...and how we’re solving it.
We had encountered an interesting challenge with the Huble that needed some feedback.
The Raise draws 500 milliamps of current. This is the amount that it needs to work.
Our USB specs give us a maximum of 500 milliamps. (Of course there are many electronic devices that go over this limit.) But there’s a point that when you go over the limit, the Raise may start malfunctioning.
In our Huble, we are connecting the Raise and also an extra USB slot. If you insert a USB stick or a mouse, it would most probably work fine. If you connect your phone, it will charge but perhaps charge slowly. But if you connect your old hard drive or something that draws a lot of current, then it might not work properly.
So, what were our options:
1. Have a thicker cable for the Huble-to-computer, with two USB connectors at the end:
- Connector 1: for Raise, to drive power and send and receive data.
- Connector 2: for the electronic device that you plug in the Huble.
PROS: The USB port in the Huble stays. You will be able to draw more power. Every device will work perfectly.
CONS: A thicker cable can be less flexible and it could be less comfortable.
2. Remove the hub:
PROS: It’s a more basic design.
CONS: There will be no usb slot in your keyboard.
3. Keep the USB with the thin cable:
PROS: You have a thin cable to connect the Huble to your computer, and a USB slot
CONS: If you connect your hard drives or other devices that draw a lot of current to the USB slot, it can malfunction and become slow.
Asking the community
Around 175 of our backers gave us their preferred choice.
Option 1 – Have a thicker cable for the Huble-to-computer; with two USB connectors at the end – 25.14%
Option 2 – Remove the hub – 52.57%
Option 3 – Keep the USB with the thin cable – 21.71%
What were the next steps? Watch the video of the survey update and our next steps:
Since then, our CTO, Matt, and Product Manager, Manel, have been working, designing and prototyping different ideas for the new Huble.
“The problem is power. If you don’t provide extra power to a hub, the electric current used will be limited. This can lead to instability. One situation that can happen is your flash disk won’t be recognized by your computer."
This is actually the reason why some keyboards, like Razer and Corsair, use these thick cables. They don’t use a hub. Instead, they run another cable inside the thicker cable as an extension.
We really wanted a thinner cable for our Huble but we came to the realization that it’s not possible.” – Matt Venn
Manel has also been creating different designs of the Huble without the hub. He has drafted and prototyped 3 iterations.
“The final design is big enough to fit all the electronics, and integrates well with the keyboard. The aesthetics is important. The new piece has round edges which makes it look more beautiful. It will also still have the RGB lights glowing through the Dygma logo.” – Manel Senís
We have reached a conclusion that we will now go with 2 options:
1.- Keep the Huble design; and have a thicker cable for the Huble-to-computer, with two USB connectors at the end:
- Connector 1: for Raise, to drive power and send and receive data.
- Connector 2: for the electronic device that you plug in the Huble.
2.- Remove the hub completely, and have a smaller Huble design and a thinner cable.
“The reason behind this is because we want to have a zero percent failure rate. We don’t want to have any instability in our product whatsoever.” – Luis Sevilla
After last week’s feedback, we assessed the relative importance of having all of our backers participate in this decision.
For that reason, we are kindly asking you to please take time to answer the questionnaire.
It will take you less than a minute to complete. You can click the link below or, if you’re one of our subscribers, you can expect an email with the brief questionnaire.
We will start developing the final design once we know what majority of our backers want!
Thank you so much for your support guys!
