Hey Keebtalk, we are Alpaca Keyboards, a new company out of the Bay Area who are trying to bring some new and old designs back to the Mech Keys Community.
The Hot Dox is the first keyboard that we have designed and we’ve been incredibly excited to partner with Kono.Store to bring it to you all!
The Hot Dox is a hot-swappable ErgoDox with 76 keys, a stacked acrylic case, and USB C connectivity. This kit can be assembled in minutes with zero soldering required and also comes with an option for blank keycaps in either XDA or DSA profile. The Hot Dox is compatible with any MX style switches and hot swappability means you can customize the ergonomics on a per switch basis.
Who is this kit for?:
Simply put, we think this is the best starter kit for anyone who is interested in the ErgoDox, and wants more customization out of their keyboard compared to the ErgoDox EZ or some of the older and less capable PCBs. It’s also for people that are already very comfortable with the ErgoDox layout and are looking for a kit that they can customize to their heart’s content. Open source firmware and hardware means endless customization for all time!
Group Buy Info:
The Hot Dox will be live until the first week of December. Current fulfillment timeline has scheduled the first shipments for March 1st.
This has definitely piqued my interest! Aside from the fact that I want more experience building my own boards, this is a between $50-100 cheaper than the equivalent ergodox-ez option (e.g. the fully built options without wrist rests or tenting equipment). To be fair to the EZ, though, you do have to source your own switches on this version.
I am not sure how I feel about the USB A to A connector between the sides, though. TRRS cables are much sleeker IMHO. @AlpacaKeyboards - what was the thinking behind this decision, out of curiosity?
On an unrelated note, is there a picture of the board with white keycaps (XDA or DSA) installed?
Lastly, will new case colors ever be an option for this kit? I like the translucent nature of the kit, and it is definitely different from my two black 'doxes, but I wouldn’t mind a spicier color either, like purple or red.
Hey Braidn, I’m going to be bringing one of the prototypes to a few meetups in the near future, I will be sure to see if it can be used with existing ErgoDox accessories, especially tenting kits. I believe the screw locations are VERY close to the original but there may be some slight changes. Stay tuned!
Thanks for the question! Our thoughts on the USB A to A was along a few lines. First, the capabilities that using USB 3.0 afforded us over using the standard TRS was definitely more attractive especially when we realized that using USB 3.0 wouldn’t end up being any more costly.
Second, in the older ErgoDox iterations that I’ve used in the past, we found that the TRS connector’s strength boils down to a combination of the solder joint, and actual component that you choose. We found that using the USB 3.0 Connector is a much stronger component with a larger surface area and the resulting connection feels much more solid.
I will have a few more photos of the other Keycap samples, hopefully next week! Stay tuned. Additionally, we will be publishing the case files for the keyboard once the group buy has closed, and we will most likely be offering a few other colors.
Thanks for your great questions! Hope this wasn’t too much to read.
Thanks for the quick replies here. This is definitely something I will pick up. You all seem to have thought long and hard, for me have a much better ergodox 2.0 than the original iteration which I am sure Massdrop ownes now
Personally, I’d rather a RJ11 jack, or the like. You only need 4 lines (VCC, GND, DATA and CLOCK) for the communication between halves, and RJ11 should handle that. And no short issues with plugging in (like the TRRS cable), and you could use old phone cables, too.
Also, on the same day that Ergodox EZ releases info about the “EZ Glow”, which as per key RGB for the alphas.
What a day for Ergodox fans!
Now we just need more keycap kits that aren’t super expensive.
The Ergodox has so many permutations, yet so few affordable keycaps. It’s really a shame how such a popular - and standardized - board has so little available for it.
Hey sK0pe, the original ergodox tenting solutions that you can find on the interwebs should work with this keyboard. We are also talking with a few community members to design a more permanent tenting tray accessory. Stay tuned!
OMG YES! Thank you! I have loved my ErgoDox Shine over the past year but I hate that it only comes in black and white so you basically have to prime and paint it and then maintain the paint job. Being able to use the files to create an aluminum hot rod red case via Xometry is going to help me reach my end game ErgoDox!
Please offer it in hot rod red!
Looking forward to it, this is the only major missing feature to give it feature ergo parity to say, the ErgoDox EZ.
I hope this GB succeeds, I’d love to finally have an ErgoDox that uses OSS and OSH!
Quite psyched! Decided to go in for one due to loving the hot swap ability and for the potential of what might be possible with the open source designs (hopefully some fun tenting).
