deskthority

Extras

• Available now (Canada & US): yakk.shop
• Soon: TheKeyDotCompany
• Soon: Mykeyboard.eu
• Soon: zFrontier

Welcome to the DSA Scientific group buy!

DSA Scientific is inspired by the legendary Texas Instruments (TI) scientific calculators.

Bringing you the unique deep teal colour and possibly the geekiest novelties ever, including math constants π (pi), e, φ (the Golden ratio) and physical constant ħ (h-bar, the reduced Planck constant).

Opened from April 10 to May 10, 2019.

Technical specs

• Made in USA by Signature Plastics
• DSA spherical profile
• Doubleshot ABS plastic
• Cherry MX compatible

Colour codes

• Pantone® 7476 C ("deep teal")
• SP ABS: GB, GTD, YCB

Stats

Final order numbers:





Kits

Alphas


TKL + Specialty


Ortho + 40%


Numpad


Novelties


ISO


NorDe


Colevrak


Renders

Tenkeyless (Filco Majestouch 2)


1800 (Leopold FC980M)


75% (Vortex Race 3)


Numpad (Ducky Pocket)


40% (Vortex Core, TheVan Minivan, OLKB Planck)


Ergo (PrimeKB Prime_E)


Macro (RAMA M10-A)


Other links

• Interest check: (down below)
• Samples: https://imgur.com/a/gQuWYEH

Original IC:

Looking forward to this set! Is there any hope of re-legendables in other sizes, such as 1.5U?

Ninja99 wrote: ↑Looking forward to this set! Is there any hope of re-legendables in other sizes, such as 1.5U?

Not for now, is it for a specific board or use? Thanks

I feel drawn to the gray and deep teal color combo. It just looks so classy and classic.

Those color schemes are gorgeous!!! Being an Alps man, I don't imagine I will join a GB here, but OMG that gray/deep teal is something else. Has the feel of a modernized, even-cooler Dolch.

I have always thought that the 1980's HP calculator colors (black white, blue, yellow) would make a nice set. This seems to capture some of that.

Not that I want to be that guy (er... who am I kidding here?), but...

I like the selected colourways — they look really, really good, but I hate the misleading legends. Stuff like "DRG" instead of "GUI" or HYP/SIN/COS/TAN on the HUDE keys is bad enough already, but things like the legend √ on the (quite probably) TAB key on a numpad are excessive. The only novelty I'd consider is φ as the legend for the GUI key(s), and that's because replacing the Windows logo with anything else is pretty much a basic requirement for any keycap set.

That said, will anyone ever replicate the HP28S's colourway...?

depletedvespene wrote: ↑That said, will anyone ever replicate the HP28S's colourway...?

GMK Honeywell is pretty close..except for the red

OP has started a poll over on Massdrop: https://www.massdrop.com/vote/DSA-Scientific

(Vote on Norde!)

depletedvespene wrote: ↑Not that I want to be that guy (er... who am I kidding here?), but...

I like the selected colourways — they look really, really good, but I hate the misleading legends. Stuff like "DRG" instead of "GUI" or HYP/SIN/COS/TAN on the HUDE keys is bad enough already, but things like the legend √ on the (quite probably) TAB key on a numpad are excessive. The only novelty I'd consider is φ as the legend for the GUI key(s), and that's because replacing the Windows logo with anything else is pretty much a basic requirement for any keycap set.

That said, will anyone ever replicate the HP28S's colourway...?

Okay, let me explain. I always felt like DRG/mode was a staple of scientific calculators. You enter your numbers and operations, press equal, answer makes no sense... what happened? Probably you're in rad or grad mode instead of deg (or deg or grad instead of rad). It's a mode key. Also I know gamers usually avoid hitting the Windows key (while gaming), so that's a parallel you could make. DRG instead of mode because it's a 3 letter legend. It represents the theme and function and fits aesthetically. You will most likely be able to replace it with a blank, anyway.

The idea behind the trig functions is to not go over the top with custom graphics to keep the novelties low-key and manufacturerable. They don't replace anything, you put 'em where you want; I'm thinking media keys which differ from keyboard to keyboard. Log/ln are good candidates as well and they are included. Again 3 letter legends work well in 1u-1.25u.

The greek letters are a no brainer (pi). The Planck constant (h-bar) is a must for Planck users and physics students in general. Phi is included because it's a cool mathematical constant and it played a role in the design; the colour proportions are close to phi ratio.

