geekhack

geekhack Marketplace => Group Buys and Preorders => Topic started by: cynviloq on Mon, 24 July 2017, 23:14:18

Title: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 24 July 2017, 23:14:18
This is a group buy for the 96KEE by mehkee.com. The 96KEE is a small revision of the keyboard kit formerly known as the GSX96.

Quick update - the first two batches of orders (~95 units) have been placed with the manufacturer. I'm trying to get a sample quickly produced to make sure all the changes to R1 are as expected. Then production on the two sets of orders placed will begin (timeline still as expected) - all orders up until 8/9 have been submitted. To-date total of ordered kits is 120 (large majority are titanium grey, black, and silver, only a smattering of blue/red).

Why the extension?: Just another week and a half to give a few more people the chance to order. I've had quite a few messages asking for a little bit extra time to place the order and given we do not have a specific MOQ and the orders are placed on a rolling basis, I have no issues opening it up to more people.

Click here to join the Group Buy: 96kee.click (http://96kee.click) or https://mehkee.com/products/96kee (https://mehkee.com/products/96kee)

For those who are new to this kit - here is a quick overview of the kit and some specifications:
Full Kit comes with:

Additional Details:

For those familiar with the GSX96, the kit is virtually identical save for a few small changes:

A note on international shipping: yes it's expensive and we're sorry we can't do better on the shipping prices - the estimated weight including box and packaging is over 3lbs. This pricing is based on the weight/location and auto-calculated via USPS rates. Based on other GBs, the rates that people have been e-mailing/messaging to say are absurd are actually in-line with the only other option being an upgrade to DHL Express (even more expensive). USPS Priority / USPS Priority International (both have tracking and insurance) are the only options we will provide for this kit.

Estimated Timeline

Thanks and as always, please comment or e-mail us with any questions!

Below are some pictures of the R1 kit and builds by our awesome customers - more available on the website.
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/96KEE_-_6_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)
More
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/96KEE_-_1_-_Copy_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/96KEE_-_9_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/a9A2a3c_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/M3e1drs_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/ugB1OUj_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 24 July 2017, 23:14:34
8/16: See update at top of first post, first two batches of orders have been submitted, deadline until end of GB orders is extended until 11:59pm ET on 8/25.
10/29: Shipping from factory expected Wednesday!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: hkf on Mon, 24 July 2017, 23:55:41
Nice board. I've seen the ones from taobao for $90 and it seems to be great value!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 25 July 2017, 00:06:13
I used the round 1 version and really liked it. Round 2 version can only be better.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: MandrewDavis on Tue, 25 July 2017, 00:44:09
The ability to deliver such a keyboard at this pricepoint is impressive. Very tempting!

Also, I see you carry holtite sockets in your store, will this round of PCBs support them?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 25 July 2017, 00:47:02
The ability to deliver such a keyboard at this pricepoint is impressive. Very tempting!

Also, I see you carry holtite sockets in your store, will this round of PCBs support them?

Unfortunately no, maybe a point to contemplate for the next round, but generally hard to do for cheap unless you're piggy backing off a previous design that has switch pin cutouts the perfect size (and then there is the debate/process to figure out if it supports gold or tin-lead given both have a slight difference in thickness of contact plating).
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: sneaky101 on Tue, 25 July 2017, 06:18:18
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Data on Tue, 25 July 2017, 07:34:56
Nice design and great price, but it doesn't look like this plate supports 3x 1u to the right of space bar.  My search for the perfect 96key continues...
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Berzerker on Tue, 25 July 2017, 08:18:35
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

It's a heavy board, shipping any kind of thing like this is going to be expensive to AU. Considering the major competitor, ZZ96, is double the price without shipping, does $35 really break you on this decision?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Tue, 25 July 2017, 08:19:25
Jumped in this morning!  Thanks for the follow-through cynviloq!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 25 July 2017, 09:19:28
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Jumped in this morning!  Thanks for the follow-through cynviloq!

We're happy we could get this organized and going! The main motivation was actually from all the folks in the original thread who mentioned they wanted one and missed out.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: breitling on Tue, 25 July 2017, 12:00:27
Wasn't gonna jump in on this but at the price its just too hard to pass up!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Axiomatik on Tue, 25 July 2017, 13:07:06
I'm in for a black one! Might have to wait for those "Tealios" switches though...


What software will the PCB use?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Tue, 25 July 2017, 13:13:42
I think he said PS2AVRGB for programming support.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: kimbles on Tue, 25 July 2017, 13:17:32
Can you let us know if the color of the blue kit is the same one as in the picture on your site?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 25 July 2017, 13:30:36
I'm in for a black one! Might have to wait for those "Tealios" switches though...


What software will the PCB use?

As E.E.L mentioned, PS2AVRGB so you can use BootMapper or whatever your favorite GUI is.

Can you let us know if the color of the blue kit is the same one as in the picture on your site?

Yes - the blue kit is the same as the second from the right in the kit with 4 cases. That was the blue produced in R1 and it has not been changed.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: donutcat on Tue, 25 July 2017, 13:51:02


Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Just my $.02 on shipping, east coast to west coast for a 20x10x4 box weighing 2.5lbs is only $20.75 with $160 insurance and $2.50 packing materials cost factored in, and it only gets cheaper the closer the shipping zone, and shipping the same box to Aus via First Class International is $34.56 with the same $2.50 for materials, though no insurance that I'm aware of. So yeah, $20 to Aus isn't possible, under $40 is probably possible tho, and it should def be possible to get a smaller(albeit heavier) box to the west coast for $20, though I can't get an exact price atm since my internet barely handles GH.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 25 July 2017, 13:54:18


Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Just my $.02 on shipping, east coast to west coast for a 20x10x4 box weighing 2.5lbs is only $20.75 with $160 insurance and $2.50 packing materials cost factored in, and it only gets cheaper the closer the shipping zone, and shipping the same box to Aus via First Class International is $34.56 with the same $2.50 for materials, though no insurance that I'm aware of. So yeah, $20 to Aus isn't possible, under $40 is probably possible tho, and it should def be possible to get a smaller(albeit heavier) box to the west coast for $20, though I can't get an exact price atm since my internet barely handles GH.

Yes, I know. The stated weight in the description for the whole package is estimated to be ~3.5 lbs. We aren't willing to ship these keyboards without insurance so Priority Mail is the only option here.

The shipping costs are auto-calculated based on zone. Many on the East Coast (we're based in NYC) are paying as little as $14 for PM shipping.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: donutcat on Tue, 25 July 2017, 14:19:30


Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Just my $.02 on shipping, east coast to west coast for a 20x10x4 box weighing 2.5lbs is only $20.75 with $160 insurance and $2.50 packing materials cost factored in, and it only gets cheaper the closer the shipping zone, and shipping the same box to Aus via First Class International is $34.56 with the same $2.50 for materials, though no insurance that I'm aware of. So yeah, $20 to Aus isn't possible, under $40 is probably possible tho, and it should def be possible to get a smaller(albeit heavier) box to the west coast for $20, though I can't get an exact price atm since my internet barely handles GH.

Yes, I know. The stated weight in the description for the whole package is estimated to be ~3.5 lbs. We aren't willing to ship these keyboards without insurance so Priority Mail is the only option here.

The shipping costs are auto-calculated based on zone. Many on the East Coast (we're based in NYC) are paying as little as $14 for PM shipping.

Checking out your site, I got $11.06 shipping, so not bad. The 3.5lbs does seem like a lot, that's like 1.5lbs of packaging if the board itself is 2lbs? That's a lot imo, since the 20104 boxes I mentioned before are themselves 10oz, and with Coniferous I ended up with maybe 2-3oz of bubblewrap to secure the sets in the boxes. Considering you'll have smaller boxes, mayhaps a 1664, I'm certain that you can't possibly be using 3/4 of a pound of bubblewrap since that's like 50ft. With some dense packing foam that could maybe weigh that much, but I'm still not certain.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: TerryMathews on Tue, 25 July 2017, 14:45:34
I mailed a GSX96 to AUS with a healthy bit of that foam wrap that's popular in China and it came to 2 lb 12 oz. 3/4 of a pound difference seems excessive.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: sneaky101 on Tue, 25 July 2017, 15:23:26
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

It's a heavy board, shipping any kind of thing like this is going to be expensive to AU. Considering the major competitor, ZZ96, is double the price without shipping, does $35 really break you on this decision?

It is when original GSX96 was $90 + drop shipping via DHL.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: speaktobrett on Tue, 25 July 2017, 15:27:46
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Davyb123music on Tue, 25 July 2017, 15:41:43
Joined this morning, also!  Thank you so much for putting this together!!!

The painful wait begins...........
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Axiomatik on Tue, 25 July 2017, 16:50:59
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(

🤔
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: speaktobrett on Tue, 25 July 2017, 16:56:09
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(

🤔

Kind of makes the 10% switch discount redundant doesnt it??!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 25 July 2017, 17:35:34
Hi everyone - thanks for your comments and I hear your concerns.

USPS PM shipping is calculated via weight and zone/distance in increments of 1lb (i.e. 3.1lbs and 3.5lbs and 3.9lbs are all charged at a 4lb shipping rate).

I mailed a GSX96 to AUS with a healthy bit of that foam wrap that's popular in China and it came to 2 lb 12 oz. 3/4 of a pound difference seems excessive.

Thanks for the comparison. Can I ask what all accessories it included (assuming aluminum feet and full stabilizer set?). Our plan is to have boxes made to fit the 96KEE (with foam and/or bubblewrap), as well as a bit of room in case anyone adds switches and other accessories to their order. Even the addition of 4.5oz would automatically bump it to the 4lb weight class which is what all the kit orders are based off right now if you check shipping for just the Full Kit. We are allowing ourselves a bit of room in case we decide to use a sturdier material or heavier packaging.

If you have an issue, then I do not mind if you do not participate in this Group Buy. I'm sorry it has priced out Australians, but for Americans participating in Group Buys that originate from the other side of the pacific, we are used to paying $50-60+ for shipping to the US for kits alone and it's unfortunate for y'all that it's reversed this time. (a quick check of recent GB prices $45-90 from Malaysia/China/Korea to the US for weights ranging from 3-6lbs).

$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

It's a heavy board, shipping any kind of thing like this is going to be expensive to AU. Considering the major competitor, ZZ96, is double the price without shipping, does $35 really break you on this decision?

It is when original GSX96 was $90 + drop shipping via DHL.

If you find an equivalent board or group buy that will be cheaper for you, then by all means please join it. I am not forcing anyone to participate in this group buy and would not want anyone to join if there was a cheaper option for them elsewhere!

$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(



Kind of makes the 10% switch discount redundant doesnt it??!

You can buy your switches from elsewhere... Not all group buys and items and shops are going to be able to be a financial home run for everyone in the world (or at least from my perspective -- perhaps I'm not wise enough or capable enough to figure it out) so this seems to be the case for potential ex-US buyers in this Group Buy.

~110 Zealios adds ~ 7.5oz which in this case would push the package into the 5lb tier which is why there is an increase in the shipping fee. The shipping fees are auto-generate by Shopify based on weight and location according the USPS schedule with a small margin to account for packaging materials. If TerryMathews can ship it for cheaper then maybe he could purchase it for you and send it to you?

If the group buy is not in your price range, then you do not need to join. Unfortunately I cannot lower the shipping price to Australia to $20 and I hope perhaps someone in Australia will one day run a GB of a kit for y'all that makes the overall price cheaper.

I really do appreciate the feedback, but I don't think these prices are beyond reality.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: speaktobrett on Tue, 25 July 2017, 17:44:44

You can buy your switches from elsewhere... Not all group buys and items and shops are going to be able to be a financial home run for everyone in the world (or at least from my perspective -- perhaps I'm not wise enough or capable enough to figure it out) so this seems to be the case for potential ex-US buyers in this Group Buy.

~110 Zealios adds ~ 7.5oz which in this case would push the package into the 5lb tier which is why there is an increase in the shipping fee. The shipping fees are auto-generate by Shopify based on weight and location according the USPS schedule with a small margin to account for packaging materials. If TerryMathews can ship it for cheaper then maybe he could purchase it for you and send it to you?

If the group buy is not in your price range, then you do not need to join. Unfortunately I cannot lower the shipping price to Australia to $20 and I hope perhaps someone in Australia will one day run a GB of a kit for y'all that makes the overall price cheaper.

I really do appreciate the feedback, but I don't think these prices are beyond reality.

Hi cynviloq,

Thanks for hearing our concerns.

I understand $20USD is not reasonable for shipping such a weight, I just think $72USD prices us out of the GB which is sad :(
I had my heart set on it.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 25 July 2017, 17:51:06

You can buy your switches from elsewhere... Not all group buys and items and shops are going to be able to be a financial home run for everyone in the world (or at least from my perspective -- perhaps I'm not wise enough or capable enough to figure it out) so this seems to be the case for potential ex-US buyers in this Group Buy.

~110 Zealios adds ~ 7.5oz which in this case would push the package into the 5lb tier which is why there is an increase in the shipping fee. The shipping fees are auto-generate by Shopify based on weight and location according the USPS schedule with a small margin to account for packaging materials. If TerryMathews can ship it for cheaper then maybe he could purchase it for you and send it to you?

If the group buy is not in your price range, then you do not need to join. Unfortunately I cannot lower the shipping price to Australia to $20 and I hope perhaps someone in Australia will one day run a GB of a kit for y'all that makes the overall price cheaper.

I really do appreciate the feedback, but I don't think these prices are beyond reality.

Hi cynviloq,

Thanks for hearing our concerns.

I understand $20USD is not reasonable for shipping such a weight, I just think $72USD prices us out of the GB which is sad :(
I had my heart set on it.

I know and I'm very sorry - but for the kit alone, I do not believe ~$50 is outrageous for USPS Priority Mail with tracking and insurance.

Please understand that for all my orders, if the actual weight calculated at the end of the day moves to a different tier, they are refunded the difference in tiers automatically. I just can't promise that because we have set an approximation and would not feel comfortable saying that you may get a refund on shipping once the kits are in. Sure it could happen, but I don't know the likelihood.

In any case, even if it were to move down a tier (to the 3lb tier), the difference would be ~$10 for Priority Mail - which if the $10 difference (5% of the total cost) is what is keeping you from participating, then purchasing a $200+ keyboard is probably not a wise financial decision.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: hkf on Tue, 25 July 2017, 18:50:52
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

It's a heavy board, shipping any kind of thing like this is going to be expensive to AU. Considering the major competitor, ZZ96, is double the price without shipping, does $35 really break you on this decision?

It is when original GSX96 was $90 + drop shipping via DHL.

And its not like the 'improvements' are significant.

https://world.taobao.com/item/545282990880.htm Have fun Brett.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 25 July 2017, 19:25:53
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

It's a heavy board, shipping any kind of thing like this is going to be expensive to AU. Considering the major competitor, ZZ96, is double the price without shipping, does $35 really break you on this decision?

It is when original GSX96 was $90 + drop shipping via DHL.

And its not like the 'improvements' are significant.

https://world.taobao.com/item/545282990880.htm Have fun Brett.

1) That's just the PCB, and it's the bad red one. The new one has an improved black/gold PCB.

2) Shipping to Australia is $50 for any keyboard kit, not just this one. There's a reason we make jokes about the "Australia tax." This kit is cheaper than almost every other 96 out there (except the welfare96, which is acrylic, and the YMD96, which is a sandwich case). The thing to be mad at here is the price of freight, not Mehkee. I did some checking with other carriers and even DHL is like $40. The new GSX is also thicker and has more mounting points than the original.

Ordering through a proxy might reduce your shipping cost.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: skidude9678 on Tue, 25 July 2017, 20:14:47
In for a full kit in black, really like the features and design of this. Hoping to pair this with GMK Laser eventually.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: hkf on Tue, 25 July 2017, 20:35:16
Meh
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Axiomatik on Tue, 25 July 2017, 20:39:46

And its not like the 'improvements' are significant.

https://world.taobao.com/item/545282990880.htm Have fun Brett.


wait what... Is that the same? Mehkee should make a profit, but what exactly are we paying for?


Also can somebody explain the value of a black/gold pcb, when you can't even see the PCB...
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 25 July 2017, 20:49:05
1) https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88251.0

2) I actually live in australia and shipping has never exceeded $50 usd for anything (they are usually $45 for 3kgs from US, $30 for SK/SEA) but lets defend someone that is already blatantly flipping taobao products for 80%+ markup!

