Alps Appreciation

[XMIT]

The Omnikey cleans up really nicely. Ultrasonically cleaned and Teflon lubed white Alps can be really nice, especially if you manage to find some lighter springs!

[PerniciousPony]

So I've been using this board since December at work. I don't use it all the time, it usually sits under the cover and under a glass monitor stand. It's my backup for when I forgot to bring another board or feel like using some nice clicky switches. I noticed that it is an "Omnikey 101 I" according to the label, which I've never heard of before. It's also got what appears to be a low serial number/revision. It's got SKCM white switches, which are in fantastic condition. I definitely don't have the experience of many people here, but have had around 15 different alps boards and these are by far the best condition alps I've come across. It doesn't have the dip switches under the label, bur rather two separate dip switches on the backside. If anyone is interested, I can bring it home and take it apart and inspect it further.

[//gainsborough]

Interesting... the backside of the board doesn't look like any omnikey I've seen before. Is it plastic? That's really interesting if it is! I've always loved the look of omnikeys - a very nice alps board indeed.

[PerniciousPony]

It is indeed a plastic back. I've not had any other omnikeys so I didn't know that the back might be different haha. I quickly took a few more pictures highlighting the differences I've noticed from other pictures.

http://imgur.com/a/L42VE

Over the weekend I'll bring the board home to get more pictures of the board and it's internals

[//gainsborough]

That is really cool!!! Plastic back omnikey with pine whites! How does it feel/sound? I bet that thing would sound amazing with SKCM blue in it! Just when I thought my search for omnikeys came to a close... hahaha.

[Chyros]

Jeez, you'd almost think it was fake Oo .

[//gainsborough]

Jeez, you'd almost think it was fake Oo .

hmmm...a fair point, haha.

[Mattr567]

Oh, so just to let everyone know I sold my 92 SKCL Striped Ambers a month or so ago, someone just messaged me who had no idea.

So yeah.....Thats why the Zenith has SKCM Blue's now

[Mattr567]

That is really cool!!! Plastic back omnikey with pine whites! How does it feel/sound? I bet that thing would sound amazing with SKCM blue in it! Just when I thought my search for omnikeys came to a close... hahaha.

Just when you thought Alps couldn't get weird enough 0.0

[siawyoung]

The Omnikey cleans up really nicely. Ultrasonically cleaned and Teflon lubed white Alps can be really nice, especially if you manage to find some lighter springs!

Yeah this is something I discovered as well! I had some great condition white alps and some not so good condition blue alps, and after trying all the possible combinations of parts between them, I realized that putting blue alps springs in the white alps (and also lubing the rails of the white alps switch covers) make them sing again I find that this is one of the most consistent way of actually getting great clicky switches - I tried all sorts of ways to clean those blue alps - ultrasonic cleaning, denture tabs, isopropyl alcohol, etc, but it's much easier and cheaper to find great conditions white alps and swap the springs out and lube them.

[Mattr567]

Hint at my current on-going project

[arkanoid]

Something like this?
keyboards-f2/blue-alps-ibm-model-m-t15382.html

[Mattr567]

Something like this?
keyboards-f2/blue-alps-ibm-model-m-t15382.html

Yep! That exact board in fact

Also dat retrobright job



More to come in my full thread

[arkanoid]

Good luck with your work! There's a seller selling IBM square metal badge on eBay if you are looking for one.

[Mattr567]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4frKCMx1WU

[//gainsborough]

Since the top case arrived broken, I thought I'd paint it just to see what it would look like.

[seebart]

Since the top case arrived broken, I thought I'd paint it just to see what it would look like.

Just paint-job no fix? Because it looks good. I have a couple of contenders where just a paint-over job would not do.

It's the indy Zenith.

[//gainsborough]

I tried my hand at fixing it - the problem is that the mounts for the screws that hold the plate/pcb to the top case shattered in transit. I superglued the shards that I found lying in the box back onto where I thought they fit together - and it kinda worked, I guess. It's not being held tightly together, let's just say that, haha.

It's the indy Zenith.

Yeah! I called it the "indy z-150." It rhymes if you say it weird... kinda.

[fohat]

I superglued the shards that I found lying in the box back onto where I thought they fit together

In the US there is a great epoxy product called "JB Weld" that is amazingly strong and a nice dark gray color. There is the original that cures in 24 hours and is workable for a couple of hours, and a "quick-dry" that hardens in an hour or so.

Sometimes you can actually "rebuild" sections instead of attempting to glue little shards to each other. You can use wax, wood (think toothpicks), and/or rolled paper to place hold for screws to be inserted later.