Note that the square root symbol is aimed directly at Ducky Pocket users. The add-on kit suits both regular and calc modes. However, as the kit seems less popular, it may be dropped.

voodoo6k wrote: ↑

depletedvespene wrote: ↑Not that I want to be that guy (er... who am I kidding here?), but...

I like the selected colourways — they look really, really good, but I hate the misleading legends. Stuff like "DRG" instead of "GUI" or HYP/SIN/COS/TAN on the HUDE keys is bad enough already, but things like the legend √ on the (quite probably) TAB key on a numpad are excessive. The only novelty I'd consider is φ as the legend for the GUI key(s), and that's because replacing the Windows logo with anything else is pretty much a basic requirement for any keycap set.

Okay, let me explain. I always felt like DRG/mode was a staple of scientific calculators. You enter your numbers and operations, press equal, answer makes no sense... what happened? Probably you're in rad or grad mode instead of deg (or deg or grad instead of rad). It's a mode key. Also I know gamers usually avoid hitting the Windows key (while gaming), so that's a parallel you could make. DRG instead of mode because it's a 3 letter legend. It represents the theme and function and fits aesthetically. You will most likely be able to replace it with a blank, anyway.

As much as I think radiants are RAD (well, duh — I am an engineer, after all), I think that the DRG and RAD legends (as well as GRD and others) are inappropriate for keyboard mods, as they are persistent mode selectors, not temporary — they're closer to the Lock keys on the computer keyboard than to Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Gui. IMNAAHO, YMMV, of course.

if you're thinking of gamers and TLA legends, perhaps a better novelty might be a key with "FTW" on it.

voodoo6k wrote: ↑The idea behind the trig functions is to not go over the top with custom graphics to keep the novelties low-key and manufacturerable. They don't replace anything, you put 'em where you want; I'm thinking media keys which differ from keyboard to keyboard. Log/ln are good candidates as well and they are included. Again 3 letter legends work well in 1u-1.25u.

Again: IMNAAHO, YMMV... I wouldn't use them at all, and I'd prefer to have them in a separate novelty kit that I would not buy. It's one thing to have icons that don't really have the same meaning as the text they're replacing (think of the novelties in the GMK Carbon kit for an extreme example), but replacing text legends with other text legends that mean something entirely different strikes me as misleading and irks me (and remember I am the git who has a keyboard where all the alphanum keys have a letter X).

voodoo6k wrote: ↑The greek letters are a no brainer (pi). The Planck constant (h-bar) is a must for Planck users and physics students in general. Phi is included because it's a cool mathematical constant and it played a role in the design; the colour proportions are close to phi ratio.

I'd avoid π, as it's overused. The other two have a good reason for staying — as long as you remember the Planck constant (U+210e) is ℎ , while ℏ (U+210f) is Planck constant over two pi, and it's the latter the one you're adding (the "plain" Planck constant is not suitable, as it looks like a plain lowercase oblique H letter).

depletedvespene wrote: ↑

voodoo6k wrote: ↑

depletedvespene wrote: ↑Not that I want to be that guy (er... who am I kidding here?), but...

I like the selected colourways — they look really, really good, but I hate the misleading legends. Stuff like "DRG" instead of "GUI" or HYP/SIN/COS/TAN on the HUDE keys is bad enough already, but things like the legend √ on the (quite probably) TAB key on a numpad are excessive. The only novelty I'd consider is φ as the legend for the GUI key(s), and that's because replacing the Windows logo with anything else is pretty much a basic requirement for any keycap set.

Okay, let me explain. I always felt like DRG/mode was a staple of scientific calculators. You enter your numbers and operations, press equal, answer makes no sense... what happened? Probably you're in rad or grad mode instead of deg (or deg or grad instead of rad). It's a mode key. Also I know gamers usually avoid hitting the Windows key (while gaming), so that's a parallel you could make. DRG instead of mode because it's a 3 letter legend. It represents the theme and function and fits aesthetically. You will most likely be able to replace it with a blank, anyway.

As much as I think radiants are RAD (well, duh — I am an engineer, after all), I think that the DRG and RAD legends (as well as GRD and others) are inappropriate for keyboard mods, as they are persistent mode selectors, not temporary — they're closer to the Lock keys on the computer keyboard than to Shift, Ctrl, Alt and Gui. IMNAAHO, YMMV, of course.

if you're thinking of gamers and TLA legends, perhaps a better novelty might be a key with "FTW" on it.

voodoo6k wrote: ↑The idea behind the trig functions is to not go over the top with custom graphics to keep the novelties low-key and manufacturerable. They don't replace anything, you put 'em where you want; I'm thinking media keys which differ from keyboard to keyboard. Log/ln are good candidates as well and they are included. Again 3 letter legends work well in 1u-1.25u.

