Alps Appreciation

[nicolai]

Theres fakes?

[E3E]

Relax, they're real.

[jacobtrees1221]

image0.jpeg (455.3 KiB) Viewed 8546 times

This is my v80 with canon hipros. I'm gonna be rebuilding this baby next week with SKCL greens. Can't wait!

[E3E]

image0.jpeg
This is my v80 with canon hipros. I'm gonna be rebuilding this baby next week with SKCL greens. Can't wait!

Wow, that is the first tasteful usage I've seen of the Canon spherical caps. It actually matches very well with the Tai Hao Dolch colorway.

That's very impressive! Good work.

[Jaki1122]

Yesterday I finished replacing the original switch tops (top housing, slider, spring, and click leaf) in my Omnikey 101 with NOS pine white ones.

The originals were maybe 7/10 after years of use so I'm going to clean and keep them for the next project.

With the new switches, I'm reminded why this has been my favourite keyboard over so many years.

I have one exactly like that one with NOS White SKCM switches! Amazing keyboard, amazing sound and, of course, amazing construction quality. I rarely use mine now, it's reserved for the weekends sort to speak, my daily is a Model F. I think, I'm just a bit afraid to damage my Northgate or to cause some wear and tear.
Enjoy your toy!!! Cheers!

[jacobtrees1221]

Wow, that is the first tasteful usage I've seen of the Canon spherical caps. It actually matches very well with the Tai Hao Dolch colorway.

That's very impressive! Good work.

Thank you! I was worried the colors would be very off but I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Always on the hunt for cool Alps keycaps tho

[ScarletSwordfish]

Hi, I'm in the middle of restoring an Apple Extended Keyboard II with salmon Alps switches, with the intention to sell it. As with many old Alps tactile boards, many of the switches have become clicky with age and wear. Would it add more value to paper mod the switches to de-click them, or would more prospective buyers prefer the switches as-is, and mod it themselves if they prefer?

[abrahamstechnology]

I'm frustrated with tactile Alps, every single switch I've tried felt like scratchy linears except for SKCM Brown (presumably from wear) but I have no way to rebend them so they are consistent or even accurate to how they were originally.

I did find a plant in China who can make new leaves at a reasonable price I can afford myself, but I am not sure if it's even worth it.

What kind of tactility do NOS tactile Alps put out? I was expecting something similar to a T1 but sharper and more tactile, but if it's barely noticeable I'm not even going to bother.

I've tried SKCM Orange, Salmon, Dampened Cream, and Brown (brown felt normal but the rest felt linear, even damped creams on the hardly-used keys felt like this) I understand scratchiness from dirt entering the switch but the magnitude of the tactile bump should still be noticeable?

[ddrfraser1]

I'm frustrated with tactile Alps, every single switch I've tried felt like scratchy linears except for SKCM Brown (presumably from wear) but I have no way to rebend them so they are consistent or even accurate to how they were originally.

I did find a plant in China who can make new leaves at a reasonable price I can afford myself, but I am not sure if it's even worth it.

What kind of tactility do NOS tactile Alps put out? I was expecting something similar to a T1 but sharper and more tactile, but if it's barely noticeable I'm not even going to bother.

I've tried SKCM Orange, Salmon, Dampened Cream, and Brown (brown felt normal but the rest felt linear, even damped creams on the hardly-used keys felt like this) I understand scratchiness from dirt entering the switch but the magnitude of the tactile bump should still be noticeable?

