Alps Appreciation

[Polecat]

I thought that pale green overlay on omnikeys was a result of yellowing. But it looks like it's not (?). Actually several other omnikeys including those with blue alps also have that green overlay. They might be produced separately, but I don't think there was a production change from grey to green.

I don't think it's from yellowing. From the ones I've seen it's either all or nothing; none of them are "slightly" green like you'd expect if it was from age or UV exposure like we see on yellowed plastics. I vaguely remember similar green overlays on other keyboards at the time ('80s-90s) when they were almost new, maybe NTC or Focus boards, haven't found any so far, but I'm still slowly digging through my storage. I found one blue Alps Northgate with the F-key overlay missing, but it has a green one on the LED panel. That's a very early 102 model, July 1988, with a black switch plate. The May 1989 blue Alps one has gray overlays, but one Gen2 102 has green ones, so you're probably correct about it not being a simple production change. Far as I know these keyboards are all original. I've owned them for at least twenty years, so they were all relatively new when I got them, and they've been packed away in a closet the whole time.

[Elrick]

Not something I'd use myself, but I couldn't stand to see them go to the shredder at a nickel a pound. I wish this site had been around fifteen or twenty years ago when I was still in the surplus biz.

Too right. If DT had been around whilst I knew some people who were actually collecting ancient keyboards for scrap here in Perth City, then I would of taken most of their products away from their shredders.

As it turned out, I got posted in a far off job in the Desert and stayed there for the first three years meanwhile back at my mate's business, I believe they cleared their shelves from all the ancient Model-Fs, Model-Ms and loads of Alps based keyboards, to make room for more freshly delivered stock to their depot.

I had always wished there was a Tardus-like time machine available to me then I know what I would do with it, go back in time and re-visit that place which had tonnes of these keyboards for scrap and load up the Tardus with it. That way I would of saved loads of these valuable keyboards for future usage and indeed send most of them to other enthusiasts here on DT.

Still it's good to dream of idiot fantasies, especially at my age.

[flowerlandfilms]

Some Matias eye candy from my Silicon Graphics AT-101.

IMG_20171004_045717.jpg (2.1 MiB) Viewed 6098 times

[Luxanna]

Hi! Do you guys know of a company that makes "focus layout" ALPS mount PBT keycaps?

[smithyithy]

Can anyone help me locate a 6u space bar? Any old boards that came with one, or does anyone have one lying around they'd be willing to sell?

I have a kit on it's way to me that has a true-HHKB bottom row, so I need that elusive 6u space

[Polecat]

Can anyone help me locate a 6u space bar? Any old boards that came with one, or does anyone have one lying around they'd be willing to sell?

I have a kit on it's way to me that has a true-HHKB bottom row, so I need that elusive 6u space

The late Focus boards have a 6u space bar. The ones with win keys and 1.33 control and alt. Tai Hao Alps sets also have a 6u space bar, but with different stabilizer insert type and spacing. Not sure which, if either, fits the HHKB. I have both here if pics or measurements would help.

Not sure if these are Alps, but this might be one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-Electroni ... ht_480wt_0

The one I have here is a late FK-2001. I had to cheat to make the Tai Hao spacebar work properly. <attached>

[Chyros]

Can anyone help me locate a 6u space bar? Any old boards that came with one, or does anyone have one lying around they'd be willing to sell?

I have a kit on it's way to me that has a true-HHKB bottom row, so I need that elusive 6u space

The late Focus boards have a 6u space bar. The ones with win keys and 1.33 control and alt. Tai Hao Alps sets also have a 6u space bar, but with different stabilizer insert type and spacing. Not sure which, if either, fits the HHKB. I have both here if pics or measurements would help.

Not sure if these are Alps, but this might be one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Focus-Electroni ... ht_480wt_0

The one I have here is a late FK-2001. I had to cheat to make the Tai Hao spacebar work properly. <attached>

That's just gorgeous.

What did you do with the spacebar?

[Polecat]

That's just gorgeous.

What did you do with the spacebar?[/quote]

Thank you.

I used cross-type inserts from a Monterey enter key, flipped around backwards, and rebent the stabilizer wire angles from 90 to 45 degrees to make it wider and shorter. Got lucky, worked on the first try.

[Chyros]

That's just gorgeous.

What did you do with the spacebar?

Thank you.

I used cross-type inserts from a Monterey enter key, flipped around backwards, and rebent the stabilizer wire angles from 90 to 45 degrees to make it wider and shorter. Got lucky, worked on the first try.[/quote]Also, that Dolch set isn't natively compatible with the layout, is it? I guess you had to source a short shift and bigass enter key from somewhere? Others?

[Chyros]

Btw, that FK-5200 isn't Alps, but Focus dome with slider .

[Polecat]

Also, that Dolch set isn't natively compatible with the layout, is it? I guess you had to source a short shift and bigass enter key from somewhere? Others?

Correct, the enter key is from a Datacomp. Two stabilizer wires on that, strange setup, but one of my six Datacomps had the right one. Right shift and backslash also Datacomp. The backslash is actually dark green, but I have a black one here someplace.

This is a FK-2001 with a 6u Alps spacebar:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unique-Linux-Br ... ht_128wt_0

Note this one has three extra keys above the nav arrows. Mine has a snap-in insert instead. We like to assume all keyboards with a particular model number are the same, but when they use the same model number like the FK-2001 for many years there tend to be changes.

Focus made some oddballs also. I have a black one <attached> with ISO enter key but US keycaps. No model number on the outside, "Enhanced Keyboard" on the switch cover, the PC board says FK-2002. Unfortunately the caps are ink stamped, not double shots. I used it for a while, but that and the short left shift and macro key layout spoiled it for me.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Apparently, according to Forward Electronics, SKBL/SKBM was introduced in 1991 …

[woodser94]

First post here. Just recently started getting into MKs about 7 months ago. I'm not really liking just how much I like these damn things, if you catch my drift.

Anyway just thought I'd share this Leading Edge DC-2214 here, and see if anyone else knows much about it. Just added it to the wiki, sorry if I botched something in there. Gonna try to add some better pics of the PCB, etc in the near future.

I found it sitting outside in what appears to be the extra garbage area of a local recycling center, and amazingly enough it works fucking great! I have no idea if it got rained on, but the inerts showed some water markings(?) and it smells a lot like chlorine. This one has complicated white Alps, though it sounds like these boards usually come in blue. This is my first usable Alps board and I'm loving it so far.

here's a link to an imgur album

[kbdfr]

[…] the inerts showed […]

Inerts? As you just wrote "it works fucking great", i suppose you mean the innards

Anyway, welcome to DT and thanks for sharing

[Chyros]

First post here. Just recently started getting into MKs about 7 months ago. I'm not really liking just how much I like these damn things, if you catch my drift.

Anyway just thought I'd share this Leading Edge DC-2214 here, and see if anyone else knows much about it. Just added it to the wiki, sorry if I botched something in there. Gonna try to add some better pics of the PCB, etc in the near future.

I found it sitting outside in what appears to be the extra garbage area of a local recycling center, and amazingly enough it works fucking great! I have no idea if it got rained on, but the inerts showed some water markings(?) and it smells a lot like chlorine. This one has complicated white Alps, though it sounds like these boards usually come in blue. This is my first usable Alps board and I'm loving it so far.

here's a link to an imgur album

The DC-2014 came with blue Alps, yes, but judging by the layouts that was definitely an earlier model. Yours uses a much more modern 101-key layout, the DC-2014 the old XT layout.

Welcome to DT .

[codemonkeymike]

Does anyone know what the actuation force weight of alps green springs are?

[//gainsborough]

Does anyone know what the actuation force weight of alps green springs are?

I believe it's 50g

[codemonkeymike]

Does anyone know what the actuation force weight of alps green springs are?

I believe it's 50g

Really, so that puts them near the weight of Cherry Red springs?

[Chyros]

Does anyone know what the actuation force weight of alps green springs are?

I believe it's 50g

Really, so that puts them near the weight of Cherry Red springs?

Springs don't have an actuation weight. If you would put in a click leaf for example, the actuation weight would change.

That said, the Alps force curve shows the "tactile" bump is around 50 g. The exact actuation weight is not know AFAIK.

[codemonkeymike]

[snip...]
Springs don't have an actuation weight. If you would put in a click leaf for example, the actuation weight would change.

That said, the Alps force curve shows the "tactile" bump is around 50 g. The exact actuation weight is not know AFAIK.

I don't know how the weight of a spring is measured so yall can tell me.

[Chyros]

[snip...]
Springs don't have an actuation weight. If you would put in a click leaf for example, the actuation weight would change.

That said, the Alps force curve shows the "tactile" bump is around 50 g. The exact actuation weight is not know AFAIK.

I don't know how the weight of a spring is measured so yall can tell me.

A spring's weight is just how much force it takes to fully compress it, but this has nothing to do with actuation at all .

[waldorf120]

Can anyone help me locate a 6u space bar? Any old boards that came with one, or does anyone have one lying around they'd be willing to sell?

I have a kit on it's way to me that has a true-HHKB bottom row, so I need that elusive 6u space

Signature plastics sells 6u spacebars in DCS profile, and in two different colors! (The Alpine Winter colors I think)

https://pimpmykeyboard.com/dcs-alps-mou ... pack-of-1/

[Polecat]

First post here. Just recently started getting into MKs about 7 months ago. I'm not really liking just how much I like these damn things, if you catch my drift.

Anyway just thought I'd share this Leading Edge DC-2214 here, and see if anyone else knows much about it.

Nice find, pretty rare, one of my favorite keyboards. Mine also has white Alps but with a PS/2 connector.

One thing of possible interest is how a particular model was sold. By that I mean did it come with a specific model of computer, or was it sold separately at a computer store? As far as I know the Leading Edge keyboards came only with a computer; they were not sold separately other than possibly as a replacement part. I can't prove that, just going by what I remember at the time. Some brands, Focus for example, were sold separately through computer stores. A few, like Northgate, started out as an OEM keyboard, but were later sold separately. The keyboards that came with a computer tended to be less common than ones sold in stores.

[flowerlandfilms]

This is mesmerising.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPr_rP2v2cc

[macboarder]

I think I just found my favorite linear switches

[Chyros]

I think I just found my favorite linear switches

Ah, the stock SKCC greens? They're very nice, aren't they? ^^

Also, do I detect some inspiration from the legends I printed on my Pingmaster? xD

[macboarder]

They're delicious to type on, and the board's beeper makes for happy ears as well

Also, do I detect some inspiration from the legends I printed on my Pingmaster? xD

Indeed, I prefer the nav cluster to be represented with icons rather than text too

[depletedvespene]

I think I just found my favorite linear switches

Nice! May I ask where did you get the alphanum keycaps from?

[depletedvespene]

I think I just found my favorite linear switches

Ah, the stock SKCC greens? They're very nice, aren't they? ^^

Also, do I detect some inspiration from the legends I printed on my Pingmaster? xD

Legends only, because someone is on record stating he prefers an inverted-T arrow cluster over a cross-shaped one.

[macboarder]

May I ask where did you get the alphanum keycaps from?

They’re from an ALPS 12KC132A.