Alps Appreciation

[Polecat]

Had a few minutes to move forward on the KB-101A I was talked into saving, rather than using as a blue Alps donor, in my first post here. New LEDs (hard to photograph!), "chrome" edge to cover up the cracked tab locks, and new Acer logo. This is really a Multitech (pre-Acer) model, but the Acer matches the ancient case my main PC lives in. I'm going to redo the logo in "chrome" but that's another day's project. I still need to finalize the dark gray paint (shiny blemishes look worse in the photos than in person) but otherwise it looks and types like a dream. It's tied with the blue Alps Laser (Monterey K101) as my favorite driver.

[fohat]

I still need to finalize the dark gray paint

Go to the auto parts store and get "Dupli-Color Vinyl and Fabric Coating" in charcoal gray.

Use several very thin coats and follow the instructions to the letter.

[Polecat]

Go to the auto parts store and get "Dupli-Color Vinyl and Fabric Coating" in charcoal gray.

Use several very thin coats and follow the instructions to the letter.

Thanks, that's exactly what I used, based on your earlier posts. It worked well, except for one shiny spot at the top, but that and the fingerprints from my greasy paws tell me I need to do something different. I'm thinking of trying a coat of car wax unless someone has a better suggestion. (...and not touching it is not an option!)

[seebart]

... was talked into saving...

That was a good call! Very nice custom Alps build.

[fohat]

except for one shiny spot at the top, but that and the fingerprints from my greasy paws

Part of any paint job is: "surface must be completely clean of all oil and grease"

I generally wash all the plastic parts in the kitchen sink with a sponge, and rinse thoroughly. I actually prefer laundry detergent to dish soap (Charlie's Natural).

[Polecat]

Part of any paint job is: "surface must be completely clean of all oil and grease"

I generally wash all the plastic parts in the kitchen sink with a sponge, and rinse thoroughly. I actually prefer laundry detergent to dish soap (Charlie's Natural).

I suspect that's exactly what happened, although I scrubbed the case pretty thoroughly with Comet before painting.

I was going to try some Turtle Wax, but that had dried out sitting on the shelf. The forty year old tin of Johnson's Paste Wax was still good however, so I gave it a quick treatment with that. Pure magic. But I don't recommend waxing with the PC board in place; the dust can't be good for the switches.

That was a good call! Very nice custom Alps build.

Thank you, I'm very pleased with the results, and I appreciate all the help and advice. This is now one of my two favorite keyboards.

[Chyros]

That's very nice, I'm glad you've kept the Acer. It's a fantastic chassis for bringing out the fullness of the sound of blue Alps.

What keycaps did you stick on them?

[Polecat]

That's very nice, I'm glad you've kept the Acer. It's a fantastic chassis for bringing out the fullness of the sound of blue Alps.

What keycaps did you stick on them?

Thank you, it feels as good as it sounds. It was very badly yellowed, but spotless inside, stored in my back closet for over twenty years. Blue Alps are like new.

I played with the keycaps quite a bit. The blue-black ones are from a Dell AT101W. Most of the blacks are from a Datacomp/Ancer DFK-191. ANSI enter is left over from a Dolch set I used on a Focus FK-2001. I think that's all of them.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

How did you get the AT101W keycaps to be that colour?

Shouldn't backspace be black too?

[Chyros]

How did you get the AT101W keycaps to be that colour?

Shouldn't backspace be black too?

Neither the black AT101W nor its keycaps are actually black.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Nothing "black" is really black, otherwise you'd not be able to cast shadows on it. However, I didn't think the AT101W was quite that far off.

[Chyros]

Nothing "black" is really black, otherwise you'd not be able to cast shadows on it. However, I didn't think the AT101W was quite that far off.

I accidentally synthesised a nearly fully black material once, actually. It was so black that you couldn't observe textures and height differences in a little pile of it.

The AT101 is more of a dark greyish blue, though. A bit like some of those weird Alps top shells.

[Polecat]

How did you get the AT101W keycaps to be that colour?

Shouldn't backspace be black too?

The $3 camera and bright light exaggerate the color difference. But you're correct, nothing is truly "black". I learned that decades ago painting cars. I tried several different keycap arrangements before arriving at the current set. One of the first attempts was to use Datacomp caps, which were a two-tone, very dark green and black, with red legends on the top row. I didn't care for those, and I had a near-new black Dell AT-101W with switches so bad they practically squeaked, so that became the donor for the blue-black caps. I had a black backspace on it at first (Datacomp) and a black backslash (Micro Connectors Mac board) but the black on the backslash didn't match, and I used the backspace elsewhere.

