Alps Appreciation

[mode1ace]

nice work!

skfl are underrated, they’re nice when in good condition.

[SK-8K]

My work in progress.

SKCM orange, canon keycaps, and the NCR80 case.

Nice, do you have plate and PCB files available?

[mode1ace]

Nice, do you have plate and PCB files available?

No.

[SK-8K]

Did you modify the Canon plate then?

[mode1ace]

No all newly fabricated, the cad exists, I just don't have it.

[NeK]

Looks really great! I made my own pcb for NCR80 case with SKFL and SKFM switches, Chinese YanTai made Omron style dyesub caps

Wow that's a hell of a cool board. Great taste with the grey combinations. Kudos

[wyatt8740]

Hi. I only post on here once every few years, but I just got a new (to me) board with white alps switches that I think is interesting. It came with a Compaq Portable III clone (like, a clone of the compaq) and uses what looks to be Tai-Hao style injection moulded keycaps... except the numpad zero key has a '/' through it, which I've not seen before. Also, if these are ABS, they're startlingly white. Evidence inside the computer itself (chip date codes) suggests this was made in 1991, but there's no manufacturer information to be found on any component of the computer or keyboard other than an "NMB" sticker on a fan and the Intel logo on the '486DX.

I know, white Alps are probably the most generic you can get, but it's my first time with them so I'm still reveling a little. They feel quite good to me. And the layout is interesting. I have a Sun keyboard, so the backslash/pipe location didn't mess me up too badly. Only changes I've made are swapping right shift and '/', as well as mapping caps lock to control.

I have the computer, too (it came as part of it - $30), but it isn't showing many signs of life, so that's a project on the backburner for me to look into.

Annoyingly, this one doesn't cooperate with the blue cube converters, so I'm going to make a TMK converter sometime. It works fine on my desktop via the PS/2 port though (through an AT-to-PS/2 adapter).

Anyway, on the subject of Alps appreciation, I've had three Alps SKCM boards so far - a Dell AT101W (which was 'meh' at best), an Apple Extended keyboard (with oranges) that I rescued from recycling for $20 and then made a TMK ADB converter for, and finally this new one. I linear modded the AT101W and gave it to a friend, so currently I have just the two. But I really like both of them! The switches in them seem to be nice and clean. As much as I like my buckling spring boards (four M's and an F) I really can't settle on a favorite. The oranges especially are nice for being relatively quiet (and they have a very satisfying 'bounciness,' for a lack of a better descriptor).

I don't have an AT101W pic on hand, but I didn't really care for that board so I'm not too upset about it.

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This new one is my first clicky alps board, and I'm quite enjoying it (even though they aren't blues… I can't afford to even think about those, unless I stumble onto them locally like I did my oranges). These are also my first injection moulded keycaps that weren't on a Commodore 64 or VIC-20, which was a nice bonus. Definitely much nicer looking caps than my AT101W had!

Anyway, yeah. Aside from my AT101W - which I really didn't care for until I linearized it - I've yet to meet an Alps switch I didn't like.

By comparison, my first run-in with MX blues (a friend of mine showed me their Daskeyboard) left me thoroughly underwhelmed. It might partially be because my first mechanical boards used buckling springs and the (nicely tactile) variant of Mitsumi Miniature Mechanical, but to me the blues felt linear with a slight auditory feedback. To this day, I have yet to meet a tactile MX variant I really liked (no, I have not tried, nor do I have money to try, ergo clears). I think Alps switches are the only switches I have tried that really meet or exceed the expectations that buckling springs set for me for tactility.

So in short, yeah, I appreciate and love Alps switches. I hope I can find some nice blues, browns, greens, etc. some day to fill out the collection. I wish I'd bought one of those Japanese IBM keyboards with greens when there were a bunch on ebay around 2016, but I had only used black Alps at that point, and they had set my expectations way too low.

I haven't encountered dirty Alps switches yet, though. People talk about that a lot - is it really that common? Sure, they'd be a lot harder to clean than, say, a B/S board with a lot of dirt and dust… but maybe I've just been getting lucky. I only get a new board every few years, since I have only ever bought them locally. I've taken apart plenty of alps switches, by the way. Had to disassemble around a hundred of them to linearize the AT101W, after all.

[Jan Pospisil]

The Portable PC III keyboards are interesting. I have one with white alps that feels nicer than another NOS one. Not sure how that works.
Probably an older model than yours, as it has a more AT-like layout. The caps on mine look like ABS doubleshots, but also don't seem to yellow at all. (iirc this is a known keycap mystery)
Pity the build (at least on mine) is abysmal - the thing is really hollow, rattly and creaky. (even for big old plastic case standards)
As for dirty Alps - you're probably just lucky. Most Alps boards I ever had were awful from dirt and use.

