geekhack
geekhack Marketplace => Group Buys and Preorders => Topic started by: CAPS UNLOCKED on Mon, 09 September 2019, 10:44:17
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STORE LINK: https://caps-unlocked.com/group-buy-cu80/ (https://caps-unlocked.com/group-buy-cu80/)
The CU80 is a TKL mechanical keyboard that will be produced by capsunlocked.
Base Kit:
- Aluminium Top case, Base Plate, Footbar
- Rubber foot
- PCB (ANSI or ISO depending on your selection)
- USB Type-C Cable
PCB Features:
- ANSI or ISO
- QMK
- Per Key SMD RGB LEDs
- Hot-Swap Sockets
- Standard Bottom Row (6.25)
- Supports MX Style switches
- Supports PCB and Plate mounted switches
- Supports PCB, Plate or Screw-In Stabilisers
IMAGES:
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
[attachimg=4]
Update:
09-09-2019: MOQ HAS BEEN REACHED!
[attachimg=5]
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Ok
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Ok
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Ok
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OK
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Ok
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Nice, but in the EU, in the end, it costs exactly like a GON :mad:
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Nice :thumb:
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First Week Update!
MOQ: 25
Confirmed Orders: 32
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Checking out the CU80 prototype live on stream at noon PST, 3pm EST, 8pm UK!! (circa ten mins!!)
Live with the CU80 Prototype and Borsdorf Brown Alps AEK build!!
Feel free to come and chill, hear the latest news on my upcoming IC's and talk all things keyboards :D
http://www.twitch.tv/topclack
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Sweet, a cheaper CTRL I can use pcb-mount switches on
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Update:
MOQ: 25
Confirmed Orders: 43
The group buy ends this Sunday (29-09-19)!
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The group buy ends tomorrow!
Confirmed Orders: 62
MOQ: 25
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Oof, sad I missed this, but I will *definitely* keep an eye out for the next one, I heard you'd experiment with different designs/colour options if this GB succeeded? That would interest me even more than this first GB.
Congrats on destroying the MOQ. :thumb:
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Oof, sad I missed this, but I will *definitely* keep an eye out for the next one, I heard you'd experiment with different designs/colour options if this GB succeeded? That would interest me even more than this first GB.
Congrats on destroying the MOQ. :thumb:
We definitely have plans for new layouts and colours. We are aiming to reveal more info once the CU80 orders start shipping in November!
Thanks for the kind words!
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Final Update:
71 Units Sold!
We are preparing all of the orders and will submit them to the manufacturer shortly. A statement/update will be sent to everyone who joined the GB later today!
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Just posting a quick update here, full update will be sent to participants.
Case production has started and optional extras have been ordered - I am expecting to receive them about 20th November.
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Sounds good - Got my Zealios on the way ready for this!
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Update was just emailed to all participants!
Here are some photos of the new footbar:
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
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Factory informed me yesterday that machining was complete and anodising will begin this week. CU65 sample will be dispatching this week and CU80 units will be shipping next week.
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Here are some images that the factory sent me!
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
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Looking good! When can I hope to have my grubby mitts on my kit by do you think (roughly)?
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
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so sad i missed this one, price is just right and i dig the case profile. If anyone is going to give up on order, or there is extras available please let me know!
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so sad i missed this one, price is just right and i dig the case profile. If anyone is going to give up on order, or there is extras available please let me know!
There will be extras available! I will post an update as soon as they go live on the store.
Looking good! When can I hope to have my grubby mitts on my kit by do you think (roughly)?
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Keyboard cases should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Slight delay as we spent a week ordering and testing another prototype, but the aluminium cases are being anodised.
PCBs wont arrive for possibly 3 weeks as we had some issues with the RGB matrix and had to order several prototypes. We are still testing the PCB but should be placing the order over the next few days.
Sorry for the delay, I am hoping that orders will start being dispatched by mid-December. I understand that this is over a month than originally suggested but I felt that it was necessary to spend time testing any changes we made. I will be emailing all participants shortly.