[Vecktrex]

Managed to snag another 102 from 1991. The keycaps are a tad bit yellow, but it's in great condition all things considered.



Here's a picture of it with its younger brother from 1994

[Polecat]

Managed to snag another 102 from 1991. The keycaps are a tad bit yellow, but it's in great condition all things considered.



Here's a picture of it with its younger brother from 1994

Nice! Congrats on the great find. The '94 model is very late in the Northgate game, and is the only 102 I've seen with Windows keys and programmable (LED window in the up arrow). Does its serial number begin with a "2" or a "7"? The 1991 should begin with a "2".

[Vecktrex]

Nice! Congrats on the great find. The '94 model is very late in the Northgate game, and is the only 102 I've seen with Windows keys and programmable (LED window in the up arrow). Does its serial number begin with a "2" or a "7"? The 1991 should begin with a "2".

The '91 Omnikey's serial does indeed start with a 2.The serial for the '94 starts with an 8 actually. It's such a late model that it doesn't even have any dip switches or an AT/XT switch. The unfortunate thing about that specific iteration is there is a chip that is prone to going bad which will mess up the programming functionality of the board. Keys will reprogram themselves and other spooky things. It used to be fine on startup by holding esc, but it's gradually gotten worse. I talked to Bob, the dude at Northgate Keyboard Repair. He had said that yeah, once that chip is taken out it'll be good to go, just won't be programmable anymore. I would take it out myself, but I'm pretty sucky at those sort of things, and Bob mentioned it can be pretty easy to brick the board if mistakes are made. Probably going to send it it him one of these days. Aside from that, it's pretty much perfect. The switches are crisp and it's not yellowed at all. This is still without a doubt in my top 3 keyboard list.

[Polecat]

The '91 Omnikey's serial does indeed start with a 2.The serial for the '94 starts with an 8 actually. It's such a late model that it doesn't even have any dip switches or an AT/XT switch. The unfortunate thing about that specific iteration is there is a chip that is prone to going bad which will mess up the programming functionality of the board. Keys will reprogram themselves and other spooky things. It used to be fine on startup by holding esc, but it's gradually gotten worse. I talked to Bob, the dude at Northgate Keyboard Repair. He had said that yeah, once that chip is taken out it'll be good to go, just won't be programmable anymore. I would take it out myself, but I'm pretty sucky at those sort of things, and Bob mentioned it can be pretty easy to brick the board if mistakes are made. Probably going to send it it him one of these days. Aside from that, it's pretty much perfect. The switches are crisp and it's not yellowed at all. This is still without a doubt in my top 3 keyboard list.

Thanks for the feedback on the serial numbers. First one I've seen with an "8". But on the Gen3 Northgates (the ones with the door in the case) the first digit seems to correspond with the model/version, and as I mentioned this is the first 102 I've seen with Windows keys and programmable. There were *many* variations of the Northgate boards, and there's surprisingly little documentation out there considering the interest in them. I'm working on that, as time permits. I've got a few (ok, 14) myself, from a blue Alps Gen1 to an Avant Stellar, and like you I'm a big fan.

[Vecktrex]

there's surprisingly little documentation out there considering the interest in them.

Yeah. A couple of years back when I had first heard of these boards information was sparse and not readily available. All I was able to find was some old thread on Geekhack, and Northgate Keyboard Repair hadn't been updated in a long time so I didn't even email Bob. I was pretty jazzed when Chyros posted those reviews, it's good to see them get a little bit more exposure.

[rich1051414]

Managed to snag another 102 from 1991. The keycaps are a tad bit yellow, but it's in great condition all things considered.



Here's a picture of it with its younger brother from 1994

Nice! Congrats on the great find. The '94 model is very late in the Northgate game, and is the only 102 I've seen with Windows keys and programmable (LED window in the up arrow). Does its serial number begin with a "2" or a "7"? The 1991 should begin with a "2".

Sweet, I own one of these keyboards, the old version without a windows key, but it has white alps. Still, i kind of like the sharp tactility on them.

By the way, is there some documentation on the dip switches? I also hear these keyboards can be reprogrammed.

[//gainsborough]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Vintage-No ... SwETJaLeQD

There's a NIB 102 on ebay right now. Kinda pricey though. Looks like it has the smaller bezel, so maybe more likely pine white alps?

[Polecat]

Sweet, I own one of these keyboards, the old version without a windows key, but it has white alps. Still, i kind of like the sharp tactility on them.

