Alps Appreciation

[webwit]

[green-squid]

The poor dogs in TV with these can NEVER scratch the back of their ears

[rich1051414]

'Cold chihuahua' is that a better metaphor for me shivering uncontrollably?

[idlethock]

The earliest AT101s had a weight bar inside that helped.

Some of them had the good PBT caps, too.

Good luck finding those keyboards especially ones with all PBT key-caps for under $400USD if they are trashed but for NIB condition, do expect closer to $700+.

I literally just got one in the mail.... I think I spent under $70.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Dell-A ... 2749.l2648

Yeah - $68 total. Below is a picture of it's condition.



Insanely clean!

Really jealous. Not because its a AT101W with Salmon Alps (although that would be reason enough) but mainly due to the fact I bought what I thought was an okay looking AT101W. Outside looked okay, but pop open the case and it was just full of cat hair and dust. Utterly disgusting and it smelled like it had been used as a litter box as well. That was really sad.

[//gainsborough]

Really jealous. Not because its a AT101W with Salmon Alps (although that would be reason enough) but mainly due to the fact I bought what I thought was an okay looking AT101W. Outside looked okay, but pop open the case and it was just full of cat hair and dust. Utterly disgusting and it smelled like it had been used as a litter box as well. That was really sad.

yeah this was far and away the nicest vintage board i've received from ebay!!

[rich1051414]

I like how the person also put "CLICKY!" in the description. They really had no idea what they had. That can always play out in your favor though

[Mattr567]

Looks can be deceiving So happy I managed to get this for a steal.

Switches are in perfect shape!

[JP!]

Oh nice. I remember seeing a cheap one on eBay that sold quickly.

[Mattr567]

Oh nice. I remember seeing a cheap one on eBay that sold quickly.

That was probably me

Got it all cleaned up, thanks to the power of baking soda! Gonna use the OG plate with an Alps64.

[Elrick]

Got it all cleaned up, thanks to the power of baking soda! Gonna use the OG plate with an Alps64.

Yikes, someone's used all their wife's cotton balls for this clean up .

Good job anyway.

[TicTocTom]

Alps caps, Cherry sliders

LCbn2z7jRgmrsZy4gCjOOQ.jpg (1.48 MiB) Viewed 6894 times

KU6-SG-1000 ALPS rubber dome with Cherry mount sliders

fullsizeoutput_21fc.jpeg (3.02 MiB) Viewed 6894 times

I've just come across a KU6-SG-1000 keyboard. It has Alps mount keycaps with rubber dome cherry mount sliders. Pretty basic quality keyboard, but the feel is pretty good. Didn't realize it was Alps (bonus) til I got it home. Can anyone provide me with links about this switch or keyboard? Brand? Looks like 1991.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

That's the FCC ID, and KU6 is Super Gate Technology Co Ltd.

It's similar to [wiki]Monterey dome with slider[/wiki] but not the same.

[Taeha Types]

Started a YouTube channel about a month ago and currently releasing a video a week with typing sounds but hope to have more content soon. Here are the Alps builds I've uploaded so far!

[ShivaYash]

Started a YouTube channel about a month ago and currently releasing a video a week with typing sounds but hope to have more content soon. Here are the Alps builds I've uploaded so far!

This is sweet. Do you sell boards too?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TicTocTom]

Three new ALPS keypads on the way. Two CNF #1804 with PS/2 connectors and an ORTEK MCK 18S/N with serial DE-9. I could use some advice on usb conversion. Can I buy a simple PS/2 to USB converter and plug it in, or do I need to solder in a new controller or something. I've found a pin out for the ORTEK keypad, but honestly I don't know what I'm doing. That's the fun.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=13826.0

[rich1051414]

One of these:
https://www.amazon.com/CGTime-Keyboard- ... 2F2+to+usb

https://www.amazon.com/SANOXY-USB-Activ ... 2F2+to+usb

https://www.amazon.com/Sewell-Active-Ad ... 2F2+to+usb

The first one is my choice. The later two have given me the most problems, but some keyboards are picky and will only like one of the above types. The first one has a poor rating because the mouse support is crap, I have never gotten PS/2 mice to work using it, but most ps/2 keyboards work great.

[TicTocTom]

Thanks. I'll have to find something similar locally as two of them don't ship to Canada, and the import and shipping for the other triples the price.

[Blaise170]

You can convert serial to USB relatively easily but it will rarely be plug and play since most serial devices required drivers in their time. Occasionally they will work immediately, occasionally they will work if you can find the drivers, and sometimes they don't do anything at all.

