Alps Appreciation

//gainsborough · 08 Feb 2020, 03:59

Ironically, cleaning it might have caused it - you gave the leaf more wiggle room, as it were. If it really bothers you try switching the click leaf with switches you rarely use - like scroll lock or something. I don’t recommend paper mod as that will dampen click on the downstroke as well.

kelvinhall05 · 08 Feb 2020, 04:28

//gainsborough wrote: ↑
08 Feb 2020, 03:59
Ironically, cleaning it might have caused it - you gave the leaf more wiggle room, as it were. If it really bothers you try switching the click leaf with switches you rarely use - like scroll lock or something. I don’t recommend paper mod as that will dampen click on the downstroke as well.

The weird thing is that more switches were clicking on the upstroke before. Cleaning fixed most of them.

//gainsborough · 08 Feb 2020, 05:40

I was just joking =P

But yeah try switching the leaf springs! I’m actually curious to see if that fixes it. Like I wonder if the noise is leaf dependent or top housing dependent.

kelvinhall05 · 08 Feb 2020, 20:43

This is why you buy Alps only in good shape.

imo, 90% of the reason to buy Alps is for the sound, not keyfeel. There are better linears, better tactiles, and better clicky switches if all you're going for is feel. But man do Alps sound good.

ppCircle · 08 Feb 2020, 23:20

kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑
08 Feb 2020, 20:43
There are better linears, better tactiles, and better clicky switches if all you're going for is feel. But man do Alps sound good.

DOUBT

kelvinhall05 · 08 Feb 2020, 23:26

ppCircle wrote: ↑
08 Feb 2020, 23:20

kelvinhall05 wrote: ↑
08 Feb 2020, 20:43
There are better linears, better tactiles, and better clicky switches if all you're going for is feel. But man do Alps sound good.
DOUBT

Maybe not better clickies, but if you also include keycap and PCB compatibility as well as availability...yeah

E3E · 09 Feb 2020, 00:14

No need to debate it, really. It's your opinion based on your experience. Modern support for Alps is very limited, of course.

Regarding keycaps though, Alps has many, many profiles and interesting variants if you're looking at vintage options. To find the most intriguing stuff Alps has to offer, it does require some digging into what is out there and an open mind as not everything will be ANSI or ISO.

Alps and Topre are my go-to, but I get sick of Topre faster than I do Alps. Alps becomes a very good palate cleanser after I get tired of Topre.

MX, Cap BS, and Alps Plate Spring are nice, but not favorites of mine. I also don't care for Beamspring.

Ultimately, it's simply preference when it comes to what people like or dislike.

abrahamstechnology · 09 Feb 2020, 00:46

ntv242 wrote: ↑
08 Feb 2020, 20:01

Are you willing to sell that if you don't want it?

orihalcon · 11 Feb 2020, 06:23

The replacement IIc made it to me today with (sky?) blue ALPS. A couple of the switches had broken top housings, which I replaced those without any problems. See pics below for difference in slider color and click leaves compared to regular blue ALPS. Newer (sky?) blue stem is the one in the middle of two other regular blue stems and click leaf of the (sky?) blues is on the right in the pictures below.

Also, PSA - if you have an ALPS stem that is broken off in your slider and you want to get the stem fragment out without damaging anything, use a bobby pin to push it out from the underside as it fits perfect and can transmit the force without bending.

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ZedTheMan · 11 Feb 2020, 06:29

I'm surprised at the difference in click leaves! How does it feel compared to normal blues, whites, and the ambers they replace?

Chyros · 11 Feb 2020, 08:54

Which one of the click leaves is the "normal" blue Alps?

orihalcon · 11 Feb 2020, 15:09

Click leaf on the right is a first gen (Grey Plate) Blue ALPS (and looks like it's got some original lubricant on it as well). Feel is pretty similar but maybe a bit smoother. You can kind of see that the plastic on the ligthter blue sliders is smoother/less textured/more slippery, Springs appear to be identical. The newer ones have tall white switch plates with more modern top housing ALPS logo. Not sure if the "Dark Grey" locking ALPS this uses helps date it at all? I'll have to do a short typing video here soon comparing the sky blues to original blues. I'll apologize in advance that it will be far less epic than one of Chyros'

Chyros · 11 Feb 2020, 18:11

orihalcon wrote: ↑
11 Feb 2020, 15:09
Click leaf on the right is a first gen (Grey Plate) Blue ALPS (and looks like it's got some original lubricant on it as well).

