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About the board:It's an old story now. The OGR was originally designed as an entry for the OG Summer competition on r/customkeyboards in 2019. When it won the top spot my chosen prize was a fully-funded prototype,
and Simon's wallet has quietly resented me ever since. During the obsessive research phase before landing on the final layout and design I grew a real attachment to keyboard/computer design of the 80s and early 90s. I
cherry-picked some features from my favourite boards as inspiration (G80-0832, G81-3077 & G80-0530), and combined them in a way that eventually become the OGR. I self-ran the group buy in 2022, for better or worse, and I'm grateful that the feedback from people who use them regularly since they shipped in 2023 has been wholly positive, so I've planned to run this again for quite some time.
I'm terrible at leaving things as they are, and it wouldn't feel right to just milk one design until it's dry, so I've made some minor adjustments this time round.
Specs and features:- Inspired by vintage Cherry design
- 10° typing angle
- Full 6063 aluminium construction
- 65% and FRL TKL modules, both compatible within the same case
- Sandwiched + top mounted leaf-spring plate (MX)
- 21.5mm effective front height (with bumpons)
- QMK and VIA USB-C PCBs by Martin (MX) and Cipulot (EC)
- Choice of using "integrated" cable connection or daughterboard
- Period-authentic product sticker
- CF plate by default (MX)
- Is still an absolute unit
- 2.9kg (6.5lbs) unbuilt
Changes from R1:Added the option to use a fly daughterboard rather than be forced to use the "integrated" cable:
Added an extra internal engraving. I'm not above vanity:
A new prototype is currently on order to reflect these changes.
Other key features:The aforementioned "integrated" cable plugs directly into the PCB via your chosen USB-C cable, and is held firmly in place by a bespoke split cable grommet that slots into both the top & bottom case parts. As I also mentioned above, if this isn't your thing you can instead connect via more convenient means by way of the fly daughterboard on the other side.
The plate is designed in such a way that it is technically top-mount due to the direction of the screw fastenings, but the border of the plate is sandwiched between the mid-piece and the bottom case. This helps keep the plate itself firmly held in place and allows the leaf-spring design to shine without any concern for vibration occurring where it shouldn't be.
Worked with Cipulot to add clearance for EC parts for both the 65% and FRL variants of the keyboard. Parts are designed but as yet untested (more EC details coming later).
The beauty of this modular design is that you can change layouts at your leisure. When assembled, the mid-piece, plate and PCB are all together as one unit, so if you had multiple you can swap them out of the same case at your leisure. Couple this with the hotswap PCBs that will be available you would only need to switch mid-pieces if you want to shift from WK to WKL, or vice versa.
I sold a handful of FRL conversion kits but this time it will be a fully-fledged option in GB (ty Dyno). For those who missed out last time, they'll be able to purchase an FRL kit on its own when the GB runs (or any other layout for that matter).
Now imagine this render but with all four layouts instead of just three.
Prototype photos:
More photos to come when the new prototype lands
Plate compatibility:MX - 65%
MX - FRL TKL
Colour and layout options:In order to keep the MSRP of this board within reasonable parameters (
due to the currently international economic ****ery) I've carefully chosen colourways that share as many colours as possible to keep costs down and to keep the factory happy, while also staying true to my own tastes, and also the design language of the board. Dolch has returned, which seems to be a given now that it's slowly becoming something of a signature colourway for me, but I've also used the Dolch layout insert and badge on the other two colourways which will keep those costs down and also will keep things simple for those of you who want to purchase additional layout parts as add-ons too
Additionally, given that the IC results seemed to show that people
really wanted WK FRL TKL this approach has allowed me to offer all four possible layout inserts so you can choose whichever you prefer at the point of purchase.
It should go without saying now, but these renders are approximations so the colours may vary slightly in production.Dolch - 65% - WK (6.25u)
Dolch - 65% - WKL (7u)
Dolch - FRL TKL - WK
Dolch - FRL TKL - WKL
Beige - 65% - WK (6.25u)
Beige - 65% - WKL (7u)
Beige - FRL TKL - WK
Beige - FRL TKL - WKL
Fool's Dolch - 65% - WK (6.25u)
Fool's Dolch - 65% - WKL (7u)
Fool's Dolch - FRL TKL - WK
Fool's Dolch - FRL TKL - WKL
GB plans:- Targeting a sub-$500 MSRP, tariff bs notwithstanding
- Targeting a GB for July 2025
- Colourways now confirmed.
- Vendors, SKUs and other details (ie EC) to follow soon.
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