432c Proto, Built in JIS 4.5u. The grey is very dark, so much that I have decided to not run a black variant of the board (at least for now).
Samples of the 533c Navy and 188c Dark Red. Please bear in mind, these are V1 protos. Read "The original Safa" for more info.
A look at the bottom, and engraving, which are not infilled stock. I recommend oil-based Acryllic paint to get a similar effect to how it looks on the JIS build This green will not be in the group buy.
A few QOL insights... Brass weight coverage - made to cover as much of the alphas as possible. Being such a low profile board has its limitations, and this was as much coverage as I could reasonably achieve (https://imgur.com/mvG6O6v.png) Alignment pillars - a simple way to assemble the case and not worry about alignment. These cover both the X and Y axis' (https://imgur.com/aUr7540.png) USB tolerance - uh...yeah...kinda obvious. Also helpful for locating the port when not looking directly at it, as the entire ledge leads to this point. (https://imgur.com/Er88wpQ.png) The original Safa More The initial design from October 2020 was intended to have a simple external profile, which has carried over to v2. Each unit had 8mm uniform bezels and were all WKL units – I tried to make it work, but I was not happy with the aesthetic result. Note the engraving changes as well, you can see in the prototype photos noted above The following changes were made from v1 to v2 - AFH reduced to 18.5-19mm from 20.5mm. Small, but significant change for comfort at such an angle - Side bezel reduction, likely what takes this from being an “okay” board to something that looks significantly sleeker - Engraving updates – rounded off, cuter font - Engraving location – moved to inner radii of Pause key - Weight rework – lower case height, therefore thinner weight. However, weight now covers more surface area in return, giving a more balanced tone across all alphas - USB rework: up 1mm on y axis. Now there is a groove on the back ledge to easily identify the location - Plate tolerances: much much tighter on north and south sides. Still room for wiggle, may tighten, but this will increase the risks of fitting Price target & availability
After listening to people in the hobby I have the utmost respect for, as well as advice provided by vendors, this is no longer an unlimited run, and will instead be capped at 400 units (+ extras for backup). Vendors
Soundtests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGhf0mRoGE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pGhf0mRoGE) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFWezluM5dM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFWezluM5dM) https://youtu.be/9EkjwVae_2M (https://youtu.be/9EkjwVae_2M) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y_Vnjhn_80 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y_Vnjhn_80) Credits David & Evy - awesome PCB work, as well as general guidance The entire MENA server - for having my back throughout the past year Boyos - you know who you are, thank you for the constant encouragement g1lbrt, Hueth, Lovi, Poesjuh, Simone - For your testing, building of protos, and honest feedback Bachoo - for your early render work, as always, much love Discord (https://discord.com/invite/v2sWm88) Its my house, don't smash the doors in! Support this project by adding this to your signature <3 |
[url=https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=115520.0][img width=275 height=120]https://imgur.com/ntJaJ1c.png[/img][/url]
After listening to people in the hobby I have the utmost respect for, as well as advice provided by vendors, this is no longer an unlimited run, and will instead be capped at 400 units (+ extras for backup).
One (very) good outcome to this is an estimated ETA of 6/7(ish) months for board production. I would rather deliver a board faster at the same price than wait a year. I am keeping this to 400 to allow me to release a possible F12 version sooner than expected, so if you prefer an F12 variant, keep your eyes out for it (ETA Q4 2022)
ABNT2 support has been added, and ALPS plate will be an option. The PCB for safa doesnt support alps, but if you are buying hiney's h88, youll be set. Just offering plates in the GB as an optional addon since, might as well, even if you plan to not own this board, here's your chance to pick up alu alps plates.
I had a chat with Max. I do not want Safa and Pheonix to conflict, and because Max's US vendor has pushed to march, I am bringing Safa a wee bit closer.
It should avoid the pheonix, since Safa will be a 400 unit FCFS sale. Max and I have discussed this and agreed it is ok.
JIS layout I am in for sure. Also maybe just the wire is sufficient? I was planning on just cutting a 6.25u wire and bend it to a 4.5u.
Gonna try to coop one when it goes into GB.
Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
NE pictures of physical pcb avail?Only have the proto pcb for now but here you go. Bear in mind you can also snap off the bottom pieces but it really isn’t necessary to do so
Green good, JIS interesting, Pricepoint fair.
If wallet allows for it i'll get in on it.
gib green
Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
I forgot English is the only language!Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
I forgot English is the only language!Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
"safa gud"
-$W4GK!NG 2021
Any chance for ALPS compatible+1PCB/Plate so I can run my DCS 9009 ALPS plz?
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.good keyboards don’t need foam giggle
Now this seems really promising, good stuff :)Always happy to listen! I’m open to testing other materials any time really
Btw will you have any plans for additional plate materials in the near future?
Any chance for ALPS compatible PCB/Plate so I can run my DCS 9009 ALPS plz?It is fully hiney compat so if you already have plates from him, and / or pcbs, then you’re set!
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.sorry but what are you talking about?
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.
