[IC] The Raine

[Bleddyn]

Hey guys and gals and all you other lovely folks, What we have here is the FINAL IC for The Raine.
A keyboard from reddit user /u/parallelojam and myself Bleddyn and what is now called Alchemist Keyboards our collaborative venture.
The Raine is our first board which is a lovely mashup of 1800 sensibilities 40% nonsense and 65%ish form factor.
We have had a prototype in hand for over a month or so now and it has been shipped to a couple of people in the community including Jae(nojjers) from Top Clack who built it on his last stream on sunday(technical issues aside).
We’re hoping to run the group buy late-May to mid-June, and will update with a launch date as soon as everything is cleared up and confirmed with the manufacturer we are just waiting for an email back from them at the minute.



Link to previous IC Here
A few snaps of the prototype Here.
Interest check form Here. (No need to fill in if you already had on the previous IC)
Updated Specs:

• Limited to 25 units
  
• Colours available: Red, Blue, Black, Silver, Green + 3 ‘premium’ colours (TBC)
• High profile, top-mounted design
• QMK Compatible PCB
• CNC 6061 Aluminium, bead-blasted and anodised
• 1.5mm plate - currently alu only, but looking into the possibility of POM as an optional extra.
  Plate files will be released once GB has concluded.
• Top case options: WK & WKL
• Typing angle: 7°
• Switch spacing: 19mm
• Front height: 20mm
• Dimensions: 331.60mm x 117.80mm x 34.50mm (rear height)
• Centre-mounted, USB-C connector
• Unbuilt weight: 1.7kg (~3.75lbs)

PCBs and plates as optional extras
The price for the Raine is now estimated at $250 for a kit in either WK or WKL. Prices for extra pcbs and plates will be confirmed soon.


Q&A
Will you offer plates with a fixed layout?
Not in the GB itself, as we’re trying our best to keep costs down. However, for those who want to use a fixed layout instead we can send over the plate files so you can have it made in a material or configuration of your own choosing.

Will it have bluetooth?
It will not have bluetooth and there are no plans to introduce it on this particular board.

Will the PCB be backlit, or RGB compatible?
There will be no backlighting or RGB on this board, We’re not personally big fans of LEDs so we’re going to keep it nice and simple.

Will I be able to order an extra PCB?
Yes, we will be offering extra PCBs in this group buy. Due to the unique layout I think it would be short-sighted not to.

What’s up with that 1.5u right shift?
So two things were important to us when we were in the early stages of planning out the design for this keyboard. These were that we wanted to try and make an ISO-compatible, compact 1800 layout, and it needed to maintain a standard stagger.
After various revisions and input from others on Discord, we ended up with a layout that used primarily standard key sizes. The tab, caps, left shift, ctrl, alt etc are all keys that are available in standard key sets,
and because we personally only use left shift we are happy to use another key for the right shift (ie Super, Fn etc).
We also needed to make sure that the blockers around arrow cluster were even, otherwise it wouldn’t look right. We personally believe it’s a small trade off as there are plenty of 1.5u R4 keys to choose from.

Why don’t you change the layout to XYZ?
I could, but it wouldn’t be the board that I (Satanarchist) wanted to build. I basically learned CAD so I could make this board myself, as I didn’t expect anyone else to do it.
It’s the layout that I want to use, and given what I’m used to it ticks all the boxes for me. With this group buy I’m offering the opportunity for others to join me in owning and enjoying one.
I will also be doing a more open re-run of this in the future, so if you miss out on the GB then fear not.

We do hope to run further group buys in the future for boards of various sizes and layouts, so watch this space if this particular layout isn’t for you.

[tentboy]

I love it, cant wait!

[nickaster1]

Would you mind doing some renders for a WK version?

[Macmutant]

I’ve been following this for a while. I will definitely pick one up if my GB start Kung fu is strong enough.

[ArchDill]

This layout is messing with my mind. It is pretty rad though.

[jaang]

Would love one of these! Looking forward to it.

[typischt]

Cool design! Is the GB going to be FCFS?

[Bleddyn]

Cool design! Is the GB going to be FCFS?

It will be in the form of a Raffle, due to the limited number of spots and the vastness of the hobby in terms of locale we felt it was the fairest way to give everyone a shot.

Would you mind doing some renders for a WK version?

I will see what we can do, the reason there is no WK Render atm is that the design was originally intended to be WKL only, but after feedback and talking to the factory we decided to offer both.

[Xitir]

Love the fact that it'll be a raffle given the limited number of spots. Very unique layout! Not sure if it's my style, but I'd love to try it!

[travwal]

Love it. Definitely going to try for the raffle!

[Ashardalon]

$250 for this is a fantastic deal, and the prototype looks phenomenal. Makes me consider replacing my FC980C.

[Kyi195]

I've been working on something of a 60% form factor 1800 in my free time so this would definitely be neat! 

[Bleddyn]

Love the fact that it'll be a raffle given the limited number of spots. Very unique layout! Not sure if it's my style, but I'd love to try it!

We felt that raffle is the most fair option available to people as we understand time zones exist and its not fair to force people to use one that is not there own for the sake of a keyboard.

$250 for this is a fantastic deal, and the prototype looks phenomenal. Makes me consider replacing my FC980C.

Thanks dude! really appreciate that!

Love it. Definitely going to try for the raffle!

Good Luck!

I've been working on something of a 60% form factor 1800 in my free time so this would definitely be neat! 

At just .25 over a 65% i think this is about as close as you'd get without losing keys or going ortho maybe.

[Ashardalon]

I'd say the only downside is losing the + and Enter on the numpad, as those are quite useful for those doing data entry, and is my only slight hesitation.

[Bleddyn]

I'd say the only downside is losing the + and Enter on the numpad, as those are quite useful for those doing data entry, and is my only slight hesitation.

I Get that but we wanted to keep this as compact as we could, and with QMK i have the . on the numpad to be set up to be enter on tap and . on hold so it isnt really lost. Same with the + and - etc I have the function on hold and Numbers on tap.

It is a really nice solution that works well and lets the design work for it also.

[Kyi195]

I'd say the only downside is losing the + and Enter on the numpad, as those are quite useful for those doing data entry, and is my only slight hesitation.

I Get that but we wanted to keep this as compact as we could, and with QMK i have the . on the numpad to be set up to be enter on tap and . on hold so it isnt really lost. Same with the + and - etc I have the function on hold and Numbers on tap.

It is a really nice solution that works well and lets the design work for it also.

Plus, it's got split-space support so you can just put enter, +, and, I dunno / or something on a function layer.  Everyone I know keeps their not-numberpad hand (left in this case) on the keyboard.  Just set the left space to function or, the left alt as function or whatever and rock with that.  I have gotten used to the split space with my keyboard at work and honestly, I still fumble with using my left hand for space bar but I'm so comfortable with using my left thumb for function, it's nearly second nature now and I attempt to try it at home on the 65% that I have.