I can't speak to NOS as I've never tried it. I would be intrigued to hear how the new leafs work out. As far as my orange alps, when I got them, it took every switch apart, cleaned it and blew the dust out and lightly lubed the stems. I also tried Chyrosran22's trick of gently opening up the leaf with the side of a tooth pick to restore some of the lost tactility. I may have made one or two of them too tactile but just moved those leaves to less used keys. It still wasn't perfect, still a little scratchy, but on the whole, I was very pleased and now when I pull out my AEK, I have a hard time putting it away again

[abrahamstechnology]

The thing is that is I can easily make them feel nice and tactile but I don't know if it's the "correct" tactility. Unless I can have access to a NOS tactile leaf (wondering if it's worth it or if Alps tactiles had this poor tactility out of the box)

[TheInverseKey]

The thing is that is I can easily make them feel nice and tactile but I don't know if it's the "correct" tactility. Unless I can have access to a NOS tactile leaf (wondering if it's worth it or if Alps tactiles had this poor tactility out of the box)

I don't quite understand your confusion about tactile switches. For example, have you tried paper modded Orange Alps?

I find that the tactile bump at the top is either on or off and if in good condition paper modded Orange Alps is one of the most tactile switches.

[snacksthecat]

Please permeate my plastic with your pigments.



original/hi-res:

Spoiler:

[ppCircle]

Long ago i pick up some alps keyboard from school (alps dome), it was nothing special so i put it into my basemement. Few days ago my friend reminded me about it by accident. So i put keycaps from it to my fk-2002.
Keycaps are made by alps it's polish set with really cool legends. Some keycaps i couldnt use because of crappy mout. But i think it looks amazing.



Updated version:


More photos:

Spoiler:

https://imgur.com/a/BnL30tH

[DaOver]

It took me several year to source Blue ALPS for this build but I finally finished it.
- Switches SKCM Blue ALPS (sourced from a old non-salvageable board)
- Hasu ALPS64 PCB
- AEK plate modded for ANSI layout
- Costar stabs from old vintage ALPS keyboard.
- Vintage Tai Hao ALPS doubleshot keycaps
- NPKC 60% Wooden Wrist Rest Keyboard Case from Drop.com

[kelvinhall05]

Such a weird case...I like it.


Also, why is your alt key so angry? grrrr....

[Sturmtiger001]

From an Apple IIC.
Just got my first taste of actual alps in a board, gotta say I'm legit surprised, I just got it today so I haven't had much time to get a proper feel for the switches.

[ppCircle]

From reddit:



Prices of TB2581P Threebond if you gonna find any

[mode1ace]

Spent today cleaning up an Azerty M0118 with SKCM orange, curiously a couple of switches had Salmon springs, slightly heavier and gold coloured, not shiny silver like the rest. It's hardly like springs fail so I'd be surprised if it didn't come from the factory like this.



This is the before shot, looks worse than it is, just light keyboard chow and some coffee stains, no abrasive hard dirt. Still typed ok, about as scratchy as MX, no binding.

I'm hopeful this'll turn out pretty nicely.

[flowerlandfilms]

Not at the moment, plus I'm in Aus so the shipping would likely be pretty bad, but give me a message as I do need to clear out/sell some stuff soon.

I did try making them ANSI with a couple of SGI dyesubs, but unfortunately the different fonts, colours and keycap shapes didn't really work that well together.

I'm in Aus too, and my SGI AT-101 is my daily driver.
So sell to me first!

[4_404]

Not at the moment, plus I'm in Aus so the shipping would likely be pretty bad, but give me a message as I do need to clear out/sell some stuff soon.

I did try making them ANSI with a couple of SGI dyesubs, but unfortunately the different fonts, colours and keycap shapes didn't really work that well together.

I'm in Aus too, and my SGI AT-101 is my daily driver.
So sell to me first!

I'm keeping the NEC for now at least, as I like the whites in it more than the dampened creams in the SGI I have and it makes for a great desktop aesthetic, but I'd rather sell here rather than internationally anyway.

[mode1ace]

Took delivery of an ISO (qwertz) SGI granite today and it surprised me by having a switch I've never seen before. Bamboo cream damped.

The sliders are kinda greasy like pine cream damped, and honestly the board feels pretty nice despite being dirty, very similar if not a bit better than my SKCM pine cream damped AEK2.

[Willy4876]

I just checked and my ANSI SGI Granite has the same thing.

[mode1ace]

Huh, I won't feel so bad about splitting it up then if it's not as rare as I first thought, I bought to to combine the qwerty caps from an ANSI granite to make an ISO qwerty granite with a spare pcb/case/plate I have along with a full set of SKCM amber.

[bsdice]

Hey there. I am trying to wrap my head around the useful- or uselessness of doing myself with SKCM Orange Alps what Scarpia (viewtopic.php?t=19491) has done with regard to modifiers, i.e. use SKCL Green Alps. Does anyone else run such a "mixed switches" keyboard and does it make sense? Why?

I googled for like two hours now, but keep circling GH/DT forums with no answers. Target will be a NOS AT102DW from '98 so I don't need any below-keycap LED capabilities. Also I am thinking about wirewrapping it with a custom controller, provided the PCB isn't necessary to hold everything snuggly in place. Overall key feel should be "light" and not as fatiguing as reportedly SKCM Alps Brown (I'm a tech guy and do type alot).

I think I watched all videos by Chyros concerning Greens and Oranges (and then some...awesome), also studied actuation force curves by HaaTa. Grateful for any insight. Thanks!

[mcmaxmcmc]

Took delivery of an ISO (qwertz) SGI granite today and it surprised me by having a switch I've never seen before. Bamboo cream damped.

The sliders are kinda greasy like pine cream damped, and honestly the board feels pretty nice despite being dirty, very similar if not a bit better than my SKCM pine cream damped AEK2.

Is that really a Granite? The picture looks very yellow if it is.

I'd love to see more pictures!

[Sturmtiger001]

My most recent find, though it's not exactly the usual Z-150 as it is from a "portable" computer version, nevertheless I'm mighty happy with what I got, I did score some other stuff as well, but frankly, I feel this Z-150 is the one worth mentioning in the meanwhile, might do a little post about the cleanup process that was involved, but until then here is a pre-clean photo of the board when I got it.

[BadCrab]

That is a great board, and looks to be in good condition, too. Dig the layout with capslock pushed to the right of the spacebar, so weird.

[mode1ace]

Is that really a Granite? The picture looks very yellow if it is.

I'd love to see more pictures!

It is, it's just the warm light of the room though, the case isn't yellowed at all. I'll post pics once it's done

[kakan]

That board looks great! I really enjoy the linear Alps a lot! Hope you do to

[bsdice]

Yesterday I finalized my AT102DW with all SKCM Orange, my daily driver now. 210 solder spots to remove, 105 switches to remove, 210 solder spots to reapply. Ouch. It paid off to invest in a TS100 soldering iron (temp control, big ass tip from a 9-tip set), a Soldapullt desolder pump and braided wick to remove all solder relatively cleanly. And get all those bent pins ready for extraction (thanks, Dell!).

All in all I am satisfied. The board has a satisfying sonorous "thock" sound when keys bottom out, because of the combination of ABS caps, Orange switches, PS plastic case, steel plate, PCB. Key feel is alot better than stock, "cleaner" and much lighter than with SKCM Blacks. I skipped the SKCL Greens for modifiers, couldn't make up my mind. Not enough and clear precedent or success stories to warrant this complication. Also wanted to finish the project without waiting another few weeks for more switches to arrive. Maybe on my next keyboard.

The Oranges do ping more than Blacks, but that's what you get when you solder 30yr+ old switches into a 22yr old new old stock keyboard.

Out of 120 switches, 2 were bad. One I could fix using Chyros' YT guide by bending the contact spring legs a bit outward. No idea how long that would be good. The other requires a ridiculous force on the contact leaf to register at all. Tried canned air from all sides. Guess it is gone for good. Using it to test Ballistol Teflon Spray with PTFE on effect of dry lubing scratchy Oranges. It's wet at first but dries within seconds, leaving only a thin PTFE film. Working good and smoothed up the dead switch alot. No idea for how long.

One bonus for me is the repairability of this board.

And on a personal note, I started using the Internet back in 1991 when there wasn't even WWW yet, only FTP and Gopher. Gets me sentimental thinking that back then the switches I am using today already existed, somewhere.