Final update: Let's Tangos are now available in stock ready to ship on purchase. If you order a Let's Tango and a few extras (get the order over 375USD), there's a flat rate shipment of $15 for express shipping anywhere in the world. Thanks to everyone who supported this project, I'm proud to see so many of you with my board in hand! Join the Discord for future updates (including an acrylic version coming this week).
Interest Check Form: https://forms.gle/73UAgL1A8Yw2ArFe8Hi everyone!
This is my first interest check and first design so any feedback is welcome. Anyways, onto the fun stuff.
I'd like to introduce you to what I call
Let's Tango! This board is a split ortholinear 40% board that uses the Let's Split PCB.
I've been looking for a split planck style board with a nice case for a while and never found anything I liked so I decided to design one myself. This design was meant to be simple and cheap whilst also remaining high quality. It is an aluminium case with the following features:
- Split ortho design using the Let's Split PCB
- 7 degree typing angle
- Top mount design
- Swappable plate
- Swappable weight
Currently, the case will only come in two colours three colours (Black, White and Silver), however, I'm open to more colours, if you'd prefer a different colour please let me know in the form below and if there's enough interest I'll see if I can make it happen.
I'm looking to sell these as a kit with the PCB and everything needed to build the board (not including the switches and keycaps) however if there's interest for just the case I can make arrangements for that too.
The kit will include (aluminium):- 2x Top cases
- 2x Bases
- 2x Plates
- 2x Weights
- 2x PCBs with all components to assemble
- TRS cable & USB cable
- Screws and rubber feet to assemble
Extras available include:- Weights - Brass, Aluminium, Polycarbonate (frosted or clear) For the first run, only brass will be available. See 28th December Update.
- Plates - Brass, Aluminium, POM, Carbon Fibre, Polycarbonate For the first run, only brass will be available. See 28th December Update.
Here are some more pictures of the prototype: https://imgur.com/a/HoDK2hYI am very open to change on this design and I'm happy to make alterations based on requests in this interest check. I have some further changes I'd like to make to the design now that I have a prototype. If you'd like something changed please do fill out the form and let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Price: Aiming for (but hopefully lower)
$180 USD for the kit + shipping with extras available (plates/weights) Unfortunately, I underestimated what each unit would cost to have in-stock, along with the price of raw materials increasing and currencies shifting. I'm going to wait for all the units to come in before having a set price.
If there is enough interest in this design, this will be
sold as an in stock item from Sydney Australia to allow for fast shipping times so you can get your product ASAP.
Here are some renders: https://imgur.com/a/vNk8shnInterest Check Form: https://forms.gle/73UAgL1A8Yw2ArFe8Reddit IC Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/j0qxsa/ic_lets_tango_split_40_ortho/Discord: https://discord.gg/sbxZQUnfaxTwitch: https://twitch.tv/0ldmateeeThanks everyone!
Discord: 0ldMate#4666
Reddit: RampageCrewSpecial thanks to
u/wootpatoot for letting me use his PCB design.
================ UPDATES (New Updates Above) ==================
4 September 2021
Hey everyone!
Big announcement. The Let's Tango in-stock sale will be going live this Sunday, the 5th of September at 12PM AEST. There will be approximately 100 units available (out of the 150) and more will be made available at a later date to make sure everyone is happy and gets their order. Whilst the boards are in-stock, I am a team of 1 so please give me up to two weeks to ship them all, they are packed but will need extra things added before shipment. I will have around 50 POM plates and 75 diffusers available as add-on extras, however, if they are sold beyond that amount I am able to get more made quickly (thank you Ant!) with hopefully minimal/no delay.
I'd like to thank everyone so far for being patient with me as this has been a wild journey and I'm beyond excited to get these out to you. Also may be worth noting I don't imagine these would sell out super quickly from the current interest, so hopefully you will all get a chance to grab one.
Thanks all, please let me know if you have any questions. Join the discord for quicker response
PS. To celebrate the launch I will be doing a stream on the day so if that's your kinda thing, feel free to pop by.
