[GB] Conundrum - 40% ortholinear, electro-capacitive, programmable

[mewa]

The Conundrum by thock.co

I'm extremely happy to announce that the Group Buy for the world's first 40% ortholinear, programmable, electro-capacitive keyboard is finally here!

Drawing its inspiration from Japanese technology and compact ortholinear keyboards the Conundrum offers a unique experience that mixes the best of both worlds.






Case:

• an e-coated top piece (choice of pure white/classic black/sunny yellow)
• a PVD-coated polished brass plate
• an e-coated bottom piece (choice of pure white/classic black/sunny yellow)
• a PVD-coated polished brass weight

Machinery:

• an assembled electro-capacitive PCB with an ARM Cortex M4F µC and USB-C port on board
• pre-flashed with a new, intuitive and easy-to-handle bootloader
• fully programmable with firmware based on QMK
• 48x rubber domes (choice of 45g/55g weights)
• 48x capacitive conic springs
• 48x switch housings
• 48x Cherry MX-compatible switch sliders (with O-rings)

On top of that each kit comes with:

• all the necessary screws
• rubber feet
• a carrying case
• a brass polishing cloth
• a USB-C cable
• an easy-assembly station; in a
• box

Assembled kit weighs appoximately 1400g.

Plate has a 2u cutout that supports both grid and MIT layouts.

If you don't feel like assembling an EC board on your own,  don't worry, we've got you covered - an assembly service is available!


Review

Working on getting a review out!


Charity Auction


I encourage everyone to bid for The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation!

Apart from raising funds this is also a one-of-a-kind opportunity to win a personalized Conundrum kit!

Place your bids here

Each year millions of people unite under a common cause and donate to The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, a foundation that has changed the landscape of public healthcare in Poland. The Orchestra's work is focused on improving care for the youngest and enhancing the level of care offered to senior patients in geriatric and long-term care units. In the 28 years of the Foundation's charitable endeavours, over PLN 1,300,000,000 was raised – over one billion PLN!
Continuing this joyous tradition we're holding a charity auction – 100% of the profits shall help funding Polish healthcare.
Apart from helping The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, participating in this auction is also a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get a personalized Conundrum kit. Assembly included.

https://thock.co/charity-auction




Vendors & Pricing

Each kit costs 547 USD and profits from this Group Buy shall fuel future EC projects!

EU - CandyKeys
Asia - zFrontier
NA - Ashkeebs
Worldwide - direct at the thock.co store


Last but not least - one special unit is going to be sold at an auction for The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (a charity that improves Polish healthcare; more details towards the end of the year).

Timeline

Group buy starts now! (2020.12.18)
Group buy ends on Feb 14th (2021.02.14)
Shipping est. Q3 2021

FAQ

Q: Does it support MX-style keycaps?
A: Yes, the sliders support MX-style keycaps – you can use all your favorite keycaps. Topre-style keycaps are not supported.

Q: What layouts are supported?
A: Both grid and MIT layouts are supported. The plate has a 2u cutout that can accomodate either a single 2u switch or two 1u switches.

Q: Will there be any reviews?
A: Yes, we have a review underway.

Q: Is it heavy?
A: (spoiler alert, it's fairly heavy)

Q: Are there some other videos available?
A: @cassidoo did mention the Conundrum a few times on her streams (also here).

I also recorded a short video where I'm taking the keyboard apart and showing the internals.

There is also a typing test I recorded on the first revision prototype.

[Signature]

approved, sorry for being late

[Fenlair]

Your link to the streams doesn't work - twitch says the content is unavailable. We were promised a review from someone the community could trust in, but so far the only thing I've seen is your typing test :/
Well I guess will have to wait for a second run and hope someone releases a real review video ...

[qq6681585]

Thatissobeautiful!!

[yuejia]

It’s really Nice!! That is so beautiful!!

[mewa]

Thanks! I've been working on bringing additional insights into the keyboard such as this video below and answering questions on the 40's Discord. And of course the review!

Speaking of the review, make sure to tune in later this afternoon to Cassidy's Twitch channel!

[mewa]

Your link to the streams doesn't work - twitch says the content is unavailable.

Also, sorry for that. I didn't realize the videos could go missing on Twitch. But I guess the upcoming review will be much more interesting to watch anyway

[Fenlair]

Did anyone clip the review? I couldn't watch it live :/

[mewa]

Did anyone clip the review? I couldn't watch it live :/

Unfortunately, Twitch went down in the middle of the stream so we'll have to try again next week.

[mewa]

A little clarification as for the questions that popped up here and there concerning the price that is listed on zFrontier's website - I've received information from zFrontier that they have to include the Chinese taxes in their price due to the extended time between order placement and fulfilment (which results in them being unable to reclaim these taxes). If you're not in China I'd recommend buying the keyboard from other vendors, to avoid paying taxes twice.

You can find a list of them here (shipping globally):
* CandyKeys (https://candykeys.com/group-buys/conundrum-ortholinear-keyboard)
* Ashkeebs (https://www.ashkeebs.com/product/conundrum/)
* or directly from me (https://thock.co/)

[mustardgreens]

Ortho and 40% are not my thing but I am intrigued... I don't know of any other custom EC boards like this. Hope this is a success and I will be watching for more

Did you make the sliders too?

[Fenlair]

January 18th isn't far out - will we get a proper review in time?

[mewa]

Thanks!

Did you make the sliders too?

The sliders and housings are from NiZ. I would have loved to create these, but that's a massive project on its own.