That topic links to the same Taobao listing. It's just plate or PCB. I can read the Chinese, but Google translate should confirm.

Mehkee worked to improve the existing product. I was talking to him about it the entire time. He is most definitely NOT flipping Taobao products for a quick profit in this case.


And its not like the 'improvements' are significant.

https://world.taobao.com/item/545282990880.htm Have fun Brett.


wait what... Is that the same? Mehkee should make a profit, but what exactly are we paying for?

It's the PCB or plate for the old version. The new version has an entirely new PCB and plate.

Quote
Also can somebody explain the value of a black/gold pcb, when you can't even see the PCB...

The red PCB was a principal complaint from the last round. It doesn't look very good, and it wasn't the best quality. Cynviloq tells me the new PCB looks (in his own words), "baller" and is better quality.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Axiomatik on Tue, 25 July 2017, 20:56:05
1) https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88251.0

2) I actually live in australia and shipping has never exceeded $50 usd for anything (they are usually $45 for 3kgs from US, $30 for SK/SEA) but lets defend someone that is already blatantly flipping taobao products for 80%+ markup!

That topic links to the same Taobao listing. It's just plate or PCB. I can read the Chinese, but Google translate should confirm.

Mehkee worked to improve the existing product. I was talking to him about it the entire time. He is most definitely NOT flipping Taobao products for a quick profit in this case.


And its not like the 'improvements' are significant.

https://world.taobao.com/item/545282990880.htm Have fun Brett.


wait what... Is that the same? Mehkee should make a profit, but what exactly are we paying for?

It's the PCB or plate for the old version. The new version has an entirely new PCB and plate.

Quote
Also can somebody explain the value of a black/gold pcb, when you can't even see the PCB...

The red PCB was a principal complaint from the last round. It doesn't look very good, and it wasn't the best quality. Cynviloq tells me the new PCB looks (in his own words), "baller" and is better quality.

Hmmm... I'm going to need some clarification or I'm going to cancel my order, because this is getting a bit sketchy imo. In the other thread cynviloq is saying he's never seen the PCB before

Again, I understand people need to make a profit, but it's seeming more and more like this is just a proxy service.
 

(http://i.imgur.com/YUAKnPU.png)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: skidude9678 on Tue, 25 July 2017, 21:02:14
Hasn't been produced yet =/= he's never seen it (pre-production sample, perhaps?). He clearly says the new version will be black and gold.
Title: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: jKaw on Tue, 25 July 2017, 21:16:15
Waiting on my two acrylic GSX96 that I bought direct from the Taobao seller that cynviloq recommended me too. Supposed to have rev 2 PCB as well. I'll jump in after I examine how this previous kit fits together.

Definitely will be in for two if it works out perfectly.

Would these Aluminum housing fit the rev 2 PCB? In case we would want to switch the housing from acrylic to Aluminum on a whim. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 25 July 2017, 22:23:14
Hmmm... I'm going to need some clarification or I'm going to cancel my order, because this is getting a bit sketchy imo. In the other thread cynviloq is saying he's never seen the PCB before

Again, I understand people need to make a profit, but it's seeming more and more like this is just a proxy service.
 

Hasn't been produced yet =/= he's never seen it (pre-production sample, perhaps?). He clearly says the new version will be black and gold.


He hasn't seen it but he predicts that it will look baller.

I should have been more clear, sorry.

From what he's told me, it'll look something like zeal65 PCB, but I CANNOT CONFIRM. I just know it'll be black and gold.

zeal65 picture for reference (https://i.imgur.com/WznI1Az.jpg)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 26 July 2017, 05:15:59
There won't be gold tracing like Zeal's PCB and I wouldn't compare it to his.

Here is a sample production picture - I don't have final pictures as it's still being revised with the proper standoff holes for the 96 key layout. It's not that I haven't seen the PCB before and of course it hasn't been produced - the Group Buy is still running?

(http://i.imgur.com/wm4uQ5s.jpg)

This is the factory's first time producing PCBs in this colorway. Yes, it is a value factory relative to other PCB manufacturers so they do not have a wide range of production samples that we can choose from and view.

Hkf's link (the original round) doesn't have cases available anymore, the prior round was run at a significant loss to the original group buy runner on TaoBao. I reached out to him to convince him to do an R2 after feedback on both the GSX96 thread and Reddit.

If there is a proxy on TB that you would like to purchase through, please do so, though I'm not sure there will be one as I won't be asking for proxies and the original GB runner has told me he plans to only run more cases for this GB (verbal agreement).

If you find this to be "sketchy", then please don't participate if you believe it to be risky as it is a group buy.

Again, I am not forcing anyone to participate and I'm generally pretty transparent about not only my business but my group buys. If you have questions please feel free to keep asking them.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 26 July 2017, 05:17:47
Waiting on my two acrylic GSX96 that I bought direct from the Taobao seller that cynviloq recommended me too. Supposed to have rev 2 PCB as well. I'll jump in after I examine how this previous kit fits together.

Definitely will be in for two if it works out perfectly.

Would these Aluminum housing fit the rev 2 PCB? In case we would want to switch the housing from acrylic to Aluminum on a whim. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The standoffs from the Acrylic Kit should match up for the aluminum case, but I can't guarantee it... At the minimum you should be able to use at least 5 of the overlapping standoffs that were carried over from the first PCB to both of these rev 2.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 26 July 2017, 05:19:22
Meh

If you do have concerns with how I operate my business, I'm always happy to discuss and listen to criticisms - feel free to PM or e-mail me.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: jKaw on Wed, 26 July 2017, 06:45:19
Waiting on my two acrylic GSX96 that I bought direct from the Taobao seller that cynviloq recommended me too. Supposed to have rev 2 PCB as well. I'll jump in after I examine how this previous kit fits together.

Definitely will be in for two if it works out perfectly.

Would these Aluminum housing fit the rev 2 PCB? In case we would want to switch the housing from acrylic to Aluminum on a whim. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The standoffs from the Acrylic Kit should match up for the aluminum case, but I can't guarantee it... At the minimum you should be able to use at least 5 of the overlapping standoffs that were carried over from the first PCB to both of these rev 2.

Thanks! If anything I'll wait a bit until I have the PCB on hand in a few days / next week and try to match up with the aluminum housing that you have depicted. I definitely want an aluminum kit, just don't know if I should go in for extra or not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: kimbles on Wed, 26 July 2017, 12:15:41
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(

Isn't the kit for this cheaper than the one you bought on mechmarket though?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: speaktobrett on Wed, 26 July 2017, 16:17:53
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(

Isn't the kit for this cheaper than the one you bought on mechmarket though?

No, the kit on mechmarket was cheaper.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: TerryMathews on Wed, 26 July 2017, 21:34:12
$55 for shipping to AU @_@
Purchase is kill.

Was so keen but will have to pass, if there is any way to bring it down to $20 then we can dance.

Sorry mate - if we could ship this for $20 across the ocean, we certainly would, but at this weight we can't even ship it across the country to the West Coast for $20 (ranges anywhere between $20-23).

Yes, shipping to Australia has also killed it for me on this buy.

It is $52 to Australia, but if you also add switches in your order.. it jumps to $72 for shipping!!

I was the Australian that terrymatthews sent the kit to, and i love this keyboard, so i was was very keen on purchasing a second :(

Isn't the kit for this cheaper than the one you bought on mechmarket though?

Not after shipping, because I didn't pad mine with an extra pound of weight...
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (aka GSX96 R2)
Post by: cynviloq on Thu, 27 July 2017, 11:19:51
Just a quick update - about 48 kits ordered so far with the large majority being Black and Titanium Grey! For those ordering 3+ kits each, I do not envy your soldering parties.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Thu, 27 July 2017, 13:17:29
 :))
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: constellation on Thu, 27 July 2017, 21:46:09
Is titanium grey the one pictured on the bottom right of the last picture on this image? Or is that the black?

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/pIQfYWZ_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298

Trying to gauge how dark the grey really is (I like my greys darkkkkk)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: kmba on Thu, 27 July 2017, 21:56:41
That's titanium gray. I have an r1 titanium gray case. It's fairly dark but you won't mistake it for black in person :)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Thu, 27 July 2017, 22:08:51
Is titanium grey the one pictured on the bottom right of the last picture on this image? Or is that the black?

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/pIQfYWZ_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298

Trying to gauge how dark the grey really is (I like my greys darkkkkk)

The set of built kit pictures on the brown background is also Titanium Grey!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: constellation on Thu, 27 July 2017, 22:57:55
Oooh, perfect. That's the grey I like!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: PleaseBeMyFriend on Fri, 28 July 2017, 04:11:08
Hey :D is that my board?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 28 July 2017, 06:23:28
Hey :D is that my board?

It is!  ;D
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: Axiomatik on Fri, 04 August 2017, 14:23:32
Do we know exactly what layouts will be supported. I want to join the Godspeed drop and am not exactly sure what to order. Is the spacebar 6u or 7u.

(https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/img_thread/PHGFOSQDTo6GfNfR8kCm_RS96%20Arrows.JPG?auto=format&fm=jpg&fit=min&w=796&dpr=1)

 (https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/img_thread/M6jezcxnRSG2m0NDZsxs_RS96%20no%20arows.JPG?auto=format&fm=jpg&fit=min&w=796&dpr=1)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 04 August 2017, 14:28:04
Do we know exactly what layouts will be supported. I want to join the Godspeed drop and am not exactly sure what to order. Is the spacebar 6u or 7u.

Show Image
(https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/img_thread/PHGFOSQDTo6GfNfR8kCm_RS96%20Arrows.JPG?auto=format&fm=jpg&fit=min&w=796&dpr=1)


 
Show Image
(https://massdrop-s3.imgix.net/img_thread/M6jezcxnRSG2m0NDZsxs_RS96%20no%20arows.JPG?auto=format&fm=jpg&fit=min&w=796&dpr=1)


Space is standard 6.25u

Bottom row is 1.25-1.25-1.25-6.25-1.5-1.5
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: peonpeon on Sun, 06 August 2017, 11:10:21
This looks great. One question about the layout though, where's the backslash?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Sun, 06 August 2017, 11:53:09
This looks great. One question about the layout though, where's the backslash?

Default layout backslash is under Backspace - the layout shown on the black keyboard in the pictures is my personal one and I use an HHKB-style layout so the keys are a little different.

The PCB will come pre-flashed with a default layout akin to a normal 96-key board.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: OmegaSupreme on Sun, 06 August 2017, 14:43:19
Is this a high profile case?  Looking at the sample images it looks to be but just wanted to make sure.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 06 August 2017, 16:19:51
Is this a high profile case?  Looking at the sample images it looks to be but just wanted to make sure.

It is.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: OmegaSupreme on Sun, 06 August 2017, 19:51:42
Is this a high profile case?  Looking at the sample images it looks to be but just wanted to make sure.

It is.

Thanks!  One other question.

Is the PCB used in this board readily available in the market or is it a good idea to buy an extra pcb with the group buy? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 06 August 2017, 22:29:44
Is this a high profile case?  Looking at the sample images it looks to be but just wanted to make sure.

It is.

Thanks!  One other question.

Is the PCB used in this board readily available in the market or is it a good idea to buy an extra pcb with the group buy? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Standards are hazy for 96 key PCBs, I recommend buying a second PCB and plate if you can.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: w.meri on Mon, 07 August 2017, 02:56:52
Anyone know if the PCB with this group buy happens to be from the same manufacturer as the recent 96-key group buy on Reddit?


The PCB from that buy was surprisingly good quality.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 07 August 2017, 03:01:49
Anyone know if the PCB with this group buy happens to be from the same manufacturer as the recent 96-key group buy on Reddit?


The PCB from that buy was surprisingly good quality.

Not sure who the manufacturer of any of the recent 96-key group buys (there were a few for acrylic / plastic cases), but it is the same as the original round 1.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: OmegaSupreme on Mon, 07 August 2017, 08:19:56
Can this pcb support a layout similar to the below?

(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170807/14ac338c3b52f4a062258a50586450ee.png)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: Axiomatik on Mon, 07 August 2017, 10:17:00
Could you please post a clear picture of the PCB? Do we have any options in terms of layout or is the one shown the only option?


Here are a couple more examples of 96 layouts

(http://i.imgur.com/pJzr03N.jpg)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 07 August 2017, 12:13:22
Could you please post a clear picture of the PCB? Do we have any options in terms of layout or is the one shown the only option?


Here are a couple more examples of 96 layouts

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/pJzr03N.jpg)


Hi - did you check the actual link to the product? The first picture shows the plate and PCB clearly. I think most of your limitation is the plate, but the PCB does not support split backspace.

With respect to both of your links, a 7u is possible for the PCB but not the plate that it come with. The PCB does not support 1.5-1-1.5 on the right side as far as I can tell.

I'm happy to take another picture of the PCB but it would be redundant to what is in the product link with the plate overlaid.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 07 August 2017, 12:22:49
Can this pcb support a layout similar to the below?

Show Image
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170807/14ac338c3b52f4a062258a50586450ee.png)



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not entirely - you can look at the first picture on the product link to see layouts supported.

The plate/PCB supports the full Shift and split '+' on the Numpad, however on the bottom row the right of the Spacebar you can really only do 1.5-1.5-1-1 due to the PCB.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: Axiomatik on Mon, 07 August 2017, 15:33:15
Could you please post a clear picture of the PCB? Do we have any options in terms of layout or is the one shown the only option?


Here are a couple more examples of 96 layouts

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/pJzr03N.jpg)


Hi - did you check the actual link to the product? The first picture shows the plate and PCB clearly. I think most of your limitation is the plate, but the PCB does not support split backspace.

With respect to both of your links, a 7u is possible for the PCB but not the plate that it come with. The PCB does not support 1.5-1-1.5 on the right side as far as I can tell.

I'm happy to take another picture of the PCB but it would be redundant to what is in the product link with the plate overlaid.


I'm a bit confused now. I went back and looked at the picture/plate combo and it looks identical to RS96 board/plate and they were able to support a few different layouts, including the one OmegaSupreme was asking about.

This is important to understand as it directly effects what key caps need to be ordered and as you well know there's only a small window to order for group buys.


(http://i.imgur.com/p5eNGbG.png)

(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/96KEE_-_1_-_Copy_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/red-scarf-iii-ver-a-96-key-custom-keyboard-kit (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/red-scarf-iii-ver-a-96-key-custom-keyboard-kit)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: Puddsy on Mon, 07 August 2017, 17:27:32
Could you please post a clear picture of the PCB? Do we have any options in terms of layout or is the one shown the only option?


Here are a couple more examples of 96 layouts

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/pJzr03N.jpg)


Hi - did you check the actual link to the product? The first picture shows the plate and PCB clearly. I think most of your limitation is the plate, but the PCB does not support split backspace.

With respect to both of your links, a 7u is possible for the PCB but not the plate that it come with. The PCB does not support 1.5-1-1.5 on the right side as far as I can tell.

I'm happy to take another picture of the PCB but it would be redundant to what is in the product link with the plate overlaid.


I'm a bit confused now. I went back and looked at the picture/plate combo and it looks identical to RS96 board/plate and they were able to support a few different layouts, including the one OmegaSupreme was asking about.

This is important to understand as it directly effects what key caps need to be ordered and as you well know there's only a small window to order for group buys.


Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/p5eNGbG.png)


Show Image
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1799/1839/products/96KEE_-_1_-_Copy_1024x1024.jpg?v=1500952298)


https://www.massdrop.com/buy/red-scarf-iii-ver-a-96-key-custom-keyboard-kit (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/red-scarf-iii-ver-a-96-key-custom-keyboard-kit)

use your eyes please

(http://i.imgur.com/qsjpeBH.png)

redscarf PCB, which supports your weird layout

see that it has three options in one spot

(http://i.imgur.com/qPIMBbF.png)

GSX

see that it only has 1 option in two spots

hence, does not support the layout
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 08 August 2017, 09:38:02
Could you please post a clear picture of the PCB? Do we have any options in terms of layout or is the one shown the only option?


Here are a couple more examples of 96 layouts

Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/pJzr03N.jpg)


Hi - did you check the actual link to the product? The first picture shows the plate and PCB clearly. I think most of your limitation is the plate, but the PCB does not support split backspace.

With respect to both of your links, a 7u is possible for the PCB but not the plate that it come with. The PCB does not support 1.5-1-1.5 on the right side as far as I can tell.

I'm happy to take another picture of the PCB but it would be redundant to what is in the product link with the plate overlaid.


