OGR GROUP BUY UPDATES:

• 27/02/2023
  

  I think another apology is due for the delay on this update. I’ll detail below about exactly why I’ve been a little slow in this regard but the short story is that everything is still on track.

  Firstly, the good news. The keyboards themselves have been shipped from the factory already and are en route as I type this. I could actually receive these any time next month. My plan is to QC these first while I wait for the final components to arrive and then have them hopefully shipped in late Q2!

  In other news, as detailed in the previous update, one of the key points was that I was dropping the printed packaging in favor of including a proper carry case for your boards. The idea behind this was to provide something useful in the long term rather than focusing on a momentary initial unboxing experience. I wish I had the budget here to present something that’s truly special from the moment you cut open that shipping box but I believe the contents are what is important here.

  I jumped into this idea a little blind as I had underestimated the amount of back and forth that would be required with the factory to communicate my needs and requirements. The original idea was to provide some nice, bespoke carry cases with AKB branding over them and I had ordered prototypes with the factory so I could see these in person. Unfortunately the Cherry-style logo that I provided didn’t come out as intended as they had edited it to make it work and it didn’t end up looking right (see attached picture of the A KB logo here). While I’m sure many of you may not have been bothered by this, I wasn’t at all happy with it and didn’t want to send out a product that I considered incorrect. These prototypes were ordered in early December but I underestimated the time needed for them to produce these and ship them to me (it took around 45 days total).

  Once I received them and noticed the error I tried to manage the issue with the factory and hopefully come to a conclusion and while they were happy to work with me, it would need a lot of additional time with more prototyping and I didn’t have the luxury of time to play with. Due to LNY, the lead time for production being quoted as 45-60 days, and then sea shipping at another 45-60 days it would be pushing me beyond my deadlines so I instead opted to proceed with plain carry cases that just had an AKB triangle logo on the zipper tag. I was hoping for something fancy but I firmly believe that the key reason for the carry case was function, and we will still be achieving that here.

  A final point is that I originally wanted to provide a fully fleshed out, printed instruction booklet that emulated the original Cherry manuals to really provide a more authentic feel to this project. Unfortunately some costs have significantly risen through the duration of this GB so far and it means I no longer can afford to go all-out on this aspect as I had originally intended but honestly it isn’t essential, especially after dropping the printed packaging that this would have riffed off of. I think if funds end up a little healthier than expected after I’ve paid out import fees on these keyboards/my VAT bill I will still try and get something put together (perhaps digital, tied to the QR code on the sticker) but I wanted to be up front about this.

  TL:DR – keyboards are en route, carry cases won’t be fully branded, I may have to drop the printed instruction manual, everything is on/ahead of schedule still

   

• 10/11/2022
  A long overdue update here – I’m sorry for the lack of email updates so far. I’m glad to say though that not only is everything on track, but I think we may actually be (kinda) ahead of schedule a little bit, pending any potential speed bumps along our journey.Getting the small bit of (relatively) bad news out of the way first: I came across a slight error with the PCBs – not in their function but rather their design. I had mistakenly assumed that the core on the prototype PCBs was black, and I had even listed it as such in the group buy details, but that wasn’t actually the case. As a result of this, the PCBs look different to what was shown off during build streams so I can only apologise for this.

  The great thing is that they look damn slick and still oddly reminiscent of various PCBs from the past (though perhaps a little older than the original inspiration). I hope you aren’t disappointed with the final results because personally I am still very happy with them even if it wasn’t the original plan. I have linked images below of a blank OGR PCB (no components), taken courtesy of Martin (PCB designer).

  Now to the good news – you are now getting carry cases for both your OGRs *and* your OGRNs! I can’t show anything just yet as I’m still ironing out the details with the factory but as soon as I have samples to show I will fire out some images. It wasn’t part of the original plan as I didn’t know any reliable factories to use for this but thanks to CannonKeys I have been pointed in the right direction and thankfully it’s still within budget.

  The third key bit of news is that the production for virtually everything is ahead of the original projected schedule. I don’t want to give false promises that I will be shipping this out earlier than expected though, as since the sale happened I have taken on full-time employment so I will need to take a little longer than usual to QC all of the items. My employers are aware of my situation though so when the time comes I will still be able to dedicate a part of my daily routine towards QC and packing and as long as everything is OK I should be able to comfortably meet the projected timelines still.

  With these major updates out of the way, I can also say that everything required has now been ordered. Additionally, almost everything has already shipped and those parts are actually sitting in my house right now. The two key shipments I am still waiting on are the boards themselves and the new carry cases.

  I apologise for the slow email updates so far – a lot has changed in my life since the GB closed but definitely for the better! I promise that fulfilling this GB is still my highest priority and I’m looking forward to getting these shipped out to you.

  VIEW PCB IMAGES HERE

• 18/09/2022
  Production is well underway on the boards and some of the smaller components such as the carbon fiber plates are either already with me or being shipped to me.

• 09/08/2022
  The orders have been placed with both the board and PCB manufacturers so production will begin on those soon. The longest timeline projected on anything so far is the keyboard housings themselves, as they will need to source the materials before scheduling production – these are currently expected to ship to me in early Q2 next year as long as everything remains on schedule.

• 25/07/2022
  The public OGR + OGRN sale is now live, and limited to 300 orders!

• 22/07/2022
  All emails have been sent out to existing customers to allow them to place their order before the public sale launches on Monday July 25th.