That's very surprising. That means that these late blue Alps actually use very EARLY blue Alps click leaves Oo .

mcmaxmcmc · 11 Feb 2020, 20:30

orihalcon wrote: ↑
11 Feb 2020, 15:09
Click leaf on the right is a first gen (Grey Plate) Blue ALPS (and looks like it's got some original lubricant on it as well). Feel is pretty similar but maybe a bit smoother. You can kind of see that the plastic on the ligthter blue sliders is smoother/less textured/more slippery, Springs appear to be identical. The newer ones have tall white switch plates with more modern top housing ALPS logo. Not sure if the "Dark Grey" locking ALPS this uses helps date it at all? I'll have to do a short typing video here soon comparing the sky blues to original blues. I'll apologize in advance that it will be far less epic than one of Chyros'

Dark gray locking is usually used with boards with switches that don't have any lubricant on them, but I think there's a couple exceptions (my Salmon Alps M0116C came with a cream lock) -- so finding this to use them is really weird. Usually, the IIc comes with Cream locks.

I'm certainly interested to have these

kelvinhall05 · 12 Feb 2020, 00:10

Bought some sexy Alps (hopefully) keycaps

https://medium.com/@ParityB1t/alps-avid ... 851b32fc87 link that shows them hopefully being alps compatible

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Avid-ALPS-ADP- ... 584896b7a4 and here's the eBay listing

Raumfahrer · 12 Feb 2020, 00:49

Raumnikey 102 Gold Edition
(Put together by Zed)

Ambers in an Omnikey102 with custom LEDs

Spoiler:

ZedTheMan · 12 Feb 2020, 01:12

It's also NKRO and fully programmable with QMK over USB. I redid the entire matrix with diodes since it originally lacked them.

I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

abrahamstechnology · 12 Feb 2020, 01:13

keyboardcircle · 12 Feb 2020, 03:02

Got this recently. Leading Edge 2214 with blue alps in pristine condition.

h.parks · 20 Feb 2020, 08:35

i took a chance on a NOS IBM PC Convertible. it will arrive via UPS tomorrow. wish me luck, everybody.

//gainsborough · 20 Feb 2020, 08:52

h.parks wrote: ↑
20 Feb 2020, 08:35
i took a chance on a NOS IBM PC Convertible. it will arrive via UPS tomorrow. wish me luck, everybody.

a 5140? You shouldn't need luck! It'll have SKCM brown in it!

ppCircle · 20 Feb 2020, 16:28

//gainsborough wrote: ↑
20 Feb 2020, 08:52

h.parks wrote: ↑
20 Feb 2020, 08:35
i took a chance on a NOS IBM PC Convertible. it will arrive via UPS tomorrow. wish me luck, everybody.
a 5140? You shouldn't need luck! It'll have SKCM brown in it!

Somebody could harvest switches.

//gainsborough · 20 Feb 2020, 16:30

ppCircle wrote: ↑
20 Feb 2020, 16:28

//gainsborough wrote: ↑
20 Feb 2020, 08:52

h.parks wrote: ↑
20 Feb 2020, 08:35
i took a chance on a NOS IBM PC Convertible. it will arrive via UPS tomorrow. wish me luck, everybody.
a 5140? You shouldn't need luck! It'll have SKCM brown in it!
Somebody could harvest switches.

Well then it wouldn't be "NOS!"

ppCircle · 20 Feb 2020, 16:33

If computer is not foliated, until you didn't see photo without one keycap everything is possible

Polecat · 23 Feb 2020, 20:04

A few days ago I went digging in my storage. Apparently when you get old enough you can hide your own Easter eggs, because I found a few things I didn't even remember having. One of those is an Apple M0116 with salmon switches. I was never a fan of tactile switches, so I haven't paid much attention to the different versions of tactile Alps. But looking at these switches I couldn't help but wonder about something. This might have been discussed before, but did salmon Alps replace orange, or were the two ever concurrent? If salmon replaced orange I'm wondering if that happened at the same time the plastic was changed (around the time white replaced blue and the factory lube was eliminated) and if so, was the salmon color a result of trying to use orange dye on the "new" plastic? It's probably not that simple, but it seems strange that they would make the salmon color that way on purpose.