Oh boy I sure do love foam is my keyboards, it really makes it thocc. When my keyboard thoccs it makes me feel like it really is premium oh boy I love thocc.
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.
Oh boy I sure do love foam is my keyboards, it really makes it thocc. When my keyboard thoccs it makes me feel like it really is premium oh boy I love thocc.
Colour matched case foam when? ;)
In all seriousness I really like the design including the engraving. Bonus points to anyone brave enough to do the infill themselves.
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.
The keyboard looks really good! Is JIS only for win key variants? really cool to see it supported in a custom.
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.good keyboards don’t need foam giggle
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.sorry but what are you talking about?
Also 188c Safa is very pogger champion. Very excited for this mr Baul<3
what does 'pogger champion' mean
Huge fan of 80+% TKL. Design is disappointing because of internal weight. I want to look at my board from different angles and enjoy it, even if it is occasional. No foam included is also a negative. Matching the plate colour to the case is ok, but not a selling point.
Oh boy I sure do love foam is my keyboards, it really makes it thocc. When my keyboard thoccs it makes me feel like it really is premium oh boy I love thocc.
I forgot English is the only language!Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
I forgot English is the only language!Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
Its not about the "Only Language" but more about if you recognize something you see every day. Understanding english does not mean I am saying english is the only language. I was trying to provide point of view of how from someone who doesnt understand arabic looks at highlighted engravings, but looks like feedback is met with snarky remarks and jabs. Sad to see please and requests are met with snide comments and person I thought was not ******* be an *******
To me, this is what I preferred, but I wanted to ensure it was discreet whilst still making the board identifiable.
Set your keyboard to arabic in windows, then type “wthx”To me, this is what I preferred, but I wanted to ensure it was discreet whilst still making the board identifiable.
For me (very much non-Arabic speaker, took me about a minute to understand what parts of Safa in the post correspond to the calligraphic version in the engraving) this is the main thing attracting me to this board. There is an abundance of TKLs both existing and coming, and if it were not for the engraving (or even worse, if it had been in latin letters), then I would not have given this much more than a glance. Because, well, rectangle, sounds like a keyboard. This really sets this board apart, and I appreciate that it is there.
Best,
Johannes
Set your keyboard to arabic in windows, then type “wthx”To me, this is what I preferred, but I wanted to ensure it was discreet whilst still making the board identifiable.
For me (very much non-Arabic speaker, took me about a minute to understand what parts of Safa in the post correspond to the calligraphic version in the engraving) this is the main thing attracting me to this board. There is an abundance of TKLs both existing and coming, and if it were not for the engraving (or even worse, if it had been in latin letters), then I would not have given this much more than a glance. Because, well, rectangle, sounds like a keyboard. This really sets this board apart, and I appreciate that it is there.
Best,
Johannes
Like I said, something small to identify it. Everything else is supposed to be as boring as it can be. Rectangle good.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I forgot English is the only language!Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
Its not about the "Only Language" but more about if you recognize something you see every day. Understanding english does not mean I am saying english is the only language. I was trying to provide point of view of how from someone who doesnt understand arabic looks at highlighted engravings, but looks like feedback is met with snarky remarks and jabs. Sad to see please and requests are met with snide comments and person I thought was not ******* be an *******
I don't want drama in this thread so let me address it. You may as well ignore the comments made before and hear my thought process behind it.
صفاء = Safa in Arabic. I understand as a non arabic speaker you and many others will see this and not understand it. My counterargument is this. We see many many boards with Hirigana, Katakana, and many other languages being openly displayed on a case.
The engraving I am using was made to be discreet, is barely visible from a seating position and to be clear - is not infilled / highlighted out of the box. For me, this is my signature on the board (well, not really, but moreso an easy identifier for others). I tried many iterations, from more calligraphic designs above the arrows, to just nothing. To me, this is what I preferred, but I wanted to ensure it was discreet whilst still making the board identifiable.
I hope that clears things up a little...
Green looks very nice. What made you decide on internal weight only? Back looks plain but I still dig. Personally think itd look nice also with a larger sized arrow cluster logo too. GLWS
Green looks very nice. What made you decide on internal weight only? Back looks plain but I still dig. Personally think itd look nice also with a larger sized arrow cluster logo too. GLWS
Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
Sad for the cap...but expected i guess.Flippers gonna hate it. Trust me, I have a plan
Flippers gonna love it tho, i hope i can get an unit.
Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to thisJane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.
All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it
ABNT2 support has been added, and ALPS plate will be an option. The PCB for safa doesnt support alps, but if you are buying hiney's h88, youll be set. Just offering plates in the GB as an optional addon since, might as well, even if you plan to not own this board, here's your chance to pick up alu alps plates.
