Great/Interesting Finds

[Blaise170]

Haha yeah can't complain too much I suppose.

These are usually white or blue Alps: http://m.ebay.com/itm/Used-Tellervision ... nav=SEARCH

[Tuntematon]

DC-2014s are actually somewhat common in terms of blue Alps boards. You might see one or two every month or so. I thinking anything above $80 is a bit much for one, to be honest, especially if it's so deeply yellowed.

You're living in the past E3E! The market has spoken, at least for now.

[E3E]

We're living in the age of Alps Inflation. xD I could make so much if I sold my collection, but heavens no. My keyboards are like my damn children. Would you sell your child?

[Redmaus]

yes

[seebart]

Would you sell your child?

yes

[Tuntematon]

Has any keyboard economist out there identified the cause of the inflation? Supply has been stable, so there must have been a sudden and massive spike in demand. Surely this can be traced to an individual, an event, something.

[ba7777]

They're worth that much but finding people to buy them might be a pain...

I've probably got about 20 unused G81-3000 cases around, anyone want to buy the lot?!

I am interested in the case if they are winkeyless style.
Please let me know the details and the quote for shipping to China.
Thanks.

[E3E]

Has any keyboard economist out there identified the cause of the inflation? Supply has been stable, so there must have been a sudden and massive spike in demand. Surely this can be traced to an individual, an event, something.

I'm not too sure, but the beginnings of the steep prices started with the Keytrak NOS Blue Alps keyboard with Cherry-like key caps.

Several of those went for nearly $300

Then the NTC 6151EA with Blue Alps and missing caps went for like $153

Then the Datatech SPK-100 went for $300 +

Then the Apple M0115 Extended Keyboard went for $500 to a Japanese seller

Then the Focus FK-2001 with Blue Alps went for $360

-

I think it might be that a lot of custom Alps keyboard options are around now and people are seeing a lot of acclaim for blue Alps (that AEK notwithstanding) and wanting to get some for their projects at all costs. I just feel like most of these buyers are not collectors but rather people wanting to harvest switches.

[ohaimark]

I also gave Blue Alps a good review over at Reddit a month (?) prior to that.

I may have been a part of the hype.

[alh84001]

These are usually white or blue Alps: http://m.ebay.com/itm/Used-Tellervision ... nav=SEARCH

I guess this was supposed to be used with hands above the keyboard, and fingers dangling down to the keys. But most unnatural thing about this layout are those Ctrl and Alt keys together with the arrow cluster.

[E3E]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Midwest-Micro-K ... 2518.l4276



These have been known to have blue Alps in them (I've seen one on TaoBao a while back), however, they have also been known to have MANY other switch varieties too.

This one likely doesn't have blue Alps though.

[Chyros]

Haha very good Chyros. I'd take one for sure. Or better yet the Northgate OmniKey gold label.

Indeed, that would be great too (particularly the 102) .

[Khronokrator]

I think there's just been a sudden spike in the "awareness" of Blue Alps this year, or Alps in general. As people 'mature' into the mechanical keyboard fandom, they eventually hear Alps being mentioned, and for those who like clicky switches, Blue Alps are sometimes made out to be the holy grail.

So these insane prices are probably driven not by veteran enthusiasts but people desperate for a board, or desperate for switches for their custom projects, as E3E speculated.

Edit: also, for Chyros -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Key-Pro-FK-9000 ... SwezVWxx23

It's extensively yellowed and apparently not working. Too bad... I really want either a 5001 or a 9000, especially since the 5001 doesn't seem to have clone switches.

[Chyros]

Edit: also, for Chyros -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Key-Pro-FK-9000 ... SwezVWxx23

It's extensively yellowed and apparently not working. Too bad... I really want either a 5001 or a 9000, especially since the 5001 doesn't seem to have clone switches.

Ah yeah, I'd seen that one... Thanks for the heads-up mate, but the Focus situation is under development at the moment .

[Mikelittoris]

This is not a great find. But interesting how much a Model M can bring in under certain circumstances:
http://www.tradera.com/item/340854/2523 ... -mekaniskt

What!? Maybe it's time to sell my Swedish M... That's outrageous!

Yup that's outrageous! Imagine the cash i'd get for a boltmoded iso SSK.

[elecplus]

Dumb question, but what makes blue Alps worth $500? I am going to have to think abt opening a small warehouse. I have 3 pallets of goodies waiting for me to pick up when I return next week. This same Leading Edge (not so yellow) and some other blue Alps are in them. Are blue Alps so rare?

[Khronokrator]

Ah yeah, I'd seen that one... Thanks for the heads-up mate, but the Focus situation is under development at the moment .

Aw man, I really want one of those now, too!

Mostly I'm tired of the same old basic keyboards and am looking for things with cool features, which the higher end Focus boards definitely do have. Hard to find, though.

[Redmaus]

Dumb question, but what makes blue Alps worth $500? I am going to have to think abt opening a small warehouse. I have 3 pallets of goodies waiting for me to pick up when I return next week. This same Leading Edge (not so yellow) and some other blue Alps are in them. Are blue Alps so rare?

Rare somewhat yes. People love them for their clickyness and appraise. I can help you out with selling them

[E3E]

Dumb question, but what makes blue Alps worth $500? I am going to have to think abt opening a small warehouse. I have 3 pallets of goodies waiting for me to pick up when I return next week. This same Leading Edge (not so yellow) and some other blue Alps are in them. Are blue Alps so rare?

They're not particularly rare compared to some Alps switches, it's just that their demand is very high and so they are often swept up immediately the second they are available. One quirk to their rarity is that they are often found in boards that can have multiple different switch types so it makes finding one a gamble if you don't know what to look for.

The Leading Edge DC-2014 is one example of a board that always has blue Alps, but unlike boards that have orange Alps like early AEKs, they are far less common.

[elecplus]

I guess my view of "rare" is somewhat skewed. For every 4 pallets I sort, I can come up at least 1 pallet of mechanical boards. Maybe it is the source where the scrap comes from, or maybe it is just sheer volume. I have only found 1 industrial M, and 0 Kishsavers Those are rare to me

[Blaise170]

Someone will make a fortune if they successfully clone Blue Alps.

[Redmaus]

Someone will make a fortune if they successfully clone Blue Alps.

I have already started, with very promising results.

[Tuntematon]

If only Matias had been more ambitious. I guess it was just too difficult and expensive. Lame!

[Redmaus]

I actually have never tried matias

[Khronokrator]

If only Matias had been more ambitious. I guess it was just too difficult and expensive. Lame!

I've always wondered why Matias based its clicky switch design on crummy clone knockoffs. Talk about low-hanging fruit...

[Hak Foo]

Well, I understand he made some solid improvements to the design. The specs are much tighter than real Alps switches (+/- 5 grams instead of 15), and that whole "backlight ready" feature is nice.

The science is still out on how much of a difference complicated versus simplified makes.

[Khronokrator]

I personally strongly prefer complicated over simplified. Strongly. The sound and the tactile experience of simplified clicky switches is just... off in some way that's hard to describe.

[E3E]

Cherry folks like these NCR boards for their cases, right?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-NCR-RS3 ... 2518.l4276

[Redmaus]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-IBM-LEX ... SwoudW2v8s

Not your average model M2

[emdude]

I never saw that before so I looked it up and it appears to just be a rubber dome..