[emily]

https://codeberg.org/bloop/tangarine

I've shown this to a few of you elsenet, but just got around to actually putting together a release tonight. It is, as far as I know, the first button-based faceplate that doesn't require any modifications to the case (which is a very nice case and I don't want to replace it).

I... don't think I've actually released a hardware thing before? So please let me know if I did something dumb that prevents you from actually building it.

Enjoy!

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fuck I just noticed looking at that picture that one of my front screws is missing

I'm not retaking the photo, deal with it

[redshift]

It's so cool. I've had trouble with the touchwheel, so buttons could be really nice. I have no way of making the parts, so I'll dream of someone selling them in the community or something. I could probably figure out how to remap the buttons in my own firmware, but if custom mapping support in official firmware moves forward, it'd be awesome to handle something like this too.

[jacqueline]

Super cool! Really like how it fits into the existing cutout! Will have to get some boards made and give it a go.

[emily]

Update: I've decided the switches I chose are trash. Now I'm auditioning for new switches. Choosing components is hard!

[taivlam]

The purple solder mask color is nice, as it reminds me of the initial purple buttons (but those had a different shade of purple) shown in the original Crowd Supply campaign video.

The silkscreen markings remind me of a magical summoning circle.

Could you describe what the texture of the button cover is like? I am currently in a similar situation with redshift - I would likely be interested in buying a preassembled faceplate, rather than fabricating it on my own (but that could change!). (I also imagine that building patched/alternative firmware may also be a helpful skill to have when on this path.)

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Uh oh, I just realized this: is the bottom left screw still missing?

[jacqueline]

We went through.... maybe 5 or 6 different switches for the volume buttons on Tangara's mainboard? It's so hard to pick good ones.

[emily]

The purple solder mask color is nice, as it reminds me of the initial purple buttons (but those had a different shade of purple) shown in the original Crowd Supply campaign video.

Isn't it pretty? That's JLCPCB's purple solder mask. It's worth the extra two days of manufacturing time if the board's going to be visible.

The silkscreen markings remind me of a magical summoning circle.

:D They were meant as layout guides for placing the buttons. I totally meant to remove them before sending the board off, but decided they were pretty enough to leave. They're still there in the updated board I just sent off.

Could you describe what the texture of the button cover is like?

If you've got a 3D printer with a textured build plate nearby, it's like that. I printed it face down on one of those. If not, it's like... orange peel, maybe? Rougher than that but still like a rounded-off roughness and not a pointy roughness.

I'd like to have it printed in SLS nylon once I have a shape I'm happier with. Those are smoother, as I understand it.

Uh oh, I just realized this: is the bottom left screw still missing?

Just out of frame in that picture is a bag of 50 of those screws, because I never found the one I lost. I uploaded this picture, saw the missing screw, and said something very eloquent like "... fuck". I have since put the screw in.

We went through.... maybe 5 or 6 different switches for the volume buttons on Tangara's mainboard? It's so hard to pick good ones.

Ugh, isn't it? I've taken to just bodging 3-4 different switch footprints together into one to reduce the board respins when one of them turns out to be trash:

   

[taivlam]

Just out of frame in that picture is a bag of 50 of those screws, because I never found the one I lost. I uploaded this picture, saw the missing screw, and said something very eloquent like "... fuck". I have since put the screw in.

That always seems to be the problem with ordering screws, isn't it?  The situation is almost always: you only need 1, but you end up buying at least 20 of the same screw; or over 100 in an assorted set of different screws.

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Ugh, isn't it? I've taken to just bodging 3-4 different switch footprints together into one to reduce the board respins when one of them turns out to be trash:

I'm surprised a single "least common denominator" footprint for the "multiple slightly different but otherwise similiarly sized" variety of switches.  Previously my OCD would've insisted to make a unique footprint for each switch.

[emily]

I have Exciting Updates for you all, but first, I need to tell you all I found the screw.

Then I picked it up to take a picture of it.

And immediately dropped it and lost it again.

More evidence for the hypothesis that my life is a bad sitcom.

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Anyway. I'm closing in on a design I'm happy with, the shipment of 10 displays I ordered a month ago is probably arriving in the near future maybe, and a few people have expressed interest in having one of these if only someone would build them and sell them. I doubt it's worth setting up a whole storefront for this, but I'd be willing to put together a few of them and mail them out to some of y'all.

BOM cost looks like it'll be around US$7 each for electronics, plus whatever it costs to print the plastic bits (in my picture here, the black is ABS and the white is TPU; there are also variants of the TPU part with inset symbols and with plain flat buttons). Would people want to print their own plastic bits or should I print plastic bits?

[emily]

Alright, ordering information:

I have parts on hand to make 10 (except boards, which I have 4 of left but will order more of if I get more orders than that).

Pricing: pay what you want, as long as it covers $10 material cost + shipping from the US, via paypal.

Shipping: estimate shipping costs to your country with the USPS postage calculator. If you're asked for a sender postal/ZIP code, use 45432. If you're in one of the countries the US is currently too mad at to ship to, or otherwise don't want me to use USPS, estimate it with your favorite courier instead and I'll try my best to get it to you. Sorry, geopolitics are dumb. I don't make the rules. If I did I would simply make better rules.

I'll include an assembled board (purple), a frame (black or white ABS), and one set of each style of buttons (raised/inset/blank) in a color of your choice from this set of colors. (I currently have green and white, and just ordered some purple, but honestly if you pick another color and I have to order a roll of it I will find other things to print with it.)

Also last night I threw some of the buttons+frames into a JLCPCB order to be printed in black and white SLS nylon. I think the buttons should be dyeable like the case is, but I've never tried it before. Excited to see how it goes. If they're not too rigid to use or otherwise completely trash, I'll throw one or two of them in too.

Send me a DM here or one of these other places if you'd like one.

(ps despite having a mod bit here I am not part of CTZ and you should trust me as much as any other forum person)

[taivlam]

I have Exciting Updates for you all, but first, I need to tell you all I found the screw.

Then I picked it up to take a picture of it.

And immediately dropped it and lost it again.

More evidence for the hypothesis that my life is a bad sitcom.

Dang, this partly why I need a relatively empty and wide working area any time I'm working on hardware (even taking apart a Wii remote, which is relatively simple in the grand scheme of electronics).

I recently bought a magnetic iFixit mat, so hopefully I'll be reducing the likelihood of loosing the magnetizable metal bits from Tangara - when I'm ready to perform a full disassembly to satisfy my Andrew "bunnie" Huang-esque curiosity.

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BOM cost looks like it'll be around US$7 each for electronics, plus whatever it costs to print the plastic bits (in my picture here, the black is ABS and the white is TPU; there are also variants of the TPU part with inset symbols and with plain flat buttons). Would people want to print their own plastic bits or should I print plastic bits?

I think in the future I'd be interested in printing my own plastic components of Tangarine, but for now I'll need to rely on you to print the plastic parts.

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(ps despite having a mod bit here I am not part of CTZ and you should trust me as much as any other forum person)

I had the foresight a few years ago to obtain a PO Box, in case I get into any situation akin to: "a Reddit user wants to mail me something, let me give out my PO Box to be safe".