ABNT2 support has been added, and ALPS plate will be an option. The PCB for safa doesnt support alps, but if you are buying hiney's h88, youll be set. Just offering plates in the GB as an optional addon since, might as well, even if you plan to not own this board, here's your chance to pick up alu alps plates.Geez u are a God! very very appreciated for the alps support! <3
Can you please give link to hiney's h88?Keep an eye on Hiney's discord http://discord.hineybush.com/ (http://discord.hineybush.com/), he will announce it there. this is his website: https://hineybush.com/collections/pcbs/products/h88c-preorder?variant=39389522133094 (https://hineybush.com/collections/pcbs/products/h88c-preorder?variant=39389522133094)
Is hiney regularly offering his 87/88's w/ only JST (USB delete) and DB now?
i have spent hours attempting to wrap my head around why you pictured both a wk 7u bottom row and a wkl 7u bottom row on the PCB. its literally the same thing :blank:My guess is that there are people that would ask if WKL 7u is compatible :D
i have spent hours attempting to wrap my head around why you pictured both a wk 7u bottom row and a wkl 7u bottom row on the PCB. its literally the same thing :blank:It’s from the via config files I created. There are separate options for wk and wkl in the firmware. Why? It looks pretty with the blocker in via
Totally hyped by the board! Will there be a way to order both Winkey and WKL tops for one bottom?In this current round and it being the first public run of mine, I won’t be able to add on specific parts like extra tops. Plates and pcbs are fine for addons.
ne weight avail?Show Image(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211227/caae07729304cb00bc64fcfc342eb922.jpg)
If you know. You know.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Show Image(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211227/caae07729304cb00bc64fcfc342eb922.jpg)
If you know. You know.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Show Image(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211227/caae07729304cb00bc64fcfc342eb922.jpg)
If you know. You know.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Show Image(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211227/caae07729304cb00bc64fcfc342eb922.jpg)
If you know. You know.
ne weight avail?
Show Image(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211227/caae07729304cb00bc64fcfc342eb922.jpg)
If you know. You know.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Great news about the GB! Would you consider adding Prototypist/Protozoa or someone else as a UK vendor? I'd love to pick one of these up, as the design and proportions are just perfect.
Please add a Canadian vendor for this keyboard 🙏🙏🙏
MKBEU will have a locked timeslot for US/CA.
Of course, EU will also get a dedicated slot.MKBEU will have a locked timeslot for US/CA.
Does this mean there is still a unit allocation for different regions (also for eu)? I would appreciate that but it sounds like a lot more work for mkbeu.
Please have limited quantity per household. Would love a fair chance at this.
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Please have limited quantity per household. Would love a fair chance at this.
Sent from my SM-G998U1 using Tapatalk
Great pricing, except for MKB EU. I'm from the UK so it looks like I'd pay double VAT if I bought it (already included VAT + import VAT) Do you know if there's a way around that? I'd like to avoid purchasing from another vendor if possible, but thanks to Brexit (sigh) it looks like I may have to.
Great pricing, except for MKB EU. I'm from the UK so it looks like I'd pay double VAT if I bought it (already included VAT + import VAT) Do you know if there's a way around that? I'd like to avoid purchasing from another vendor if possible, but thanks to Brexit (sigh) it looks like I may have to.
Of course, you will not pay EU + GB VAT. When/if MKB has gotten and implemented the UK VAT number, you'll just pay the price including UK VAT (which should be the same as Belgian, right?). If not, you will pay the net price and pay VAT on arrival. /J
Great pricing, except for MKB EU. I'm from the UK so it looks like I'd pay double VAT if I bought it (already included VAT + import VAT) Do you know if there's a way around that? I'd like to avoid purchasing from another vendor if possible, but thanks to Brexit (sigh) it looks like I may have to.
Of course, you will not pay EU + GB VAT. When/if MKB has gotten and implemented the UK VAT number, you'll just pay the price including UK VAT (which should be the same as Belgian, right?). If not, you will pay the net price and pay VAT on arrival. /J
This. I'm not sure exactly how they'll juggle things but there's no way should you end up paying VAT twice.
Worst case scenario you'd pay the price + EU VAT > receive a refund for the EU VAT > finally pay UK VAT once the order hits UK customs. This is how it worked on the last order I received from them.
When you order ships it will be converted to a UK order. We have our UK VAT number and are able to ship orders without export/import procedures. Next month new orders will automatically be UK orders (charged in pound).Great pricing, except for MKB EU. I'm from the UK so it looks like I'd pay double VAT if I bought it (already included VAT + import VAT) Do you know if there's a way around that? I'd like to avoid purchasing from another vendor if possible, but thanks to Brexit (sigh) it looks like I may have to.
Of course, you will not pay EU + GB VAT. When/if MKB has gotten and implemented the UK VAT number, you'll just pay the price including UK VAT (which should be the same as Belgian, right?). If not, you will pay the net price and pay VAT on arrival. /J
This. I'm not sure exactly how they'll juggle things but there's no way should you end up paying VAT twice.
Worst case scenario you'd pay the price + EU VAT > receive a refund for the EU VAT > finally pay UK VAT once the order hits UK customs. This is how it worked on the last order I received from them.
Thank you both for your replies. I have been burnt before when purchasing from the EU (by less well established/regarded vendors), and just wanted to make sure!