Leading Edge DC-2014 Blue Alps

[Hypersphere]

Today I unboxed a new treasure from eBay -- a Leading Edge DC-2014 keyboard with blue Alps switches and doubleshot keycaps. Here are a couple of pics of the board right out of the box. The keyboard was in excellent shape and quite clean for an eBay purchase.

DC-2014_full.jpg (252.59 KiB) Viewed 6724 times

DC-2014_Blue_Alps.jpg (245.71 KiB) Viewed 6724 times

This arrival was exciting for me, because it is my very first blue Alps keyboard. I have other flavors of Alps and Alps clones, but no true blue Alps.

I was able to get the board up and running with a Hagstrom converter, so that I could properly test the typing action. Now I can better understand why many people favor blue Alps above all other varieties of this switch. Blue Alps are indeed quite smooth with excellent tactile feedback. The weight of the switches also seems just about right for me -- not too heavy and not too light. The click is not overly loud and the key travel is ideal.

After gaining experience desoldering lesser switches and building one or more custom boards, I would like to take the blue Alps switches from the DC-2014 and put them into a custom 60% board. I could also use the alphanumeric caps from the DC-2014 in the custom build except for the right bracket key, which is oversized in the XT style. I have an Ortek MCK-101FX, which I think has keycaps that match those on the DC-2014 (although the switches in the Ortek are clones of white Alps).

[seebart]

Sure, there is a good reason we have this blue Alps hype. Glad you like them. Shame you'll be killing the Leading Edge DC-2014.

[Hypersphere]

Haven't killed the DC-2014 yet. I am open to suggestions on how best to convert the keyboard to USB so that it would not have to depend on the Hagstrom box. However, I recall reading that Soarer's converter does not work on the DC-2014 -- is this indeed the case? In addition, I have grown quite fond (dependent, actually) of the 60% form factor and HHKB layout. While it is a pity to destroy a classic keyboard, I would get much more use out of a custom 60% that at least employed the switches and most of the caps from the DC-2014.

[fohat]

Haven't killed the DC-2014 yet. I am open to suggestions on how best to convert the keyboard to USB so that it would not have to depend on the Hagstrom box. However, I recall reading that Soarer's converter does not work on the DC-2014 -- is this indeed the case? In addition, I have grown quite fond (dependent, actually) of the 60% form factor and HHKB layout. While it is a pity to destroy a classic keyboard, I would get much more use out of a custom 60% that at least employed the switches and most of the caps from the DC-2014.

You are not killing it. Consider harvesting organs from an already-dead corpse for their 2nd life.

You can attach the 5th wire (the previously unused #3) to PD7 on the Teensy and I think that the latest Soarer firmware will pick up on it and use it.

[Chyros]

Don't listen to him, it's cold-blooded murder! :p The board is alive and kicking and wants to be used and cared for! Especially for a keyboard you have the original box for!

[emdude]

Wait, is it the original box or simply the package the DC-2014 was mailed in? I say save the board regardless, but if it's the former, then definitely don't do it!

[Hypersphere]

My description was apparently misleading. I do not have the original DC-2014 box; I was just referring to the box that the eBay seller used to pack the keyboard.

Regarding the keycaps -- I can of course run some tests, but does anyone know if the DC-2014 caps are doubleshot PBT or are they douleshot ABS? They look the same as the caps on the Ortek MCK-101FX, which are said to be doubleshot PBT (according to the DT wiki).

Certainly, I am sympathetic to keeping the DC-2014 intact, but if I am to put it to serious use, I have become dependent upon the 60% form factor and HHKB layout. However, I will not have time to do a custom build right away. In the meantime, I can keep an eye peeled for other sources of blue Alps switches.

[emdude]

Well, my DC-2014 had yellowed key caps, and then there's photos like this one:

Spoiler:

Off-topic: To be honest, I would also be interested in seeing the results of an acetone test for the MCK-101FX key caps.

EDIT: A quick, potato pic, but the color difference is there.

Spoiler:

[klikkyklik]

For what it's worth... my DC-2014 does work with the Orihalcon Soarer's converter. I've sometimes had to attempt to bring it up with a system a couple of times, but it did ultimately work for me, no special wiring or pin connections needed to be made to my keyboard.

[XMIT]

If you want to do a 60% build re-purposing a KBparadise V60 or V80 is effective. That's what I've done. Be warned, however, that these keyboards (a) wire one pin on each key switch to the ground plane and (b) use a really tiny amount of RoHS lead-free solder. These two things together make these boards a nightmare to desolder even with a nice desoldering station.

