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Drop Carina Mechanical Keyboard Kit
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Drop Carina Mechanical Keyboard Kit
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Product Description
Fashioned with a frosty acrylic case and programmable LED lighting, the 60% Carina mechanical keyboard kit comes together in minutes, and shines bright for years to come.
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keyboard_arrow_downA community member
Jun 30, 2020
Received confirmation that the PCBA will support PCB-mount switches (5 pin). Orientation will still be north-facing though.
Ekkolokation
0
Jun 29, 2021
Hi @Elbert by PCBA are u referring to the one for Carina or the one for the ALT/CTRL, I saw a discussion earlier where u mentioned that Drop was in the works of updating the PCBA and possibly releasing a CTRL/ALT V2. I was wondering what the new changes to the PCBA would be?
YanboWu
8491
Collaborations
Jun 30, 2020
Hey everyone,
We are excited to share this new keyboard kit with the community. We are hoping this will be the first of many we will offer in the future.
A quick breakdown of the what and why for those curious -
WHAT
This is a simple 60% keyboard kit. It utilizes hot-swap sockets so no soldering will be required. In addition, we are using stand-off screws - which is brand new to us (and I can't recall any keyboard kits in the community that uses these).
The case form factor is new and will be in acrylic for this round.
We are offering three different plate types for this kit - aluminum, brass, and copper.
Keycaps / switches are not offered as part of he pre-order. Though there are some options available on the site - in the coming weeks / months we are hoping to expand that selection as well.
WHY
We started with a 60% layout because 60% keyboards were and still are one of the more popular layouts for customs.
We wanted this kit to be more accessible to everyone in the community - which is why we picked hot-swap sockets. The addition of the new stand-off screws make assembly much simpler as well - really the only tool you will need is a Phillips head screwdriver.
Instead of offering many different case colors like we usually do with our kits - we are offering only acrylic this round to really highlight the RGB lighting on the PCBA.
Instead of case materials, we wanted to explore different plate materials with the community this time. Different plate materials affecting the typing experience is not a brand new concept. Matt3o had mentioned it when we undertook the WhiteFox previously (he liked the flex that aluminum gives when typing vs a more stiff steel plate).In recent years, I've been hearing it more and more from many that are deep in the rabbit hole. For example, some swear by very tactile switches paired with stiff plates like brass while others love linears paired with more flexible plates. Our goal is to add more options in the future as well, so the three you see here are only the beginning.
Finally, the way this product page is setup is a bit different from how we usually would do it. We are working on site upgrades that will help make purchasing keyboard kits and the many parts / components easier in the future. Stayed tuned for more on this.
Phlooke
198
Aug 26, 2020
I dunno if it will work but if you add keeb to your cart then add the plate and then remove the Carina keyboard from your cart it just keeps the plate in there. But you can order this keyboard and all 3 plates by just adding the plates under it
Phlooke
198
Aug 26, 2020
Hang
440
Jun 30, 2020
Wow, tray mount with lots of RGB and north facing 3 pin sockets!! All the noobs must be crazy excited right now. All it's missing is pudding keycaps!
(Edited)
RedRaiRobot
3
Jul 26, 2020
Hangnice, gatekeeping an obviously popular hobby. let us "noobs" have our fun please
(Edited)
rgbvrs
1
Jul 27, 2020
RedRaiRobotHes not gatekeeping the fun. Its a board with aesthetics and its something that is definitely aimed towards the newcomers of the community. What he is saying about the board, other than the "pudding keycaps" part, is good information for someone new to the community to know about when purchasing this. For the price range, it's not too bad, but with all the news of the Nk65 entry edition and other beginner boards, this just isnt a very good option. Sure, the nk65 is very limited, but in a month or two, the nk65 will be consistently stocked, allowing for a great beginner board that has almost no competition.
Tl;dr alright specs, nk65 entry edition is a better option
fractl
112
Jun 30, 2020
In another thread, when someone was wondering when Drop keyboards would move away from north-facing switches, no support for 5-pin switches, and plate-mounted stabilizers, someone from Drop mentioned that new developments were in the works, but they couldn't be revealed yet. I've long since sold my Drop keyboards for this reason, and, when I saw this keyboard was a new design from Drop, I thought that maybe this would be the first keyboard to change some of these things.