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Keyboard cases should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Slight delay as we spent a week ordering and testing another prototype, but the aluminium cases are being anodised.
PCBs wont arrive for possibly 3 weeks as we had some issues with the RGB matrix and had to order several prototypes. We are still testing the PCB but should be placing the order over the next few days.
Sorry for the delay, I am hoping that orders will start being dispatched by mid-December. I understand that this is over a month than originally suggested but I felt that it was necessary to spend time testing any changes we made. I will be emailing all participants shortly.
Will you delay the start of the CU65 group buy or at least extend the GB period?
I'm interested in the CU65, but I won't preorder it without getting the CU80 in my hands.
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Keyboard cases should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Slight delay as we spent a week ordering and testing another prototype, but the aluminium cases are being anodised.
PCBs wont arrive for possibly 3 weeks as we had some issues with the RGB matrix and had to order several prototypes. We are still testing the PCB but should be placing the order over the next few days.
Sorry for the delay, I am hoping that orders will start being dispatched by mid-December. I understand that this is over a month than originally suggested but I felt that it was necessary to spend time testing any changes we made. I will be emailing all participants shortly.
Will you delay the start of the CU65 group buy or at least extend the GB period?
I'm interested in the CU65, but I won't preorder it without getting the CU80 in my hands.
I understand completely and will definitely consider extending the group buy to around the 20th Dec. At this time the CU65 GB is planned to start on the 1st Dec.
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so sad i missed this one, price is just right and i dig the case profile. If anyone is going to give up on order, or there is extras available please let me know!
There will be extras available! I will post an update as soon as they go live on the store.
Looking good! When can I hope to have my grubby mitts on my kit by do you think (roughly)?
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Keyboard cases should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Slight delay as we spent a week ordering and testing another prototype, but the aluminium cases are being anodised.
PCBs wont arrive for possibly 3 weeks as we had some issues with the RGB matrix and had to order several prototypes. We are still testing the PCB but should be placing the order over the next few days.
Sorry for the delay, I am hoping that orders will start being dispatched by mid-December. I understand that this is over a month than originally suggested but I felt that it was necessary to spend time testing any changes we made. I will be emailing all participants shortly.
Would be a nice Christmas gift if it arrives by then :P
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so sad i missed this one, price is just right and i dig the case profile. If anyone is going to give up on order, or there is extras available please let me know!
There will be extras available! I will post an update as soon as they go live on the store.
Looking good! When can I hope to have my grubby mitts on my kit by do you think (roughly)?
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
Keyboard cases should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Slight delay as we spent a week ordering and testing another prototype, but the aluminium cases are being anodised.
PCBs wont arrive for possibly 3 weeks as we had some issues with the RGB matrix and had to order several prototypes. We are still testing the PCB but should be placing the order over the next few days.
Sorry for the delay, I am hoping that orders will start being dispatched by mid-December. I understand that this is over a month than originally suggested but I felt that it was necessary to spend time testing any changes we made. I will be emailing all participants shortly.
Would be a nice Christmas gift if it arrives by then :p
Keyboard cases should arrive within the next 2 weeks. Slight delay as we spent a week ordering and testing another prototype, but the aluminium cases are being anodised.
PCBs wont arrive for possibly 3 weeks as we had some issues with the RGB matrix and had to order several prototypes. We are still testing the PCB but should be placing the order over the next few days.
Sorry for the delay, I am hoping that orders will start being dispatched by mid-December. I understand that this is over a month than originally suggested but I felt that it was necessary to spend time testing any changes we made. I will be emailing all participants shortly.
Will you delay the start of the CU65 group buy or at least extend the GB period?
I'm interested in the CU65, but I won't preorder it without getting the CU80 in my hands.
Spoke to the factory since my last message - CU65 proto is shipping Monday, CU80 cases are expected to ship on Friday.
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Good news, we have RGB!
[attachimg=1][attachimg=2][attachimg=3]
Masive thanks to aHolland who worked tirelessly on the PCB over the weekend! Waiting for more LEDs to arrive but will post images of the full PCB with LEDs ASAP!