By the way, is there some documentation on the dip switches? I also hear these keyboards can be reprogrammed.

Which version do you have? Gen1 (my terminology) did not have dip switches, only an XT/AT slide switch. Gen2 had 8 dip switches on the back edge, with either three visible (PS/2 only) or all eight visible (PS/2 and ADB connectors). Gen3 had the dipswitches under the logo/cover on the top left corner along with a reset switch. I believe only very late Gen3 (and Avant clones) were programmable--those had an LED window in the up arrow key (and a non-clicky switch there), but supposedly the chip for that function tends to go bad over time.

[derzemel]

do any of you know if there are any 60% cherry/alps PCBs with LED support that are available?
Duck and Leeku used to make some a few years ago. Also, the UK78 was made the same, but it was through a GB.

I have a green Alps XT Zenith with a strange protocol and I can use it only for the parts.

[Chyros]

do any of you know if there are any 60% cherry/alps PCBs with LED support that are available?
Duck and Leeku used to make some a few years ago. Also, the UK78 was made the same, but it was through a GB.

I have a green Alps XT Zenith with a strange protocol and I can use it only for the parts.

The protocol is simple XT, however it makes use of the reset which most XT boards don't use. Orihalcon sells converters for Z-150 models, although only square-edge PCB ones can be used. I'd try and get the Zenith working, it has outstanding build quality, NKRO, and looks great to boot. If you don't like the beige, paint it black or dark grey, looks fantastic. Someone did such a mod a while ago, can't find the picture anymore but it was very yummy.

[rich1051414]

Sweet, I own one of these keyboards, the old version without a windows key, but it has white alps. Still, i kind of like the sharp tactility on them.

By the way, is there some documentation on the dip switches? I also hear these keyboards can be reprogrammed.

Which version do you have? Gen1 (my terminology) did not have dip switches, only an XT/AT slide switch. Gen2 had 8 dip switches on the back edge, with either three visible (PS/2 only) or all eight visible (PS/2 and ADB connectors). Gen3 had the dipswitches under the logo/cover on the top left corner along with a reset switch. I believe only very late Gen3 (and Avant clones) were programmable--those had an LED window in the up arrow key (and a non-clicky switch there), but supposedly the chip for that function tends to go bad over time.

Mine has no label, so I can't give you a serial number, but it has a female PS/2 connector and 8 dip switches. I see no reset switch, or an ADB connector, just a single PS/2.

This is an Omnikey 102.

[//gainsborough]

do any of you know if there are any 60% cherry/alps PCBs with LED support that are available?
Duck and Leeku used to make some a few years ago. Also, the UK78 was made the same, but it was through a GB.

I have a green Alps XT Zenith with a strange protocol and I can use it only for the parts.

The protocol is simple XT, however it makes use of the reset which most XT boards don't use. Orihalcon sells converters for Z-150 models, although only square-edge PCB ones can be used. I'd try and get the Zenith working, it has outstanding build quality, NKRO, and looks great to boot. If you don't like the beige, paint it black or dark grey, looks fantastic. Someone did such a mod a while ago, can't find the picture anymore but it was very yummy.

I gotchu, mang!

Spoiler:

[derzemel]

ok... I am reconsidering it )

[scottc]

But the layout... it's pretty bad.

[//gainsborough]

But the layout... it's pretty bad.

it's

Spoiler:

[Polecat]

Mine has no label, so I can't give you a serial number, but it has a female PS/2 connector and 8 dip switches. I see no reset switch, or an ADB connector, just a single PS/2.

This is an Omnikey 102.

Here's a link with scans of two versions of the Northgate User's Guides:

http://www.lueckdatasystems.com/Northga ... _Keyboards

edit: dip switch info begins on page 4 in both manuals.

[rich1051414]

Mine has no label, so I can't give you a serial number, but it has a female PS/2 connector and 8 dip switches. I see no reset switch, or an ADB connector, just a single PS/2.

This is an Omnikey 102.

Here's a link with scans of two versions of the Northgate User's Guides:

http://www.lueckdatasystems.com/Northga ... _Keyboards

edit: dip switch info begins on page 4 in both manuals.

Beautiful, ty.

Seems I only need dip switch 5 toggled, for the standard IBM layout. Also dip switch 6 to swap the * and / keys that are in the windows keys location.

I guess I could use a soarer's converter to convert those to windows key or whatever.

Also, there are a LOT of unpopulated switches in this board, which would require modifications to the shell to populate. I assume populating the row where the function keys would be would just be duplicates of the F keys, since the 102 can't have the SF keys programmed?