I'm a bit confused now. I went back and looked at the picture/plate combo and it looks identical to RS96 board/plate and they were able to support a few different layouts, including the one OmegaSupreme was asking about.

This is important to understand as it directly effects what key caps need to be ordered and as you well know there's only a small window to order for group buys.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/red-scarf-iii-ver-a-96-key-custom-keyboard-kit (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/red-scarf-iii-ver-a-96-key-custom-keyboard-kit)

I think Puddsy hit the main point which is that the PCBs are not similar. I think the picture that you displayed of 96KEE is pretty evident of the layout, however I will try to make a layout in layouteditor to show the possibilities (which are not that wide from the standard 96-key layout).

As mentioned before, the default bottom row is 1.5-1.5-6.25-1.5-1.5.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: autobot on Wed, 09 August 2017, 14:28:42
Snap, I wish there was a cyan case option, would love to match my Ocean Dolch caps to it.  :blank:
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: davisthegreat on Wed, 09 August 2017, 14:40:20
Anyword on if this will fit a ZZ96 PCB? I have an acrylic ZZ96 that needs to go metal
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 09 August 2017, 21:09:17
Anyword on if this will fit a ZZ96 PCB? I have an acrylic ZZ96 that needs to go metal

Do you mind sharing a picture of the ZZ96 PCB? I'm not sure and cannot guarantee the compatibility but happy to take a look.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: InTheFlesh on Sat, 12 August 2017, 11:48:02
I have kind of a silly question, I'm a bit new to buying kits.
I see there is translucent plastic on the sides of the body for LEDs but I don't see anything about the kit coming with LEDs. Do I need to buy those separately?
Edit: Another question, is it possible to change the Delete key to a backslash key?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: w.meri on Sat, 12 August 2017, 13:17:26
I have kind of a silly question, I'm a bit new to buying kits.
I see there is translucent plastic on the sides of the body for LEDs but I don't see anything about the kit coming with LEDs. Do I need to buy those separately?
Edit: Another question, is it possible to change the Delete key to a backslash key?


The PCB has RGB underglow LEDs pre-soldered on the back of the PCB. There are spots for through hole in-key LEDs as well, but those LEDs are not provided.


Should be able to change any key to anything you want. The PS2AVRGB program allows for the user to setup the keys any way they want. Or at least that's how the PS2AVRGB program worked for me a couple weeks ago when I was setting up a 96-key I got from a different group buy.

(I'm like 92% sure the PCBs from that GB and this one are the same)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Aluminum Kit for $165 + Shipping (ends August 16th)
Post by: cynviloq on Sun, 13 August 2017, 22:15:02
I have kind of a silly question, I'm a bit new to buying kits.
I see there is translucent plastic on the sides of the body for LEDs but I don't see anything about the kit coming with LEDs. Do I need to buy those separately?
Edit: Another question, is it possible to change the Delete key to a backslash key?

As w.meri mentioned, RGB underglow (bottom side of the PCB) has the LEDs pre-soldered.

For normal in-switch LEDs, there is are through holes for normal 2-leg LEDs, but the LEDs themselves are not provided. (They are sold in 1.8mm and 2x3x4mm variety on the same store though).

It is possible to program all the keys, they will be flashed with a default layout -- the layout seen in the black version is a custom layout that was programmed. The default layout will have a backslash where a delete is shown.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 16 August 2017, 11:06:35
Hello all - a new update has been posted in the first post (at the top) stating the below:

Quick update - the first two batches of orders (~95 units) have been placed with the manufacturer. I'm trying to get a sample quickly produced to make sure all the changes to R1 are as expected. Then production on the two sets of orders placed will begin (timeline still as expected) - all orders up until 8/9 have been submitted. To-date total of ordered kits is 120 (large majority are titanium grey, black, and silver, only a smattering of blue/red).

Why the extension?: Just another week and a half to give a few more people the chance to order. I've had quite a few messages asking for a little bit extra time to place the order and given we do not have a specific MOQ and the orders are placed on a rolling basis, I have no issues opening it up to more people.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: Nonster on Wed, 16 August 2017, 12:27:22
Hello all - a new update has been posted in the first post (at the top) stating the below:

Quick update - the first two batches of orders (~95 units) have been placed with the manufacturer. I'm trying to get a sample quickly produced to make sure all the changes to R1 are as expected. Then production on the two sets of orders placed will begin (timeline still as expected) - all orders up until 8/9 have been submitted. To-date total of ordered kits is 120 (large majority are titanium grey, black, and silver, only a smattering of blue/red).

Why the extension?: Just another week and a half to give a few more people the chance to order. I've had quite a few messages asking for a little bit extra time to place the order and given we do not have a specific MOQ and the orders are placed on a rolling basis, I have no issues opening it up to more people.
Thanks for the update, looking forward to seeing the sample.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: Skinjob on Mon, 21 August 2017, 14:08:15
You recommend a second PCB basically because I might fry it during the soldering process or is there another reason I'm not aware of?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 21 August 2017, 14:15:45
You recommend a second PCB basically because I might fry it during the soldering process or is there another reason I'm not aware of?

Some people like having an extra PCB for a bunch of reasons including what you listed.

Others also like having a second PCB that they can put alternate switches / layout on so they don't have to desolder the first to swap between them.

Or to use in other cases / builds.

It's really up to you!

Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: Nonster on Mon, 21 August 2017, 14:21:43
You recommend a second PCB basically because I might fry it during the soldering process or is there another reason I'm not aware of?

Some people like having an extra PCB for a bunch of reasons including what you listed.

Others also like having a second PCB that they can put alternate switches / layout on so they don't have to desolder the first to swap between them.

Or to use in other cases / builds.

It's really up to you!

Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.
This is great news, having more layout options is a huge plus to this groupbuy. Thank you!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: gerold on Mon, 21 August 2017, 14:33:43
Does this support iso layout?
I'm pretty new to the scene and can't quite figure out.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: aznreaper on Mon, 21 August 2017, 15:19:36
Hi, any chance you guys will consider adding support for split space in the future runs? Only thing stopping me right now
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: Skinjob on Tue, 22 August 2017, 07:51:43
Hi, any chance you guys will consider adding support for split space in the future runs? Only thing stopping me right now

Quote
Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: aznreaper on Wed, 23 August 2017, 00:47:56
Hi, any chance you guys will consider adding support for split space in the future runs? Only thing stopping me right now

Quote
Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.

Woops I'm dumb, totally missed that, tough to pass on it now...
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 23 August 2017, 01:58:04
Hi, any chance you guys will consider adding support for split space in the future runs? Only thing stopping me right now

Quote
Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.

Woops I'm dumb, totally missed that, tough to pass on it now...

Split backspace - split space won't be supported in this version. Sorry :-/

Will get a layout render here tomorrow!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: mintyfruits on Wed, 23 August 2017, 11:04:53
You recommend a second PCB basically because I might fry it during the soldering process or is there another reason I'm not aware of?

Some people like having an extra PCB for a bunch of reasons including what you listed.

Others also like having a second PCB that they can put alternate switches / layout on so they don't have to desolder the first to swap between them.

Or to use in other cases / builds.

It's really up to you!

Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.

If you can confirm that this will in fact support split backspace, I'll hop in this right away.

Edit: nevermind, I should have kept reading.

Edit 2: still an idiot, should have really read. So to confirm, split backspace is a thing?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 23 August 2017, 14:39:55
You recommend a second PCB basically because I might fry it during the soldering process or is there another reason I'm not aware of?

Some people like having an extra PCB for a bunch of reasons including what you listed.

Others also like having a second PCB that they can put alternate switches / layout on so they don't have to desolder the first to swap between them.

Or to use in other cases / builds.

It's really up to you!

Also - a nice bonus, I think I've managed to get the manufacturer to change to a different base PCB (allows for split backspace and more options on the bottom row, though still limited a bit by the plate) for a marginal cost increase which I will cover.

If you can confirm that this will in fact support split backspace, I'll hop in this right away.

Edit: nevermind, I should have kept reading.

Edit 2: still an idiot, should have really read. So to confirm, split backspace is a thing?

PCB render below - this is what was sent to me as a proof:

(http://i.imgur.com/vKAbhvy.png)

Yes split backspace is a thing!

Everyone please also note the slightly expanded bottom row for additional layouts.

I think this is a welcome change for most participants - however if for some reason you do not agree with the changes (the original layout is unaffected) then please reach out.

The GB is open for a couple more days - currently in process of badgering the factory for the production sample, but it may be another week or two before we see it.

Thank you all for the support so far! I hope this turns out as well as the process has been to-date.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Thu, 24 August 2017, 10:07:12
Thanks for the updates, cynviloq! 
It's slightly concerning that the right middle and lower areas of the PCB have no standoff support compared to the other areas.  Perhaps I'm being paranoid.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: cynviloq on Thu, 24 August 2017, 18:13:37
Thanks for the updates, cynviloq! 
It's slightly concerning that the right middle and lower areas of the PCB have no standoff support compared to the other areas.  Perhaps I'm being paranoid.

I think it should be okay - the prior version only had 4 standoffs and the only flex issue was on the left side. Using the prior version, I do not feel any flex on the right side, so I would not expect there to be severe issues there.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 25 August 2017, 02:06:19
As we approach the last 24 hours of this group buy, I just wanted to bring to people's attention that there is an agent on TaoBao running a "Round 2" of the GSX96: https://world.taobao.com/item/545282990880.htm

I originally had been speaking to this agent a couple months ago and had provided some design changes / initial steps to him as he stated that he was the factory, which was not the case. (i.e. removal of the shallow insert on the bottom of the case, change in PCB color as you see on the TB listing)

Shortly after speaking to some contacts of mine in China, I found out that he is in fact, not the factory and only a third-party agent. I did not, and do not have any issues going through an agent, but given that he had misled me to believe otherwise, I was not comfortable transferring tens of thousands of dollars to him.

A few days before the start of the GB, I broke off the arrangement with him and began working with an agent who was upfront about their relationship to the factory and has worked with me in the past (not to mention has communicated much better) - it was during this process that I was able to relay all the changes that you see listed in the first post correctly to the factory, as well as the new PCB layout and a few other small changes.

I'm giving this information because if people prefer to participate in the TB listing then I would like to give them the opportunity to do so before the 96KEE GB ends.

They seemed to have copied many of the small changes that I originally suggested, however I cannot guarantee that both products will be equal as additional changes have been made since ending the initial arrangement -- such as the PCB configuration and other various design changes meant to revert from the changes implemented in the acrylic GSX96, i.e. lack of switchtop opening in the plates, weird logo cutouts, etc.

I am hesitant to say negative things, but I would just caution that this also seems to be the same agent that misrepresented aspects of production in the Welfare96 GB to that runner and as mentioned before, also misled myself as well for a few weeks.

If you are participating in the 96KEE GB and would like to cancel your order, please e-mail me ASAP before the end of the GB and I'm happy to do so.

Thanks everyone for their orders so far and please check out the latest reddit post for giveaways! https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/6vwcox/vendor_96kee_gmk_mondrian_ending_tomorrow_august/
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 25 August 2017, 07:22:34
I'm still in on this one 100%, can't wait to get the board.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit for $165+S (extended to 8/25, two orders placed)
Post by: flipanda on Sat, 26 August 2017, 13:21:48
aww, I think I just missed it.

says it's open only til the August 25th at 11:59pm ET. just when i got a new job and was hunting for a new keeb.

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Sun, 10 September 2017, 19:44:08
Some sample production pics - now production will start in earnest.

From the top:
(http://i.imgur.com/P9ifzZu.jpg)


Changed acrylic diffusers (new standoff placement caused the acrylic pieces to have to be adjusted
(http://i.imgur.com/jd45bxm.jpg?1)

Top of PCB
(http://i.imgur.com/AUEM8lX.jpg?1)

Bottom of PCB
(http://i.imgur.com/mLMzjuF.jpg?1)
(http://)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: skidude9678 on Sun, 10 September 2017, 20:13:04
Looks fantastic, cannot wait for this to ship!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Woovie on Sun, 10 September 2017, 23:32:45
 :thumb: thanks for the update
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: hehe13 on Mon, 11 September 2017, 15:45:41
Looks fantastic, cannot wait for this to ship!

Awesome! I'm excited. I got some request, do you have a side view and bottom of the metal case? And are you /u/mobilfunk?

 :thumb:
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 12 September 2017, 21:51:33
Some sample production pics - now production will start in earnest.

From the top:
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/P9ifzZu.jpg)



Changed acrylic diffusers (new standoff placement caused the acrylic pieces to have to be adjusted
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/jd45bxm.jpg?1)


Top of PCB
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/AUEM8lX.jpg?1)


Bottom of PCB
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/mLMzjuF.jpg?1)

Show Image
(http://)


That's turned out rather good. Nice!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Axiomatik on Thu, 14 September 2017, 10:59:43
Looking good! Just got my Zealios in yesterday, so I'm all ready to go!  :thumb:
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 15 September 2017, 12:02:26
Looks fantastic, cannot wait for this to ship!

Awesome! I'm excited. I got some request, do you have a side view and bottom of the metal case? And are you /u/mobilfunk?

 :thumb:

Yes I'll post them this weekend. Yes, I am.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: skidude9678 on Tue, 19 September 2017, 20:18:41
Just noticed that these will have north facing LED's. Kinda bummed about that, wanted to use tealios + zealencios with a GMK set on this board. Guess that's not going to happen.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 19 September 2017, 20:28:53
Just noticed that these will have north facing LED's. Kinda bummed about that, wanted to use tealios + zealencios with a GMK set on this board. Guess that's not going to happen.

I have Zealencios on Zealios with GMK Carbon set on the predecessor board. What are the issues that you think you'll encounter? If it's the LEDs rubbing, I would recommend using 1.8mm domed LEDs (like the ones we sell on Mehkee) to avoid issues with GMK caps.

The shorter travel is unavoidable given the Zealencios, but the caps still fit perfectly for me.


Here are some side and top images that someone requested - note that the bottom edge looks sharp and so we're going to put a diagonal edge similar to the top edge to avoid the sharpness.

(https://i.imgur.com/KnUA9RM.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/1nyqa6I.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/TkxhTwS.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/e0zo7Zp.png)
^^^ this bottom edge will be smoothed out.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: skidude9678 on Tue, 19 September 2017, 20:35:33
I have read that with north-facing LEDs the travel is noticeably reduced versus south-facing (Zeal actually says they should be used south-facing on his site). Trying this with a GMK cap on a loose switch with zealencios confirmed this for me.

Not a big deal really, I'll use other switches on this board that I don't want to silence.

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: packman86 on Tue, 19 September 2017, 23:08:58
Just noticed that these will have north facing LED's. Kinda bummed about that, wanted to use tealios + zealencios with a GMK set on this board. Guess that's not going to happen.

I have Zealencios on Zealios with GMK Carbon set on the predecessor board. What are the issues that you think you'll encounter? If it's the LEDs rubbing, I would recommend using 1.8mm domed LEDs (like the ones we sell on Mehkee) to avoid issues with GMK caps.

The shorter travel is unavoidable given the Zealencios, but the caps still fit perfectly for me.


Here are some side and top images that someone requested - note that the bottom edge looks sharp and so we're going to put a diagonal edge similar to the top edge to avoid the sharpness.

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/KnUA9RM.png)


Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/1nyqa6I.png)


Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/TkxhTwS.jpg)


Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/e0zo7Zp.png)

^^^ this bottom edge will be smoothed out.

Looks great! Can't wait to receive mine.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Davyb123music on Wed, 20 September 2017, 13:12:52
   cynviloq,

I have to say I am happy that you are making minor modifications as issues arise.  Fixing the sharp bottom edge is a nice touch and you should know it is appreciated.    :thumb:

I can't wait to start this build!!! 
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: hehe13 on Thu, 21 September 2017, 13:57:50
Just noticed that these will have north facing LED's. Kinda bummed about that, wanted to use tealios + zealencios with a GMK set on this board. Guess that's not going to happen.

I have Zealencios on Zealios with GMK Carbon set on the predecessor board. What are the issues that you think you'll encounter? If it's the LEDs rubbing, I would recommend using 1.8mm domed LEDs (like the ones we sell on Mehkee) to avoid issues with GMK caps.

The shorter travel is unavoidable given the Zealencios, but the caps still fit perfectly for me.


Here are some side and top images that someone requested - note that the bottom edge looks sharp and so we're going to put a diagonal edge similar to the top edge to avoid the sharpness.