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Update:
PCB has been ordered and will take about 4 weeks (although the factory have said they will try to speed up the order).
All of the cases have been milled and were expected to ship last week but our the anodisers that our manufacturer normally uses have been in conflict with the Chinese government and have temporarily halted anodisation. Our manufacturer is looking for a new anodising firm for the CU80 and all of their other clients; the Chinese government has also had issues with several other local anodising firms meaning that finding an alternative is taking longer than expected.
Tai-Hao Keycaps have arrived and are looking good - switches arrived a couple of weeks ago.
Here are some more images of the CU80 cases:
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
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Update 6 that was emailed to customers this morning:
Over the past few weeks since the last update, we have been working with the case manufacturer to find a suitable anodiser that can anodise the cases.
On Monday we learnt that alternative anodisers could not match the space grey colour that was used for the prototype and final product. After some discussion with our case manufacturer we have come to the conclusion that it would be better to change the CU80 case colour to black, as seen on the CU65, as the anodising company that our manufacturer usually works with will not be open until after Chinese New Year.
I understand that some will prefer the space grey to the black but it is the only way we can fulfil all orders in a timely manner. We did not know that the Chinese Government would shut down the company that anodised the prototype, but we have been trying to find alternatives since receiving this news. We will be providing all group buy participants with a £10 refund for each CU80 case they ordered.
I can assure you that only the colour of the case is changing, no other features will be changed or removed.
I apologise for any inconvenience this has caused; I would like to express my deepest regrets and disappointment in not being able to provide you with the exact product you purchased.
The PCB is in production and we are expecting to hear more news regarding dispatch and delivery dates soon.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us!
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Any news?
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Any news?
Cases have been produced and will be shipping this week. PCBs are still in production.
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Here are some images of the final case! They arrived on Friday!
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=3]
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I've lost all faith in you guys. Neither the delay (I can wait) nor the lack of backlight (probably I won't use it), but the handling of the problem is the real problem for me (you don't know at all what's the problem and you don't have a quick solution now, so instead of delaying the shipment, finding and fixing the problem, you "solve" the issue by not soldering the LEDs and release the PCB unchanged). Oh and because of rejecting refunds.
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Yeah, I can't say I'm overly enthused about the idea of joining any future Caps Unlocked GBs. If refunds aren't being provided, I'll probably just sell my kit as soon as it arrives.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
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I've lost all faith in you guys. Neither the delay (I can wait) nor the lack of backlight (probably I won't use it), but the handling of the problem is the real problem for me (you don't know at all what's the problem and you don't have a quick solution now, so instead of delaying the shipment, finding and fixing the problem, you "solve" the issue by not soldering the LEDs and release the PCB unchanged). Oh and because of rejecting refunds.
Yeah, I can't say I'm overly enthused about the idea of joining any future Caps Unlocked GBs. If refunds aren't being provided, I'll probably just sell my kit as soon as it arrives.
Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
I understand your dissapointment. I can assure you that the decision wasn't made lightly.
Would you prefer that we re-design the PCB (which will incur further delay), or would you prefer to get the keyboard sooner but without LEDs?
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Would you prefer that we re-design the PCB (which will incur further delay), or would you prefer to get the keyboard sooner but without LEDs?
I would prefer this scenario:
- don't ship anything now
- find the root cause of the problem (take your time even if it will cause delay)
- evaluate whether this affects only backlighting or can lead to malfunction of the whole keyboard in the future
- if it is a backlighting-only issue, then you can send me the keyboard without backlighting, I don't care about LEDs, but I care about having a working keyboard
- if it is NOT a backlighting-only issue, then redesign the PCB and ship after that only (further delay is okay for me if it is needed to get a keyboard without issues)
Update: Kudos for update #7.5!
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All this update 7 stuff kinda whizzed past me, so I was on an emotional roller-coaster reading through all the e-mails in sequence.
I have to say I'm glad it turned out the way it did and CU listened to the community, I'm happy to wait a bit longer if that's what it takes to get a solid product without any kinks or issues.