0ldMate
20 August 2021
Howdy!
Well, this has been quite the adventure. A bit has happened since the last update. I've just been packing and QCing on stream, since I'm a one man show it's taking a while to get through them all, along with setting up a website, sorting taxes and all the other fun things I didn't think about. So.. the site is live, date of the Let's Tango sale will be announced soon, expecting the sale to go live in about 2 weeks. I'm currently waiting on the POM plates and diffusers before going live. I'm now getting to the exciting part and I'm really looking forward to getting these boards out to you all. Check out the site, I've got more pictures of the colours and other bits and pieces. I'll update here when I have a sale date, feel free to join the discord also.
Website :
https://mountainkeyboards.com/14th July 2021
Howdy!
I'm almost finished quality checking these boards, it's been quite the journey learning about this. I'll be putting out detailed pictures of what is A stock/B stock. The travel cases have arrived, very excited to have these for sure. They look amazing. If you've not joined the discord already there will be some extra pictures shared there if that is of interest. I've built a few boards on my twitch channel and may do a few more over the next few weeks.
I've also had some diffusers cut to show the back lighting, I'm not sure how many will be interested in getting these with the board, but if you are please do let me know. I've also ordered cut POM plates and if there's interest for those I'll stock them also.
Here's a quick picture of the diffuser (final product will probably be frosted):
Thanks all, feel free to reach out about any questions
16th June 2021
Hey everyone,
I've just received the first batch of boards, they are looking super nice so far, very impressed with the colours. Here's a quick picture I grabbed.
It has been quite the journey to get here, but we're getting there. I'm waiting on the travel cases to be finished and shipped, they should be finished production this month hopefully, then I should be ready to ship everything shortly after. In case you missed it I've got a discord going, check the thread for that link. Also, I've started up a twitch channel where I'll be doing QC on the boards live and answering questions along with a build or two. I've added that in the post also.
Thank you all so much for your patience and support, it means the world to me. I hope to see you in the discord or in twitch chat.
29th April 2021
Alright so the cases are almost done manufacturing, they should be shipped shortly. Turns out the factory moved locations whilst they were producing the cases, hence the long manufacturing time.
I've gotten a shipment of custom cables in for them as well, nothing special just some braided cables.
The store front is ready to go but I don't really see much point in making it live at the moment, unless there are a few that just want PCBs.
I've been working on getting all the packing materials, I'm very happy to announce that almost all of the packaging you will receive the Let's Tango in will be entirely home compostable and environmentally friendly.
I've been working on a carrying case that will be sold with the board, each board will come with it as a way to ship them safely and also i think it's better than some fancy package that will end up in landfill. Sad news is getting those will take a little bit, received the sample a few weeks ago, they're in mass production currently, so that'll mean a bit more waiting. Sorry about that. I'm also getting some made that will fit a 60% case.
Things are moving, I can see the end of the tunnel.
I've also made a discord if you feel so inclined to join, however updates will still be posted here.
Join link:
https://discord.gg/sbxZQUnfax25th January 2021
Hey Everyone!
Here's another quick update for the start of this year. For those who aren't aware, this time of year Chinese New Year holidays begin for manufacturers in China, some taking longer or shorter breaks depending on the factory. This will unfortunately delay the case creation. The top case should be finished before the break, and then the rest of the design should be finished after the break. I have received all the PCBs for the keyboard, they look great and from my testing of a few, they are working. I've also received the custom tenting kits and am super happy with them also, here are a few pictures of the kits. Each kit will include sets of each standoff length, they come in 30mm, 45mm and 60mm so you can pick and choose which you prefer once you get them.
I've ordered some custom cables and I'll be placing an order for some carrying cases after CNY. It's slowly coming along, but we're getting there. I'm in the process of spinning up a site to sell them on, with the PCB's and kits being sold early for anyone who's interested in just those units. I'm also going to set up a discord server for those who are interested in getting bleeding edge updates and want to ask me any questions.
