We're excited to announce the second round group buy of the Kei keyboard kit. Here are some details regarding this release, you can read more about the conceptualising process of the board through this link.
If you're new to group buys / pre-orders, do give this a read.
Orders will be sent to the manufacturer in the first week of Dec, production should take 7 months.
Expected delivery to buyers by late Summer / early Fall 2021
For reference, R1 took approximately 5 months. We project a longer timeframe for R2 (keeping in mind CNY in Feb 2021).
3. Price :
Standard (excludes shipping):
SGD 570 / 580 for either solder or hotswap PCB kit
Aluminium top and bottom configurations
Brass bottom upgrade available
BE (excludes shipping):
SGD 700 / 710 for either solder or hotswap PCB kit
BE kits come in Silver or Titan Grey tops with a brass bottom
4. Kit Details:
All kits include:
1x Top piece (aluminium)
1x Bottom piece (aluminium or brass)
1x PCB with daughterboard and JST connector
2x O Ring Gaskets (1x 50A, 1x 90A)
Seion sheet (dampener)
Misc packaging
Screws & Allen key
i. Variants:
We're happy to include more colour options this time.
Standard:
Blush Pink / Royal Purple / Olive Green aluminium top
Silver aluminium bottom
Standard , HHKB or Winkeyless tops
Brass bottom (sandblasted) upgrade option
Weighs 1KG before inclusion of switches / PCB
BE:
Silver or Titan Grey top
Brass bottom (sandblasted)
Standard , HHKB or Winkeyless tops
Weights 2.1KG before inclusion of switches / PCB
ii. PCB:
Please note that supported layouts vary between solder and hotswap versions. For more details, refer to this link from hiney keyboards.
Solder PCB with daughterboard / JST cable included
Supports Standard, HHKB and Winkeyless tops
Hotswap PCB with required daughterboard / JST connector included
7u bottom row
Supports Standard, HHKB and Winkeyless tops supported
iii. Plates:
Plates can change the typing feel and acoustics of any keyboard. Some prefer half-plates for extra flex while others might go with the commonly included full plate. Here are some extra variants on offer:
Full plate: Polycarbonate (frosted) , aluminium (silver), brass.
5. Extras:
We've also included more extras these time around for your purchase regardless of variant chosen. These can be purchased separately.
Kei Caps:
Black keycap with gold infill
White keycap with gold infill
Japanese character "軽"
Kaban:
Hardened carrying case
4 colours available (Blush Pink, Royal Purple, Olive Green, Titan Grey)
Supports 60%~65% keyboards
Internal dimensions: approx 34*12*4cm
Supports previous editions of Kei
Wrist Rests:
CNC milled Polycarbonate
2 colours available (Frost White, Titan Grey)
Supports previous editions of Kei
Stabiliser Kits:
Durock stabilisers
Comes with 4x2u, 1x6.25u and 1x7u screw-in stabilisers
Includes nylon washers
6. Shipping:
Out Of Singapore (ROW):
Due to the high value nature of the item, all packages out of Singapore will be shipped via DHL Express.
Within Singapore:
Shipped via QExpress.
Pickups (TBC)
7. Quality Expectations:
While we strive to provide a perfect experience, no kit can be 100% flawless at our scale of production, as such the caveats are as follows:
No scratches on exposed / user facing parts of the keyboard (after installation of plate & PCB).
Possible marks close to screw area (top and bottom pieces).
Possible machining marks / micro scratches on the inside of the kit / pieces not exposed to the user. This includes scratches arising from anodisation hooks.
Minor anodisation variation.
Brass patina: brass as a material tarnishes over time, you can clean it but note that it's a form of oxidation that we cannot control. This includes the bottom piece and the plate.
Marks / streaks that are not visible after assembly.
Please note that your purchase denotes agreement to group buy rules which include all the above.
With that in mind, some changes we're making for this round includes:
Switching to hex screws
Inclusion of additional feet
Inclusion of an additional o ring (90A) in addition to the original 50A
The monokei community is always happy to help out if you've any questions. Feel free to join us on Discord or email us via our support mail.