My suggestion is to *add* some solder to each key switch, to make it easier to use the solder sucker later.

If you are trying to assemble a complete cap set for a project board you will come up short. A Dell AT101 makes an okay parts donor but you'll still have the wrong Caps Lock key. You can also consider the recent ABS double shot Olivette, Dolch, and white-on-black key caps that appeared in some group buys. I believe mechanicalkeyboards.com still has some in stock.

[Hypersphere]

@XMIT: Thanks for the tips. If I were to repurpose a V60MTS, based on what you have said, I will need to get much more experience at desoldering/soldering first.

As for caps, for standard layout boards such as the V60MTS, I have used dye-sub PBT alphas from a donor board and purchased the black blank modifiers and spacebar from Matias. Although I would prefer PBT for all the caps, I have found ABS acceptable for modifiers.

For a future project, if possible, I would like to use an Alps64 PCB and a HHKB-layout plate. However, this might make it difficult to find all of the right modifier caps (especially the short Right Shift). I would also need to check the bottom row, especially for the spacebar length. And of course the stabilizers and stabilizer mounts must be correct for the layout. For a standard layout, the V60MTS works perfectly with the caps and stabilizers from Matias, but I will need a different solution for a HHKB layout. Suggestions most welcome!

[scottc]

For the bottom row, it would be trivial to find caps to fit a modified HHKB layout:

Code: Select all

[  1.5  ] [1.0] [  1.5  ] [            7.0         ] [  1.5  ] [1.0] [  1.5  ]

(with the outermost 1.5-unit keys optional)
6.0 unit spacebars are very difficult to find apart from Signature Plastics DSA, which has the extra pain of having MX-style stabiliser mounts. The above layout would let you re-use vintage caps from very many Alps keyboards.

As for the split right shift, you could always use a caps-lock key in that position until you find a short shift.

[Chyros]

Do we know if these work with Orihalcon's, btw?

[seebart]

Jeez...it's Hyperspheres board, if he wants to "kill it" for a custom so be it! It's not like anything is lost. I would not do it but that's beside the point.

[Hypersphere]

@Chyros: I've sent Orihalcon a PM. When I hear from him, I will report back.

[XMIT]

IIRC the trouble with this board is that the reset line has to be wired up. orihalcon's Soarer's Converter does /not/ wire it up.

If you have a Pro Micro make your own, wire reset to PB6 and use this version of Soarer's Converter:
workshop-f7/how-to-use-a-pro-micro-as-a ... 48-30.html

[orihalcon]

These do not work with my converters due to the lack of the reset pin as others have suggested. The reset pin was left out due to relatively few keyboards needing it and the space constraints of shrinking an arduino. I initially also thought that most 2014's were used for switch donors from what I'd read on the forums. I have my 2014 working on an internally mounted pro micro.

I am considering putting a complete kit up on eBay with a good quality 6ft micro USB cable included that is plug and play. It plugs into where the original cable plugs into the PCB making it solderless. I was thinking $28 shipped on eBay or $25 direct shipped to the USA . This converter setup will also work at least some XT Zenith boards which interestingly have the same layout and the same PCB pinout as the DC-2014, though the white label Zenith I have isn't working at all for some reason. You can make these yourself for less, would just be another option for those that want something ready to use.

[Hypersphere]

@orihalcon: Thanks for chiming in on this. Considering the savings in time and effort and/or for those who have solder-phobia, your suggested price for a solderless solution to convert a DC-2014 to USB looks quite reasonable.

[Chyros]

These do not work with my converters due to the lack of the reset pin as others have suggested. The reset pin was left out due to relatively few keyboards needing it and the space constraints of shrinking an arduino. I initially also thought that most 2014's were used for switch donors from what I'd read on the forums. I have my 2014 working on an internally mounted pro micro.

I am considering putting a complete kit up on eBay with a good quality 6ft micro USB cable included that is plug and play. It plugs into where the original cable plugs into the PCB making it solderless. I was thinking $28 shipped on eBay or $25 direct shipped to the USA . This converter setup will also work at least some XT Zenith boards which interestingly have the same layout and the same PCB pinout as the DC-2014, though the white label Zenith I have isn't working at all for some reason. You can make these yourself for less, would just be another option for those that want something ready to use.