[Palatino]

I had the same good luck with my first alps boards, and wondered if the problem was exaggerated. Then I bought a couple of cable-cut white alps boards for not very much to harvest the keycaps, and my god, typing on those was absolutely abysmal. The binding was unreal. Any rubber dome or chiclet would have felt nicer. I have those switches earmarked for a full deep clean after I rewatch some tutorials, and maybe (dare I mention it?) a wax boil on some of them too to see what results I get. I’d rather draw a message to someone in Paint using my elbow on a laptop trackpad than type on those switches in their current state - and I love Alps.

[wyatt8740]

The Portable PC III keyboards are interesting. I have one with white alps that feels nicer than another NOS one. Not sure how that works.

Nicer than another Portable PC III NOS board? Or just another white alps board in general?

Probably an older model than yours, as it has a more AT-like layout.

I've seen that other variant on google images; it has F1-F10 and the control key in its proper location, right?
I relocated control to its AT position immediately on mine; made it feel loads nicer to use (I am an emacs user).
If we're trying to age it, FWIW, mine has the AT connector on it, and the Alps logo on the switches. Some parts inside the PC itself seem to have 1991 date codes.
And yeah; mine feel really "buttery" and nice; I've never tried blues (no money), but these honestly feel pretty close to as smooth as my oranges do. I think the return springs might be a bit stiffer, however (as it seems is typically observed). Much less irritating than the black alps board I had.

I barely see anyone talk about this board; good to know at least someone else has one.
Hope I can get the computer that came with it working, too. But for now this is a nice narrow keyboard for my desktop.

The caps on mine look like ABS doubleshots, but also don't seem to yellow at all. (iirc this is a known keycap mystery)

Specifically this board? Or some of the possibly-tai-hao keycaps in general?
I only have had three Alps boards, and I rarely pick more up. In fact, I've picked up all three that I've found locally. I have a friend with another AT101 I've been considering asking him for though, just for caps and experimentation (I see black alps switches as somewhat sacrificeable). If his turns out to be dirty I'll have to see for myself how it feels.
Dirtiest board I ever got was a free Model M; it cleaned right up. I can imagine it's a nightmare to clean out every alps switch though - especially if they're the early ones that got dry lubed.

Pity the build (at least on mine) is abysmal - the thing is really hollow, rattly and creaky. (even for big old plastic case standards)

Mine isn't creaky at all unless I apply way too much force to the edges of the case; it sounds about like I remember my AT101 sounding, in terms of clatter; maybe actually a little bit better (though the clicky switches obviously add a little more noise to that). It could just be my standards? But I have an AEK, so I think I know what a "really good" alps board should sound like.
Also, my Portable PC III board has NKRO, which the AEK doesn't.

As for dirty Alps - you're probably just lucky. Most Alps boards I ever had were awful from dirt and use.

I had the same good luck with my first alps boards, and wondered if the problem was exaggerated. Then I bought a couple of cable-cut white alps boards for not very much to harvest the keycaps, and my god, typing on those was absolutely abysmal. The binding was unreal. Any rubber dome or chiclet would have felt nicer. I have those switches earmarked for a full deep clean after I rewatch some tutorials, and maybe (dare I mention it?) a wax boil on some of them too to see what results I get. I’d rather draw a message to someone in Paint using my elbow on a laptop trackpad than type on those switches in their current state - and I love Alps.

Good to know. I was not aware they bind if dirty, though I suppose that makes sense.

[Jan Pospisil]

Yeah, the portable PC feels lighter and smoother than a NOS Ortek with white Alps. (Itself looks like an Apple keyboard clone. And it still feels good, but stiffer.)
The keycaps are like that only on this keyboard, that I know of.

[wyatt8740]

Yeah, the portable PC feels lighter and smoother than a NOS Ortek with white Alps. (Itself looks like an Apple keyboard clone. And it still feels good, but stiffer.)
The keycaps are like that only on this keyboard, that I know of.

Could the ortek be one of the later ones? (Could this be the fabled "pine vs. bamboo" difference?)
Also, I have noticed that my switches seem to be the "two tone" variety, like my oranges are. (top of shell is a slightly lighter gray).

Wouldn't probably explain a stiffness difference, of course... unless the two tone shell actually does codify something, or they were using old style springs in some of them.

[Jan Pospisil]

Yeah, the portable PC feels lighter and smoother than a NOS Ortek with white Alps. (Itself looks like an Apple keyboard clone. And it still feels good, but stiffer.)
The keycaps are like that only on this keyboard, that I know of.

Could the ortek be one of the later ones? (Could this be the fabled "pine vs. bamboo" difference?)
Also, I have noticed that my switches seem to be the "two tone" variety, like my oranges are. (top of shell is a slightly lighter gray).

No, they're both "pines".

[John Doe]

Still have some skcc boards keeping but these are the best looking to me.

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[TNT]

Always loved those Heathkit boards. Ofc the Zenith variant too. Very nice picture!

[amigastar23]

So in short, yeah, I appreciate and love Alps switches. I hope I can find some nice blues, browns, greens, etc. some day to fill out the collection. I wish I'd bought one of those Japanese IBM keyboards with greens when there were a bunch on ebay around 2016, but I had only used black Alps at that point, and they had set my expectations way too low.

Exactly my point of view. I have 2 White Alps keyboards and waiting for the 3rd to arrive.
The journey just begun for me.

[Muirium]

Having just dug this one out for the first time in years, count me in the club! My Silicon Graphics board is waiting for conversion, so I'd left it stored for ages. Pulling it out again, white Alps suddenly hit me again, full force. Damn, how can't they make keyboards feel like this any more!

I'm a Topre man, for the most part. This SGI ain't that, but something just as sweet. Get the feeling you could melt into this thing and just flow and flow…

[Muirium]

Here's said pics:



I've put it in a Workshop topic to try to spur me to actually get on with it.

[mmm]

This is my "Corne" keyboard using waxboiled SKCL yellows with 35g springs. A bit misleading calling these linear as the contact leaf is pronounced given the low spring weight. It's a delight to type on.

[oofers]

Still have some skcc boards keeping but these are the best looking to me.

1D65F6F4-82E6-49A2-B22F-BCB18FF3DA9E.jpeg

My God these are gorgeous

[Muirium]

This is my "Corne" keyboard using waxboiled SKCL yellows with 35g springs. A bit misleading calling these linear as the contact leaf is pronounced given the low spring weight. It's a delight to type on.

If I was going split ergo, I’d ditch QWERTY too. Seeing as you’re never going to mistake which keyboard you’re at…

Are those arrow keys really the respective keys? Swapping left and right is something! Thought my 3276 arrow square was tricky.

[mmm]

I haven't grown the courage to try out something else than qwerty yet. Some day maybe.

The arrow keys are misleading, the "up" arrow is a layer, and the rest of them is practically unused with my current layout. The real arrow keys are on the left thumb button + hjkl.

I'm pretty confident that there are some older Key Tronic's that has arrow keys like that. I'm still desperately hoping that someone finds a keyboard with a Z nav, so that all the Tetris blocks will be represented as arrow key formations on vintage keyboards.

[Muirium]

Tetris? Oh! So that’s why I instinctively dislike square arrow clusters!

Doesn’t explain my heavy preference for a T over an arrow row, but the T is one of the better pieces, too.

[the_ambyguous]

My work in progress.

SKCM orange, canon keycaps, and the NCR80 case.

holy crap, this looks awesome! ive never seen canon caps used like this before, covering a whole board and and using the flat caps. is this a custom pcb?

[hellothere]

M0115. Apple Extended Keyboard (AEK). My work.

Spoiler:

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Blue (kind of a silver color) GSD mix shown for added blueness .

This was my third attempt at a painted keyboard. 1st was extra bad. I used Dupli-Color (car) paint on the 2nd, which looked great, but wasn't durable: it got chipped within a day. This 3rd one was sanded with 600 through 1000 grit, then primed with 2 coats of Rust-Oleum 2X primer. The paint is 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Metallic Blue (slightly sparkly) and topped off with 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Matte Clear. Three or so weeks and no chipping. Painting was done because the case had a lot of uneven yellowing and scratches.

This keyboard is literally the second best, behind an almost NOS tactile brown, Alps keyboard I've ever touched. If you take the time, Alps KBs can be very nicely restored.

[mode1ace]

holy crap, this looks awesome! ive never seen canon caps used like this before, covering a whole board and and using the flat caps. is this a custom pcb?

Yup.

I have a lot of excellent mostly alps keyboards but this is above and beyond all the rest. I'm not sure I'll ever have a nicer keyboard.

[hellothere]

AEK II Red.
.

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It's currently 100 outside, with an expected high of 110. That means indoor pics on my potato.

Same sanding regimen. Gloss Cardinal Red Rust-Oleum enamel.

[guidemetothelight]

Here's said pics:



I've put it in a Workshop topic to try to spur me to actually get on with it.

What Type of board is that ? since i stumbled over one that looks just like it !

[Muirium]

What Type of board is that ? since i stumbled over one that looks just like it !

No you didn't.

[guidemetothelight]

What Type of board is that ? since i stumbled over one that looks just like it !

No you didn't.

Oh , youre right ! Thought they were identical , but only just now was it, that the different logo position hit me.Oh well, the devil is in the details