Also big props for being transparent with the updates which is what made this community reaction and re-thinking of your decision possible in the first place.
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Update #8
Unfortunately, our manufacturer has not yet responded to our questions, but based on their last messages that were received on Thursday, we suspect that they have shipped the CU80 PCBs.
After further deliberation between everyone on the CU80 team we have decided to take the following course of action based on the feedback received yesterday:
- If the manufacturer has shipped the PCBs, we will start shipping orders out as soon as we receive them. This will allow you all to use the CU80 without further delay.
- Over the next few months we will re-design the CU80 from scratch and ensure that the RGB LEDs are working. We are looking for a new manufacturer for the CU80 PCB and are we are seriously considering changing the manufacturer of the CU65 PCB.
- Once the new PCB has been designed and tested, and we know that it is without fault will be launching the next CU80 group buy (Round 2).
- Once the group buy has concluded, it will last for about 14 days, we will be sending all of the orders to our manufacturer and order an additional 75 CU80 PCBs.
- Everyone that joined the first CU80 group buy will be getting a new PCB for FREE. Additional payment will not be required from anyone that joined Round 1.
Below are that answers to questions that we believe you may ask after reading that list of actions:
Q: Does this mean that if the next CU80 group buy gets 0 orders we won’t get our replacement PCB?
A: No, even if we receive 0 orders you will all be getting replacement PCBs. The reason why we won’t be ordering it sooner is because we have had a large amount of interest in the next CU80 group buy and it is less economical to submit two smaller orders compared to one large order.
Q: How do you know the next PCB will work?
A: We are going to start testing the RGB on smaller macro pads before we start moving up to a CU80 prototype. This will allow us to test different LEDs much faster. We will only order a CU80 prototype once we can get consistent lighting on a smaller macro pad. We will also be sharing progress of our methods as frequently as possible.
In addition to this we will be sending the macro pad and the CU80 prototype (both with working RGB) to external reviewers. This way you know that we won’t be leading you on and providing you with false information. We haven’t decided who will be reviewing the lighting, but we will tell you in due course.
In addition to the actions outlined above we are going to be sending you more information, pictures and updates as we have them. I think that more communication will show you that we are committed to the CU80 and fulfilling our goal of bringing more people into the world of customs – seriously, you should see our plans for 2020.
We hope to effectively execute these actions and restore the trust that you placed in us.
If you have any questions, we highly recommend that you join our Discord server as questions are answered in real time!
Discord Link: https://discord.gg/M6XfE5f
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And kudos for update 8! :thumb:
If you can confirm that current issues affect only backlighting and not the whole PCB, then I don't need a new PCB.
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[attachimg=1]
The CU80 barebones kit will be available from £99.99(inc VAT) and fully assembled with keycaps and switches from £149.99(incVAT).
The kit will have all of the same features as Round 1. :D
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Hi !
I'm a new enthusiast and i really like your design but i have some questions:
Are all the issues you have encountered solved ?
Is your round 2 rgb ?
Is it possible to remplace the triangular feet by those (I don't like your feet):https://kbdfans.com/products/anodized-cnc-aluminum-feet-1pair
Thanks :)
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this is round two that was discussed...
i really wish i had hopped in on the gb earlier...
i didn't find any threads here about the GB R3...
or that the round three has been "suspened" or cancelled...
anyone else around here register for cu80 r3?
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this is round two that was discussed...
i really wish i had hopped in on the gb earlier...
i didn't find any threads here about the GB R3...
or that the round three has been "suspened" or cancelled...
anyone else around here register for cu80 r3?
You're in luck because GB for R3 just opened last week.
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this is round two that was discussed...
i really wish i had hopped in on the gb earlier...
i didn't find any threads here about the GB R3...
or that the round three has been "suspened" or cancelled...
anyone else around here register for cu80 r3?
You're in luck because GB for R3 just opened last week.
Unfortunately R3 has been canceled: https://caps-unlocked.com/blog/august-2020-update-/