[idlethock]

I've got a bit of an odd question to ask, and given the price of blue alps these days, a slightly nice one to ask. But how should blue alps boards, or the switches that are in good condition, supposed to sound and feel?

I've got a fairly clean looking Gold Label Omnikey 102 with blue alps. After taking the keycaps off, there was little to no dust inside. However as I've read, even cleaning the damage from dust and grime still affects alps quite a bit. I've not had any other blue alps to compare to, so I was wondering if there was any way to judge it? I've tried watching videos of Omnikeys in particular, and I've found this video to be the closest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgNpmpZV3Xg) but given how many variances there are in video and sound recording equipment, so I know they can hardly be the best indicators.

For reference and to kind of prove my point, I have a video of my Omnikey but with a side view/sound recording with my phone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81GkJYopHyQ)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

The sound depends on what the keyboard is made of and how it is constructed. The nicest sound I've encountered for Alps is my Monterey K102; putting the clicky parts of the switches into a Dell AT102W yields a keyboard that doesn't sound as good. I have never seen a video of any keyboard that has the level of bass and depth of sound of my K102, nor could I ever successfully record it. I've tried to find videos of the K101/K102 but none seem to exist. On the flip side, the K102 is pretty loud!

The blue Alps switches in the K102 are very smooth, and the tactile peak isn't too strong. You can press a key gently and have it click without dropping to the bottom. When I transplanted the sliders and springs into a Dell AT102W (bamboo black), that gentle feeling was gone and the keys gain that stubborn feeling of white Alps, suggesting that it's the actuator leaf in the switchplate that interferes with the feel. Experience with linear yellow Alps shows that tactility from the actuator leaf varies considerably; if that leaf could be made completely straight on the side facing the slider, it would still affect switch weight but not the tactility.

The blue Alps switches I have are perfectly tuned, with precisely one gentle but precise tactile event, and an all-round medium weight. The closest you'll get to that smoothness and precision is [wiki]USw LABI01[/wiki] but those are significantly stiffer.

[Polecat]

The sound depends on what the keyboard is made of and how it is constructed. The nicest sound I've encountered for Alps is my Monterey K102; putting the clicky parts of the switches into a Dell AT102W yields a keyboard that doesn't sound as good. I have never seen a video of any keyboard that has the level of bass and depth of sound of my K102, nor could I ever successfully record it. I've tried to find videos of the K101/K102 but none seem to exist. On the flip side, the K102 is pretty loud!

The blue Alps switches in the K102 are very smooth, and the tactile peak isn't too strong. You can press a key gently and have it click without dropping to the bottom. When I transplanted the sliders and springs into a Dell AT102W (bamboo black), that gentle feeling was gone and the keys gain that stubborn feeling of white Alps, suggesting that it's the actuator leaf in the switchplate that interferes with the feel. Experience with linear yellow Alps shows that tactility from the actuator leaf varies considerably; if that leaf could be made completely straight on the side facing the slider, it would still affect switch weight but not the tactility.

The blue Alps switches I have are perfectly tuned, with precisely one gentle but precise tactile event, and an all-round medium weight. The closest you'll get to that smoothness and precision is [wiki]USw LABI01[/wiki] but those are significantly stiffer.

Thank you, Daniel! I joined this forum several months ago, when I went digging in my storage to find a replacement for the Monterey K104 that I had worn the legends off the caps. One of the boards I dug out was a K102, with immaculate blue Alps switches and an unyellowed case and double shot caps. I didn't even remember having that one, but when I opened it up to check it out I found a hand-cut sheet of white closed cell foam between the PC board and lower case, which exactly matched the stack of big sheets of the same foam in my garage. I didn't remember even having that keyboard, much less putting that foam inside, but I'm sure I did it twenty-some years ago to quiet down what to me must have been an objectionably-loud but awesome-feeling keyboard. Based on your description, and my newfound interest in the sound of vintage keyboards actually being a "plus" I'm going to try removing that foam and enjoying the K102 as it was meant to be.

To me all the Monterey boards are underrated. The early blue Alps examples aren't very common, but there isn't a thing wrong with the white SKCM versions and some of those had nice double shot caps.

[green-squid]

Are SKCM/L Black switchess any good? I heard Chyros talk about them and he seemed pretty positive (he didn't mention them on his top 5 though, maybe it's top 6 or 7..).

