Is there an Alps caps set for looks, feel AND sound?

motoko

04 Mar 2021, 22:03

I recently got an M0116 with Oranges, and really love these switches.

The PBT caps feel nice, and the sound seems fine enough, but I hate these oblique legends!

Excluding the chassis itself, are there any Alps keycap sets that have it all - good feel, classic legends, and great sound?

To my eye, the nicest looking alphas from photos I've seen are those from the IBM PC Convertible; quite hard to get hold of.

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Wowsers.

headphone_jack

04 Mar 2021, 22:15

Well, Alps made some pretty fantastic thick doubleshot caps, as well as thick PBT dyesub caps that lack that horrid oblique font. The caps on the Magnavox Videowriter and Xerox Docutech also look absolutely fantastic as well. I also know of a few c.itoh terminal boards that have super awesome looking doubleshot sphericals, but those have a much less friendly layout than the others.

ntv242ver2

04 Mar 2021, 22:59

Yeah but not wallet friendly. Old logo dell with Alps electric dyesub keycaps is an example. Many more but you should rather aim for the whole board. DC leading edge 2014, 3014, Zenith z150, DFK777, etc

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Willy4876

05 Mar 2021, 02:33

Some old Toshiba laptops have Alps made doubleshots and can be had for pretty cheap. You won't get a full sized board's worth though.

Rayndalf

05 Mar 2021, 02:45

DCS Yuri is Alps compatible, and has decent coverage. Should be easier to get a hold of than some of the more desirable vintage boards.

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mcmaxmcmc

06 Mar 2021, 17:38

motoko wrote:
04 Mar 2021, 22:03
I recently got an M0116 with Oranges, and really love these switches.

The PBT caps feel nice, and the sound seems fine enough, but I hate these oblique legends!

Excluding the chassis itself, are there any Alps keycap sets that have it all - good feel, classic legends, and great sound?

To my eye, the nicest looking alphas from photos I've seen are those from the IBM PC Convertible; quite hard to get hold of.

Image

Wowsers.
People have mixed SGI Granite with the IBM 5140 alphas with pretty impressive results. That's what I'd recommend -- shouldn't cost you that "much" either!

motoko

08 Mar 2021, 21:28

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Re: The old Toshiba T-xx00 laptops - these used low profile switches - does that mean the caps are less tall than normal? Or does it vary by model?

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ppCircle

08 Mar 2021, 22:05

Maybe tai-hao? (fame) Quite thick doubleshots with clasic look.
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They sound fantastic, even better than alps made thick doubleshots but still it's not the level of pbt. Especially for clicky alps.

motoko

08 Mar 2021, 23:20

That's the thickest I've seen of Tai Haos - what board is that?

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ppCircle

09 Mar 2021, 02:33

TH-5539-2 but same keycaps can be found in TH-5539-5 TH-5539-3 and Unknown variant

shallot

09 Mar 2021, 02:53

ppCircle wrote:
09 Mar 2021, 02:33
TH-5539-2 but same keycaps can be found in TH-5539-5 TH-5539-3 and Unknown variant
Yeah watch out though - I have unknown variant and it came with pads.

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Keybug

09 Mar 2021, 10:06

If you want the best, I don't think anything compares to these. Good luck finding them, though! It's one of my most lasting regrets that I traded that board with Myoth. :oops:
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ntv242ver2

09 Mar 2021, 12:00

motoko wrote:
08 Mar 2021, 23:20
That's the thickest I've seen of Tai Haos - what board is that?
Taihao made thick caps in the past, proper clones of og cherry double shot, down to the profile and fonts. there are fame caps for mx mount, and evidently in this thread, alps common mount.

motoko

20 Mar 2021, 02:11

Those goldstar caps are thicc!

dr-lipschitz

22 Mar 2021, 07:11

Goddamn. if I had a keyboard with those caps you couldn't pry it from my cold dead hands

DJSwayde

22 Mar 2021, 16:27

motoko wrote:
08 Mar 2021, 21:28
Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

Re: The old Toshiba T-xx00 laptops - these used low profile switches - does that mean the caps are less tall than normal? Or does it vary by model?
Caps are the same Alps OEM profile.

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