I should introduce myself first, I'm Ragnorock, one of the main group buy organizers over at GeekHack, and while I haven't posted over here until now, I've always liked lurking around here and use it as a main resource. There are several members of both forums here that I'm sure will vouch for the efficiency and professionalism of my group buys, which are my strengths as a management and operations major. But yeah, enough about me. I'm a nerd, a business student, and I like keyboards and using them to play Diablo 3 and SC2. XD
Basically I got the go-ahead from Sixty to do a "round 2" of Red Alert, as long as we didn't use Uranium's (over at OCN/KBD) legends that he funded himself without permission. Sixty is also helping out with that by sending him an email asking whether that would be okay or not. (Thanks man!) So if we do get permission to use them, we will. Until then, I've expanded on the original concept and included white on red modifiers to go alongside the original red on grey. The structure is very similar to my previous group buy (Ragnarok red on black) and is taking orders right now. They will close on the 15th, but may be held open a bit more to hit the next discount. I am expecting at least 200 base sets ordered, probably more, so bear that in mind when looking at the prices.
Here's the thread itself:
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?3188 ... ing-Orders
That's about it, I won't go over everything here because it's all written out in exhaustive detail over @ GH. If you have any questions feel free to PM me on here or over at geekhack, but orders must be submitted on geekhack.
Here are some pictures and descriptions copied over from the order thread:
Red Alert Base Set:
89 Doubleshot keys in RBV on WFK (Now including center stemmed stepped caps and GEEK HACK Esc key)
It will be similar to this, but without the custom legends at this time. Standard WYSE SP font. We may use the original legends shown in the picture above if permission from Uranium over at OCN/KBD is obtained.
Here are a few other pictures of the original set to give you a better idea. We will not be doing the numrow of white on red keys or the special keys though.
<- Photo credit to Inlikeflynn and the other proud owners of the original set.Anticipated demand is over 200 sets. Please keep that in mind when looking at the price tiers. I am likely to keep it open until we hit that range unless momentum doesn't get close. At an absolute minimum we will be over 100. I will buy up to that if necessary.
In addition, I am offering several compatibility kits for use with various keyboards aside from the basic 87 key set. How this works is that you buy the 87 key set, and then choose which, if any, add on kits you want to suit your needs. That way the people just looking for the base set, which is what this group buy was originally limited to, don't have to pay more for keys they don't need. The kits start off expensive, and to avoid confusion they have been limited to only those kits most likely to succeed. Any kits that get less than 15 takers will be dropped. I expect to see a minimum of 50 for the modifier, Tsangan, and 104 kits, and at least 25 for the ISO kit. That puts everything in an affordable price range.
Each base kit is the equivalent of about 100 1x keys.
Modifier Add On Kits
Okay so this kit is one of the cornerstones why people love Red Alert. It consists of modifier and other perimeter keys in accent colors. It is going to come in both red on grey and white on red. Color codes are RBV on GAL for the grey and WFK on RBV for the red set.
Here are mockup images of the kits. They contain 33 keys.
The arrows will be normal arrows. The image above from inlikeflynn's WTT ad also shows what the actual red on grey modifiers look like.
Spacebar is modern 6.25x and the bottom row mods are 1.25x the rest range between 2x (shift) and 1x (esc keys.) If you are using this to calculate space requirements and you aren't sure, I estimated it at about 45 keys. Feel free to round up to 50 though, I did so with the base sets (to 100) and that was about right after considering the bags and the inefficiency in their placement.
Tsangan's Combatibility Kit- Comes in 3 colors, make sure you pick the right one!
Makes the 87 kit compatible with winkeyless keyboards such as Phantom, Dox, Cherry G80-3000, DKSaver, 356CL, Choc Mini, and many more! Ask Tsangan for clarification if you are unsure. At this time I am offering this in all 3 colors, (red on white, red on grey, and white on red) since it is likely many people will be getting this set from Korea, and they generally like these sets. If the counts aren't there, (under 15) that color option will be dropped.
Contains 13 keys
Ignore the colors of course, but that gives a good idea of what you get.
2 Alt (1.5x)
2 Ctrl (1.5x)
These are just the bottom row in 1.5x size
2 "Star" 1x keys that fit row 4
2 Diamond/Meta/Super (1x keys)
This will go between the Alt and Control and is a 1x size key, with a diamond legend.
1 Stepped CapsLocks
Same size as the capslock but it's stepped. It is off center stem.
1 1800 Shift (1.75x)
This is a short shift in 1.75x size for the right shift so you can fit another 1x key beside it
1 Spacebar (7x)
Just longer then your average spacebar, this one would be 7x size and its center stem.
Equivalent to about 20 1x keys
The 104 Kit
The 17 keys that make up the tenkey and its surrounding keys. Basically making this set compatible with full size ANSI keyboards. I may add the couple extra keys for 0 and 00 option if there is enough interest. At this point it is only being offered in red on white. I am pretty firm on keeping at least this one that way.
Equivalent to about 20 1x keys
The ISO Kit (UPDATED TO INCLUDE COMPATIBILITY WITH ALL 3 COLORS)
The above picture but with a blank JRET. ISO people please step up and get in on this or else its really spendy per key. As the quantities for this are traditionally low, rather than offer 3 different ISO kits or have people miss out, the ISO kit is being expanded to offer all 3 colors of the short shift and JRET that would limit ISO users from having complete matching sets if they desired colored modifiers. Thus, this set is now 8 keys:
3 blank JRET keys, in WFK, RBV, and GAL
3 short shift keys, in WFK, RBV, and GAL, with their corresponding legends, RBV, WFK, and RBV
1 |\ 1x key in RBV on WFK
1 #~ 1x key in RBV on WFK
Equivalent to about 10-15 1x keys
Okay that's pretty long for a crosspost, but I hope this is okay. Please let me know if you have any questions. I try to be really quick with my responses.
