[Shipping] CONTRA - $30 ortholinear memeboard

[hineybush]

From meme, to idea, to reality.

Cartel and its affiliates present to you:
Contra - The hella low cost ortholinear keyboard.
Just a PCB and a bottom plate (also PCB material), the bare minimum for a functional keyboard.

Buy the Contra here: https://cartel.ltd/contra/

European orders: https://mykeyboard.eu/catalogue/danck_397/

Canadian orders: http://www.apexkeyboards.ca/product/danck-40-ortholinear-budget-board-kit

Australian orders: Email keebcat@gmail.com with the subject "Contra order". He's a trusted friend of Cartel and is handling proxy duties for us.

South East Asian orders: https://goo.gl/forms/RgN1sauswTb85pmQ2

Features:
- 2U or split space.
- All through-hole parts. 48x diodes, 1x Pro Micro.
- Assembled with M2 standoffs and screws.
- Powered by QMK.
- Nothing fancy. A very nice way to try out some switches, enjoy some DIY, or to test out ortho keyboards.
- Random crapposts/memes on the bottom of the PCB. Easily hidden when the kit is assembled, if they're not your thing.

Pics/PCB renders:


Top of PCB


Bottom of PCB


Bottom of base plate


Top of base plate (can be flipped to bottom)


MX + Alps plate

Price: $30 USD + shipping.

[clickityClackity]

Awesome!!! I'm in for 1 now, and probably a couple more later!

[pabile]

are shipping quote from Cartel website final? i might be purchasing at least 5 for the local group but it seems shipping is quite high for every kit after first 3. ...price at mykeyboards are higher and no shipping estimate so... thinking of acquiring these kits directly from cartel.

would it be possible to request for your sample QMK config file? i intend to incorporate my layers while waiting 

[blerc]

smoe bobox imo

[TalkingTree]

Bought one.

[hineybush]

are shipping quote from Cartel website final? i might be purchasing at least 5 for the local group but it seems shipping is quite high for every kit after first 3. ...price at mykeyboards are higher and no shipping estimate so... thinking of acquiring these kits directly from cartel.

would it be possible to request for your sample QMK config file? i intend to incorporate my layers while waiting 

Contact tony@cartel.ltd saying you're looking to do a bulk order, we'll be able to help you out. QMK isn't setup yet, but I'll let ya know when it is.

[pabile]

Contact tony@cartel.ltd saying you're looking to do a bulk order, we'll be able to help you out. QMK isn't setup yet, but I'll let ya know when it is.

cool! will do. thanks

[hineybush]

Almost at 100 orders internally today - and we have two spots with the 50 Orange Browns left. I've also added more proxy info to the OP.

[YiZZo]

dangit. i had the kit with switches in my cart, then during checkout it told me it was sold out

[mpaarating]

Ordered. I have no idea when I will build this or what to put in it, but I'm not sure I've ever been so excited for a novelty purchase.

[hineybush]

dangit. i had the kit with switches in my cart, then during checkout it told me it was sold out

Sorry about that! I can confirm that the Orange Browns are officially sold out.

[dr_derivative]

Is there any chance for a clear acrylic base plate for this? I don't want my memes to be hidden once the keyboard is assembled

[TalkingTree]

Is there any chance for a clear acrylic base plate for this? I don't want my memes to be hidden once the keyboard is assembled

Won't they be hidden by the keycaps anyway?

[dr_derivative]

Is there any chance for a clear acrylic base plate for this? I don't want my memes to be hidden once the keyboard is assembled

Won't they be hidden by the keycaps anyway?

They're on the bottom of the PCB according to the pictures in the OP.

[TalkingTree]

Is there any chance for a clear acrylic base plate for this? I don't want my memes to be hidden once the keyboard is assembled

Won't they be hidden by the keycaps anyway?

They're on the bottom of the PCB according to the pictures in the OP.

Right, I focused on the plate part rather than base.

[hineybush]

Is there any chance for a clear acrylic base plate for this? I don't want my memes to be hidden once the keyboard is assembled

Next week I'll whip up a DXF and release it, you'll be able to take it to a local fab/ponoko/etc and have one cut!

[dr_derivative]

Is there any chance for a clear acrylic base plate for this? I don't want my memes to be hidden once the keyboard is assembled

Next week I'll whip up a DXF and release it, you'll be able to take it to a local fab/ponoko/etc and have one cut!

