Author Topic: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard (CLOSED)  (Read 19364 times)

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Offline Luciqueii

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #50 on: Fri, 11 January 2019, 19:49:39 »
I am in if only you have made a tkl size with out any changes on the design or pcb. I am really sure more people would be interested as well in tkl size of this design. I am in if you can make it :)

GL!

Offline FearsomeCubedWarrior

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #51 on: Sun, 13 January 2019, 01:45:43 »
I am in if only you have made a tkl size with out any changes on the design or pcb. I am really sure more people would be interested as well in tkl size of this design. I am in if you can make it :)

GL!

HHKB-style TKL? That's something new.
« Last Edit: Sun, 13 January 2019, 02:16:46 by FearsomeCubedWarrior »

Offline Luciqueii

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #52 on: Sun, 13 January 2019, 05:02:39 »
I am in if only you have made a tkl size with out any changes on the design or pcb. I am really sure more people would be interested as well in tkl size of this design. I am in if you can make it :)

GL!

HHKB-style TKL? That's something new.


No, just normal TKL, with that thick brass plate in the middle and a big brass weigh option like lz-cls cases.


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Offline Rumblehotep

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #53 on: Sun, 13 January 2019, 12:01:31 »
I am in if only you have made a tkl size with out any changes on the design or pcb. I am really sure more people would be interested as well in tkl size of this design. I am in if you can make it :)

GL!

HHKB-style TKL? That's something new.
HHKB with function row, a 70%?

Offline Luciqueii

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #54 on: Sun, 13 January 2019, 12:05:20 »
I am in if only you have made a tkl size with out any changes on the design or pcb. I am really sure more people would be interested as well in tkl size of this design. I am in if you can make it :)

GL!

HHKB-style TKL? That's something new.
HHKB with function row, a 70%?


Just the look not the layout... tkl size but with this design of the case nothing to do with the HHKB layout...

Offline emperact

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #55 on: Sun, 13 January 2019, 15:50:30 »
This looks amazing. I'm in.

Offline otanishock

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #56 on: Mon, 14 January 2019, 22:18:04 »
Update on this?

Offline tex_live_utility

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #57 on: Thu, 17 January 2019, 22:34:21 »
For key compatibility, are you recommending that people use R2 1.5u keys (Tab and |\) on the home row, instead of proper R3 1.5u keys? Otherwise I think R3 1.5u (especially two of them) is quite a bit rarer than 1.25 and 1.75, the former of which is standard is 40% kits and the latter of which is in a standard 104-key kit (Caps Lock), or in HHKB-compatible kits (as Control or Function).

I can't comment on the reachability of the different staggering but let's assume it's a non-issue. We are still looking at less compatibility. I think the granddaddy of 40% all have the standard staggering for good reasons.

An incomplete list of kits that have R3 1.25u Control or Tab & 1.75u Enter:
  • GMK 9009 40s kit
  • GMK Jamón 40s kit
  • GMK DMG 40s kit
  • GMK Terminal R2 40s kit
  • GMK Serika 40s kit
  • GMK Nautilus
  • (Plus you could always use R3 1.75u Control or Fn as Enter and it's in pretty much every base set.)

An incomplete list of kits that have R3 1.50u Control or tab & 1.50u Enter:

  • GMK DMG 40s kit
  • GMK Terminal R2 40s kit
  • GMK Serika 40s kit
  • (Plus you could always use R2 1.5u Tab and R2 1.5u |\ which are in every base set but in the wrong profile.)

Let me know if I missed anything. I think 60% became huge partly because the layouts have quickly converged (into ANSI/ISO/HHKB/WKL). If we could agree on something and make it the standard of 40%, we should be able to see more growth in 40%. Again I'm only voice my concern since this is interest check. Your project could be totally opininated and I respect your design choice.  ;)

Thanks for putting this list together.

You can add GMK Necro and GMK/Uniqey G:01 to the 1.25/1.75 list.

However maybe 2x1.5u will start to become more of "a thing" with two boards on the market supporting it. It's just a question of what the market will bear. You can't keep inflating base kits, but 40s kits (like Colevrak and NorDe) tend to do poorly in group buys. We'll see how the DMG 40s kit does after the rescue buyout. If they are able to clear their stock in a reasonable time frame, it could signal to the market that 40s kits are more viable, hopefully also shrinking base kits in the process, and making GMK more affordable for everyone.

Edit: maybe we will also start to see better 40% support from the new profiles coming out, KAT and MDA, or from lower-priced manufacturers who are starting to make more upmarket products, like NPKC and WinMix (who AFAIK both make very passable keycaps for KPRepublic).

Self-reply to note that SA keycaps work just fine with either 1.5/1.5 or 1.25/1.75 layout because you can use R3 caps from the bottom modifier row.
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Offline gilmoregrills

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #58 on: Tue, 22 January 2019, 02:14:12 »
TMO50 uses an open middle row on the plate so you can have either a normal stagger or a smaller stagger like this board. If that doesn't compromise what you're aiming for with the sturdiness it could work?

Offline tex_live_utility

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #59 on: Tue, 22 January 2019, 22:17:39 »
TMO50 uses an open middle row on the plate so you can have either a normal stagger or a smaller stagger like this board. If that doesn't compromise what you're aiming for with the sturdiness it could work?

Actually I bet with a thick plate you wouldn't much notice the open home row in terms of feel. The sound will be different though.
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Offline sleepy

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #60 on: Wed, 23 January 2019, 17:28:57 »
TMO50 uses an open middle row on the plate so you can have either a normal stagger or a smaller stagger like this board. If that doesn't compromise what you're aiming for with the sturdiness it could work?

Actually I bet with a thick plate you wouldn't much notice the open home row in terms of feel. The sound will be different though.

I'm using a TMO50 with a polished brass plate. I don't notice any compromise in sturdiness, even if I push down on a home row key really hard. I don't have any boards to compare it to in terms of sound though, but I could record a typing test if anyone's interested

Offline Wing

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Re: [IC] Prelude 40% - Premium Sandwich Mount Thick Plate Compact Keyboard
« Reply #61 on: Wed, 30 January 2019, 12:36:56 »
Hi everyone,

Apologies for the lack of update in the past few weeks, things have been quite busy on our end and there have been a few major changes with our manufacturer during the holiday period. We wanted to wait and gauge how these developments unfold before making a decision and posting an update.

Unfortunately, we will no longer be running a GB for the Prelude. To everyone who was interested in the GB, I’m sorry; this was not the outcome we wanted.

The projected price of the Prelude was already quite expensive in comparison to other boards of its size; it was difficult for the manufacturer to produce the thick plates while simultaneously maintaining a standard for the machining and UV coating (to prevent oxidation) treatment. This plate drives the production cost of the whole board up by a considerable amount. As we weren’t looking to make a profit, we were running on extremely thin margins.

In 2019, our manufacturer announced drastic pricing changes. Their prices on keyboards increased significantly in January, and they expect another price increase in February. These price increases announced by the manufacturer makes it unfeasible for us to run a GB. We did consider the option of finding an alternative manufacturer, however this would mean that we would need to produce another prototype. We decided against playing ‘manufacturer roulette’ with the exact same design. It was better to move on and produce prototypes of the other projects that we currently have in the works.

For those of you who liked the Prelude, feel free to use its design! The intention of the IC was to share its design with everyone.

Although the GB could not happen, we’re grateful for all your feedback and comments. Thank you all so much.