I realize that you're aiming for a more general audience than hardcore keyboard enthusiasts, but entry-level keyboards are getting better and better, and more and more options without these drawbacks are becoming available for beginners. Drop keyboards are pretty good values for the money. If these things were changed, then they would be keyboards worth keeping, instead of the keyboards that everyone sells on mechmarket when they upgrade to keyboard without these drawbacks.
For example, I definitely liked my high-profile ALT, and would still be using it, if I didn't grow tired of having to ruin switches whenever I wanted to use a new switch with the hotswap PCB, and if I didn't have to avoid Cherry profile switches because of switch orientation, and if I didn't have to struggle with making spacebars sound as good as they do with PCB-mounted stabilizers. Of course, these are just my opinions, but I'm not being critical for its own sake. I'd buy another high-profile ALT if these things were changed, and they are pretty simple changes, and would seem to be worth it if making them would prevent a lot of people outgrowing their keyboards.
Sure, I understand that the switch orientation also has to do with backlighting for shine-through keycaps and that a lot of people use this feature, even though the use of shine-through keycaps is nonexistent among the enthusiast community. On the other hand, you do indeed sell expensive keysets for enthusiasts, so it's kind of like offering entry-level keyboards and enthusiast-level keysets, which is kind of like trying to maintain two different identities at once.
Case in point: I bought some fairly expensive Gateron Silent Inks for my high-profile ALT, cut off the legs of the switches so they could be used on the ALT, and then didn't really like the way they sounded on the integrated plate or how they interacted with GMK keycaps due to the north-facing switches. So, annoyed that I'd wasted money on the switches, since I didn't want to use them with another PCB with the legs cut off, I just sold the keyboard and switches together. When talking with the person that bought them, I mentioned those issues that I had with the keyboard. I was honest with the person I was selling to, but, at that time, they didn't really relate to how these things would affect them. A couple of weeks later, the keyboard was back on sale on mechmarket.
So, my only point is that people would be far more likely to keep Drop keyboards after they become a bit more knowledgeable if some changes were made. I don't expect any changes to be made simply to suit my personal preferences. I'm just trying to provide some community-based feedback that's based on a lot of interaction with the community.
P.S. - I'm not just talking theoretically. I would have bought this as a lightweight keyboard for routine tasks, despite the fact that I have a couple of heavier, higher-end keyboards, if it had changed some if the things I'm mentioned.
(Edited)
Rowdy2026
803
Jul 2, 2020
Couldn’t help myself....just curious to know whether you class these sets as enthusiast level?
https://en.zfrontier.com/products/gmk-mizu
MIND B L O W N ! !
(Edited)
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Sep 20, 2020
Sept 19th update:
As of this moment, we're still on track to deliver the first orders of the Carina in the middle of November. Will provide more updates as production moves through the processes.
Oct 1st Update: No material updates to provide, still working towards our November ship date.
Nov 7th Update: We're getting close, production is done and the keyboards will be moving from China to NJ this week. Somewhat on track for mid-November, give or take a few days.
Nov 11th Update: Keyboards are expected to arrive in New Jersey on Friday (or Monday). Hoping to start shipping towards the end of next week.
Nov 17th Update: Keyboards landed in NJ and are awaiting customs clearance. Should be cleared later today or tomorrow (they're backlogged, surprise surprise). Will give you more updates as we get them.
Nov 19th Update: Keyboards have arrived at our warehouse, they're starting to unpack from the pallets this afternoon, which will continue into tomorrow. There's a decent chance we start getting some shipped on Friday or Saturday, otherwise Monday.
Nov 23rd Update: I'm asking the warehouse why keyboards haven't shipped yet. My guess is they're super backlogged with all of the November deals, but I've requested this gets priority. Waiting for a response and ETA, will post another update shortly.
Nov 23rd Update #2: As suspected, warehouse is slammed right now, they're trying to make this a priority tomorrow but no promises. Will post another update when I get more clarity from the warehouse on 11/24.
Nov 24th Update: I'm seeing all of the cartons have been unpalletized, unpacked, counted, and shelved. The orders have been dispatched to the warehouse, so... in theory they should be packing and shipping them today. Haven't seen any tracking numbers go out yet but it's still early and I expect we'll see some in the coming hours.