Nice! Thank you

[hamilton]

Any chance this pcb will work with holtites?

[hineybush]

To my knowledge it will work with holtites.

[hineybush]

Hey everyone,

As requested by Jack Humbert (https://www.reddit.com/r/olkb/comments/7lctyr/statement_on_the_danck_keyboard/), we've had to remove the word Danck from this project. It will be re-named, and the name will be changed on the silk screen. Will update once we have a name selected.

[hineybush]

The new name is Contra.

[THRILLHOIAF]

name is less dank...but I understand

[reccatyo]

maybe add the legendary code to the board. 

[pabile]

Hey everyone,

As requested by Jack Humbert (https://www.reddit.com/r/olkb/comments/7lctyr/statement_on_the_danck_keyboard/), we've had to remove the word Danck from this project. It will be re-named, and the name will be changed on the silk screen. Will update once we have a name selected.

so that's why i have not received an email reply from tony...

"REDACTED" sounds nice replcement... it's unfortunate it was not approved 

[TalkingTree]

Contra as in Contra?

[Kafka]

Magic Conch Shell

[Koobaczech]

Lmfao Jack gottemm

[kawasaki161]

Looks Dan c k

[hineybush]

Proud to announce we've hit over 200 sales total so far.

[pabile]

Proud to announce we've hit over 200 sales total so far.

any chance you could tap Tony for my request? I send him an email and have not received a reply to date. thanks and happy holidays!

[ioioioio]

will we get any case ? cause i dont see any case on your website tho.-.

[kawasaki161]

will we get any case ? cause i dont see any case on your website tho.-.

It includes a Skeleton-ish case

[hineybush]

will we get any case ? cause i dont see any case on your website tho.-.

The kit comes with a PCB material baseplate and switchplate, as well as screws and standoffs.

[hineybush]

Updated the OP to reflect the PCB art changes. We've received prototype boards, expect a write-up soon 

We're over 250 orders total!

[Allaeius]

Stupid question but how easy is this to build as a first DIY keyboard? I can probably do soldering, if I still remember how to solder.

It looks and sounds fun.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[Puddsy]

Stupid question but how easy is this to build as a first DIY keyboard? I can probably do soldering, if I still remember how to solder.

It looks and sounds fun.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

thru-hole is pretty easy as long as you're careful

[hineybush]

Stupid question but how easy is this to build as a first DIY keyboard? I can probably do soldering, if I still remember how to solder.

It looks and sounds fun.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

thru-hole is pretty easy as long as you're careful

Correct - part of the goal of this board is to be something you can practice/learn from.

[Giorgio]

Great kit! Too bad that 40% is too small for ISO.

[typischt]

hey guys, this might be obvious, but until now I was under the assumtion, that the PCB is already good to go when bought. When I was about to get into the GB today, I realized that I might have to solder the diodes and so on myself. Is this correct? And if so, how much time on avarage do you think will it take for someone with no soldering / keyboard building experience what so ever?

[kolashnikov]

hey guys, this might be obvious, but until now I was under the assumtion, that the PCB is already good to go when bought. When I was about to get into the GB today, I realized that I might have to solder the diodes and so on myself. Is this correct? And if so, how much time on avarage do you think will it take for someone with no soldering / keyboard building experience what so ever?

If you think you can solder the switches, you should be fine soldering diodes too. It looks like the diodes are through-hole, which means that long leads on the diode poke all the way through the PCB. That'll be easier than surface-mount diodes. I think you will have to pay attention to the orientation of the diodes though to make sure they're not soldered in backwards. There should be indicators on the PCB to help with that.

Soldering isn't terribly time-consuming and can be very easy with the correct tools. Just watch some tutorials on youtube and give it a go. It might be good to practice on something else if you're overly worried, but it's only a $30 board. The learning experience is worth more than that IMO. Plus, this will give you confidence to take on more advanced and expensive builds in the future once the jaws of inescapable keyboard addiction take hold.

[hineybush]

hey guys, this might be obvious, but until now I was under the assumtion, that the PCB is already good to go when bought. When I was about to get into the GB today, I realized that I might have to solder the diodes and so on myself. Is this correct? And if so, how much time on avarage do you think will it take for someone with no soldering / keyboard building experience what so ever?