I'm considering buying an AT101 with no keycaps and put the switches into my Z150 chassis.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Are SKCM/L Black switchess any good? I heard Chyros talk about them and he seemed pretty positive (he didn't mention them on his top 5 though, maybe it's top 6 or 7..).

I've used bamboo black (AT102W) and they're not great — they don’t have a particularly clear tactile peak. Pine black is meant to be a lot nicer.

[Myoth]

Are SKCM/L Black switchess any good? I heard Chyros talk about them and he seemed pretty positive (he didn't mention them on his top 5 though, maybe it's top 6 or 7..).

I'm considering buying an AT101 with no keycaps and put the switches into my Z150 chassis.

Black Alps are really not that great, they have a very disappointing bump and since they're Alps you'll have to clean them, the ratio feeling for the work will be so low that they're worth more in their original board than desoldered which means that you'll pay more for an AT102/W than what it's worth...

also are you sure your z150 works ? there is multiple Z150 and some of them don't work like you probably saw in Chyros video...

and btw Chyros is a human being like us, his top 5 is as good as any other DT member's ... I think you should try to get a few switches and try to play with them to really feel them and orientate yourself rather than listing to opinions

[Menuhin]

Looks can be deceiving So happy I managed to get this for a steal.

Switches are in perfect shape!

I like those caps!

By the way, I like black pines - they are from the lineage of non-dampened cream alps, and I like black pines most, perhaps followed by brown pines (just the SKCM).
Black bamboos are totally different stories, most people (I mean those who have an interest / focus on Alps switches for some time) can tell bamboos and pines blind-folded - because of much more serious 'binding' of keys when a key press is even just slightly off-center. I have no interest to own or to touch a keyboard with Alps bamboo switches - unless, say, when Matias claims he has drastically improved the design to resemble the properties / feel of the pines.

[Wolf123rt]

Are SKCM/L Black switchess any good? I heard Chyros talk about them and he seemed pretty positive (he didn't mention them on his top 5 though, maybe it's top 6 or 7..).

I'm considering buying an AT101 with no keycaps and put the switches into my Z150 chassis.

They aren't very good, but if you take out the tactile leaf they make nice linear switches.

[green-squid]

Are SKCM/L Black switchess any good? I heard Chyros talk about them and he seemed pretty positive (he didn't mention them on his top 5 though, maybe it's top 6 or 7..).

I'm considering buying an AT101 with no keycaps and put the switches into my Z150 chassis.

Black Alps are really not that great, they have a very disappointing bump and since they're Alps you'll have to clean them, the ratio feeling for the work will be so low that they're worth more in their original board than desoldered which means that you'll pay more for an AT102/W than what it's worth...

also are you sure your z150 works ? there is multiple Z150 and some of them don't work like you probably saw in Chyros video...

and btw Chyros is a human being like us, his top 5 is as good as any other DT member's ... I think you should try to get a few switches and try to play with them to really feel them and orientate yourself rather than listing to opinions

Hmm... well that sucks! Nobody likes these I guess. I'm not sure what to do now.

I think it may work because mine was made for an eaZy PC and that's an XT class machine.

Maybe I could get some of those switches in apple keyboards by doing a part number search (but last time I got nothing unfortunatley, how do you even do it properly?) on eBay.

[Blaise170]

Black Alps are actually not bad in my opinion; Black Alps are far better than a lot of MX-style switches to be sure.

[green-squid]

Black Alps are actually not bad in my opinion; Black Alps are far better than a lot of MX-style switches to be sure.

Cool! I hope they are better than good rubber domes!

[balotz]

Looks can be deceiving So happy I managed to get this for a steal.

Switches are in perfect shape!

I like those caps!

By the way, I like black pines - they are from the lineage of non-dampened cream alps, and I like black pines most, perhaps followed by brown pines (just the SKCM).
Black bamboos are totally different stories, most people (I mean those who have an interest / focus on Alps switches for some time) can tell bamboos and pines blind-folded - because of much more serious 'binding' of keys when a key press is even just slightly off-center. I have no interest to own or to touch a keyboard with Alps bamboo switches - unless, say, when Matias claims he has drastically improved the design to resemble the properties / feel of the pines.

I have quite a few NOS Dell AT101w boards with bamboo black Alps, and there is no binding. I'm pretty sure this is down to the condition of the switch rather than the design of the top housing, as I've also seen pine Whites which bind horribly, on a dirty board.

Also w.r.t the smoothness of Alps switches in general - the blacks are generally regarded as 'rough' feeling, but when the tactile leaf is removed, they become incredibly smooth.