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/KnUA9RM.png)


Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/1nyqa6I.png)


Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/TkxhTwS.jpg)


Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/e0zo7Zp.png)

^^^ this bottom edge will be smoothed out.

Thank you! I'm very excited for this to come.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Tue, 26 September 2017, 10:45:52
Thanks the pics, cynviloq! 

Just a side-question (and not sure it's been asked yet), but do you happen to know the angle for the deck?  I'm curious if I should plan to make additional standoff risers on this end to angle the deck a bit more or not when the kit shows up.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 29 September 2017, 08:00:51
Thanks the pics, cynviloq! 

Just a side-question (and not sure it's been asked yet), but do you happen to know the angle for the deck?  I'm curious if I should plan to make additional standoff risers on this end to angle the deck a bit more or not when the kit shows up.

With the standard aluminum feet - it's around 3*

If you want any angle at all, I would suggest getting a different set of feet or making your own risers!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 04 October 2017, 21:32:55
Whats the latest estimate on this getting into our hands?  :)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 06 October 2017, 07:54:57
Whats the latest estimate on this getting into our hands?  :)

Waiting to hear some updates after the holiday in China right now. I received some built sample pictures with in-switch LED testing for the PCB so I'll share those this weekend.

We are tracking for a late October ship date from the factory. Maybe off-target by a week or two to be conservative, but impressive in my mind because we overshot our initial manufacturing projection by ~40% and are still relatively close. (does not excuse the delay, so apologies if we are slightly behind schedule)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: aplus01 on Fri, 06 October 2017, 10:25:32
Cool. Looking forward to seeing those.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: magusderice on Tue, 10 October 2017, 17:01:40
Is the USB cable port micro USB or usb-c?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Puddsy on Tue, 10 October 2017, 17:20:25
Is the USB cable port micro USB or usb-c?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I believe it's miniUSB
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: magusderice on Tue, 10 October 2017, 23:28:57
Is the USB cable port micro USB or usb-c?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

I believe it's miniUSB
Thanks!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Davyb123music on Sun, 15 October 2017, 20:39:11
Need some news on this..........please. 
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Sun, 15 October 2017, 21:30:26
Need some news on this..........please.

I gave one a bit over a week ago... we're still tracking for a late October date for shipping to me. If you look up 4 posts, you'll see the update.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Davyb123music on Mon, 16 October 2017, 12:56:05
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 18 October 2017, 11:06:30
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D


Agreed! I'd also like to see a picture of a completed build.

@Davyb123music: What switches are you planning to use? I got some Outemu dark purple (67g tactile) that I'm going to try out.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 18 October 2017, 11:10:56
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D


Agreed! I'd also like to see a picture of a completed build.

@Davyb123music: What switches are you planning to use? I got some Outemu dark purple (67g tactile) that I'm going to try out.

Sorry for the delay, I'll upload the potato pics to imgur tonight and post them here!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: packman86 on Wed, 18 October 2017, 11:34:13
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D


Agreed! I'd also like to see a picture of a completed build.

@Davyb123music: What switches are you planning to use? I got some Outemu dark purple (67g tactile) that I'm going to try out.

Same here!

I am in the process of lubing them. Lube removes the plasticy sounds when bottoming out. Makes it more of a thumping sound. Also slide a lot nicer when lubed.

https://i.imgur.com/Yw6vrnC.jpg

Can't wait to get them in my 96.

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Davyb123music on Wed, 18 October 2017, 14:56:47
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D


Agreed! I'd also like to see a picture of a completed build.

@Davyb123music: What switches are you planning to use? I got some Outemu dark purple (67g tactile) that I'm going to try out.

I was thinking of heavy Zealios, but i'm open to suggestions. :)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 18 October 2017, 15:12:37
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D


Agreed! I'd also like to see a picture of a completed build.

@Davyb123music: What switches are you planning to use? I got some Outemu dark purple (67g tactile) that I'm going to try out.

I was thinking of heavy Zealios, but i'm open to suggestions. :)

Have you tried the Kailh Pro Purple or Speed Copper? Or even making your own Ergo Clears?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Thu, 19 October 2017, 00:05:10
Some potato pics from a friend helping to QC it:

(https://i.imgur.com/UJRlvgi.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/DGF4LVx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Z65LK2E.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Gd7waSC.jpg)

^last pic shows the change in the edge that was a bit sharp on the first sample.

The latest update is that the cases should be done early next week and the PCBs the week after. So slight delay would be my best guess -- original estimate was that the keyboards would ship to me Mid-October, but now looking like Late October / first week of November at the very latest.

The PCBs might be done a bit early, so I'm not calling it just yet, but I'll update the main thread after this weekend once I have a better idea.

Also, I'm going to be shipping all of the keyboards out of Texas (versus NYC) from a separate location to ensure that all orders get shipped in a timely fashion (i.e. pre-hiring some extra help to make sure these ship). I think it will take a max of 3-3.5 weeks to ship all the orders once they're received, barring any QC issues.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: aplus01 on Fri, 20 October 2017, 08:26:42
Oh sweet!  can you post the pics of the built sample you mentioned?

Thanks in advance!  Excited to start building ;D


Agreed! I'd also like to see a picture of a completed build.

@Davyb123music: What switches are you planning to use? I got some Outemu dark purple (67g tactile) that I'm going to try out.

I was thinking of heavy Zealios, but i'm open to suggestions. :)

Have you tried the Kailh Pro Purple or Speed Copper? Or even making your own Ergo Clears?
Never really been too sure what it is that makes an Ergo Clear. Cherry MX Clear springs and stems and some other housing? Where do you source those individual parts? I'd buy them assembled. Not sure I have the desire to open switches again. I'm still having flash backs from my last round of installing sip sockets in zealios.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: xondat on Fri, 20 October 2017, 08:33:23
Never really been too sure what it is that makes an Ergo Clear. Cherry MX Clear springs and stems and some other housing? Where do you source those individual parts?

Ergo Clears are traditionally MX Clears with a MX Brown spring, but it often refers to MX Clears with a lighter spring (57, 62, 67 are the most popular).
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: aplus01 on Fri, 20 October 2017, 10:28:27
Never really been too sure what it is that makes an Ergo Clear. Cherry MX Clear springs and stems and some other housing? Where do you source those individual parts?

Ergo Clears are traditionally MX Clears with a MX Brown spring, but it often refers to MX Clears with a lighter spring (57, 62, 67 are the most popular).

Thanks! That's less complicated than I thought. I'd be curious to try some of the newer MX Clears. I hear they have some newer tooling that has made them feel less smoother/less scratchy.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: Puddsy on Fri, 20 October 2017, 13:23:07
Never really been too sure what it is that makes an Ergo Clear. Cherry MX Clear springs and stems and some other housing? Where do you source those individual parts?

Ergo Clears are traditionally MX Clears with a MX Brown spring, but it often refers to MX Clears with a lighter spring (57, 62, 67 are the most popular).

Ergo clear was coined as a 62g lubed clear.

Semantics.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: mmca on Sun, 22 October 2017, 05:43:51
Some potato pics from a friend helping to QC it:

<snip>

Also, I'm going to be shipping all of the keyboards out of Texas (versus NYC) from a separate location to ensure that all orders get shipped in a timely fashion (i.e. pre-hiring some extra help to make sure these ship). I think it will take a max of 3-3.5 weeks to ship all the orders once they're received, barring any QC issues.

Looking good.  Really looking forward to the kit.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: packman86 on Mon, 23 October 2017, 13:21:43
My unit is shipping via DHL now. Pretty stoked!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 23 October 2017, 13:33:20
My unit is shipping via DHL now. Pretty stoked!

You might be mistaken for a different group buy...
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: packman86 on Mon, 23 October 2017, 13:41:03
My unit is shipping via DHL now. Pretty stoked!

You might be mistaken for a different group buy...

Is the 96kee not the same as this TB group buy?

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=545282990880&spm=1101.1101.N.N.81d3042

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Mon, 23 October 2017, 13:44:07
My unit is shipping via DHL now. Pretty stoked!

You might be mistaken for a different group buy...

Is the 96kee not the same as this TB group buy?

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=545282990880&spm=1101.1101.N.N.81d3042

No, the cases are different. The PCBs may be different as well.

From my recollection, that runner has made changes to the original GSX96 that he didn't really let people know about. I hope it comes out in equal quality as before and that the features are similar.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: packman86 on Mon, 23 October 2017, 13:49:36
My unit is shipping via DHL now. Pretty stoked!

You might be mistaken for a different group buy...

Is the 96kee not the same as this TB group buy?

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=545282990880&spm=1101.1101.N.N.81d3042

No, the cases are different. The PCBs may be different as well.

From my recollection, that runner has made cha
nges to the original GSX96 that he didn't really let people know about. I hope it comes out in equal quality as before and that the features are similar.

Ah ok! I got on that TB gb since I missed the deadline for yours. I saw that the reference images were the same so I figured it was the same product.

Thanks for the clarification!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit w/ RGB (GB closed - waiting for production sample)
Post by: cynviloq on Sun, 29 October 2017, 21:54:50
Quick update - everything has finished and went through initial QC in the factory. Expected to ship mid-week, Hopefully get the product within 2 weeks and have it start shipping immediately after.

Thanks everyone for the patience so far.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Mon, 30 October 2017, 10:30:26
Quick update - everything has finished and went through initial QC in the factory. Expected to ship mid-week, Hopefully get the product within 2 weeks and have it start shipping immediately after.

Thanks everyone for the patience so far.

That's awesome! Thanks for the update.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 03 November 2017, 08:21:50
Quick update - the PCBs took a couple extra days and it didn't make sense to ship the cases and PCBs separately so they're both expected to ship this weekend.

My plan is to get them all out to you on the weekend of the 18th. As mentioned before, the keyboards are being shipped to a different location in a separate state (TX) where I'll be flying to for the weekend to help get them all out.

If you ordered other things with your keyboard, they may be shipped out before and separately (at no extra cost).

We are also contemplating the use of DHL instead of USPS Priority for the international shipments.

I have some nice pictures that I'll upload this weekend for everyone - thanks again for your patience! This will be completed soon and really apologize for the delay. If you're interested in extras, there definitely will be some (but not many). I'll update in this thread when they're expected go live (also will email in the newsletter).
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 03 November 2017, 08:23:33
Can't wait to get this board, thanks for the update!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: LoneCenturian75 on Fri, 03 November 2017, 11:33:57
This'll be my first build and I'm super excited to put the switches I've been sitting on for 2 months to use! TY for all the updates cynviloq you've made it really easy to track progress.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 08 November 2017, 09:02:01
The first 130 cases reached our other location - as mentioned before, I'll be flying down next weekend (11/17) to get the process started and hopefully have a significant number labeled and ready to be dropped off / picked up for the following week. Going to try to beat the post-Thanksgiving shipping influx to minimize loss potential.

Here are some pictures from my friend who did the initial QC check to tide you over - really really appreciate everyone's patience and incredibly sorry about the delay.

(https://i.imgur.com/W0ZdiRg.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/V5KERcy.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/L9jivJT.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/KMYicjj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/I2kAS09.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/utI0PTF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GSuutNx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/JtR4GcN.jpg)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Wed, 08 November 2017, 09:06:22
Niiiiiceeee.....   Thanks, cynviloq for the update!  Looking forward to the project!  :D
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sparkybear on Wed, 08 November 2017, 13:02:38
Quick update - the PCBs took a couple extra days and it didn't make sense to ship the cases and PCBs separately so they're both expected to ship this weekend.

My plan is to get them all out to you on the weekend of the 18th. As mentioned before, the keyboards are being shipped to a different location in a separate state (TX) where I'll be flying to for the weekend to help get them all out.

If you ordered other things with your keyboard, they may be shipped out before and separately (at no extra cost).

We are also contemplating the use of DHL instead of USPS Priority for the international shipments.

I have some nice pictures that I'll upload this weekend for everyone - thanks again for your patience! This will be completed soon and really apologize for the delay. If you're interested in extras, there definitely will be some (but not many). I'll update in this thread when they're expected go live (also will email in the newsletter).


Just to verify, there may be extra boards for purchase? If so, can I be added to that wait list?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 08 November 2017, 13:04:47
Yes there will definitely be extras. Best to follow on Instagram or sign up for the newsletter on the website. We will post via those two first when the extras are live (~first week of December)


Just to verify, there may be extra boards for purchase? If so, can I be added to that wait list?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Wed, 08 November 2017, 13:11:23
Hey cynviloq, just for curiosity's sake, would anyone in the GB be able to swap to a different color shell or is it all set in stone (or aluminum, in this case)?  Just curious is all!  The reason I ask is I'm considering preparing a themed deck for Laser GMK, and if I can skip a step and go silver instead of gunmetal grey shell it'd help a bit but not entirely necessary. Taking it all down to bare shell works too!
Thanks again for this GB.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Wed, 08 November 2017, 15:14:15
The first 130 cases reached our other location - as mentioned before, I'll be flying down next weekend (11/17) to get the process started and hopefully have a significant number labeled and ready to be dropped off / picked up for the following week. Going to try to beat the post-Thanksgiving shipping influx to minimize loss potential.

Here are some pictures from my friend who did the initial QC check to tide you over - really really appreciate everyone's patience and incredibly sorry about the delay.


What delay? :3

Do you think it's safe to say that we would start receiving by 11/27 until 12/15?
When do you think the first person can receive theirs?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: BearonicMan on Thu, 09 November 2017, 15:47:22
For this build I'm waiting on R8 of the Zealios GB which is supposed to ship in Dec so this lines up pretty nicely. Now I wish Calm Depths would ship before Jan-Feb. :(
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: jurai on Sun, 12 November 2017, 03:14:10
For this build I'm waiting on R8 of the Zealios GB which is supposed to ship in Dec so this lines up pretty nicely. Now I wish Calm Depths would ship before Jan-Feb. :(

****, I wish Laser was shipping anytime soon
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: BearonicMan on Tue, 14 November 2017, 12:25:41
****, I wish Laser was shipping anytime soon

Something something Assdrop?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Tue, 14 November 2017, 14:57:07
Yes there will definitely be extras. Best to follow on Instagram or sign up for the newsletter on the website. We will post via those two first when the extras are live (~first week of December)

Subscribed!

You modified the plate since the original sample photos.  Sneaky!  It looks like it would support the bottom row I was looking for now.  I may have to snag one of those extras...  :cool:
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 15 November 2017, 13:30:09
Hey cynviloq, just for curiosity's sake, would anyone in the GB be able to swap to a different color shell or is it all set in stone (or aluminum, in this case)?  Just curious is all!  The reason I ask is I'm considering preparing a themed deck for Laser GMK, and if I can skip a step and go silver instead of gunmetal grey shell it'd help a bit but not entirely necessary. Taking it all down to bare shell works too!
Thanks again for this GB.

E-mail me if you'd like to switch with order info and the request and I don't see an issue as long as we have enough extras (we should for silver/grey/black)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 15 November 2017, 13:31:05
The first 130 cases reached our other location - as mentioned before, I'll be flying down next weekend (11/17) to get the process started and hopefully have a significant number labeled and ready to be dropped off / picked up for the following week. Going to try to beat the post-Thanksgiving shipping influx to minimize loss potential.

Here are some pictures from my friend who did the initial QC check to tide you over - really really appreciate everyone's patience and incredibly sorry about the delay.


What delay? :3

Do you think it's safe to say that we would start receiving by 11/27 until 12/15?
When do you think the first person can receive theirs?


I think that is accurate, though given holidays I would add a week to the backend. The best case scenario is to get them all shipped by end of next week.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Wed, 15 November 2017, 13:32:36
Yes there will definitely be extras. Best to follow on Instagram or sign up for the newsletter on the website. We will post via those two first when the extras are live (~first week of December)

Subscribed!

You modified the plate since the original sample photos.  Sneaky!  It looks like it would support the bottom row I was looking for now.  I may have to snag one of those extras...  :cool:

Some small changes were made since the original which I've mentioned but apologies if they weren't evident. Any change that was contemplated was only put into the final design if it was an expansion of layouts, etc and not to restrict or remove anything that was possible in the original layout.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Sun, 19 November 2017, 19:03:21
I know youre busy and have plans of making a better post.. but did it shipped already? Im expecying the kit and the switches, will you be shipping them separately as you mentioned?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: boardinbum on Tue, 21 November 2017, 00:59:37
How is everything going?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 21 November 2017, 01:02:16
I know youre busy and have plans of making a better post.. but did it shipped already? Im expecying the kit and the switches, will you be shipping them separately as you mentioned?

