deskthority

Recently, I was fortunate in being able to find two Leading Edge DC-3014 blue Alps keyboards in rapid succession.

For the time being at least, I have decided to keep one of them (I'll call it DC-3014A) in a nearly stock state -- the only modifications I've made is to install an internal converter and micro-USB panel-mount connector. I also quieted the spacebar by swapping out the slider and click leaf on the spacebar switch with the corresponding components from a Matias Quiet switch. The other one (dubbed DC-3014B) also has the internal converter and micro-USB connector along with a painted case and new keycaps (SGI Granite alphas; others from Matias and Tai-Hao). Its spacebar also has a transplanted slider and tactile leaf from a Matias Quiet switch, and the Matias spacebar has 0.5 mm urethane foam pads on the plate where contact is made with the stabilizer inserts. Even before making these relatively minor modifications, I noticed that I had a preference for the sound and feel of DC-3014B. The differences were subtle, but noticeable. Now with the replaced keycaps, the differences are more apparent, and I definitely prefer typing on DC-3014B.

I've noticed differences in typing characteristics on other Alps boards of the same make and model as well. For example, I have two Northgate Omnikey 101 white Alps boards. Even with the same stock keycaps on each, the two boards have a noticeable difference in sound and a just-perceptible difference in feel.

One difference between the two Northgates that is readily apparent is in the sound from brushing fingertips horizontally along a row of keys -- one of the boards makes much more of a racket than the other. I thought that this difference might be due to the relative degree of wobble, but as far as I can tell, the wobble in the switches is the same between the two boards.

Please tell me the case is plasti-dipped. The 3014 is one of my favourite boards of all time (and one of the best looking), and I'd kill for a blue alps one. It makes me feel weird to see one modified like this. That being said, it did end up turning out nice. Could you post some pics of the conversion to micro USB? I'm curious

@chiptea: Yes, I anticipated drawing criticism for altering the case of a classic like the LE DC-3014, but I wanted to make the keyboard more visually appealing to me so that I would be inclined to use it more. However, I am lucky enough to have found two of these keyboards (one for the home office and one for work), and I am keeping one of them in a nearly original state (except for the panel-mount USB connector).

The USB conversion was extremely easy, thanks to Orihalcon's version of an internal Soarer's Converter for the LE DC-2014 and DC-3014. The header on the converter plugs into the header pins on the keyboard's PCB. On the other side of the converter there is a micro-USB connector. To provide strain relief and a micro-USB panel-mount connector, I connected the converter to a 1-ft. micro-USB panel mount extension cable from DataPro:

http://www.datapro.net/products/usb-mic ... e-m-f.html

The DataPro site has a downloadable PDF with cutout dimensions. In addition to drilling three holes in the back of the case for the panel-mount connector, I made cuts through some of the interior supports inside the bottom of the case to provide routing for the cable. You could use a Dremel for the interior cuts, but I preferred to first drill a hole and then use a hand file to remove the arch above the hole, thus creating U-shaped openings for interior routing of the cable.

The LE DC-3014 blue Alps board has many excellent features including a standard US ANSI winkeyless layout and legendary switches. Nevertheless, I have an early generation Northgate Omnikey 101 white Alps board that in my estimation is even better than the LE-3014 blue Alps board. The Omni 101 has the same basic layout and is actually a bit smaller than the DC-3014, the switches are smooth, crisp, and consistent across the board, and overall the Omni sounds and feels more solid than the LE board. However, for the time being at least, I am keeping both boards in my active rotation.

Apologize for the ensuing tl;dr; just rambling about the differences between keyboards.

I think that the red LE DC-3014 would look great if you dyed the SGI caps a smokey grey color.
Also, talk about a handy connector to use for the conversion! I'll have to bookmark that!

I feel like I'm going to have to find an Omnikey 102 with blue Alps to see how it compares to my own blue Alps examples. I still lament not getting that 102 that came with a box (albeit generic) that was -most likely- blue Alps. It went for $72. I need to stop being so old school and use an automatic bidding app. :/

That said, I do have and have had some robust keyboards with metal back panels, as well as the full metal Orion v2 custom with blue Alps.

It's hard to really quantify which I like most. Personal taste and what not, you know? I use Dell AT101 PBT caps on my DC-3014 and that combined with its case gives it one of the most pleasant sounds of any of my vintages.

The boards I've had with metal back panels and blue alps have been the NTC 6151N, the NTC 6153EA (essentially a qwertz layout version with a short left shift), Tai Hao FAME TH-5539, and the Focus FK-555, which has been likened to the Omnikey many times.

Of these, the 6153EA is virtually new and so is the Focus FK-555; the 6151N has a plate that looked like it got splattered with salt spray, pretty much speckled with rust. The switches were fine, but it's hard to say what condition they were in 1), because it was my first Alps board of any kind and 2) since it's been out of commission and dismantled for almost a year now.

The FAME has binding in its switches and is not as smooth as any of my other blue Alps boards, but I suspect this is because it came from a junk lot in Australia. I need to eventually swap the switch tops on that one to smoothen it out a bit.

So, the Focus, being the closest to the Omnikey of any board, I would say, and heaviest I have, does feel quite amazing. The switches are smooth and the back panel gives it heft and a pleasant sound overall. However, still... It's really hard to say which keyboard is my favorite and feels the best. I don't think I really can say.

I can say that the keyboard that impressed me most when I got it was my Monterey K103 (K101), which had blue Alps that felt lighter than usual for some reason. Despite the plate being rusted out from under the powder coat, the switches were excellent.

I ultimately used them for my Orion custom keyboard and it's certainly one of my favorites to type on using the Chinese PBT caps I've mentioned over on GeekHack.

The Focus and NTC both feel remarkable and are in the best condition. The KB101A had very smooth switches despite having a filthy (but rust free) plate and needing quite the clean up (I didn't clean the switches though), though the printed Acer caps made the keyboard feel quite poor until I put my Leading Edge's doubleshots on the keyboard.

The Leading Edge DC-3014 also had no problems at all switch-wise.

Ultimately though, I just use my Orion most of the time these days.

Currently using a silenced Realforce 104 Taiwan Edition that was a Ducky promotion. Gotta say, Topre is pretty nice, but it's very "foreign" feeling. Something that's pretty fun to visit once and a while as a vacation from all the Alps, I guess you could say.

@E3E: Thanks for your interesting comments on various Alps keyboards. For me, I need a standard US ANSI layout or something that can easily be modified to a HHKB-like layout. I can sort of make a LE DC-2014 work for me, but the LE DC-3014 is much better, as is the Northgate Omnikey 101.

Regarding the smokey grey caps, when I was testing various keycap combinations, my wife liked the look of some gray modifiers that I had, but I seldom like gray. I seem to be gravitating toward burgundy red, white and black as one scheme.

However, in the blue/gray zone, a set that might look good on the DC-3014 is the Tai-Hao "Olivette", but other caps would have to be found for the CapsLock, Spacebar, and bottom-row modifiers.

The other scheme that I like is on my Topre-switch boards (RF87UB and HHKB) -- black on blue alphas with blank black mods and red accents (Esc and Fn).

Speaking of the Northgate, I am having issues with hot-swapping of these keyboards. If you haven't seen my separate thread on this, please take a look and let me know of any suggestions you might have:

workshop-f7/hot-swap-keyboard-issues-t14759.html

Thanks!