That's all I've got for the moment, thank you all for the support so far. Please ask any questions and I'll try answer it to the best of my ability. I plan to be super open with this whole thing to hopefully help other new creators make their boards.
Cheers!
28th December 2020
Hey everyone!
Just an update over the holiday season. PCB production should be finished early January, then they should be shipped to me. I plan on selling a few PCBs for those who were just after the PCB (Vitamins Included v2.1).
The cases have been ordered and are going to begin production very early in Jan (I decided to skip the second prototype). The ETA is either before or just after chinese new year, depending on how smoothly production goes.
Tenting kits are in production and should be shipped shortly also.
Some changes have been made to do with colours/plate and weight material for the first round. Unfortunately, I've been unable to order all the variants I wanted for the first run due to not having the immediate capital as this is an in-stock item. I am hoping to be able to order different variants for following production runs. This first round will only contain brass weights and brass plates, apologies for those who were after different materials, if there is enough demand I will organise another production run after.
I hope everyone has a great holiday break and takes some time off to relax
Thanks!
8th December 2020
Hey everyone,
Just a quick update, I recently placed the bulk order for the PCBs, they should begin production shortly. I've recently 3d printed a prototype and am very happy with the final design (pictures are in the 40% Keyboard discord). I'll be looking to place an order for the final prototype shortly. I'm in discussion with the manufacturers currently about colours. Due to the amount that I'm able to order for the first in-stock run, it looks like there will only be 3 colours at most. Black, white, silver are the options. Hopefully I can get some accent pieces in different colours, but I'll update everyone on that. I should have another update before the end of the year.
Thanks everyone!
20th of November 2020
Hey Everyone,
Thanks everyone for the support so far, I've had a lot of suggestions on what to change/include so here's what I've changed:
- I've decided to swap the PCB to the Vitamins Included PCB by Duckle29, I've been working closely with him on getting this board ready and working. I recently got a prototype made of the revision 2.1 board and it is fantastic. This run will be the first time this revision board has been made so I'm looking forward to it. Changing the PCB to this board adds hotswap functionality, USB-C, backlit LEDs and it's all pre assembled. I've been playing with it for a while and really like it and hope you all will too. Since it'll be the first print run of this version, I'll be looking to offer the PCB separately as well.
- Added tenting holes in the base plate and I'm waiting on a few stand off samples to test out, then I'll look to put together kits for tenting as an optional extra
- Added pinstripe diffuse - this is going to be a thin piece of frosted plastic to diffuse the backlight from the PCB which will be an optional extra
- Altered the weight design to add a bit of flare rather than the original - check out the pictures to see two different designs I'm deciding on and give me your opinion
- Ran a few renders with different chamfer sizes to compare the differences - check out the pictures to see what you prefer
- Increased the size (and shape of the cable outputs) of the case to allow the new PCB to fit
- Added alignment poles, adjusted screw positions to hide screws and added rubber feet guides
I'm super happy with the new design and will be interested in hearing your thoughts.
So, from here, I'll be ordering a new prototype design and will get a few colour samples from them, after that I'll send out a new google form for you all to fill out for what colour you want, this will allow me to place an order that will hopefully get everyone the colour they prefer. Then i'll be placing the big order!!
Thanks everyone, if you've got any questions feel free to reach out to me
Pictures of update -
https://imgur.com/a/Nbqdpgy24th of October 2020
Hey everyone,
Just providing a small update on things and how the ball is rolling. So far the support has been awesome so thanks for everyone who has filled out the IC. There are a few things I've changed on the design (weight design, adding tenting support) and will be making a few more minor ones. I'll be posting a picture of the new design renders in the next few weeks once I finalize it all, after that I'll order another prototype just to confirm everything is right and then the big order will be placed. I am currently looking to change the PCB from the Let's Split to the Vitamins Included PCB as it provides more features. I've placed an order for some test PCBs and should hopefully receive the prototypes shortly.
Cheers! Will post again soon with updates!