Still shipping them separately! A bigger update will come soon, but all labels have been printed, boards and PCBs have been qced. The first 30 have been packed together and will be dropped off tomorrow. The rest will go out over the next week as well as the extras that people ordered.

Generally in chronological order of when you ordered (first order shipped first, etc)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 21 November 2017, 01:02:29
How is everything going?

See above! Thanks for checking in
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Tue, 21 November 2017, 11:17:28
I know youre busy and have plans of making a better post.. but did it shipped already? Im expecying the kit and the switches, will you be shipping them separately as you mentioned?

Still shipping them separately! A bigger update will come soon, but all labels have been printed, boards and PCBs have been qced. The first 30 have been packed together and will be dropped off tomorrow. The rest will go out over the next week as well as the extras that people ordered.

Generally in chronological order of when you ordered (first order shipped first, etc)

I'm very excited! I hope you can release the list soon. And thanks for always keeping us up to date.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: mintyfruits on Wed, 22 November 2017, 10:00:31
Are there any extras by chance??
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Wed, 22 November 2017, 10:02:08
He did mention a few times that he will have extra sets for sale on Mehkee after GB is completed.

Can't wait to get the kit Friday! 
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: jurai on Fri, 24 November 2017, 11:42:30
got mine in the mail today
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 12:42:12
Should be getting mine in the mail today, will take some pics when it is here.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: wise_star on Fri, 24 November 2017, 13:54:15
Dang think I'll be one of the last to receive mine haha. Excited to see some pics of them though.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 15:17:24
Just unboxed it, looks superb. Case and PCB are extremely nice. Can't wait to build this, will probably start tonight.

(https://i.imgur.com/QEupWbz.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/940i6Xr.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/GkPDSGm.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/mtx0PpE.jpg)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 16:37:49
So I just noticed that the PCB is different than the photos posted earlier so that the switches have south facing LED's! This is excellent news as I wanted to use tealios with zealencios and a GMK set.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 17:17:28
are you sending out emails for those who will be receiving theirs? oopps, nvrmind, should have checked my account on mehkee.. thaaaanks!!!!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 20:46:53
All built! Works 100%, and bootmapper is obviously super easy to work with when programming LEDs and keymaps. I just threw GMK Carbon on it right now until I decide exactly what I want to put on it.

My only real complaint about this board is the screws that mount the PCB to the case - they are undersize when compared to the threaded mounting points in the case. They can easily skip threads by being pushed or pulled on. I had to pull out some different screws I had lying around from another case so I could secure this board. Everything else is wonderful.

(https://i.imgur.com/tYEk3ob.jpg)

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 21:39:44
All built! Works 100%, and bootmapper is obviously super easy to work with when programming LEDs and keymaps. I just threw GMK Carbon on it right now until I decide exactly what I want to put on it.

My only real complaint about this board is the screws that mount the PCB to the case - they are undersize when compared to the threaded mounting points in the case. They can easily skip threads by being pushed or pulled on. I had to pull out some different screws I had lying around from another case so I could secure this board. Everything else is wonderful.

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/tYEk3ob.jpg)


So nice! Your caps are so clean, almost looks like a render.

What kind of solder should I use. Is Rosin core already specific enough or are there something else I need to tell the guys at the stores?

probably off topic, where can i get a tutorial for the macros for bootmapper? Id like to bind a lot of keys with other stuff.

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 24 November 2017, 23:25:33
I've always used the cheap rosin core solder you can get at the hardware store, never had any issues.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 26 November 2017, 12:53:04
If you're anal about solder, 1/2 lb of kester 44 is enough to last most keyboard enthusiasts forever.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Sun, 26 November 2017, 15:03:59
If you're anal about solder, 1/2 lb of kester 44 is enough to last most keyboard enthusiasts forever.

ahh, thanks puddsy. can always count on your snarky informitism
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 26 November 2017, 22:15:47
If you're anal about solder, 1/2 lb of kester 44 is enough to last most keyboard enthusiasts forever.

ahh, thanks puddsy. can always count on your snarky informitism

0.031 is the size you want, also
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Sun, 26 November 2017, 23:29:28
Im new to this building my own kb. I cannot tell from the pcb, but do you think i can:
split lshift to add 1u key. Thinking of appskey, fn, or win.
or change the ralt and rctrl to add 1u key.

If either one is possible, what would you suggest based on your expert experience?

Any tutorial site for bootmapper?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: InTheFlesh on Mon, 27 November 2017, 01:39:29
I still haven't received shipping info for my kit, who should I contact to make sure my order went through and was shipped?

Edit: Got everything figured out.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: GeauxBulldogs on Mon, 27 November 2017, 10:47:28
Just posting to say that my kit arrived, and looks great!  This is my first build, wish me luck :).
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: wise_star on Mon, 27 November 2017, 11:02:45
Just posting to say that my kit arrived, and looks great!  This is my first build, wish me luck :).
Good luck! Can't wait to get mine later today.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: magusderice on Mon, 27 November 2017, 11:08:18
Anyone have a suggestion for a soldering iron to use with this stuff? I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I'll be practicing on some other stuff before building this, but I do need some of the most basic stuff to get started.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Mon, 27 November 2017, 11:34:40
Anyone have a suggestion for a soldering iron to use with this stuff? I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I'll be practicing on some other stuff before building this, but I do need some of the most basic stuff to get started.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Aoyue 936 or hakko Fx888d
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: magusderice on Mon, 27 November 2017, 12:43:42
Anyone have a suggestion for a soldering iron to use with this stuff? I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I'll be practicing on some other stuff before building this, but I do need some of the most basic stuff to get started.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Aoyue 936 or hakko Fx888d
Thanks! Anything else I should need to complete this project (aside from solder)?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: constellation on Mon, 27 November 2017, 13:55:58
EDIT: A little emotional, working this out directly with Mehkee.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Mazian on Mon, 27 November 2017, 14:10:07
Thanks! Anything else I should need to complete this project (aside from solder)?

Get some desoldering braid, to correct mistakes.  Something like https://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=80-2-5virtualkey53200000virtualkey5878-80-2-5

Alternatively, a desoldering pump is a better investment if you'll be working on more projects in the future; the braid's just easier to work with for a beginner.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Mon, 27 November 2017, 14:22:13
Anyone else having issues with the numpad enter? Mine registers enter, up, right and dash all at the same time?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: SakeJams on Mon, 27 November 2017, 14:42:55
Anyone heard about extras yet?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Ak3 on Mon, 27 November 2017, 16:37:42
All built! Works 100%, and bootmapper is obviously super easy to work with when programming LEDs and keymaps. I just threw GMK Carbon on it right now until I decide exactly what I want to put on it.

My only real complaint about this board is the screws that mount the PCB to the case - they are undersize when compared to the threaded mounting points in the case. They can easily skip threads by being pushed or pulled on. I had to pull out some different screws I had lying around from another case so I could secure this board. Everything else is wonderful.

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/tYEk3ob.jpg)


Did you have any issues with the enter key stabilizer? I cant seem To get mine to stay clipped in due to the hole and a half they gave you to work with in the stabilizer location.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: wise_star on Mon, 27 November 2017, 17:23:27
Anyone heard about extras yet?
Last time I checked out the webpage they had a notice on the top of the page saying mid December for extra I believe.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Mon, 27 November 2017, 17:32:16
Anyone else having issues with the numpad enter? Mine registers enter, up, right and dash all at the same time?

I resolved this. My Right CTRL doesn't work either (nor do any of the other adjacent holes, so it's not sloppy solder), but that's not so big a deal.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Mon, 27 November 2017, 18:14:53
Did you have any issues with the enter key stabilizer? I cant seem To get mine to stay clipped in due to the hole and a half they gave you to work with in the stabilizer location.

No issues whatsoever using the included stabilizers, installing the stabs was a simple as clipping them and popping them in.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: magusderice on Mon, 27 November 2017, 21:17:16
Thinking about adding some LEDs to the build. Something like these: http://www.switchtop.com/product/2x3x4mm-leds

Will they work?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Davyb123music on Mon, 27 November 2017, 21:57:22
Received mine on Saturday.  Packaging and product quality are excellent.  Thank you Cynviloq, for making this happen!!

I will post pics once my build is complete.

Not sure if I want to solder, or go Holtites.... Opinions?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Davyb123music on Mon, 27 November 2017, 21:59:25
Thinking about adding some LEDs to the build. Something like these: http://www.switchtop.com/product/2x3x4mm-leds

Will they work?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

They will.  But it really comes down to the Switch you are using, and then possibly the keycap profile.  What are you thinking about using?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: magusderice on Mon, 27 November 2017, 22:16:47
Thinking about adding some LEDs to the build. Something like these: http://www.switchtop.com/product/2x3x4mm-leds

Will they work?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

They will.  But it really comes down to the Switch you are using, and then possibly the keycap profile.  What are you thinking about using?
I have kailh speed coppers and I'm using OEM profile keycaps (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/tai-hao-doubleshot-pbt-shine-through-108-keycap-set)

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Davyb123music on Tue, 28 November 2017, 00:09:12
Thinking about adding some LEDs to the build. Something like these: http://www.switchtop.com/product/2x3x4mm-leds

Will they work?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

They will.  But it really comes down to the Switch you are using, and then possibly the keycap profile.  What are you thinking about using?
I have kailh speed coppers and I'm using OEM profile keycaps (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/tai-hao-doubleshot-pbt-shine-through-108-keycap-set)

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

TBH, I would go with 1.8mm led's just to be sure.  See the rounded cutout at the top of the switch?  1.8's round shape fit perfectly in there.  No difference in brightness or capability. 
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: magusderice on Tue, 28 November 2017, 00:10:31
Thinking about adding some LEDs to the build. Something like these: http://www.switchtop.com/product/2x3x4mm-leds

Will they work?

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

They will.  But it really comes down to the Switch you are using, and then possibly the keycap profile.  What are you thinking about using?
I have kailh speed coppers and I'm using OEM profile keycaps (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/tai-hao-doubleshot-pbt-shine-through-108-keycap-set)

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

TBH, I would go with 1.8mm led's just to be sure.  See the rounded cutout at the top of the switch?  1.8's round shape fit perfectly in there.  No difference in brightness or capability.
Sounds good! Thanks for the help!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: LoneCenturian75 on Tue, 28 November 2017, 17:07:44
I accidentally ****ed up the layout in bootmapper is there any way to fix without manually putting in every key. I'm fine with hardware dumb as bricks with firm/software pls help
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: LoneCenturian75 on Tue, 28 November 2017, 18:27:18
I accidentally ****ed up the layout in bootmapper is there any way to fix without manually putting in every key. I'm fine with hardware dumb as bricks with firm/software pls help
Or if someone could send me a picture of what the map should look like i can enter manually.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Ak3 on Tue, 28 November 2017, 20:24:38
Hi Guys, I just did my first build.  All is working great except my "+" and "Enter Key" by the numpad.  The "+" keys registered a "+-" at the same time and so does the "Enter Key"  What can I do to fix  this?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: boardinbum on Tue, 28 November 2017, 20:26:41
I accidentally ****ed up the layout in bootmapper is there any way to fix without manually putting in every key. I'm fine with hardware dumb as bricks with firm/software pls help
Or if someone could send me a picture of what the map should look like i can enter manually.

This has helped me a few times. https://www.massdrop.com/talk/1392/programming-kbd-keyboards-via-bootmapper-client
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: LoneCenturian75 on Wed, 29 November 2017, 09:47:44
Just finished the build and got it remapped (thanks for the help)! Absolutely perfect thank you for putting this buy together!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Wed, 29 November 2017, 11:19:17
Order #MKEE2351

When can i expect my switches to be shipped out?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Davyb123music on Wed, 29 November 2017, 21:47:02
Just finished the build and got it remapped (thanks for the help)! Absolutely perfect thank you for putting this buy together!

Did you put LED's in your switches, or is that just from the board?  Nice Work!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 29 November 2017, 23:39:50
I'm having trouble getting the bootmapper client to do what I want. Clicking "Toggle Bootmapper" doesn't seem to do anything. I've used it in the past and I thought there was a mode where you could press the key on the board and then choose what you wanted to map it to. Is that not the case in version 0.10.0? Also, has anyone tried to split the numpad "+" key like this? Also, how do you remap the keys above the numpad? I guess if bootmapper mode did what I thought it did that wouldn't be any trouble. I'm also not sure how to remap the 1u keys to the right of the spacebar.

https://imgur.com/VrEvDQf (https://imgur.com/VrEvDQf)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Thu, 30 November 2017, 05:13:44
I'm having trouble getting the bootmapper client to do what I want. Clicking "Toggle Bootmapper" doesn't seem to do anything.

Same thing happened to me. Update your firmware. Download and extract the following:

https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases

Open bootmapper, go to options, find the big firmware upload button and click it, select the ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex file from the folder you just extracted. Should work after that.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: LoneCenturian75 on Thu, 30 November 2017, 08:24:29
Just finished the build and got it remapped (thanks for the help)! Absolutely perfect thank you for putting this buy together!

Did you put LED's in your switches, or is that just from the board?  Nice Work!

Only in the board they shine through a little cause of the clear switch housing.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Thu, 30 November 2017, 09:35:24
I'm having trouble getting the bootmapper client to do what I want. Clicking "Toggle Bootmapper" doesn't seem to do anything.

Same thing happened to me. Update your firmware. Download and extract the following:

https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases

Open bootmapper, go to options, find the big firmware upload button and click it, select the ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex file from the folder you just extracted. Should work after that.


Thanks for the reply!

Which is the correct firmware for this board? ps2avrGB, right? Don't want to try and flash the wrong one and create a bigger headache.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Thu, 30 November 2017, 09:55:50
I'm having trouble getting the bootmapper client to do what I want. Clicking "Toggle Bootmapper" doesn't seem to do anything.

Same thing happened to me. Update your firmware. Download and extract the following:

https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases

Open bootmapper, go to options, find the big firmware upload button and click it, select the ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex file from the folder you just extracted. Should work after that.

Wait, I did this, and now the keyboard is dead and it says "error opening PS2avrGB device. the specified device can't be found. I was able to get it to work before, but I had one key I couldn't find (right shift), and the toggle bootmapper didn't work, though I was able to change them manually.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Thu, 30 November 2017, 10:01:16
Wait, I did this, and now the keyboard is dead and it says "error opening PS2avrGB device. the specified device can't be found. I was able to get it to work before, but I had one key I couldn't find (right shift), and the toggle bootmapper didn't work, though I was able to change them manually.

Sorry to hear that. I have another PS2avrgb board that has the same issue. If you find a solution let me know.

I had others recommend using different USB ports or different cables and see if that gets you to a point where the bootmapper client can detect the board. Those suggestions didn't work for me though.

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Thu, 30 November 2017, 11:38:49
Yeah, it's a bit of a disaster. I reflashed the firmware which worked just fine. But the keymapper doesn't work, and the computer doesn't recognize the device.

I don't know if this is helpful for you (it's a disaster for me), but all I did was mess with my new keyboard, and now my old keyboard (also PS2AVR) doesn't get recognized anymore either.

Which leads me to believe it's a driver conflict issue? Since they both enter flash mode just fine.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Thu, 30 November 2017, 13:02:46
Yeah, it's a bit of a disaster. I reflashed the firmware which worked just fine. But the keymapper doesn't work, and the computer doesn't recognize the device.

I don't know if this is helpful for you (it's a disaster for me), but all I did was mess with my new keyboard, and now my old keyboard (also PS2AVR) doesn't get recognized anymore either.

Which leads me to believe it's a driver conflict issue? Since they both enter flash mode just fine.

Interesting, I didn't consider it might be a driver issue. My other board an ALU84 doesn't enter flash mode anymore :(

So you're, back up and running? Or still stuck? What firmware did you try to upgrade to?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: captsis on Fri, 01 December 2017, 02:48:47
I'm having trouble getting the bootmapper client to do what I want. Clicking "Toggle Bootmapper" doesn't seem to do anything.

Same thing happened to me. Update your firmware. Download and extract the following:

https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases

Open bootmapper, go to options, find the big firmware upload button and click it, select the ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex file from the folder you just extracted. Should work after that.

Wait, I did this, and now the keyboard is dead and it says "error opening PS2avrGB device. the specified device can't be found. I was able to get it to work before, but I had one key I couldn't find (right shift), and the toggle bootmapper didn't work, though I was able to change them manually.

