As I said, find me 10 people so I can go ask for a decent number!
Ask first, look for ten people later?
It's much easier to get a useful reply out of large vendors when you can say "I've got 10 people right now who almost certain going to pay for the boards" than any other way. Corporate talks in $$$, so I talk to them in kind.
The problem for me committing money is that I have a few posts to judge this information on. I'd like something more concrete such as a picture, a Cherry representative commenting, or someone else saying "Hey, I have a Cherry Hall Effect board...". Not that I don't believe you but it's a bit hopeful to expect ten people to pledge $200 on something sight unseen, with little info.
Which is why I'm suggesting you ask first for more details. What layout is the board? What caps does the board use? Are you sure it's both PS/2 and USB? Are you sure of the cost? Is the MOQ 10 people?
There are a lot of questions that I'd like answered before I commit any money, that's my point here.
That's fine. I understand what you mean.
What I'm looking is 10 people interested in it (75+% probability of buying), not an actual pledge, that comes afterwards
For the other stuff (I really regret not taking pictures):
1. Layout: Standard layouts, meaning ANSI/ISO. As I recall, the one I played with was an extended ANSI layout.
2. Caps: black (on black chassis). ABS most likely based on the shininess. Pad printed labels as I recall. No idea about how it's mounted. I felt that it would've been highly impolite to pull a cap off in the middle of an expo floor.
3. Bus: USB was native, but after having pored over controller datasheets (and the non-existence of NKRO over USB for MX at the time), I'm 80% sure it supported PS/2 as well via a passive adapter.
4. Cost: Like I said, I was told they sold them for around $200. These are likely for large orders, so I'm expecting 250-300 for small numbers, but I was quite obviously an enthusiast when I was talking, not a corporate buyer, so the guy may well have given me small order pricing.
5. MOQ: This is pure guesswork, but here's my train of thought: each board has at least 104 switches, and 10 boards is 1040 switches. The big issue is likely producing the switch itself. if you can get the switches produced, having the assembly done on a small number of actual boards is a small amount of extra effort: It's still just placing and soldering, something that has to be done with MX switches as well. Based on the thickness of the board, the switch seemed like the same size as an MX switch, so there's a good chance they have the same plate mount too, which makes the whole thing a LOT easier: place switch, place PCB, off to the solder bath, add diodes/caps/resistors/ICs later by baking.
Ask as much as you want guys, and I'll answer as best I can.
I may have mis-phrased it a bit above though. I need interest in buying 10 keyboards, not 10 keyboards worth of pledged money.
