Vector
Retro-Modern PCB Gasket 60% Keyboard
(https://i.imgur.com/yGbcENC.jpg)
Blending the past with the present, Vector renews vintage keyboard elements with modern functions and stylings to create a distinctly retro board that blends into desk environments of the present.
For group buy updates, please subscribe to CannonKeys' Newsletter through their website - this is the fastest and most reliable means possible vs waiting for me to relay the updates.
GB Details (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=117798.msg3139351#msg3139351)
Prototype Photo Gallery (https://imgur.com/a/x63OkL1)
For push notifications, please join either ai03's Discord (https://discord.gg/qA5JD9y) or the CannonKeys Newsletter.
(https://i.imgur.com/0mqO2MZ.jpg)
A Leap Across Time
Large seams, tapered front ledges, rounded edges, large bezels, pen rails - Vector revives the elements of early keyboards and reshapes them to fit the modern.
Use the default penrail matched to the case for an undeniably retro feel; swap it for an accent color to create an entirely new impression that pairs well with vibrant keysets.
(https://i.imgur.com/df0WevV.jpg)
Bold Brushstrokes
An uniform visual seam journeys around the board’s faces, defining the case parts and outlining the massive polished weight overlaid with accent laser engravings.
With large, blocky faces that wrap around the keyboard’s form with both a sense of roundness and overall sharpness, Vector blurs the lines between retro and current stylings.
(https://i.imgur.com/N8fTgm1.jpg)
Classic, Timeless Internals
Vector’s homage to the past carries over to its internals with a plateless PCB-mount structure from early keyboards.
With full gasket isolation from the case and internal case screws, Vector brings the early inspiration to custom keyboard standards.
(https://i.imgur.com/vvN3ai4.png)
Specifications
Case: Anodized Aluminum
Weight: Polished PVDed steel, overlay laser engraving patternwork -> Updated here (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=117798.msg3139351#msg3139351)
Accent pieces: Penrail (default aluminum matched to case color, optional add-on accent colors)
Case Weight: 2.4kg
Case colors: TBD -> Announced here (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=117798.msg3139351#msg3139351)
Internals: Gasket-mounted PCB mount; internal screw; USB daughterboard
PCB: Solderable (non-hotswap), no flex slot
Layout Compat:
- Left shift regular/ISO
- Right shift unified/split
- Enter ANSI/ISO
- Backspace regular/split
- Spacebar 7U/3+1+3U
Plate: Optional FR4 plate included but not recommended
Vendors: CannonKeys
Price: TBA, but not pretty -> Announced here (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=117798.msg3139351#msg3139351)
Q&A
Q: No hotswap option?
A: Nope - the board is designed first and foremost as a PCB-mount structure which doesn’t pair well with hotswap.
Q: Can I buy the board without weight engravings?
A: Nope - this is how the board is designed and envisioned.
Q: But I dislike how the weight accents look!
A: Then go find a different keyboard. Also, that’s no longer a question.
Q: What do you mean by the price being “not pretty”?
A: The initial production cost quote we received blew past that of Andromeda. Even after revising the design to make it much more reasonable, it’s still not pretty.
Q: Why the lack of flex slots on the PCB?
A: Without a plate, it flexes so hard that it slams into the bottom of the case and short-circuits. Yes, we tried it - you can probably imagine how that prototype ended up.
Q: What’s the story behind the name?
A: As the winds of creativity moved the sands to form this design transcending the boundaries of time, their motion was captured within vectors of —
— Or not. I randomly slapped the name onto the design to refer to it before any name was chosen, and couldn’t come up with anything else so it just kinda stuck until now.
Note
Early prototype revisions did not have a detachable penrail and had a flex-slotted PCB - some of the photographed units are of the old units and will differ from production.
Show Image
(https://en.meming.world/images/en/1/14/You_Just_Got_Vectored.jpg)
Offer in Vector’s jumpsuit orange
If nobody was gonna make this reference I sure would have.
What's the deal with the amount of difference between the two gray-blue renders?
Show Image
(https://i.imgur.com/0mqO2MZ.jpg)
Show Image
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0238/7342/1376/files/Vector-BlueGrey-WKL_1512x.png)
Which one is right? lol
The protos were just grey (not blue grey), and the color did not end up being an option for production.
The blue grey used for production will be closer to the render (second image).
Any chance you'll have a render or a sample of a board with a contrasting color pen rail?
Unfortunately I do not have any on hand; my best advice is to choose additional penrails by what would match keysets that you plan to use on the board.
In addition, one note for today's launch is that it will be through CannonKeys' new Hype V2 raffle-queue system (https://cannonkeys.com/blogs/news-and-updates/cannonkeys-hype-v2-system).
While it has been tested internally, there is always the chance that something implodes when first used publicly; if something does happen, I kindly ask for the following:
- If there is an error screen with an error message, please screenshot it and note down what you were doing when the error occurred.
- If the system fails so heavily that there is no error screen (freezes, lockups, blank screens), please note it down, and if possible open the debug console (usually accessed by the F12 key) to capture any error messages (usually marked in red).
Please report these errors via Discord with a mention to my username so I can immediately tackle it or forward it to whoever has the power to fix it.
In the absolute worst case, navigating to /reset (https://hype.cannonkeys.com/reset (https://hype.cannonkeys.com/reset)) will reset any saved data and recover your system, although it will lose any progress if you were in the raffle already.
Edit:
Now that the group buy is live, I will lock the IC thread after a short while.
Since the group buy is handled by CannonKeys and they have a solid system set up to deliver timely updates via newsletter and their online updates page, please use those services for receiving group buy updates.