The fix for me with my ps2avrgb board is to plug it into a usb3 port. no hubs, nothing, and it works. Never found a fix but a temporary solution is more permanent than you think lol
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skyybaby on Fri, 01 December 2017, 07:57:25
I built mine last night. Not going to lie. I'm pretty dissapointed...

My plate was bent pretty bad and it caused my switches over by the arrow keys to not sit flush and is bothering the **** out of me.

My zealios fit super loose in the plate. This caused many of my switches to be slightly rotated.

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The tolerances around the pcb for the case is not good. The top and left side have a very noticeable gap that is pretty bad looking.

I'm having the toggle bootmapper issue as well. It makes reprogramming not very easy. I'm also waiting to find a fix because I don't want to brick my board like others have done here.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.

There are a few pros though....

The finish on the case is great, and the pcb turned out very nice. Overall this could be a great board but now I've got to desolder the entire damn thing and try to get my plate straightened out. Does anyone know what size screws I need for the pcb attaching to the case? I need to find magnetic screws....
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: captsis on Fri, 01 December 2017, 08:02:10
I built mine last night. Not going to lie. I'm pretty dissapointed...

My plate was bent pretty bad and it caused my switches over by the arrow keys to not sit flush and is bothering the **** out of me.

My zealios fit super loose in the plate. This caused many of my switches to be slightly rotated.

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The tolerances around the pcb for the case is not good. The top and left side have a very noticeable gap that is pretty bad looking.

I'm having the toggle bootmapper issue as well. It makes reprogramming not very easy. I'm also waiting to find a fix because I don't want to brick my board like others have done here.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.

There are a few pros though....

The finish on the case is great, and the pcb turned out very nice. Overall this could be a great board but now I've got to desolder the entire damn thing and try to get my plate straightened out. Does anyone know what size screws I need for the pcb attaching to the case? I need to find magnetic screws....
Why not just get a magnetic screwdriver?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skyybaby on Fri, 01 December 2017, 08:04:54
I built mine last night. Not going to lie. I'm pretty dissapointed...

My plate was bent pretty bad and it caused my switches over by the arrow keys to not sit flush and is bothering the **** out of me.

My zealios fit super loose in the plate. This caused many of my switches to be slightly rotated.

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The tolerances around the pcb for the case is not good. The top and left side have a very noticeable gap that is pretty bad looking.

I'm having the toggle bootmapper issue as well. It makes reprogramming not very easy. I'm also waiting to find a fix because I don't want to brick my board like others have done here.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.

There are a few pros though....

The finish on the case is great, and the pcb turned out very nice. Overall this could be a great board but now I've got to desolder the entire damn thing and try to get my plate straightened out. Does anyone know what size screws I need for the pcb attaching to the case? I need to find magnetic screws....
Why not just get a magnetic screwdriver?

I do have one. The screws are not magnetic whatsoever.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Fri, 01 December 2017, 08:11:56

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.
Yeah the screw issue is definitely a pain in the ass. I have only got two screws in successfully. And I'm hoping that numlock light is configurable via firmware.

Has anyone gotten the firmware upgraded successfully? I'm hesitant to mess with it until I can get some steps to follow that work. Should I install the latest version of the firmware?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 01 December 2017, 08:12:45
skyybaby - sorry to hear you have concerns, if you want to discuss anything please reach out (dj at mehkee.com).

I think it would have made the most sense to email us when you received the board if the plate was bent. We had everything QC'ed twice, so that should have been caught.

With respect to screws - in general (99% of the time), screws are not magnetic as they also touch contact points on the PCB. The screwdriver is usually the one with the magnetized head.

With respect to the switches, we recommended multiple times that people use PCB-mounted switches. All switch housings have different tolerances and there is no perfect plate for all switches. There is also more of the chance of shifting plate-mounted switches because people wanted switchtop opening functionality so there are tiny gaps on the side to allow for it.

NumLock LED being on when NumLock is on is an industry standard. Just like when CapsLock is On, the LED is On. You can disable the LED when programming it.



For everyone else - haven't had the chance to read this thread in detail, but please reach out with questions. Programming support will be a bit deprioritized at the moment, but there seem to be many smart people here to help out. It seems many people are having issues with BootMapper Client. On the multiple e-mails that I have had with people, it seems almost every case was resolved due to driver conflicts or user error (it happens!).


I built mine last night. Not going to lie. I'm pretty dissapointed...

My plate was bent pretty bad and it caused my switches over by the arrow keys to not sit flush and is bothering the **** out of me.

My zealios fit super loose in the plate. This caused many of my switches to be slightly rotated.

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The tolerances around the pcb for the case is not good. The top and left side have a very noticeable gap that is pretty bad looking.

I'm having the toggle bootmapper issue as well. It makes reprogramming not very easy. I'm also waiting to find a fix because I don't want to brick my board like others have done here.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.

There are a few pros though....

The finish on the case is great, and the pcb turned out very nice. Overall this could be a great board but now I've got to desolder the entire damn thing and try to get my plate straightened out. Does anyone know what size screws I need for the pcb attaching to the case? I need to find magnetic screws....
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skyybaby on Fri, 01 December 2017, 08:19:53
skyybaby - sorry to hear you have concerns, if you want to discuss anything please reach out (dj at mehkee.com).

I think it would have made the most sense to email us when you received the board if the plate was bent. We had everything QC'ed twice, so that should have been caught.

With respect to screws - in general (99% of the time), screws are not magnetic as they also touch contact points on the PCB. The screwdriver is usually the one with the magnetized head.

With respect to the switches, we recommended multiple times that people use PCB-mounted switches. All switch housings have different tolerances and there is no perfect plate for all switches. There is also more of the chance of shifting plate-mounted switches because people wanted switchtop opening functionality so there are tiny gaps on the side to allow for it.

NumLock LED being on when NumLock is on is an industry standard. Just like when CapsLock is On, the LED is On. You can disable the LED when programming it.



For everyone else - haven't had the chance to read this thread in detail, but please reach out with questions. Programming support will be a bit deprioritized at the moment, but there seem to be many smart people here to help out. It seems many people are having issues with BootMapper Client. On the multiple e-mails that I have had with people, it seems almost every case was resolved due to driver conflicts or user error (it happens!).


I built mine last night. Not going to lie. I'm pretty dissapointed...

My plate was bent pretty bad and it caused my switches over by the arrow keys to not sit flush and is bothering the **** out of me.

My zealios fit super loose in the plate. This caused many of my switches to be slightly rotated.

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The tolerances around the pcb for the case is not good. The top and left side have a very noticeable gap that is pretty bad looking.

I'm having the toggle bootmapper issue as well. It makes reprogramming not very easy. I'm also waiting to find a fix because I don't want to brick my board like others have done here.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.

There are a few pros though....

The finish on the case is great, and the pcb turned out very nice. Overall this could be a great board but now I've got to desolder the entire damn thing and try to get my plate straightened out. Does anyone know what size screws I need for the pcb attaching to the case? I need to find magnetic screws....

I think I can fix the plate issue. I was just in a hurry and didn't notice it until the end. But I clipped my zealios because I could not get the pegs to fit in the PCB, and yeah I know that zealios are known for having slightly large pegs. But it is also too late for that as they've already been clipped. Sorry if I came off as angry. These issues can mostly be remedied by some desoldering and taking more time. I'm scared to update my firmware to program the num pad led though because I don't want to break the board, and currently that area on bootmapper is greyed out and I can't control that or the caps lock LED. I can do the underglow though and that looks very nice.

Back to the screw issue though. How in the world can I screw them in? I have a magnetic screw driver but it will not grab the screws at all, plus my magnetic tray doesn't even attract them. Are they aluminum or something?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: smt on Fri, 01 December 2017, 09:01:53
Back to the screw issue though. How in the world can I screw them in? I have a magnetic screw driver but it will not grab the screws at all, plus my magnetic tray doesn't even attract them. Are they aluminum or something?

I usually use tweezers to put the screw down through the plate to its spot on the PCB. Every time I try it with a screwdriver, I disappoint myself.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: LoneCenturian75 on Fri, 01 December 2017, 09:15:38
I built mine last night. Not going to lie. I'm pretty dissapointed...

My plate was bent pretty bad and it caused my switches over by the arrow keys to not sit flush and is bothering the **** out of me.

My zealios fit super loose in the plate. This caused many of my switches to be slightly rotated.

The damn screws to screw the pcb in are not magnetic. I haven't been able to screw in my pcb because of this because I'll get 1 or 2 in and then I drop a screw in and I can't get it out. This is honestly the most frustrating.

The tolerances around the pcb for the case is not good. The top and left side have a very noticeable gap that is pretty bad looking.

I'm having the toggle bootmapper issue as well. It makes reprogramming not very easy. I'm also waiting to find a fix because I don't want to brick my board like others have done here.

The NumLock LED is on all the time whenever I want to use the numbers on the number pad, which is all the time? Why is it not the opposite way where the LED turns on when I disable my number pad?? I can't edit the LEDs in Bootmapper at this moment as well. But that might have to do with the firmware issues that others are having.

There are a few pros though....

The finish on the case is great, and the pcb turned out very nice. Overall this could be a great board but now I've got to desolder the entire damn thing and try to get my plate straightened out. Does anyone know what size screws I need for the pcb attaching to the case? I need to find magnetic screws....
Why not just get a magnetic screwdriver?
I could send you the hex file of the layout I have programmed if you'd like if it would help
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Fri, 01 December 2017, 09:33:59

Interesting, I didn't consider it might be a driver issue. My other board an ALU84 doesn't enter flash mode anymore :(

So you're, back up and running? Or still stuck? What firmware did you try to upgrade to?

Nah, still stuck. Both (hopefully temporarily) bricked. DJ says most have been driver conflicts, so I assume I'm the same. After 2 years building mechs, trying different ergo mice, 3D mice for CAD and Wacom Monitors for Illustrator, I have a TON of drivers on my workhorse. Though my VR rig has far fewer and pops up the same problem. So, as I type this on my Mactop, I'm not feeling very PCMasterrace. Already ordered a leopold 980M as a stopgap since I'll probably save an hour of frustration working on a smaller profile and I need the numpad.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Fri, 01 December 2017, 09:37:03
Oh, though if anyone knows for certain what firmware, i thought I had the latest. But a zip- link and the exact file name syntax would be helpful.
Title: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Fri, 01 December 2017, 09:43:42
I'll read the thread in more detail on the current programming issues and reach out to people to gather some data on what they're using or used to get it to work.

I'll try and collate some information this weekend to understand and hope to provide a recommendation / link to software next week. I would not want to give a recommendation blind without some tests and feedback but understand the urgency for guidance at some level.

If you do want to PM me or email me with your firmware details (version) and environment (win7/10 or Mac or Linux os) and any other relevant details, that would be appreciated. (Simpler is better for me to collate and I may not respond immediately but I will have read them all by end of this weekend)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: skidude9678 on Fri, 01 December 2017, 10:03:04
Back to the screw issue though. How in the world can I screw them in? I have a magnetic screw driver but it will not grab the screws at all, plus my magnetic tray doesn't even attract them. Are they aluminum or something?

I ended up putting a little dab of toothpaste on the screwdriver so that the screws would stick to it. Huge pain in the ass with the screws not attracting a magnet, but this seemed to work for me.

Has anyone gotten the firmware upgraded successfully? I'm hesitant to mess with it until I can get some steps to follow that work. Should I install the latest version of the firmware?

Updating the firmware worked fine for me, but apparently it has bricked other people's boards so do so at your own risk. Perhaps the Firmware people downloaded was wrong, or I just got lucky? I just googled the problem I was having, found a random post with instructions on updating the firmware, used the ps2avrGB firmware linked in that post (linked to https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases and I downloaded the file ps2avrGB_firmware_V1.4.0_171019.zip and therein used the file ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex), and it worked. Bootmapper now works as intended for keymapping and setting the LEDs, and shows as properly using ps2avrGB version 1.4.0.
Title: please delete
Post by: mkzealots on Sat, 02 December 2017, 07:14:35
please delete
Title: please delete
Post by: mkzealots on Sat, 02 December 2017, 08:33:00
please delete
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: boardinbum on Sat, 02 December 2017, 22:16:16
So i setup my keyboard using a mac. For some reason after i updated the firmware(ps2avrGB_firmware_V1.4.0_171019) i was getting weird character inputs from some of my key presses.(not all but some) It wouldnt even let me properly configure it in the program. Alot of the keys were overlapping each other in the program for some weird reason when trying to program it. At this point i thought maybe it was a shotty solder job. I was pretty frustrated, so i said hey why not restart my computer and see if that helps. I did and after it turned back on all of my key presses working totally fine. Im not sure if it was some weird driver issue but that wasnt a fun experience. Everything is working totally fine now. phew. I do have a welfare96 also that uses Bootmapper and didnt have these kinds of problems. Just wanted others to know my experience with my build.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Axiomatik on Sun, 03 December 2017, 20:09:58
Got mine in last week. I'm also going to wait a bit to build.

Also I'm still waiting on the other items from my order. Should they have arrived by now? (Switch tester and lube)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Mon, 04 December 2017, 00:47:55
I followed the same steps that were outlined by skidude9678 and I'm up and running.

Successfully flashed the latest firmware (from ps2avrGB_firmware_V1.4.0_171019.zip) and was able to get bootmapper client to enter "toggle bootmapper" mode. Didn't have any issues. I had my board hooked up to a usb 3.0 port and things just worked.  :cool:

             
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Mon, 04 December 2017, 10:40:07
Yeah, I managed to get the bootmapper toggle working, but after uploading it just processes for hours and doesn't complete, even if I just encode one key. So I guess I get to wait until DJ has the time to respond to software after dealing with hardware issues.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Tue, 05 December 2017, 12:47:05
Yeah, I managed to get the bootmapper toggle working, but after uploading it just processes for hours and doesn't complete, even if I just encode one key. So I guess I get to wait until DJ has the time to respond to software after dealing with hardware issues.

I've seen that before. I was able to get it to complete by using a different USB port. I was just getting a "Waiting" prompt  and it never errored or completed.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Wed, 06 December 2017, 12:47:20

While waiting for my switches, some light test! This could be my temporary holiday tree as this has more colors the our xmas light.

About the screws, I think I have too many small screws and Im not sure where to put them. A pix would be great.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 06 December 2017, 15:01:49
About the screws, I think I have too many small screws and Im not sure where to put them. A pix would be great.

I had a lot of screws too. I'm not sure I used the right ones, but guess its better to have too many than too few, right?

What layout will you use? I'm not sold on what I'm using right now, but the prospect of desoldering and adjusting some of the switches isn't very appealing at the moment.

I'm considering ditching the arrow keys below the right shift and moving them to the numpad and bringing back the 2u numpad plus sign and maybe going 1.25u on the mods right of the spacebar.

(https://i.imgur.com/p7XtQS3.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/hQwrQXA.jpg)

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Woovie on Wed, 06 December 2017, 17:49:32
Anyone tried using the YMD96 firmware for QMK yet? I'm considering trying it, but I am not sure if the grid layout is 100% compatible with that board. I have another board from YMD that currently has the b.mini2 firmware on it and it flashed fine, but obviously missing stuff.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: John McCormick on Thu, 07 December 2017, 06:49:13
I tried deleting a custom macro from my board and no it errors out connecting to it. I can't even reset it through device manager. Someone help a brother out! Also let me buy another one!! I keep emailing DJ.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Thu, 07 December 2017, 12:35:32
Anyone tried using the YMD96 firmware for QMK yet? I'm considering trying it, but I am not sure if the grid layout is 100% compatible with that board. I have another board from YMD that currently has the b.mini2 firmware on it and it flashed fine, but obviously missing stuff.

Please let me know if you get that figured out. I'd definitely like to get a QMK firmware going. Ps2avrgb and the bootmapper client are too flaky for me to feel comfortable making changes to my 96kee. Now that I have it working I'm super hesitant to mess with it after seeing reports of boards becoming unresponsive.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Calefiction on Fri, 08 December 2017, 18:30:20
Hi Guys, I just did my first build.  All is working great except my "+" and "Enter Key" by the numpad.  The "+" keys registered a "+-" at the same time and so does the "Enter Key"  What can I do to fix  this?

Im having the same issue but i got some more info on it so maybe we can fix this. Note: My enter on the numpad works fine its just the "+", everything else about the keyboard is fine.