Again: IMNAAHO, YMMV... I wouldn't use them at all, and I'd prefer to have them in a separate novelty kit that I would not buy. It's one thing to have icons that don't really have the same meaning as the text they're replacing (think of the novelties in the GMK Carbon kit for an extreme example), but replacing text legends with other text legends that mean something entirely different strikes me as misleading and irks me (and remember I am the git who has a keyboard where all the alphanum keys have a letter X).

voodoo6k wrote: ↑The greek letters are a no brainer (pi). The Planck constant (h-bar) is a must for Planck users and physics students in general. Phi is included because it's a cool mathematical constant and it played a role in the design; the colour proportions are close to phi ratio.

I'd avoid π, as it's overused. The other two have a good reason for staying — as long as you remember the Planck constant (U+210e) is ℎ , while ℏ (U+210f) is Planck constant over two pi, and it's the latter the one you're adding (the "plain" Planck constant is not suitable, as it looks like a plain lowercase oblique H letter).

I don't completely disagree with anything you've said...

voodoo6k wrote: ↑I don't completely disagree with anything you've said...

That's good enough for me.

Proposal for a 40s kit.

Covers Vortex Core, JD40, AMJ40, MiniVan, and others.

Spacebars are 2.75u, 2.25u, 2u and 1.75u.

40s
[removed] (see OP for up-to-date info)

I've updated the OP with the latest kits and renders. Notable changes:

- Phase I = Grey / deep teal set (the response was especially positive for this colourway)
- Separate alphas
- 40% kit

Will report back shortly with MOQ and pricing table.

You can support the GB by voting on our Massdrop poll and promoting the talk page (has additional info):

https://www.massdrop.com/vote/DSA-Scien ... guest_open
https://www.massdrop.com/talk/11142/dsa ... guest_open

Cheers!

This would be perfect for my Wyse WY-30, but I cannot afford anything like this yet.

Nice, see you went w/ the deskthority suggestion!! Great looking forward to this set!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Absolutely love the color scheme, but I'll be waiting for a GMK or MT3 profile version. I just can't do with uniform profile caps.

Make an Alps version and it would sell!

It could work in other profiles but DSA was too good for this.

@William_S_Jones Of course I did

Thanks for the comments!

Make it Alps. Make it REAL.

Engicoder wrote: ↑I have always thought that the 1980's HP calculator colors (black white, blue, yellow) would make a nice set. This seems to capture some of that.

1. Yes! I would prefer the HP scheme over TI any day.

2. Alps, please!

3. In addition, as a practical matter, I find that I cannot type on a flat profile such as DSA. I would want a sculpted profile such as SA or DCS.

Hypersphere wrote: ↑ 1. Yes! I would prefer the HP scheme over TI any day.

2. Alps, please!

3. In addition, as a practical matter, I find that I cannot type on a flat profile such as DSA. I would want a sculpted profile such as SA or DCS.

You will have to go the bizarro world for this set because it's the exact opposite of what we're proposing!

voodoo6k wrote: ↑

Hypersphere wrote: ↑ 1. Yes! I would prefer the HP scheme over TI any day.

2. Alps, please!

3. In addition, as a practical matter, I find that I cannot type on a flat profile such as DSA. I would want a sculpted profile such as SA or DCS.

You will have to go the bizarro world for this set because it's the exact opposite of what we're proposing!

Don't mind me; I'm often a lone wolf howling in the wilderness.

I agree that being a flat profile, DSA will be less comfortable to type on compared to DCS or SA.
An advantage though is that without the concern of row profiles, it can support lots of layouts with a small set.

If such a scientific calculator set support Alps, as a laid off science worker after my boss's retirement, I may consider selling my kidneys, my liver, my blood, or my sperm in order to get all of this set.

Norde and Colevrak kits will be available at 10 or 15 MOQ. (Yay!)

Norde
[removed]

Colevrak
[removed]

Hey all, I updated the OP with our GB information.

Please leave your questions and comments down below.

Cheers!

European proxy mykeyboard.eu is up!

All proxies are live!

Our progress so far:




Cheers

NorDe 15 as good as confirmed! *happy austrian ISO dances *

They are beautiful, but man are they expensive ... Europeans seem to be getting a particularly raw deal. The bare minimum for my daily driver (Alphas + TKL + ISO + NorDE) would set me back 140 bucks in the US. The same set comes to 176 €, which translates to 197 $ or so. Yes, US prices don't factor in taxes, but a 40% European surcharge is ridiculous even so.