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Drop CTRL V1 Mechanical Keyboard PCBA
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Drop CTRL V1 Mechanical Keyboard PCBA
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Product Description
Inside every CTRL keyboard is a high-performance PCBA—an assembled printed circuit board—that brings it to life. For the first time ever, we’re bringing that same PCBA to our community members as a standalone component Read More
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JamealTheSeal
61
May 19, 2022
fluxnobleAlso bump, @Kevin @Drop @support. It's been 5 months now since I bought my high profile CTRL case for this build not knowing that these PCBAs were about to go out of stock and apparently never come back.
Any updates on if these will restock? When? Ever? Do I need to sell my case and buy a different board?
whricom
19
Nov 10, 2020
Locked
so many months ago, the community asked Drop for an extra PCB for those of us who already own a CTRL/CTRL High Profile. Drop finally puts that PCB on sale, so then I go to the page feeling "ah, I finally can get that extra PCB", and what do I get greeted with? A FREAKING $80 PRICE TAG, THAT'S WHAT! Seriously Drop??? I dare you to find me anyone in this hobby who sells a freaking PCB for $80? Even Wilba and HineyBush sell theirs for $65 at most, and those are way higher quality. I'm sorry, but you really deserve the bad reputation your getting in this hobby.
carson-wright
64
Nov 11, 2020
Actually, a lot of those guys do earn a lot. Look at Rama for example, check his Instagram stories. He definitely does very well, however, he still prices his PCBs for less and they’re higher quality.
A community member
Nov 11, 2020
carson-wrightI'm not telling you to stop posting. I'm telling you to be truthful in your posts. I'm not sure how PCBA-mount switch support is a feature, but the lack of said support is not a missing feature. Our keyboard product pages do in fact state "PCB compatible with plate-mount switches and stabilizers only". The photos of the PCBA here also show that, but if your point is that we should spell it out as well, that's fair. I'm a big proponent of transparency and I would love to have every last detail listed on the page, but there is a balance involved because too much text turns people away (and it's ultimately not a unilateral decision made by me). We already know many people don't bother to read the pages. In any case, if you are convinced that we can do no good, then there's not much I can say on the matter. I don't think this discussion needs to go any further, so I am locking the thread.
Kevin
5434
Outreach
Nov 11, 2020
Stickied
Hi everyone,
Thanks for reaching out and voicing your concerns about the pricing of the PCBs. The original intent was to make these available at a lower price but upon importing them we learned that PCBs (considered components) have a 25% import tariff on them (that finished goods are not subject to).
Bottom line, it's far more expensive for us to produce and import a PCB, Aluminum Case and Stabs separately, than it is for us to import a barebones assembled keyboard (even though they're effectively the same thing).
At the end of the day, that isn't your problem, it's ours. We've repriced the PCB to be more in-line with market values and now if you buy a PCB, Case and Stabs the pricing is similar to our barebones offering (slightly higher given the stabs are different and the case colors are customizable and made in much smaller batches).
Thanks for your feedback!
(For those who placed an order at the original, higher price, a customer service rep will reach out and provide a refund of the price difference.)
RigoMortiz
9
May 29, 2022
Same. Why sell high profile cases separately if they can't sell PCBs. Super bad optics.
zerrano
70
Nov 10, 2020
80$ for a north facing led, 3 pined, auto traced pcb? Seriously? What's next, 50$ for plate mount stabs? C'mon Drop, what the hell man
Zafer94
32
Nov 11, 2020
I will wait then, I just dont get the high prices for these kinds of PCB's.. So the updated PCB's will actually cost 80+? I dont think even rama u80 PCB costs that much...
laser_missile
17
Apr 11, 2022
laser_missile@Kevin FWIW, I think Drop will receive a LOT more aluminum case orders if these PCBs come back in stock: https://drop.com/buy/drop-ctrl-aluminum-case?defaultSelectionIds=966027
e.g. me, I would buy a case + PCB but I won't buy one by itself (and I won't buy a barebones CTRL + case just to swap out the stock case and pay extra $$$)
(Edited)
iaman
68
Nov 10, 2020
Hoping this is Drop offloading the rest of their existing PCB stock before surprise-announcing new 5-pin-support south-facing LED PCBs for their line.
Ronak
22
Nov 16, 2020
I think with a new pcb one of the other main things that needs to be updated are the leds. They should be able to give a whiter white and the under glow ones should be moved away from the diffuser and further in on the pcb so that it is even. I think the original intent was to keep the leds as close to the edge as possible so that it can illuminate the table, but I think most people would rather have diffused leds that don't illuminate the table. Also I'm not sure if this is a problem with everyone's ctrl or only mine but I can hear high frequency whining/ringing whenever the leds are on from the keyboard itself so that might be something to look into.
Also beyond the pcb to make the ctrl more competitive I think an add on brass weight, better stabs, and the 5 pin mounting as you said should be available to stay competitive against for instance the Glorious GMMK Pro that is coming next year
A community member
Nov 16, 2020
RonakThank you for your feedback. We'll see how many changes/improvements we can implement without letting the project balloon too much.
mad_dog_94
40
Nov 10, 2020
wow its about time the pcb was a standalone purchase. its too bad its $80 though. thats too much for just a pcb. $45 is about the limit i think for a pcb
mrvco
500
Nov 10, 2020
mad_dog_94And unless my phone screen isn't showing the detail correctly, no PCB mount switch support. What a waste of time.
(Edited)
Cordis
11
Nov 10, 2020
I was hoping for improvements when you would drop the pcb on its own. underglow LED's are too close to the sides, auto-routed trace lines, and north facing switches. $80 is too much for a pcb of this quality. no thanks.
c_r_z
863
Nov 10, 2020
Would this work as a drop-in replacement for the abandoned failure that was the K-Type?
(Edited)
erickong
7412
Mech Keys Moderator
Nov 10, 2020
c_r_zThe CTRL mounting relies on the acrylic diffuser. Does the K-type have 2 USB ports? What mounting does the K-type use?
I know that the CTRL cases you can buy do not work with the K-type, so the PCB probably does not also.
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