My number pad "+" isnt mapping correctly and its inputing as more then just "+-". I don't remember changing anything in the bootmapper after I loaded the correct firmware but this is what it shows up as when i hit "+" on my numpad.
(https://i.imgur.com/PtftGzD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/xnnJ5XQ.jpg)
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Sat, 09 December 2017, 00:49:41
Newbie here, is my layout possible for this board? Especially the 2nd on the bottom.

Im still waiting for my switches, so I cannot test these yet.

Looking forward to your expert advice.

(https://i.imgur.com/YymNKdm.png)

https://wordpad.cc/100keesample
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Sat, 09 December 2017, 21:03:20
Newbie here, is my layout possible for this board? Especially the 2nd on the bottom.

Im still waiting for my switches, so I cannot test these yet.

Looking forward to your expert advice.

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/YymNKdm.png)


https://wordpad.cc/100keesample

I have a very similar layout. Not sure about moving numlock around. I guess you could put it wherever you want but you'd lose the LED indicator of course if you move it.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: SifuSeafood on Mon, 11 December 2017, 18:25:35
Any updates for users with bricked PCBs?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: cynviloq on Tue, 12 December 2017, 01:52:50
Any updates for users with bricked PCBs?

If you have a bricked PCB, please please e-mail me with the steps that you took which caused it to brick. There have only been a couple who have reached out with the exact steps on how they bricked the PCB. None of them are similar in nature, and a couple resolved it by restarting their computers. Please also include the firmware version and BMC client number you are using.

If BMC is not working properly for you, you can try the following steps (particularly on W10):
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Poohammer on Thu, 14 December 2017, 19:56:03
Anyone else have issues with incomplete key mapping? When I first got the board plugged in there was dlnothing to “download” to bootmapper, so I had to firm up and put in the nkoc.hex or whatever it’s called (I don’t have a lot of experience in these things). So, that almost completely worked, aside from the fact I have several alpha keys that don’t work despite the fact the show up on the key map- b, u, I, o, p, backspace, along with numpad’ enter, +, 3, 6, 9... it’s so strange. My initial thought was soldering issue, but with the amount of keys that don’t work, I don’t think it is... im stumped. Does anyone have the original hex file for the 96? Im so bummed I can’t get this to work right. Please help! Thank you.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Fri, 15 December 2017, 10:10:51
Anyone else have issues with incomplete key mapping? When I first got the board plugged in there was dlnothing to “download” to bootmapper, so I had to firm up and put in the nkoc.hex or whatever it’s called (I don’t have a lot of experience in these things). So, that almost completely worked, aside from the fact I have several alpha keys that don’t work despite the fact the show up on the key map- b, u, I, o, p, backspace, along with numpad’ enter, +, 3, 6, 9... it’s so strange. My initial thought was soldering issue, but with the amount of keys that don’t work, I don’t think it is... im stumped. Does anyone have the original hex file for the 96? Im so bummed I can’t get this to work right. Please help! Thank you.

That sounds similar to another person who mentioned keys not working properly. I think they solved the issue by updating their firmware.

In Bootmapper client select this file: ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex which you extract from this zip file: ps2avrGB_firmware_V1.4.0_171019.zip that you can download from here: https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases (https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases).

Bootmapper client didn't recognize a lot of the keys until I upgraded my firmware.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Poohammer on Fri, 15 December 2017, 12:16:40
Nuts, that’s what I’ve already done. Thanks though. I’m gonna check my solder joints and then update the firmware again just to rule out the obvious issues. I have no problems “toggling bootmapper”, where it gives me a series of numbers and periods for each key press- aside from those keys I mentioned. Frustrating.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Mon, 18 December 2017, 09:49:57
Nuts, that’s what I’ve already done. Thanks though. I’m gonna check my solder joints and then update the firmware again just to rule out the obvious issues. I have no problems “toggling bootmapper”, where it gives me a series of numbers and periods for each key press- aside from those keys I mentioned. Frustrating.

When you're testing your board, do you have  it screwed down in the case? I tried testing my PCB when I first got it to make sure that it wasn't DOA and was just holding it in my hand while shorting the pads with a paper clip to test that it worked. My hand must have bridged some of the pads or something because I was able to make it do screwy things that didn't happen when the board was sitting properly in the case.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: John McCormick on Mon, 18 December 2017, 19:07:50
I just bought a board on taobao to replace it
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: constellation on Tue, 19 December 2017, 09:59:10
Hi Guys, I just did my first build.  All is working great except my "+" and "Enter Key" by the numpad.  The "+" keys registered a "+-" at the same time and so does the "Enter Key"  What can I do to fix  this?

Im having the same issue but i got some more info on it so maybe we can fix this. Note: My enter on the numpad works fine its just the "+", everything else about the keyboard is fine.

My number pad "+" isnt mapping correctly and its inputing as more then just "+-". I don't remember changing anything in the bootmapper after I loaded the correct firmware but this is what it shows up as when i hit "+" on my numpad.
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/PtftGzD.jpg)

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/xnnJ5XQ.jpg)


Check the solder job on the PCB, it looks like you have one of the switch contacts soldered on to the LED contacts. They are super super close together and is one of my main complaints about this board. My PCB would have been fully hotswappable if not for the tiny through holes for the last column of the PCB.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: DesignWonk on Tue, 19 December 2017, 11:27:41
I just bought a board on taobao to replace it

Can you send me the link?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Poohammer on Tue, 19 December 2017, 13:11:13
Hi Guys, I just did my first build.  All is working great except my "+" and "Enter Key" by the numpad.  The "+" keys registered a "+-" at the same time and so does the "Enter Key"  What can I do to fix  this?

Im having the same issue but i got some more info on it so maybe we can fix this. Note: My enter on the numpad works fine its just the "+", everything else about the keyboard is fine.

My number pad "+" isnt mapping correctly and its inputing as more then just "+-". I don't remember changing anything in the bootmapper after I loaded the correct firmware but this is what it shows up as when i hit "+" on my numpad.
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/PtftGzD.jpg)

Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/xnnJ5XQ.jpg)


Check the solder job on the PCB, it looks like you have one of the switch contacts soldered on to the LED contacts. They are super super close together and is one of my main complaints about this board. My PCB would have been fully hotswappable if not for the tiny through holes for the last column of the PCB.


Looks like that may be it, thank you. I wound up doing some "brute force testing" (really laying into the key in question), which produced a keystroke, and then I said screw it, I'm gonna grab a paper clip and make a manual connection to see if it produces the key as well. It did. Most of my joints are pretty clean but I think this may have been it. I'm working with a thin gauge electronics solder and maybe could use a small soldering iron tip, but still...frustrating.

The bootmapper client is pretty easy to use, once the board actually manages to flash and allows you to program. I did get a lot of "Cannot recognize/find HID device", and holding left CTRL before plugging in to go in to bootloader mode seemed to be my best bet.

Thanks everyone for your help. I bought two boards so I'm hoping the second board goes much more smoothly haha.

As always, operator error rules the roost.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Poohammer on Tue, 19 December 2017, 23:55:49
Ok, here’s an update, I hope it helps some noobs out there (this is my second only build, although the first was a Let’s Split).

I was experiencing two problems: 1) Difficult flashing and loading a key map, and 2) Several keys went registering keystrokes.

First, after downloading the appropriate ps2avrGB/bootmapper update zip file, hold left control before plugging the usb into your pcb. This will put you in bootloader mode. Now “firm up” using the nkro hex listed above threads. Next, you may need to unplug again and go to bootloader mode again before you go to the main tab, where you’ll select the key map button and find the B8000 key map hex. Upload, and your board should be good.

Second, if you’re using Zealios like me, which apparently have thicker legs than some switches, ensure the legs are both seated in the pcb pad. All 5 of my non-working switches, upon desoldering, had bent legs that didn’t make it in the pad. Rookie mistake.

Good luck!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Thu, 21 December 2017, 10:31:52
Ok, here’s an update, I hope it helps some noobs out there (this is my second only build, although the first was a Let’s Split).

I was experiencing two problems: 1) Difficult flashing and loading a key map, and 2) Several keys went registering keystrokes.

First, after downloading the appropriate ps2avrGB/bootmapper update zip file, hold left control before plugging the usb into your pcb. This will put you in bootloader mode. Now “firm up” using the nkro hex listed above threads. Next, you may need to unplug again and go to bootloader mode again before you go to the main tab, where you’ll select the key map button and find the B8000 key map hex. Upload, and your board should be good.

Second, if you’re using Zealios like me, which apparently have thicker legs than some switches, ensure the legs are both seated in the pcb pad. All 5 of my non-working switches, upon desoldering, had bent legs that didn’t make it in the pad. Rookie mistake.

Good luck!

Nice, so you're up and running then? Way to go!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Fri, 22 December 2017, 10:26:03
I don't know how to secure the plates to the PCB, the screws that I have are very short, plus my key caps are hitting the plates when pressed, I got these Gateron PCB mounted switches. . Is this normal or I shouldn't use a plate if its PCB mounted?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wWiysseH34XynQa32
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Fri, 22 December 2017, 10:37:55
I don't know how to secure the plates to the PCB, the screws that I have are very short, plus my key caps are hitting the plates when pressed, I got these Gateron PCB mounted switches. . Is this normal or I shouldn't use a plate if its PCB mounted?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wWiysseH34XynQa32

The plate goes on under the switches first. You've done it backwards.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: KaosJ on Fri, 22 December 2017, 11:13:28
I don't know how to secure the plates to the PCB, the screws that I have are very short, plus my key caps are hitting the plates when pressed, I got these Gateron PCB mounted switches. . Is this normal or I shouldn't use a plate if its PCB mounted?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wWiysseH34XynQa32

ROFL Thanks for the laugh! 

Anyway if you are not trolling, you have to put your switches on the plate, not the plate on the switches.  Also since that was a pretty simple step and you failed it, i honestly suggest to look some guides around on how to build it (progress pics or video), there are many on reddit.  I mean, better be sure to not **** up later
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Fri, 22 December 2017, 12:51:31
Yeah, I've got called out on Reddit about that. So why is it called PCB mount then? Whats the difference to plate mount? I was looking for youtube videos, and the only thing I found about PCB vs Plate mounted are the feet that they clipped.

So I think I should watch the 20-30 min videos then.

How did you secure the plates when you only have a teeny weeny screws? or you used other screws?

btw, I already have the 99 switches on the PCB, didn't solder them yet as I have doubts about my capabilities.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: KaosJ on Fri, 22 December 2017, 13:04:22
Yeah, I've got called out on Reddit about that. So why is it called PCB mount then? Whats the difference to plate mount? I was looking for youtube videos, and the only thing I found about PCB vs Plate mounted are the feet that they clipped.

So I think I should watch the 20-30 min videos then.

How did you secure the plates when you only have a teeny weeny screws? or you used other screws?

btw, I already have the 99 switches on the PCB, didn't solder them yet as I have doubts about my capabilities.

Remove them from the pcb, put the plate on the pcb and secure some switches ON THE PLATE (switch into plate and later into pcb).   

Basically your switches will keep the plate with the pcb togheter, since the switch is soldered in the pcb and clipped on the plate. 

That's it. 
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: hehe13 on Fri, 22 December 2017, 14:07:28
got it! thank you very much..
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Poohammer on Sat, 23 December 2017, 19:41:39


Nice, so you're up and running then? Way to go!

Yes I am! Playing around with bootmapper as in all previous steps worked.  A little desoldering here and there I was a-ok! I’ll attached some pics
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Sat, 30 December 2017, 20:28:08
Just wanted to say thanks to Mehkee for making this group-buy possible.  It's a helluva deck for the price.  Beautiful kit, and a lot of fun to tinker with.  Everything was put together really well, for the most part.

Finished work on customizing the 96KEE kit to make it more my own.   ;)

[attach=1]
[attach=2]

I couldn't leave well enough alone....  I needed to get the deck prepped for GMK Laser caps!  I had asked DJ after the GB if he'd be okay with changing my gunmetal grey kit to a silver one as I planned on customizing it a bit, and he graciously helped me out.  It's appreciated!

Took care of making the switchplate and the feet a nice hot pink, as well as powdercoating the aluminum frame a lovely textured purple that just about matches the purple that MiTo decided to use for GMK Laser.  Being a graphic designer myself, I had to do some 'digital digging' into the design a bit to figure out the rough PMS color which is actually present in the renders since he used a Pantone plugin in his render engine (according to his posts).  The color's pretty close, so I'm happy. 

[attach=3]
[attach=4]

Began prepping the PCB... 

[attach=5]

I ran into a bit of a snag, though.  The acrylic inserts for the frame had the ends broken off.  Probably just an oversight.  No big deal.

[attach=6]

I considered asking DJ if he could send me replacements, but it would have taken too long to get it all situated as well as being one more thing to bug him about, so I just went ahead and reverse-engineered it a bit and cut duplicates of them.  ;) 

[attach=7]
[attach=8]

I also improved them a bit as the originals didn't go all the way to the ends of the channels on the aluminum frame, so I made them fit a bit better.  Unfortunately the only frosted acrylic I had on hand was 6mm thick so I had to use plain ole clear for 2mm acrylic.  Oh well.

[attach=9]
[attach=10]

Installed!

[attach=11]

I decided on 67g Zealios to drop on to the deck along with white 1.8mm LEDs.  Everything soldered up, tested, and working perfectly! 

[attach=12]

Now to settle in for the long wait.....

[attachimg=13]

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sat, 30 December 2017, 20:38:22
Just wanted to say thanks to Mehkee for making this group-buy possible.  It's a helluva deck for the price.  Beautiful kit, and a lot of fun to tinker with.  Everything was put together really well, for the most part.

Finished work on customizing the 96KEE kit to make it more my own.   ;)

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

I couldn't leave well enough alone....  I needed to get the deck prepped for GMK Laser caps!  I had asked DJ after the GB if he'd be okay with changing my gunmetal grey kit to a silver one as I planned on customizing it a bit, and he graciously helped me out.  It's appreciated!

Took care of making the switchplate and the feet a nice hot pink, as well as powdercoating the aluminum frame a lovely textured purple that just about matches the purple that MiTo decided to use for GMK Laser.  Being a graphic designer myself, I had to do some 'digital digging' into the design a bit to figure out the rough PMS color which is actually present in the renders since he used a Pantone plugin in his render engine (according to his posts).  The color's pretty close, so I'm happy. 

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

Began prepping the PCB... 

(Attachment Link)

I ran into a bit of a snag, though.  The acrylic inserts for the frame had the ends broken off.  Probably just an oversight.  No big deal.

(Attachment Link)

I considered asking DJ if he could send me replacements, but it would have taken too long to get it all situated as well as being one more thing to bug him about, so I just went ahead and reverse-engineered it a bit and cut duplicates of them.  ;) 

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

I also improved them a bit as the originals didn't go all the way to the ends of the channels on the aluminum frame, so I made them fit a bit better.  Unfortunately the only frosted acrylic I had on hand was 6mm thick so I had to use plain ole clear for 2mm acrylic.  Oh well.

(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)

Installed!

(Attachment Link)

I decided on 67g Zealios to drop on to the deck along with white 1.8mm LEDs.  Everything soldered up, tested, and working perfectly! 

(Attachment Link)

Now to settle in for the long wait.....

(Attachment Link)

damn, you put a lot of effort into that post, as well as that board

well done
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: E.E.L. Ambiense on Sat, 30 December 2017, 20:46:46
Thanks, Puddsy!  Bah...  that's nothing though, haha.  My personal casemod project logs tend to be dozens of pages in length with over 200+ photos sometimes.  Just depends on what it is!  I'm an old-school modder so I tend to keep my 'project log kung fu' prominent and in good shape.  I believe in documenting everything.  In the social media age, the kids are losing that ability, and it's a shame. 

But enough soap-boxing.  Hoping for some more 96KEE kits up and running and some pretty photos to follow!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sat, 30 December 2017, 20:50:57
Thanks, Puddsy!  Bah...  that's nothing though, haha.  My personal casemod project logs tend to be dozens of pages in length with over 200+ photos sometimes.  Just depends on what it is!  I'm an old-school modder so I tend to keep my 'project log kung fu' prominent and in good shape.  I believe in documenting everything.  In the social media age, the kids are losing that ability, and it's a shame. 