If you think you can solder the switches, you should be fine soldering diodes too. It looks like the diodes are through-hole, which means that long leads on the diode poke all the way through the PCB. That'll be easier than surface-mount diodes. I think you will have to pay attention to the orientation of the diodes though to make sure they're not soldered in backwards. There should be indicators on the PCB to help with that.

Soldering isn't terribly time-consuming and can be very easy with the correct tools. Just watch some tutorials on youtube and give it a go. It might be good to practice on something else if you're overly worried, but it's only a $30 board. The learning experience is worth more than that IMO. Plus, this will give you confidence to take on more advanced and expensive builds in the future once the jaws of inescapable keyboard addiction take hold.

Correct - through-hole diodes. It makes it easier if you have something to bend the leads on, I typically use a pen or scrap piece of wood/plastic/metal with the right thickness. I put a prototype together in less than an hour.

[duynguyenle]

hey guys, this might be obvious, but until now I was under the assumtion, that the PCB is already good to go when bought. When I was about to get into the GB today, I realized that I might have to solder the diodes and so on myself. Is this correct? And if so, how much time on avarage do you think will it take for someone with no soldering / keyboard building experience what so ever?

If you think you can solder the switches, you should be fine soldering diodes too. It looks like the diodes are through-hole, which means that long leads on the diode poke all the way through the PCB. That'll be easier than surface-mount diodes. I think you will have to pay attention to the orientation of the diodes though to make sure they're not soldered in backwards. There should be indicators on the PCB to help with that.

Soldering isn't terribly time-consuming and can be very easy with the correct tools. Just watch some tutorials on youtube and give it a go. It might be good to practice on something else if you're overly worried, but it's only a $30 board. The learning experience is worth more than that IMO. Plus, this will give you confidence to take on more advanced and expensive builds in the future once the jaws of inescapable keyboard addiction take hold.

Correct - through-hole diodes. It makes it easier if you have something to bend the leads on, I typically use a pen or scrap piece of wood/plastic/metal with the right thickness. I put a prototype together in less than an hour.

Or you could use the tool specifically designed for the job: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13114

 

[hineybush]

hey guys, this might be obvious, but until now I was under the assumtion, that the PCB is already good to go when bought. When I was about to get into the GB today, I realized that I might have to solder the diodes and so on myself. Is this correct? And if so, how much time on avarage do you think will it take for someone with no soldering / keyboard building experience what so ever?

If you think you can solder the switches, you should be fine soldering diodes too. It looks like the diodes are through-hole, which means that long leads on the diode poke all the way through the PCB. That'll be easier than surface-mount diodes. I think you will have to pay attention to the orientation of the diodes though to make sure they're not soldered in backwards. There should be indicators on the PCB to help with that.

Soldering isn't terribly time-consuming and can be very easy with the correct tools. Just watch some tutorials on youtube and give it a go. It might be good to practice on something else if you're overly worried, but it's only a $30 board. The learning experience is worth more than that IMO. Plus, this will give you confidence to take on more advanced and expensive builds in the future once the jaws of inescapable keyboard addiction take hold.

Correct - through-hole diodes. It makes it easier if you have something to bend the leads on, I typically use a pen or scrap piece of wood/plastic/metal with the right thickness. I put a prototype together in less than an hour.

Or you could use the tool specifically designed for the job: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13114

 

I have one of those that was 3D printed by a buddy but I'd rather use a longer piece of material that I can bend a bunch of diodes on at once.

[hineybush]

Hey y'all, just a reminder that there's three days left for the GB.

[dr_derivative]

Ordered mine today, thanks for the reminder 

[tectonicplate]

Ordered, thanks!

[THRILLHOIAF]

are the diodes/other components pretty striaghtforward for installing. never built a board before so this is pretty new ground!

[clickityClackity]

Meant to send PM, phone app sucks. Ignore this

[hineybush]

are the diodes/other components pretty striaghtforward for installing. never built a board before so this is pretty new ground!

Yes, everything is relatively straightforward. Myself and another of our friends will be making build videos as well, so stay tuned for those! We're also planning to include a nice Ikea-like manual for construction.

[THRILLHOIAF]

are the diodes/other components pretty striaghtforward for installing. never built a board before so this is pretty new ground!

Yes, everything is relatively straightforward. Myself and another of our friends will be making build videos as well, so stay tuned for those! We're also planning to include a nice Ikea-like manual for construction.

awesome! I'm an expert with IKEA furniture