Thanks for letting us know, I had been wondering for a while whether the Z-150 and DC-2014 were compatible with your converter. When you say "complete kit", do you mean already fully assembled or a DIY kit?

[chiptea]

Is this per chance the leading edge board that had that tie-dyed cable? I offered the seller $100 after it sat on ebay for about two months and he didn't accept.

[y11971alex]

Do we know if these work with Orihalcon's, btw?

Does not. That's why I'm contemplating making a keyboard casserole out of it.

[Hypersphere]

I've been typing all day on my DC-2014 using the Hagstrom Converter box.

Orihalcon has a solderless plug and play solution in mind; I don't know if he will go ahead and implement it.

@chiptea: I rechecked the listing. It does indeed say that the cable is "tie dyed or just stained". It was a novel notion to describe the cable as "tie dyed" -- it is merely the beige cable version of the patina of age (aka grime). The keyboard itself is remarkably clean.

[LewisR]

It's such a pretty board. It looks like they very intelligently refined the IBM XT layout.

[Hypersphere]

I did an acetone test on a keycap from the Leading Edge DC-2014 and on a keycap from a MCK 101-FX using a small cotton swab on the inside of the caps. This is enough to determine if the plastic dissolves in acetone without compromising the function or outward appearance of the cap. I used a dye-sub PBT cap from an SGI keyboard for comparison.

As expected, the dye-sub PBT cap from the SGI board showed no sign of dissolving plastic when in contact with acetone.

The caps from the Leading Edge DC-2014 and MCK 101-FX proved to be double-shot ABS -- definitely not PBT. These caps are also very thin. They measure about 1.0 mm thick on the top and side skirts, and the bottom skirt is only about 0.5 mm thick.

[emdude]

Ooh, thanks for performing this test, Hypersphere. I personally found the wiki's claim that the 101-FX's key caps were doubleshot PBT suspect; AFAIK, this is the only Alps keyboard that purportedly had such key caps as well.

Would you happen to have photos of your tests?

[chzel]

I have tested the caps from my MCK-201FX, and they are ABS as well.

Spoiler:

IMG_20151214_152358.jpg (1.69 MiB) Viewed 6307 times

[orihalcon]

These do not work with my converters due to the lack of the reset pin as others have suggested. The reset pin was left out due to relatively few keyboards needing it and the space constraints of shrinking an arduino. I initially also thought that most 2014's were used for switch donors from what I'd read on the forums. I have my 2014 working on an internally mounted pro micro.

I am considering putting a complete kit up on eBay with a good quality 6ft micro USB cable included that is plug and play. It plugs into where the original cable plugs into the PCB making it solderless. I was thinking $28 shipped on eBay or $25 direct shipped to the USA . This converter setup will also work at least some XT Zenith boards which interestingly have the same layout and the same PCB pinout as the DC-2014, though the white label Zenith I have isn't working at all for some reason. You can make these yourself for less, would just be another option for those that want something ready to use.

Thanks for letting us know, I had been wondering for a while whether the Z-150 and DC-2014 were compatible with your converter. When you say "complete kit", do you mean already fully assembled or a DIY kit?

It would be a pre-soldered - ready to plug into the internal PCB kit that would work on both the DC2014 and the non-white label Z-150 Zenith boards. All you'd need to do is figure out how you want to run the included black USB cable out of the keyboard. You could probably cut the original stress relief longitudinally and re-glue over the black USB cable I think, though white stress relief with black cable might look odd potentially :/

[Chyros]

These do not work with my converters due to the lack of the reset pin as others have suggested. The reset pin was left out due to relatively few keyboards needing it and the space constraints of shrinking an arduino. I initially also thought that most 2014's were used for switch donors from what I'd read on the forums. I have my 2014 working on an internally mounted pro micro.

I am considering putting a complete kit up on eBay with a good quality 6ft micro USB cable included that is plug and play. It plugs into where the original cable plugs into the PCB making it solderless. I was thinking $28 shipped on eBay or $25 direct shipped to the USA . This converter setup will also work at least some XT Zenith boards which interestingly have the same layout and the same PCB pinout as the DC-2014, though the white label Zenith I have isn't working at all for some reason. You can make these yourself for less, would just be another option for those that want something ready to use.

Thanks for letting us know, I had been wondering for a while whether the Z-150 and DC-2014 were compatible with your converter. When you say "complete kit", do you mean already fully assembled or a DIY kit?

It would be a pre-soldered - ready to plug into the internal PCB kit that would work on both the DC2014 and the non-white label Z-150 Zenith boards. All you'd need to do is figure out how you want to run the included black USB cable out of the keyboard. You could probably cut the original stress relief longitudinally and re-glue over the black USB cable I think, though white stress relief with black cable might look odd potentially :/

Wait, so the kit would work PCB-side? Why not do it at the end of the cable? I'd imagine the cable on a Zenith or LE would be much thicker and sturdier than anything produced nowadays, and of course it'd be original =o .

[Hypersphere]

@emdude: No, I didn't take photos of the test. The results were clear, however.

UPDATE: I've done a software remapping of the DC-2014 in like manner to what I had done earlier with my IBM XT. The result is a pseudo-HHKB layout.

The obvious thing is NumPad * = Fn. The tricky part for me was deciding which key to use as my Backspace. I decided upon Right Bracket = Backspace and Fn+Right Bracket = Right Bracket.

Previously, I had done a similar remapping of my IBM XT, which has a marvelous sound and feel.

[Hypersphere]

<snip>
<snip>

Wait, so the kit would work PCB-side? Why not do it at the end of the cable? I'd imagine the cable on a Zenith or LE would be much thicker and sturdier than anything produced nowadays, and of course it'd be original =o .

Yes, indeed -- PCB side. Today I installed my new Orihalcon/Soarer Converter inside the case of my Leading Edge DC-2014 keyboard, and I am very happy to say that it works flawlessly.

I prefer my keyboards to have detachable cables, so the internal converter was a great solution for me. It is also a solderless solution -- the converter has a 5-pin connector that connects to the 5-pin header on the keyboard PCB. The converter has a micro-USB connector on its miniature PCB, so I connected this to a 1-ft. DataPro USB Micro-B Panel Mount Extension Cable M-F. There is ample room inside the case for the 1-ft. cable, which provides strain relief. I drilled two small holes in the back of the case for the mounting screws and a third larger hole in between for the micro-USB plug. I widened and squared off the center hole using a set of small hand files -- a bit tedious, but it gets the job done.

Programming the Soarer was quite easy, thanks of course to Soarer and to the Orihalcon implementation. When the keyboard is connected through the converter, an LED on the converter illuminates. However, it is not necessary to press a button on the converter -- it is ready to accept a new Soarer Converter configuration file.

Thanks also to Muirium for posting his Soarer Conveter configuration file for a HHKB-esque layout on an IBM XT. I adapted this file for a HHKB-like layout on the DC-2014, and everything "just works"!

Some of the main features of my layout are as follows:

Backspace --> Backslash
Right Bracket --> Backspace
NumPad Asterisk --> Fn
Backslalsh --> Left Gui (Command or Win) (on bottom row)
CapsLock (on bottom row to the right of the Spacebar) --> Right Gui
Fn + Tab --> CapsLock

The original layout of the DC-2014 works quite well for a HHKB-like configuration. Although I can remember the new key mappings, it would be nice to swap the keycaps for the keys that have been remapped in the default layer. These might not exist in the correct size and profile, but if anyone knows where I could find the following Alps mount keycaps, I would be grateful:

Number Row: Backslash key, preferably 2.00x
Tab Row: Backspace key, 1.25x
"A" Row: Ctrl key, 1.75x (I can easily find this one)
"Z" Row: Right Shift key, 1.50x
Bottom Row: Right Alt key, 1.75x
Bottom Row: Left Gui (Command or Win), 1.00x
Bottom Row: Right Gui (Command or Win), 2.00x

Blanks would be okay for the above keys.

Now that the keyboard has been thoroughly cleaned, the stabilizers lubed, and the switches treated to blasts of canned air, I find that the blue Alps do indeed have a great smooth feel. The click of the switches is fairly quiet, but the typing sound is a bit loud, because I bottom-out all my keystrokes. The all-plastic case makes some keys sound somewhat plasticky and hollow -- it is a different sound from that of the Northgate Omnikey 101, which has a steel back on its case.

Overall, I am quite pleased with this keyboard. Although the layout looks very much like that of the IBM XT, the design and placement of the Return and 1.25x Right Bracket work better for Return and Backspace than the corresponding keys on the XT. Therefore,I will definitely include the DC-2014 in my active keyboard rotation. It is great finally to have a working blue Alps keyboard!