But enough soap-boxing.  Hoping for some more 96KEE kits up and running and some pretty photos to follow!

sounds like a lot of work

definitely need to work on my documenting, it's one of the last things i need to do to reach true input nirvana
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Woovie on Sun, 31 December 2017, 16:33:46
I might make some drawings of the acrylic pieces in SVG or some other format so people could get custom acrylic cuts. The frosted is cool but I'd love to get some sort of black/tinted acrylic in there.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Woovie on Thu, 04 January 2018, 14:28:52
I would like to know what type of screws I should purchase for this board. The screws that came with it I find to be both too short and non-magnetic, so I'd like to purchase better ones. Thanks.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: PttrnRcgntn on Mon, 08 January 2018, 17:27:01
Need an honest opinion from anyone who's still reading this thread.

Missed this GB and looking to pick up one of the extras if they go on sale.  This would be my first build.
Came across this board in development from YMDK: https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/7ojqy0/ic_96_keyboard_aluacrbrass_from_ymdk/?st=JC6U2VX2&sh=d29dc6fe (https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/7ojqy0/ic_96_keyboard_aluacrbrass_from_ymdk/?st=JC6U2VX2&sh=d29dc6fe)

Would love to know your experiences so far building this guy and if you would have possibly opted for this optioning presented with both.

Thanks!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: BearonicMan on Fri, 12 January 2018, 09:14:38
Need an honest opinion from anyone who's still reading this thread.

Missed this GB and looking to pick up one of the extras if they go on sale.  This would be my first build.
Came across this board in development from YMDK: https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/7ojqy0/ic_96_keyboard_aluacrbrass_from_ymdk/?st=JC6U2VX2&sh=d29dc6fe (https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/7ojqy0/ic_96_keyboard_aluacrbrass_from_ymdk/?st=JC6U2VX2&sh=d29dc6fe)

Would love to know your experiences so far building this guy and if you would have possibly opted for this optioning presented with both.

Thanks!

This is my second 96 build and I think all builds\projects have their own issues. If you're interested in building your own board, I think either of these kits should do you well.

P.S. I'm probably going to get that ymdk board too because it looks neat.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: PttrnRcgntn on Tue, 16 January 2018, 17:36:54
Thanks! Makes sense.  Just wanted to kind of hear that it wasn't some crazy finicky experience.

This is my second 96 build and I think all builds\projects have their own issues. If you're interested in building your own board, I think either of these kits should do you well.

P.S. I'm probably going to get that ymdk board too because it looks neat.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Thu, 18 January 2018, 10:16:58
In for one of these.  Thanks for offering the extras.

Edit: SNAP... did I get my order in before they ran out?  That was fast. 
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: ajaxsoap on Sun, 21 January 2018, 09:04:21
Does anyone of you know how to reset the firmware to default? I've tried to update the firmware to the latest version 1.4.0 here: https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases (https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases), but after I've uploaded it, the underglow LEDs are not accessible and I'm missing some keys like pad " - ", left "alt" and "win" and even backspace.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Potatomonkey on Mon, 22 January 2018, 01:36:46
Does anyone have a pic of what the keyboard matrix looks like? Also does anyone know if I can run qmk on this?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Mon, 22 January 2018, 08:52:03
Does anyone have a pic of what the keyboard matrix looks like? Also does anyone know if I can run qmk on this?

I'd like to do this as well. How do you go about figuring out what the matrix looks like?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Mon, 22 January 2018, 08:54:26
Thanks! Makes sense.  Just wanted to kind of hear that it wasn't some crazy finicky experience.

Wasn't for me, I did have some concern about flashing the firmware after some people had problems. But in the end it was a pretty smooth build. I'd definitely recommend it.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: ajaxsoap on Tue, 23 January 2018, 01:01:21


Nice, so you're up and running then? Way to go!

Yes I am! Playing around with bootmapper as in all previous steps worked.  A little desoldering here and there I was a-ok! I’ll attached some pics

If you don't mind please screenshot your firmware version? You can see it in "Options" then hit "Connect" button, on the upper right hand you see the version, please post it in here so that I can download the default version, then last request, please save your layout as .hex and you can share it here, for us to download it. Thanks much!

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Tue, 23 January 2018, 14:44:16
Is there an easy way to tell if my order made it in the first round of extras or not?  I guess it doesn't really matter but I'm curious.  Sorry for the noob question.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: ajaxsoap on Wed, 24 January 2018, 06:18:53
Does anyone of you know how to reset the firmware to default? I've tried to update the firmware to the latest version 1.4.0 here: https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases (https://github.com/showjean/ps2avrU/releases), but after I've uploaded it, the underglow LEDs are not accessible and I'm missing some keys like pad " - ", left "alt" and "win" and even backspace.

For those of you who experienced the same fate as mine after upgrading to 1.4.0. I've managed to access the LED underglow and i think restore the default firmware by rolling back to version 1.3.2, you have to be in bootloader mode to do this, to load in bootloader mode, press "LCrtl" before inserting the usb cable, while holding the "LCrtl" insert the USB cable, then the in-switch LED will start to blink fast, that's the sign that you're on bootloader mode, while on bootloader mode, on Bootmapper, go to "Options" tab, then hit "Firm up" button, locate the "ps2avrGB_NKRO.hex" from the folder "ps2avrGB_firmware_V1.3.2_170531" that you've extracted from "ps2avrGB_firmware_V1.3.2_170531.zip" to load it, voila! The original keymapping is restored, my missing keys appear again and i can access the LED underglow.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sacklunch on Thu, 15 February 2018, 11:49:14
Anyone have any pics of the blue or red case? I can't seem to find any online.

thanks!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: smt on Fri, 23 February 2018, 08:58:05
Anyone have any pics of the blue or red case? I can't seem to find any online.

Here's mine. Apologies for the IG link. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdu5oepj_vZ/
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: upintheclouds on Fri, 23 February 2018, 22:58:32
Has anyone tried a 1.25-1.25-1.25-6.25-1.25-1.25-1.25-1.25 layout for the bottom row? Very curious if this is possible.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Sat, 24 February 2018, 23:17:26
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 25 February 2018, 01:57:55
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?

do you know what controller it uses? i can harass some people if it's a 32u4
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: TerryMathews on Sun, 25 February 2018, 09:55:59
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?

do you know what controller it uses? i can harass some people if it's a 32u4

All BootMapper boards are 32a.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 25 February 2018, 12:58:47
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?

do you know what controller it uses? i can harass some people if it's a 32u4

All BootMapper boards are 32a.

well then no QMK for you
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Sun, 25 February 2018, 15:02:43
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?

do you know what controller it uses? i can harass some people if it's a 32u4

All BootMapper boards are 32a.

well then no QMK for you

32a controllers aren't programmable? Or just aren't compatible with QMK?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Puddsy on Sun, 25 February 2018, 15:32:51
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?

do you know what controller it uses? i can harass some people if it's a 32u4

All BootMapper boards are 32a.

well then no QMK for you

32a controllers aren't programmable? Or just aren't compatible with QMK?

the latter
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: TerryMathews on Sun, 25 February 2018, 19:34:09
Has anyone gotten QMK going on one of these yet?

do you know what controller it uses? i can harass some people if it's a 32u4

All BootMapper boards are 32a.

well then no QMK for you

That's not necessairly true anymore. Someone adapted V-USB into QMK and there are a few boards that are supported, to some degree. I think the RGB doesn't work 100%.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Mon, 26 February 2018, 11:49:21
Since you guys seem to know a bit about qmk and controllers maybe you can answer this question for me. Where can I get help flashing a board with a atmega32a controller? avrfreaks.net? I wasn't sure where to post my question and people in the threads I read didn't seen particularly inclined to help newbies. Lots of posts with complaints about people not reading the wikis.

I have an ALU84 that has a 32a controller which is unresponsive. I have a programmer (USBASP) but I didn't see a DFU bootloader on microchip.com for the atmega32a controller so not sure what to do. Any pointers would be appreciated.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Tue, 27 February 2018, 09:14:09
Since you guys seem to know a bit about qmk and controllers maybe you can answer this question for me. Where can I get help flashing a board with a atmega32a controller? avrfreaks.net? I wasn't sure where to post my question and people in the threads I read didn't seen particularly inclined to help newbies. Lots of posts with complaints about people not reading the wikis.

I have an ALU84 that has a 32a controller which is unresponsive. I have a programmer (USBASP) but I didn't see a DFU bootloader on microchip.com for the atmega32a controller so not sure what to do. Any pointers would be appreciated.

Have you tried Flip?  What are you trying to flash to it?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 07 March 2018, 21:46:03
Since you guys seem to know a bit about qmk and controllers maybe you can answer this question for me. Where can I get help flashing a board with a atmega32a controller? avrfreaks.net? I wasn't sure where to post my question and people in the threads I read didn't seen particularly inclined to help newbies. Lots of posts with complaints about people not reading the wikis.

I have an ALU84 that has a 32a controller which is unresponsive. I have a programmer (USBASP) but I didn't see a DFU bootloader on microchip.com for the atmega32a controller so not sure what to do. Any pointers would be appreciated.

Have you tried Flip?  What are you trying to flash to it?

I haven't tried FLIP. My end game is to get QMK on my ALU84 and on my 96KEE.

To revive my ALU84 I was trying to follow the steps this person listed here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/66sji0/bricked_tada68_and_how_i_fixed_it_a_novices_tale/

I couldn't find a bootloader on microchip.com for the atmega32a but I did just find this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Using-Atmega32-with-Arduino-IDE/

No idea if this would maybe be a viable way to get a board again.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sacklunch on Sun, 11 March 2018, 20:31:47
Can anybody tell me the basic steps to putting this board together? E.g. do switches go over plate before soldering, stabs are put on at what step? I'm waiting for my kit to get powdercoated and will be putting it together soon, but this only the second board I have put together.

thanks!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Woovie on Tue, 13 March 2018, 21:10:56
For anyone like me who wanted to know the screw size: M2, 5mm depth, not that all of my screw holes were fully drilled, but the ones that are, this works great. Also you can get screws that are magnetic, makes building it easier.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 14 March 2018, 11:04:18
Can anybody tell me the basic steps to putting this board together? E.g. do switches go over plate before soldering, stabs are put on at what step? I'm waiting for my kit to get powdercoated and will be putting it together soon, but this only the second board I have put together.

thanks!

I could try typing out what to do, but its probably easier and more entertaining to watch a youtube video outlining the process.

This video has the basics but isn't a build guide for this board, but the process is basically the same.

Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Wed, 14 March 2018, 11:20:29
For anyone like me who wanted to know the screw size: M2, 5mm depth, not that all of my screw holes were fully drilled, but the ones that are, this works great. Also you can get screws that are magnetic, makes building it easier.
Thanks, for the info. I would definitely like to upgrade to magnetic screws. Where did you source yours?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sacklunch on Wed, 14 March 2018, 14:34:13
For anyone like me who wanted to know the screw size: M2, 5mm depth, not that all of my screw holes were fully drilled, but the ones that are, this works great. Also you can get screws that are magnetic, makes building it easier.
Thanks, for the info. I would definitely like to upgrade to magnetic screws. Where did you source yours?

Cool, thanks!
So is this board plate or pcb mounted switches?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Wed, 14 March 2018, 14:55:01
All Cherry MX PCBs support plate-mount switches unless there's something unique about the board that prevents the use of a plate.  Nothing like that exists as far as I'm aware.  There are some boards that come with "half plates" that would make using all plate-mount switches difficult, but again, that's an issue with the plate and not the PCB.

This PCB has the holes for PCB-mount switches.  So the answer is: both.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sacklunch on Thu, 15 March 2018, 19:47:35
All Cherry MX PCBs support plate-mount switches unless there's something unique about the board that prevents the use of a plate.  Nothing like that exists as far as I'm aware.  There are some boards that come with "half plates" that would make using all plate-mount switches difficult, but again, that's an issue with the plate and not the PCB.

This PCB has the holes for PCB-mount switches.  So the answer is: both.

Good to know, thanks! So what do you/others recommend when building this board? Going with pcb-mount?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Fri, 16 March 2018, 20:47:53
All Cherry MX PCBs support plate-mount switches unless there's something unique about the board that prevents the use of a plate.  Nothing like that exists as far as I'm aware.  There are some boards that come with "half plates" that would make using all plate-mount switches difficult, but again, that's an issue with the plate and not the PCB.

This PCB has the holes for PCB-mount switches.  So the answer is: both.

Good to know, thanks! So what do you/others recommend when building this board? Going with pcb-mount?

I'd use PCB mount if you can get them. Will help keep switches in the right place while you're soldering. Especially on the bottom row where the plate has support for so many different layouts.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Woovie on Sat, 17 March 2018, 12:50:04
For anyone like me who wanted to know the screw size: M2, 5mm depth, not that all of my screw holes were fully drilled, but the ones that are, this works great. Also you can get screws that are magnetic, makes building it easier.
Thanks, for the info. I would definitely like to upgrade to magnetic screws. Where did you source yours?
Laptop repair kit on Amazon. It's not -too- hard to find them. Once I get my store going, I plan to specialize in small fasteners.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Tue, 20 March 2018, 07:37:56
Unlike the nightmare I'm having with my EXENT, this board went together easily and fired up with a standard layout right out of the box.  Great job, Mehkee!

(https://i.imgur.com/8GTqb18.jpg)

I'm missing a plate screw.  Are those the M2 x 5mm mentioned a few posts up?

I need to adjust a few key assignments.  Looking for keymap software now...

Edit: Bootmapper with the latest ps2avrGB 1.40 firmware works great.  I'm all set. :D
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Tue, 20 March 2018, 13:55:03
Is that Danger Zone you have on your board? Looking good! I love the look of SA sets, but hate typing on them.  :)

Has anyone made any headway into getting QMK running on a 96kee?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Data on Tue, 20 March 2018, 14:09:14
Yup, it's Danger Zone on 65g Zilents and Zeal's clear, screw-in stabilizers.

They're my new favorite switch, hands down.  Amazing.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sacklunch on Thu, 22 March 2018, 20:27:29
[attachimg=1]

Got mine all setup! Everything seems to be working great after the firmware update. I got mine powdercoated at a local shop; using GMK retro w/ 9009 addons and box whites.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: aplus01 on Tue, 27 March 2018, 09:36:21
(Attachment Link)

Got mine all setup! Everything seems to be working great after the firmware update. I got mine powdercoated at a local shop; using GMK retro w/ 9009 addons and box whites.

That looks dope af. Really like that white case. How durable is powder coating? Does it chip/flake?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Max_P0 on Tue, 27 March 2018, 13:51:13
Man I discovered the community so late... I wish I was part of the GB/project !!!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: sacklunch on Tue, 27 March 2018, 19:46:30
Powdercoating is as tough as it gets; you would have to take sandpaper to the case and work hard to get it to scratch.

For those of you wanting something similar: there are in stock blue and red kits for sale right now. I bought a blue kit, knowing that I would have it powdercoated. For those wanting the case in a cool(er) color, I suggest you do what I did. Even with the cost of powdercoating (around 100 bucks) you will spend around what most 96 key kits cost, but you will have a much nicer looking case that will look nice for decades, plus you don't have to wait around for all the other GB to get around to shipping 6 months to a year after you buy. I'm honestly considering buying another one of these and having it coated just for the hell of it. Well, I would...but I already ordered the CA66 and am waiting on a custom wood 96 key!
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: packman86 on Tue, 27 March 2018, 20:15:31
Man I discovered the community so late... I wish I was part of the GB/project !!!

Plenty of other budget 96 key GBs on Taobao. Find a proxy and you should be able to get yours for cheap.
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: mrjtang on Wed, 26 September 2018, 22:34:59
For those who were asking, my pull request was just merged and is now in the QMK repo:
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/mehkee96
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: smt on Fri, 12 October 2018, 15:26:07
For those who were asking, my pull request was just merged and is now in the QMK repo:
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/mehkee96

Thank you so much for this!  :thumb:
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Axiomatik on Sat, 29 December 2018, 18:35:11
How do I reset the keyboard on the default map? Is it preset someplace or do I have to take it apart to reflash?
Title: Re: [GB] 96KEE - 96-key Alu Kit (production finished, shipping from factory soon)
Post by: Axiomatik on Wed, 02 January 2019, 14:01:32
For those who were asking, my pull request was just merged and is now in the QMK repo:
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/mehkee96

For those who were asking, my pull request was just merged and is now in the QMK repo:
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/mehkee96


I've been trying to flash my keyboard with QMK and keep getting the error "Bootloader not found". Any ideas what is going on?
Thank you so much for this!  :thumb:

For those who were asking, my pull request was just merged and is now in the QMK repo:
https://github.com/qmk/qmk_firmware/tree/master/keyboards/mehkee96

Thank you so much for this!  :thumb: