[Shipping] CONTRA - $30 ortholinear memeboard

[hineybush]

[mdaly001]

Man I read this GB as still open. What a tease. Hope y'all can open another one soon

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

[deacon]

Show Image

Think we could get a profile shot showing the board thickness? That would be great!

[hineybush]

Show Image

Think we could get a profile shot showing the board thickness? That would be great!

Mine are packed away already (Columbus meetup in the morning) but I'll see if someone with a built proto kit can snag a pic or two.

Also, UPDATE

All proxy orders (besides EU) are shipped as of now. We're just waiting to finalize shipping payment for the EU packages (yes, packageS - lots of EU orders). We have roughly 1/3 of the US orders packed as well. We're looking to have everything shipped out in the next week or two. Here's a copy/paste from our most recent Reddit update:

Hi Everyone!

I've been more or less head down on Contra for a few weeks now. The good news is that it has paid off and kept us on track, with a little help (A huge thanks to a few friends of ours from Memphis Roller Derby who dropped by and helped with packing your orders!).

We wanted to share the final 'what's in the box' photo ahead of shipping, so y'all get one more tease about what you're going to receive. There are a few extras we have not previously confirmed would be in your orders, and with the amazing turn out in the group buy, are definitely including. Those would be - a cheap six foot (2 meter-ish) micro USB cable, a third sticker, and a physical guide for assembly and flashing (featuring art from our friend [Athanasium](https://www.reddit.com/user/athanasium), who really did an amazing job with it!).

A reminder while you wait - we've already updated the [Contra page](https://cartel.ltd/contra/) with a new section including [project updates](https://cartel.ltd/projects/contra/#gb-status), a default [Contra firmware file](https://cartel.ltd/projects/contra/#firmware) and Ricky's amazing Keyboard Firmware Builder for you to customize it with, and the same [Flashing](https://cartel.ltd/projects/contra/#flash) and [Assembly directions](https://cartel.ltd/projects/contra/#assembly) you'll receive a copy of in your kits.

Timetable right now is pretty simple - I am in the final steps before labels happen. Meaning I'm assembling boxes and bubble-wrapping your Contras. First order of business for me is to get our International proxies their shipments. While those are making their various treks outside the US, I'll be packing up US orders. I expect at this point that International Proxy orders will go out next week (2/26/18 - 3/2/18) to those sellers, who can pass it along to their buyers once they receive them. US orders should begin to see emails notifying them of shipments (with tracking information) the week (3/5/18 - 3/10/18) after that, potentially sooner.

POTENTIAL DELAY ALERT! There is one major thing that may cause a brief delay in shipments. Despite conquering a number of other issues that nearly brought the buy to a halt in the past few weeks, I can't conquer nature. My wife is due to give birth to our first child, according to her doctor, any day now. I am rushing to get orders as far along as possible and as many shipped as possible before she goes in to labor. If I'm unsuccessful, I hope you will understand that orders that remain after she goes in to labor will experience a delay. I'm basically expecting that it will add 1-2 weeks to the shipping process if it happens before I finish shipping, with the first week after she gives birth being a possible standstill, and then the week after that, people should start receiving their shipping and tracking notifications. We will have a ton of family and friends lingering around trying to see the baby though, and quite a few are coming in from out of town and spending a week or two with us. I have already warned them all that they'll be put to work helping us wrap this up for you as payment for crowding our house.
   


Thanks from all of us who worked on this project (and thanks from me to the rest of the team!)

__end, hineybush, rickenbacker620, ai03, Athanasium, and the whole Cartel Discord.



-----



Now, moving forward beyond Contra, we already have a few things in the works -

1. Contra doesn't end here. Once we pass 30 days from the last shipment being posted, we will release all remaining extras for sale on the store. Additionally, we have some plans for a limited run of cases in the works.

2. Thanks to your interest and votes in the last IC we posted, expect to see Group Buys for MX Lock and TTC Razer Green switches soon. We'll be discussing the price points with our vendors to see if we have any wiggle room left to roll both prices down. I personally don't expect much room in the MX Locks, but I think the TTC Razer Green has room and I'll be pressing that point to our vendor.

3. We're working with our Pro Micro supplier to build a custom Pro Micro that will feature a USB-C connection. We're still fine tuning the design (and as such, the price is still not finalized), but our current goal is the same pin-out and foot print as the current Pro Micros, however we plan for ours to feature a recessed and mid-mounted USB-C connector, so that uses where you might have to flip the Pro Micro over will not change the distance between the connector and the PCB. Other vendors who are interested in acquiring a large stock of these for themselves are encouraged to contact us, as the more orders we go in to this with, the cheaper we can make it for everyone (and yes, if you come in looking for a large volume, we will look at discounting according to that volume). We're also looking at asking the vendor for ours to be loaded in with a specific bootloader and fuse setup that will tailor these particularly for this community.

4. Another round of hiney's 1800 PCB is in the works! They are in the fine tuning stage and updates regarding it will roll out soon.

5. We have a Contra style kit for a larger, TKL format board in the works, more news on this soon.

6. Another of these low cost kits, smaller than a TKL, but larger than Contra, is also being developed. This is a new layout we've teased before.

7. The Astro family is not on the backburner, and it's back on our schedule, where it should be. Right now we're taking fresh eyes to the project, in particular the kits, the novelties, and the cases. When we all have the opportunity to really sit down and work these over, an updated gallery will surface. (And don't worry, that dope ass brass weight with the Voyager Golden Record engravings isn't going anywhere!)

Finally, here's a pic of what will be inside each kit:

[TonyD]

nice !

[punkpc]

Can't wait! 

[punkpc]

Got mine today at work! Can't wait to build it.

Big props on the packaging. Not a lot of people (other GB) take the time to have a nice out of box experience at this price.









I will get more pictures once I open it all up to build it. 

[punkpc]

Unpacked



And built



 

[sunnywala]

Any update on the files so we can 3d print our cases?

[mike-y]

I'm having a problem with my pro micro.  I get a USB error saying the device isn't recognized, even when in the bootloader mode.  I have a macropad with a promicro, and it works fine, so I'm pretty sure I have the right drivers installed.

Any ideas?  here is the error I get, as well as a constant red light on the pro micro.

[hineybush]

Any update on the files so we can 3d print our cases?

Not yet. I'm moving this week so all of my keeb stuff is packed up, and I'm taking a break from design stuff til I'm settled in.

I'm having a problem with my pro micro.  I get a USB error saying the device isn't recognized, even when in the bootloader mode.  I have a macropad with a promicro, and it works fine, so I'm pretty sure I have the right drivers installed.

Any ideas?  here is the error I get, as well as a constant red light on the pro micro.

This is interesting - I'm not sure. There could be a short somewhere, or the cable could be bad. Does it show up at all in Device Manager? If so, you may have to update drivers: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/pro-micro--fio-v3-hookup-guide/installing-windows

If that doesn't work, try to flash with atmel flip or xloader. Those are my last-ditch-effort flashing tools.

[typischt]

Hey guys, just fyi, for anyone not regularly checking reddit (I also just saw it by accident : Status and giveaway.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/8419tx/gb_contra_shipping_update_and_contra_red_giveaway/?st=JEQAEJLB&sh=88dc4d88

Edit: giveaway is ending in 5 hours according to the timestamp it shows for me, so should be enough time for anyone wanting to enter

[hineybush]

Hey guys, just fyi, for anyone not regularly checking reddit (I also just saw it by accident : Status and giveaway.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/8419tx/gb_contra_shipping_update_and_contra_red_giveaway/?st=JEQAEJLB&sh=88dc4d88

Edit: giveaway is ending in 5 hours according to the timestamp it shows for me, so should be enough time for anyone wanting to enter

'

Thank you! I forgot to post about it here.

[djfunh8r]

Got mine yesterday.  Great packaging, and the build guide on the cartel site is good as well.  Interested in seeing more stuff from them.

[typischt]

Any updates on the boards for EU?

[CallumMcG]

Any updates on the boards for EU?

I emailed them regarding this earlier and received the following:

The EU Proxy had their preferred shipper come by and pick the order up from us last week. I imagine it’s still in transit at this point, but it is on its way to Mykeyboard.eu.

[hineybush]

Yep, the EU orders are out of our hands.

[b9nign]

Any updates on the boards for EU?

Got a shipping notification today

[mike-y]

Finally got mine fixed.  finished it up today and threw on some spare keycaps from a dsa grab bag, and a few bounty hunter keys.

[hineybush]

Finally got mine fixed.  finished it up today and threw on some spare keycaps from a dsa grab bag, and a few bounty hunter keys.

(Attachment Link)

Nice! I like the sideways N key for Z

[kolashnikov]

Finally got mine put together after waiting a few weeks for switches from China. However I seem to be having issues with the 3rd row from the top; the one Z, C, and V are usually on. This whole row does not register any keys while the rest of the board works fine. This is critical, as Undo, Copy, and Paste are about 80% of what I do at work 

Anybody heard of this before? Possible I missed a diode or solder joint? I'll review my connections tomorrow but would appreciate any tips about where and what to look at first.

[hineybush]

Finally got mine put together after waiting a few weeks for switches from China. However I seem to be having issues with the 3rd row from the top; the one Z, C, and V are usually on. This whole row does not register any keys while the rest of the board works fine. This is critical, as Undo, Copy, and Paste are about 80% of what I do at work 

Anybody heard of this before? Possible I missed a diode or solder joint? I'll review my connections tomorrow but would appreciate any tips about where and what to look at first.

My first guess would be a diode - there's one sort of hidden behind some silk (our mistake/oversight) but that would typically only result in one switch not working. Double check your joints to the pro micro as well.

[childofthehorn]

My first Ortho build. Testing the waters and keep on the lookout at Thingiverse for a 3D printed case design. Decided I need my incline!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[kolashnikov]

Finally got mine put together after waiting a few weeks for switches from China. However I seem to be having issues with the 3rd row from the top; the one Z, C, and V are usually on. This whole row does not register any keys while the rest of the board works fine. This is critical, as Undo, Copy, and Paste are about 80% of what I do at work 

Anybody heard of this before? Possible I missed a diode or solder joint? I'll review my connections tomorrow but would appreciate any tips about where and what to look at first.

My first guess would be a diode - there's one sort of hidden behind some silk (our mistake/oversight) but that would typically only result in one switch not working. Double check your joints to the pro micro as well.

Figured it out! I had installed an RGB strip under the PCB following yanfali's directions on reddit. I ended up shorting out that row by squashing the LED strip down too hard onto some diode/switch pins. I laid a few layers of electrical tape between the LED strip and the PCB and it's all good now.

[hineybush]

Finally got mine put together after waiting a few weeks for switches from China. However I seem to be having issues with the 3rd row from the top; the one Z, C, and V are usually on. This whole row does not register any keys while the rest of the board works fine. This is critical, as Undo, Copy, and Paste are about 80% of what I do at work 

Anybody heard of this before? Possible I missed a diode or solder joint? I'll review my connections tomorrow but would appreciate any tips about where and what to look at first.

My first guess would be a diode - there's one sort of hidden behind some silk (our mistake/oversight) but that would typically only result in one switch not working. Double check your joints to the pro micro as well.

Figured it out! I had installed an RGB strip under the PCB following yanfali's directions on reddit. I ended up shorting out that row by squashing the LED strip down too hard onto some diode/switch pins. I laid a few layers of electrical tape between the LED strip and the PCB and it's all good now.

Glad you got it fixed! I'll have this added to the DIY section of the product page so other people don't run into the problem 

Update on extras: we've received the rest of the parts needed to package em up. End should be working on that through the next week or so, then we will have ~100 Contras for sale from our store for $40/kit. I'm unsure what the other proxies will be doing, as we sent them some extras with their initial orders.

[kmfmppl]

Got finally around to build this kit. Works nicely apart from the keys from Y to backspace in the right top row, which are completely dead. I desoldered a few of them and bridged the switchholes with tweezers, but the board does not register any keystrokes. Solder joints on the pro micro look fine to me, and I flashed and tested the controller as recommended prior to building. Maybe a diode thats bad?

[deacon]

I had to jumper a trace back to the Pro Micro on mine. Eventually killed the PCB desoldering a broken Pro Micro.

[tectonicplate]

Got finally around to build this kit. Works nicely apart from the keys from Y to backspace in the right top row, which are completely dead. I desoldered a few of them and bridged the switchholes with tweezers, but the board does not register any keystrokes. Solder joints on the pro micro look fine to me, and I flashed and tested the controller as recommended prior to building. Maybe a diode thats bad?

(Attachment Link)

I had to run a jumper to the Pro Micro for the backspace key. Since that initial fix, it's been fine for the past couple years.