Another thing I found is a portable 286 computer with a Dolch-style keyboard. That one has MX blue switches, but I'm mentioning it here because it reminded me why I've used Alps all these years.

E3E · 24 Feb 2020, 16:43

Polecat wrote: ↑
23 Feb 2020, 20:04
A few days ago I went digging in my storage. Apparently when you get old enough you can hide your own Easter eggs, because I found a few things I didn't even remember having. One of those is an Apple M0116 with salmon switches. I was never a fan of tactile switches, so I haven't paid much attention to the different versions of tactile Alps. But looking at these switches I couldn't help but wonder about something. This might have been discussed before, but did salmon Alps replace orange, or were the two ever concurrent? If salmon replaced orange I'm wondering if that happened at the same time the plastic was changed (around the time white replaced blue and the factory lube was eliminated) and if so, was the salmon color a result of trying to use orange dye on the "new" plastic? It's probably not that simple, but it seems strange that they would make the salmon color that way on purpose.

Another thing I found is a portable 286 computer with a Dolch-style keyboard. That one has MX blue switches, but I'm mentioning it here because it reminded me why I've used Alps all these years.

SKCM Salmon did succeed SKCM Orange, and I don't feel it was a matter of using the same dye on a new plastic. I believe they intentionally changed the color, as the weighting of the compression spring as well as some other components changed.

Alps has many examples of changing colors for successive switches, as you know:

Blue > White,

(tactile) Brown > (tactile) Green,

Cream > Black,

Green > Yellow,

and so on.

I've not seen anything concurrent as much as I've seen transitory, where sometimes there have been mixes and keyboards produced in the same year with both kinds of switches, but this was more a case of the old switch was being phased out.

There are two main generations of Alps. All of the switches of each share the same general characteristics, respective of generation.

There's also the transition from pine to bamboo which happened in the 2nd generation, which reduced tactility and overall cheapened the sound and feel. Only a few switches ended up surviving to the bamboo stage.

SKCM White, SKCM Damped White, SKCM Black, and SKCM Green are all I can think of off-hand.

4sStylZ · 25 Feb 2020, 15:56

Salmon were made on 1988 to 1992, Orange from 1987 to 1991 and black alps were also made close to those periods.
Pretty sure it’s different market / specs / internals / price, differents products who don’t cost the same.
Also orange have a different lubrifiant than Salmon.

zrrion · 07 Mar 2020, 06:52

fohat · 11 Mar 2020, 00:06

Today I received an ALPS Electric keyboard to replace one that I had years ago but foolishly sold to J Carpenter at a time when I needed a few bucks quick.

I have been looking for another one for a long time, and finally it turned up on ebay, here in Tennessee (right in the tornado zone). I bought it, at the time of the tornado, for a great price (<$50 shipped). I was amazed that nobody else snagged it, and I certainly wasn't going to post it in Great Finds.

The unit was a little dirty on the outside but pristine and like new inside, Pine whites with doubleshot key caps! I can't get a shot of the PCB markings without removing the switches, which I am not going to do. Note the alternate stabilizer accommodations on the space bar.

Polecat · 11 Mar 2020, 04:19

fohat wrote: ↑
11 Mar 2020, 00:06
Today I received an ALPS Electric keyboard to replace one that I had years ago but foolishly sold to J Carpenter at a time when I needed a few bucks quick.

I have been looking for another one for a long time, and finally it turned up on ebay, here in Tennessee (right in the tornado zone). I bought it, at the time of the tornado, for a great price (<$50 shipped). I was amazed that nobody else snagged it, and I certainly wasn't going to post it in Great Finds.

The unit was a little dirty on the outside but pristine and like new inside, Pine whites with doubleshot key caps! I can't get a shot of the PCB markings without removing the switches, which I am not going to do. Note the alternate stabilizer accommodations on the space bar.

Congrats, really nice keyboard! First time I've seen a frequency spec listed that way.