. The case is actually machined a little lower internally right where the connector comes off the PCB to accommodate the extra depth, which I find interesting. (I still prefer Mini connectors.)


Here's the board after having caps put on. I need to find two GMK blanks for the keys that have "Delete" and "End" living on them for convenience sake, but as of right now, it's working perfectly.


The case profile is actually very similar to the Pok3r's stock case. The edges are all sharper, though.



If you have any specific questions or want to see anything specific, let me know!

Edit: I actually forgot to mention that the plate > standoff > PCB design makes taking the thing apart a real chore, as you need to remove a lot (about half) of keys in order to get the force required to pull the plate off low enough to feel comfortable. I think if I messed with some of my screw holes having standoffs with the threads cut off and the rest just having longer screws, I could make it a lot more user-friendly.

2nd edit: Feng, if there are any LED controls or a way to program them, could you let me know? Having them all on all the time is a bit annoying.
« Last Edit: Tue, 22 March 2016, 01:31:41 by timerwin63 »
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline ImBZppl

  • Posts: 40
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #556 on: Fri, 25 March 2016, 23:13:45 »
How thick is the case it looks very thin on the V1 and the V2 looks too thick.

I was hesitant to buy it at the time due the the fn switch's appearance of damage but man I wish I snatched it up when he lowered the price.

I think I may go with a V2 in a few months if the GB does not start after breaking in my novatouch but I am not sure I will like the ~ switch being on the top right.  :-X

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #557 on: Sun, 27 March 2016, 23:00:23 »
How thick is the case it looks very thin on the V1 and the V2 looks too thick.

Since I need to do a bit of modding and trial/error on my board anyway, I'll take some more detailed shots of the interior of the case (wall thickness and whatnot). I don't really see the thickness of the aluminum becoming a problem at any point.

As for the ~ key position, I still don't really like it the way it is now. I'm looking into getting an aluminum plate made that would give me my preferred switch positions, but I think I'd still need programming instructions if I want to make the most of the board.
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline feng

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Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #558 on: Sat, 18 June 2016, 11:40:32 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #559 on: Sat, 18 June 2016, 11:44:11 »
Feng, is there any chance I can just order a plate? Also, are there programming instructions bouncing around somewhere, or am I SOL until further notice?
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline Radlife

  • Posts: 37
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #560 on: Sat, 18 June 2016, 15:03:41 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.


How long will the group buy be open for?

Offline edsucks

  • Posts: 52
  • Location: Norway
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #561 on: Mon, 20 June 2016, 10:40:47 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.

Did you not end up listing them on your site, or did I just miss them?

Offline genkidama

  • Posts: 279
  • Location: Germany
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #562 on: Sat, 25 June 2016, 07:29:47 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.

On which site? I'm sorry, I just went for the ones in your signature. Couldn't find anything there.

So it'll be a Smart68 v2 GB? Still compatible for ISO layout?
My finger training is over 9000!!!!

Offline Luminair

  • Posts: 13
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #563 on: Sat, 02 July 2016, 22:58:00 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.

How quickly did they sell out? It's great news that this keyboard is entering mass production! Will there be a fully-loaded product with key caps, switches, etc?

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #564 on: Sun, 03 July 2016, 00:00:21 »
How quickly did they sell out? It's great news that this keyboard is entering mass production! Will there be a fully-loaded product with key caps, switches, etc?

No,, the "kit" is a soldered PCB (hot-swap sockets are soldered into it), the aluminum case, and the carbon fiber plate. Switches and keycaps will have to be sourced on your own.
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline waffochan

  • Posts: 11
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #565 on: Sun, 03 July 2016, 01:43:26 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.

How quickly did they sell out?

I don't think there's any indication that they ever actually went up.
« Last Edit: Sun, 03 July 2016, 01:45:22 by waffochan »
Quote from: metalliqaz
Tenkeys are for accountants.

Offline edsucks

  • Posts: 52
  • Location: Norway
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #566 on: Sun, 03 July 2016, 12:24:49 »
Group buy will be available real soon in probably a week. In the mean time, I'll list 5 pcs of Smart 68 V2 on my site tomorrow.

How quickly did they sell out?

I don't think there's any indication that they ever actually went up.

I kept my eyes on the site since that post, didn't see anything listed. Maybe something got in the way.

Offline waffochan

  • Posts: 11
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #567 on: Sun, 03 July 2016, 20:13:35 »
That's what I was assuming as well.
« Last Edit: Sun, 03 July 2016, 20:19:45 by waffochan »
Quote from: metalliqaz
Tenkeys are for accountants.

Offline tofgerl

  • Posts: 887
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Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #568 on: Mon, 04 July 2016, 10:42:16 »
Not to be racist, but my impression is that chinese time is slightly different than western time...

Offline LunarisDream

  • Posts: 439
  • Location: Changchun, China
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #569 on: Tue, 05 July 2016, 07:14:06 »
Feng's been busy. GB's still up, the 5 boards will still be for sale, and the buy will open up very soon™.

Offline Bigboy

  • Posts: 1
  • Location: Chengdu China
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #570 on: Sun, 10 July 2016, 11:45:14 »
Sure , the GB will come soon , maybe , it's tomorrow.

Offline LunarisDream

  • Posts: 439
  • Location: Changchun, China
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #571 on: Sun, 10 July 2016, 13:47:00 »
Sure , the GB will come soon , maybe , it's tomorrow.

4u

Offline nateth

  • Posts: 109
  • Location: South Carolina
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #572 on: Sun, 10 July 2016, 13:53:57 »
??? Only for Bigboy??? I'm so confused.

Offline genkidama

  • Posts: 279
  • Location: Germany
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #573 on: Mon, 11 July 2016, 10:55:13 »
I am still wondering of which website he was talking about as geekkeys seems to have only keycap-sets rather custom keyboards to buy  :confused:

Oh boy are we patiently waiting on this one to drop :>
My finger training is over 9000!!!!

Offline feng

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Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (Pending, please wait for further notice)
« Reply #574 on: Fri, 15 July 2016, 10:04:36 »
I've submitted the group buy and waiting for it to be approved. :)


Offline tofgerl

  • Posts: 887
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Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #576 on: Fri, 15 July 2016, 11:16:06 »
Whoa! Big day!

Offline Rebral

  • Posts: 48
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Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #577 on: Fri, 15 July 2016, 16:24:14 »
The dream is real!!

Offline pavona

  • Posts: 1
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #578 on: Tue, 30 August 2016, 22:12:28 »
Yeah, I want in!!!!   Where do I buy?!?!

Offline timerwin63

  • Posts: 49
  • Location: Vermont, USA
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #579 on: Tue, 30 August 2016, 22:25:01 »
Yeah, I want in!!!!   Where do I buy?!?!

Missed it by about a month.

Edit: Sorry, I lied. Orders closed on the 13th. The buy thread was over here.
« Last Edit: Tue, 30 August 2016, 22:26:51 by timerwin63 »
Roses are red, violets are blue. They don't think it be like it is, but it do.

Offline Ayala

  • Posts: 2
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #580 on: Sun, 04 December 2016, 16:11:41 »
how can i get one of these? will I have to wait for another group buy or is there an alternative?

TIA

Offline hillmu

  • Posts: 48
Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #581 on: Tue, 06 December 2016, 01:26:10 »
It's cool!

Offline oldcat

  • Posts: 2640
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Re: [IC] Smart 68 Keyboard Set (GB is live)
« Reply #582 on: Sat, 21 April 2018, 14:35:51 »
can you make more such PCBs with the sockets pre-installed please?