类型: GB
作者: jal
发布时间: 2017-03-13
09:19:48
更新时间: 2017-03-21 09:20:54
原链接:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88193.0
The group buy is closed, long live the group buy. You people
appear to have had some socket-shaped holes in your
lives.
Final numbers:
88 participants are
purchasing a total of 24000 switch sockets.
62
participants are purchasing a total of 15400 LED sockets.
Next
up, data wrangling, invoicing and aquatic bird arrangment.
I’ll start work on this tonight. This will likely be a
little slow as I’ve never mass-invoiced before and need to
figure out a sensible workflow.
You will get a
transaction number with your invoice that is distinct from
the Paypal invoice number. This number will identify a row
in a (not yet extant) Google spreadsheet. That will be the
place to look for status and such about particular orders.
This is where to look for general updates, but you already
knew that.
Thanks so much to all you lovely folks. So
far, so very smooth.
This is the Holtite socket group
buy.
Go here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScp3tmDekJvYTP9vgHUs3xo88pcXo54UNRtVAW0RYtYF_sr0g/viewform?c=0&w=1
The IC thread, which of course contains much good
discussion, lives here:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=87127.0
What:
Holtite sockets. Stick them in your PCB
holes, hot-swap your switches, no soldering. There are also
sockets for LEDs.
Of course, nothing is quite that
simple. They don’t work on all boards, or all positions on
boards, because the sockets are a consistent size, and
through-holes on PCBs aren’t. The good folks at r/mk
have worked on a compatibility list that may provide some
assistance:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1qt70E2mcuaHBXYrpPHXlpl7FNaXLo0u_TOe67cVdY/pubhtml?gid=986897710&single=true
. As a vast oversimplification, the seem to work better in
Korean boards. There is more discussion in the IC thread,
linked above.
When
Now.
Who
I’m running
this. This is my first GB here. I’m also a bit new-ish to
the community, less than a year with this obsession. I like
to think I’ve been a good neighbor, but have no problem at
all with folks having trust issues. I’m not running this for
a profit; all accounting will be public to the extent that
that’s reasonable. This is simple enough I can’t imagine how
it would, but if anything goes massively pear-shaped with
this, I’m financially stable enough to fix any problems that
arrise, and will ensure everyone who takes part ends the GB
whole. In the past, I’ve spent over a decade either running
a company or working for myself, so I feel fine about the
logistics, comms, accounting, etc.
What, part II
This
is a buy for two types of sockets, 8134-HC-8P2 for switches,
8134-HC-5P2
for LEDs. For simplicity, we’ll have these
packaged in lots of 100. Based on IC responses, people want
the gold kind, so we’re going with that to keep the volume
discount as high as possible.
NOTE: This is an addition since this was posted.
If you order a quantity in multiples of something not
100 I will round up to the nearest hundred. (So if you order
347, I will round that to 400. If you order 12, I’ll round
it to 100.) That way you get what you need, and I don’t go
crazy.
Cost is based on total volume; if everyone from the
IC purchases the switch sockets (8134-HC-8P2), the cost will
be 19 cents each. For the LED sockets (8134-HC-5P2), they
will be 13.1 cents each.
To be clear, this pricing is
not guaranteed. This assumes we hit IC numbers.
You
need two for each switch/LED. If you’re not a superstar
at dealing with tiny, fiddly things, I recommend planning to
lose/ruin a few. (As anecdata, I’m not a superstar, and
in the process of fiddling with these on four boards now,
I’ve lost probably 15 and ruined another 5-6. Tip: put cloth
over your hard work surface; if dropped on finished wood or
similar, they skitter like a very skittery thing indeed, and
hide in carpet exceptionally well.)
There’s an
installation video here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/5a399o/guide_how_to_make_your_pcb_hotswappable/
. My experience with the hot-iron thing was that it didn’t
seem to make a difference until I tried it with the iron
cold, at which point I realized it did.
I want to
emphasize again that they are not magic. Hole-size variation
and overlapping holes lead to less than perfect results. On
boards with lots of layout options on the bottom row, you
will have problems and likely end up soldering some switches
in, simply because the through-holes are squished or don’t
have enough surrounding material to properly seat the
socket. Depending on the hole, the latter problem can
sometimes be overcome by soldering the socket in. That
depends entirely on the hole and your skill at that sort of
thing.
Another thing to keep in mind is if you want to
socket support for alternate layouts as well, you need more
sockets. That sounds stupidly obvious, but I was stupid
enough to not take that into account in my first attempt.
When,
part II
This will close in a week, at 11:59pm PDT
2017.03.20. The order will then be made.
There is some
uncertainty on when the full order will be shipped; if
nobody beats us to stock on-hand, a partial shipment will be
shipped immediately, with the rest coming from upstream.
They won’t commit to timing for that, so I won’t either.
They publish a lead-time of 10 weeks, but verbally indicated
more like two is typical.
I will ship as soon as is
reasonable after I get them. I’ll give all participants a
number, which will be on a Google spreadsheet with order
info and status. I’ll update here with any meaningful
movement, changes, or when long, annoying philosophical
screeds spring to mind.
Shipping will be tracked. I’m
collecting $5 for US tracked shipping, which includes a bit
against packing materials. Any leftover funds will be
donated to Geekhack. Additionally, I will add Paypal
fees.
I’ll at least post weekly musings, or real status
updates if I have it, in this thread until we’re done.
So
there we are.
Questions asked via PM, answered here for
reference:
Q: Can the sockets be
removed and reused?
A. First, I’m no
expert. This is newish to me, too. It depends, but with the
switch sockets, you can generally remove them. On some PCBs,
the holes are big enough that these are loose, and won’t
work unless soldered. If you solder them, then of course
they’re harder to remove.
As far as reusing them, it is
possible. They are a little delicate, so I’d expect some to
end up ruined if you do that. I’ve ruined a few just
installing them.
The LED sockets are more fragile; I
think the same applies, only more so.
Q: How much per hundred?
A: If we hit
20K pieces for switches, which the IC suggests we will, they
will be $19 per hundred for switches. The LEDs sockets will
most likely be $13.10 per hundred for LEDs.
Q: What about international shipping?
A: Working on getting a firm price. I suspect tracked
international shipping will make the pricing less attractive
unless you’re ordering a ton of these.