Nov 24th Update #2: About 10% of our orders shipped today, so we're finally moving!
Nov 25th Update: About 40% shipped now, with more going out all day/this afternoon. For those that ordered recently (after Nov 11th) your orders will ship right after these pre-orders are shipped.
Nov 25th Update #2: 70% of orders have shipped as of the end of today. Unfortunately (for you, but good for our warehouse staff), the warehouse is closed on Thursday to observe the US Holiday of Thanksgiving. But they're back at work on Friday and shipping orders throughout the weekend. I had really hoped we'd be fully shipped by now, but some of you will have to wait just a few more days. Stay safe and happy holidays.
Nov 27th Update: We're 98% shipped (a few units left to go out, and a couple with some bad addresses, etc.) Unstickying this thread because people don't need updates anymore! Enjoy your keyboards! Here's the build guide: https://drop.com/talk/62685/setting-up-your-carina
(Edited)
YanboWu
8491
Collaborations
Jul 27, 2020
Hey everyone,
Wanted to let you all know that we will be extending the pre-order for the Carina Keyboard kit until the estimated ship date in November. This is aligned with our latest efforts to make our products available for purchase at all times (either on a pre-order or in-stock basis). After we finish shipping the pre-orders, the Carina keyboard kit will be available on an in-stock basis and we plan to carry it continually like other keyboards like CTRL, ALT, etc.
Just so everyone has ample warning, we will also be extending the special pre-order discount of $20 off the Carina Keyboard Kit until August 31, 2020. After that date the price will increase to $120 and continue at that level into the foreseeable future.
We're ordering hundreds of extra plates (and even working on some other plate materials), so once we start shipping we will have ample supplies of all different plates if you want to try other options.
hdsharpe1
107
Sep 19, 2020
YanboWuHey YanboWu or Elbert, is there anyway that we can frosted PC plates as an option in the future? I think quite a few people are starting to prefer them for their sound.
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Sep 20, 2020
Thanks for flagging, we'll get the price updated in the next day or so. We missed it!
Deep90
41
Keyboard Club Member
Jun 30, 2020
Is the lighting purely from the strip(s) underneath, or is there also per key lighting?
Kiefofpolice
171
Jul 1, 2020
@Deep90 "Millions of colors for every single key" "per key SMD backlighting etc. There's over 4 very descriptive details letting you know about the backlighting. Not including the picture or the part about QMK customizing...are none of these people reading the description? Haha.Literally says every single detail, what, why, who suggested the different material plates and which people usually prefer for tactile /linear switches. Anymore questions after these are just about personal preference. Also, love the board and the fact its just a barebones with stand off screws...but I'd love to see a 65% like this. Have way too many 60%. But I'm digging where this is heading for the future 🙌
Deep90
41
Keyboard Club Member
Jul 1, 2020
Kiefofpolice¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Idk guys, I felt like asking anyway. Sue me.
His response has 3 thumbs up at this point so Its not like I was the only one who wanted to check.
(Edited)
ChinnerCS
1
Jun 30, 2020
New to "custom" keyboards. Will this work with the Holy Panda switches on this site as well as any cherry MX keycap set? Getting a little confused reading the discussion about north facing switches / 5 pin vs 3 pin etc.
Thanks
A community member
Jul 1, 2020
MoridinWill definitely consider for future revisions and products, but don't hold your breath for this release.
Maxximum
125
Jun 30, 2020
This would be really cool but its ruined for me with the board not having south facing switches as well as 5 pin support. These are basic and required features for many in this community. I understand the choice of using north facing switches in the drop ENTR board as it is competing with gaming boards and it more of a entry level board where it makes sense to have shine-through keycaps which would require north facing switches to properly do. This board however seems to be targeted towards people already in the community, or people that want to get more into the community especially because the board is barebones so you would have to supply your own switches and keycaps. The problem with north facing switches is that there is interference with them and the most popular keycap profile in the community, cherry. Because most people do not use shine-through keycaps, it would be much better if you made the pcb south facing and 5 pin. The 5 pin compatibility would be desirable as it makes hotswap much more stable and it is also a plus that you don't have to mutilate your switches. If drop changed the design of the PCB it would really make the community happy.
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