[GB] the Heavy Grail, a Norbauer housing for the HHKB

I picked up a VHS housing for my Pro 2 with HASU controller. :slight_smile:

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@norbauer Do you have any photos portraying the entire case from an angle? Your cases have such a unique form that I feel top-down photos alone don’t do them enough justice.

I do have this one, if it’s helpful.

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I wish that made any commercial sense, because it would be a lot of fun and somewhat satisfying for me to revisit my original design. But, alas, the Novatouch is so hard to come by these days that I don’t think I’d ever sell enough to justify the cost of developing and prototyping a new design for that particular keyboard.

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The mounting is the same. The actual main PCB is remarkably similar between Pro 2 and Pro 3 series. It’s really only the breakout PCB that is markedly different.

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If signs of human finger oil deeply bother you, the Veracity will be a demanding keyboard to own, to be sure. :slight_smile:

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The only thought I can offer is that the VHS option is cheaper because it’s much easier for me to get that finish applied compared to Sunset, so that might be a factor worth considering if cost is a concern. But those are both amazing options and I don’t think you can go wrong with either.

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Well, such a designer may very well exist but it’ll probably take him a long while to come out with HiPro style caps. :wink: Suffice it to say, however, that any keycap set he might hypothetically design will always be designed to pair well with white. haha

Candidly, and apart from the other semi-hypothetical project above, I do also know (and am working with) some folks who are working on Topre-compatible keycaps that essentially replicate, but improve upon, the stock (non-HiPro) Topre profile. Those will be coming along with greater confidence and sooner, fwiw.

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Seems like a super popular build but, extremely excited and totally in for K2 + Pink mated to an almost 11 year old Pro. The Topre pop is going to be off the chain.

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Anyone have some photos of a veracity steel board with numerous fingerprints? Having a hard time deciding if I should go for k2 or veracity.

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Is there any possible bespoke option for the rear plate? Like a polished steel rear back plate?

Veracity is luring me in with its siren call, but I just can’t imagine caps that would pair with it as good as they would with plain old white… Am I missing some color theory here?

I think IRL the stock charcoal or white caps would be very cool. The polished steel will be invisible in a way as it simply reflects what is around it.

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@norbauer is there any likelihood of the plate being offered beyond just this buy? It might be cool to see what other designers are capable of doing with this new offering!

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@luluna What sort of replacement parts do you have in mind? I’m curious because, upon reflection, it seems it might be easier to find replacement parts for the pro 2. Other than the parts available in this gb it seems

  • the pro 2 has several replacement daughter board pcb’s available, and the pro 3 might never have any, since these replacement pcb’s often are sold because they allow for programmability (a feature the stock pro 2 lacks). Since the pro 3 has stock programmability, after market pcb’s seem a little less likely, and thus less available
  • main pcb should be identical or at least interchangeable afaik
  • the springs, domes, stabs, and sliders are interchangeable afaik
  • keycaps are interchangeable
  • screws are interchangeable

If you can confirm this bit, then there will be no advantage of the Pro 3 outside of having a ‘stock’ experience from the software/firmware perspective. If this was the case, I would probably get the Pro 2 variant…but I would really want confirmation on that from someone.

If they were not interchangeable, it would be very difficult to find a replacement later on. About a year ago, someone had a broken HHKB PCB; since I had a spare HHKB, I felt bad since no one should be without their beloved HHKB so I sold them mine. Since then, I’ve been on a general lookout for a replacement, but I haven’t found one outside of buying a complete HHKB.

I know Gondo is working on an open-source PCB for the Pro 2, but I think he is actively working on other projects atm so no real ETA on that one at all.

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@luluna Unfortunately, I cannot confirm! Wish I could. The pro 3 ribbon cable pcb port position differs from that on the pro 2 pcb, but the stock ribbon cable should be long enough to reach the port on either. The key layout should be the same, no? The worry I would have is if the pcb edges and screw holes fit both cases.

I wager you cannot use the PCBs interchangeably. The implication that you could would mean that the controller* would also be interchangeable.

Please refer to this thread by Hasu Hacking HHKB Professional Classic

In the original thread (controller for the legacy HHKBs), when asked about a controller for the classic, he replied with - “No progress. I don’t abandon my plan but it is slow as snail, it may take a few years.”

While the physical footprint of the PCB is very similar, it looks like the actual electronics are not the same.

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Since Hasu generously open-sourced the controller, I’m planning to re-arrange the PCB layout to fit the Pro3 HG.

For mounting YDKB controller, I’ll be designing a 3d printed adaptor mount for that as well… Although, part of the PCB has to be broken off in order to fit the Pro3 USB location.

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Looks like you’re right, good call! And thanks for the link. I wonder though- does topre sell replacement pcb’s for the pro 3? Or do you think the pro 3 parts (pcb and controller) will be more replaceable because there simply will be more pro 3’s in the wild after a few years from which to harvest pcb’s and controllers, should one’s own break?

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