As for the review, Cassidy will be poking around with it on her stream later this afternoon. Let's hope Twitch doesn't go down again!

[mewa]

We'll have to give it slightly more time for the review. As such, the GB has been extended to last until February 14th.

[mewa]

In the meantime, I encourage everyone to bid for The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation!

Apart from raising funds this is also a one-of-a-kind opportunity to win a personalized Conundrum kit!

Place your bids here

Each year millions of people unite under a common cause and donate to The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, a foundation that has changed the landscape of public healthcare in Poland. The Orchestra's work is focused on improving care for the youngest and enhancing the level of care offered to senior patients in geriatric and long-term care units. In the 28 years of the Foundation's charitable endeavours, over PLN 1,300,000,000 was raised – over one billion PLN!
Continuing this joyous tradition we're holding a charity auction – 100% of the profits shall help funding Polish healthcare.
Apart from helping The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, participating in this auction is also a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get a personalized Conundrum kit. Assembly included.

https://thock.co/charity-auction

[hulster]

Does anybody know which keycaps the yellow ones in the video are and where to get them?
To be honest - I will not go for a 500 bucks keyboard not getting a perfect color matching result.
And I found the black/white a bit boring, so I would go for the yellow top, but only with perfectly matching keycaps

[ggggggg]

Does anybody know which keycaps the yellow ones in the video are and where to get them?
To be honest - I will not go for a 500 bucks keyboard not getting a perfect color matching result.
And I found the black/white a bit boring, so I would go for the yellow top, but only with perfectly matching keycaps

That's MT3 Serika.

[mkleehammer]

Is there any news on this - it's been a very long time since there was an update here.  When I asked on Reddit, all I got was that it was still going on. 

[hulster]

You can buy it - at least at Candykeys. If your not keen on the Yellow one you won't have any issues to find some keycaps.

EDIT: Sorry - I was wrong. It is just a pre-order.

[mkleehammer]

Thanks - I bought quite a while back :)  mewa - any news?  Your last post was in January.  Can we get an update?  Thanks.

[U47]

This is what was sent to group buyers at the end of September:

Thank you for your patience! I just wanted to let you know that we're doing everything we can to deliver your Conundrum to you ASAP. I know it's that time of the year and we should be shipping your parcel...

...but the thing is, we're having a bit of a delay.

Alas, the Chinese manufacturer we had a deal with didn't produce satisfactory results. Since we didn't want to compromise on quality, we've decided to move our manufacturing to Europe.

This means we won't be sending your keyboard until towards the end of the year, perhaps into early next year. But on the upside, I hope you'll love the results!

Once again, thank you for your patience so far and I hope you can understand.

Thanks,
Marcin / thock.co

[Sup]

This is what was sent to group buyers at the end of September:

Thank you for your patience! I just wanted to let you know that we're doing everything we can to deliver your Conundrum to you ASAP. I know it's that time of the year and we should be shipping your parcel...

...but the thing is, we're having a bit of a delay.

Alas, the Chinese manufacturer we had a deal with didn't produce satisfactory results. Since we didn't want to compromise on quality, we've decided to move our manufacturing to Europe.

This means we won't be sending your keyboard until towards the end of the year, perhaps into early next year. But on the upside, I hope you'll love the results!

Once again, thank you for your patience so far and I hope you can understand.

Thanks,
Marcin / thock.co

OOF

[mkleehammer]

This is what was sent to group buyers at the end of September:

Thanks - I guess mine went to the spam folder.

[U47]

Sent just now:

I want to apologize for the delays. I understand how frustrating it is. I also want to give you an update on where we are.

As I'm writing, we're now almost done with the cases, PCBs and accessories. We had an unanticipated delay with the cases since QC has uncovered some issues due to which I had to send them back to the CNC shop. However, our shop is very cooperative and made sure to get rid of them.

Unfortunately, we do have some delays when it comes to the rubber domes. This is something I wanted to keep as a surprise, but since it's now the only thing that's effectively blocking us from shipping I think it's only fair that I reveal it now.

We have a custom set of rubber domes in the making just for the Conundrum. Sadly, we've been hitting a number of issues that are making it such a lengthy process. The samples I received were off, so we had to re-do the rubber domes; then the area where the factory is located was locked down due to a COVID outbreak; and most recently, we've been stalled by the Chinese New Year.

I can assure you that I'm working actively to make sure we get them as soon as humanly possible. But at the same time, my primary goal is to send you a keyboard that you will love.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience – and I'm asking for your understanding and a little bit more of your patience.

Thanks,
Marcin / thock.co

[i luv chuletas]

Any news where this is at? GH hasn't been updated in a HOT hot minute.

Thanks!

[mkleehammer]

Arrived yesterday and looks very, very good.  A lot heavier and more solid than I expected.  I haven't gotten a chance to try it out though.  Hopefully later today.

[mkleehammer]

Unfortunately things have changed and I'm going to have to sell mine.  It is still unused, though I plugged it in to test it and put the rubber feet on so I wouldn't scratch the beautiful case.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/yapls3/ustx_h_unused_conundrum_topre_ec_ortho_qmk_w/

[thelaughingman]

I'm looking for one if anyone want to let it go. Cheers!

[ggggggg]

I'm looking for one if anyone want to let it go. Cheers!

Candykeys have extras to my knowledge.

[thelaughingman]

I'm looking for one if anyone want to let it go. Cheers!

Candykeys have extras to my knowledge.

already asked on their Discord - zero stock