[//gainsborough]

I superglued the shards that I found lying in the box back onto where I thought they fit together

In the US there is a great epoxy product called "JB Weld" that is amazingly strong and a nice dark gray color. There is the original that cures in 24 hours and is workable for a couple of hours, and a "quick-dry" that hardens in an hour or so.

Sometimes you can actually "rebuild" sections instead of attempting to glue little shards to each other. You can use wax, wood (think toothpicks), and/or rolled paper to place hold for screws to be inserted later.

This is a really good idea - I may look into the epoxy route!

Just out of curiosity, if I wanted to use wood, would I just cut little blocks of wood out and use some adhesive to keep it attached to the top case?

[fohat]

if I wanted to use wood, would I just cut little blocks of wood out and use some adhesive to keep it attached to the top case?

"Plastic lumber" (eg Azek brand) might be better than actual wood since it does not have a grain. Otherwise, you might buy a $1 junk keyboard at a thrift store and break it up into sheets and pieces that you could build up to whatever you want.

In my F-122 ANSI guide I showed how I repaired a broken case using JB Weld and pieces of wire from paper clips as reinforcing bars.

[JP!]

I superglued the shards that I found lying in the box back onto where I thought they fit together

In the US there is a great epoxy product called "JB Weld" that is amazingly strong and a nice dark gray color. There is the original that cures in 24 hours and is workable for a couple of hours, and a "quick-dry" that hardens in an hour or so.

Sometimes you can actually "rebuild" sections instead of attempting to glue little shards to each other. You can use wax, wood (think toothpicks), and/or rolled paper to place hold for screws to be inserted later.

I second this as well. I use a JB Weld product called PlasticWeld. It dries translucent yellow but is sand-able and paint-able. Very strong stuff. Looks like you painted this case in your signature satin granite rustoleum paint. I finally found that color locally so I will give that a try as well.

[//gainsborough]

I second this as well. I use a JB Weld product called PlasticWeld. It dries translucent yellow but is sand-able and paint-able. Very strong stuff. Looks like you painted this case in your signature satin granite rustoleum paint. I finally found that color locally so I will give that a try as well.

Thanks for the product name! I think I will look into buying it!

I suppose that grey color is becoming my signature paint - I really like the look =)

[PerniciousPony]

Finally putting together an alps project I've been planning for the last 6 months or so. I decided to have the plate cut out of 1.5mm copper alloy 110. I know 1.2mm is ideal for alps, but they didn't have copper sheets in that thickness, and alps still work in 1.5mm. The cutouts were actually really tight so I had to file them a bit so that switches would fit, and it's still quite a tight fit so they should be pretty snug. Here's a little giphy of the process:

https://media.giphy.com/media/EEwslp78oxjVK/giphy.gif

And another shot of the board:

http://i.imgur.com/9z60w8J.jpg

SKCM Oranges sourced from an M0116, and I'll be using some Dell dyesub caps to top it off

[scottc]

Nice! That looks fantastic. What chassis is that?!

[PerniciousPony]

Nice! That looks fantastic. What chassis is that?!

It's the Mech27. It's only the top half atm as I'm still soldering the switches and diodes. I'll have some pictures of the finished product sometime over the weekend most likely.

[//gainsborough]

Finally putting together an alps project I've been planning for the last 6 months or so. I decided to have the plate cut out of 1.5mm copper alloy 110. I know 1.2mm is ideal for alps, but they didn't have copper sheets in that thickness, and alps still work in 1.5mm. The cutouts were actually really tight so I had to file them a bit so that switches would fit, and it's still quite a tight fit so they should be pretty snug. Here's a little giphy of the process:

https://media.giphy.com/media/EEwslp78oxjVK/giphy.gif

And another shot of the board:

http://i.imgur.com/9z60w8J.jpg

SKCM Oranges sourced from an M0116, and I'll be using some Dell dyesub caps to top it off

This is so cool! After you burned the top did you put a finish on the plate as well?

[Menuhin]

I tried my hand at fixing it - the problem is that the mounts for the screws that hold the plate/pcb to the top case shattered in transit. I superglued the shards that I found lying in the box back onto where I thought they fit together - and it kinda worked, I guess. It's not being held tightly together, let's just say that, haha.

It's the indy Zenith.

Yeah! I called it the "indy z-150." It rhymes if you say it weird... kinda.

I also want to paint, or dye the case of my super yellowed Z-150 too - perhaps a "Olivey-Z-one-Fifty".

[PollandAkuma]

What are the chances of finding NIB Orange alps keyboards?

[fohat]

What are the chances of finding NIB Orange alps keyboards?

Moderate, with sufficient patience.

Apple sold a lot of gear in the late-1980s-early-1990s, and there is always a small portion that was stored away.