Great/Interesting Finds

[vdublove37]

Yeah I don't blame him, I would do the same. And yes it does refer to VW's, it's an old username of mind. I had a '04 Passat and now have an '05 Touareg. An 60's aircooled Beetle would be pretty sweet! They always look so clean.

[John Doe]

Can't sure this's a better or worse item.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194008334149

[apb]

Can't sure this's a better or worse item.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194008334149

looks like this is mostly Apple Keyboard 2's which are nothing special, right?

maybe if you restored those M0110s you could get your money's worth

[Rayndalf]

Can't sure this's a better or worse item.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194008334149

looks like this is mostly Apple Keyboard 2's which are nothing special, right?

maybe if you restored those M0110s you could get your money's worth

It's probably a decent buy, are those Alps salmon, orange or brown? My guess is salmon but I can't quite make it out.

[Polecat]

The Omni 101s had bottom cases that were plastic. I think the last gen 102 Ultras and/or the Avant Stellars had a metal bottom case, macro functionality, all the fun Ultra extra keywork, a nice looking badge, AND Windows keys. However, simplified white Alps, so yank 'em out and install blues. Or put blues in a bigfoot case, like the Dell 101s. Then you can get custom keycaps from Tai-Hao.

Only the Gen2 101I and 101N had plastic bottoms. And those had a BAE, not ANSI. The Gen3 101 had ANSI Enter and had a metal bottom case. No Windows keys. Gen4 101P had a metal bottom case, Windows keys, but BAE and non-DS caps (and white SKBM switches). Avant Prime was the same as 101P.

[Polecat]

It's starting to look like that DC-3014 that went last night for $960 was a legit bid

Wow. Blue alps owners: are they $800-900 better than white alps?

Well I'm a multiple blue Alps owner and I'm just as happy with *early* white Alps switches. White Alps are definitely not all the same, so it's not really a fair question. (...and especially not to a cheapskate like me, who's never paid more than $50 for a keyboard of any kind...)

[kmnov2017]

It's starting to look like that DC-3014 that went last night for $960 was a legit bid

Wow. Blue alps owners: are they $800-900 better than white alps?

No they are not.

[jbtb077]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-PC ... 4659817717

yikes $549??

[Muirium]

(...and especially not to a cheapskate like me, who's never paid more than $50 for a keyboard of any kind...)

That's the spirit!

My Kishy and my Beamspring were over $100, but not much. Seeing as they're reliably 4 figure boards now, I think those two splurges were just about worth it.

[darkcruix]

(...and especially not to a cheapskate like me, who's never paid more than $50 for a keyboard of any kind...)

That's the spirit!

My Kishy and my Beamspring were over $100, but not much. Seeing as they're reliably 4 figure boards now, I think those two splurges were just about worth it.

These get rare and the demand rises ... still ... crazy. My F107 was < US$ 300

[thefarside]

It's starting to look like that DC-3014 that went last night for $960 was a legit bid

Wow. Blue alps owners: are they $800-900 better than white alps?

Well I'm a multiple blue Alps owner and I'm just as happy with *early* white Alps switches. White Alps are definitely not all the same, so it's not really a fair question. (...and especially not to a cheapskate like me, who's never paid more than $50 for a keyboard of any kind...)

I agree. My pristine condition ~1992 white alps Focus FK-2001 sounds and feels very close to my blue alps gold label Omni key.

[hellothere]

Can't sure this's a better or worse item.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/194008334149

looks like this is mostly Apple Keyboard 2's which are nothing special, right?

maybe if you restored those M0110s you could get your money's worth

It's probably a decent buy, are those Alps salmon, orange or brown? My guess is salmon but I can't quite make it out.

M0110 = Alps SKCC. Completely different from SKCM. Per closed ads on ebay, highly variable pricing, from $50 to $150 US.

Apple Keyboard II (M0487) = dome/slider.
Apple Design Keyboard (M2980) = dome/slider or membrane dome.

Looking at the pics, it looks like the Alps slider/dome variant has Alps-compatible keycaps and they're PBT. YMMV.

[hellothere]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-PC ... 4659817717

yikes $549??

The EMR keyboard appears to have been used in specialized TEMPEST-hardened versions of IBM PCs designed to block electromagnetic signals that could be illicitly monitored. It appears to be a standard PC/XT Model F with a different cable and connector, and with shielding around the controller card inside the keyboard. Examples have been seen with Caps Lock located to the left of A, Ctrl located to the left of the spacebar, and Alt to the right of the spacebar. Known examples were for PC/XT-style systems, but there may have been some variants of the 122-key terminal, AT, and Model M Enhanced Keyboards with similar cable/connector modifications. The EMR keyboard used a DIN connector with a shield cable, and the EMR II keyboard used a 4-pin D-SUB connector.

IDK how rare, but it's interesting. I've seen a couple and I've really not been looking for these.

[hellothere]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233916032000

KPT-102 with KPT switches. I'm pretty sure "rare" is being defined as "really uncommon" rather than "really valuable," but how many folks have a keyboard with KPT switches?

[ddrfraser1]

Literally never heard of it...
Always a fan of BAE with 2u bs tho

[hellothere]

It's also got the duplicated backslash/pipe keys, which is kinda interesting. Chyros did review.

[Jan Pospisil]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233916032000

KPT-102 with KPT switches. I'm pretty sure "rare" is being defined as "really uncommon" rather than "really valuable," but how many folks have a keyboard with KPT switches?

I have a black one. It looks really cool, but the caps are printed and the switches are very scratchy. Also the unstabilized keys are just pure ass.

[Rayndalf]

looks like this is mostly Apple Keyboard 2's which are nothing special, right?

maybe if you restored those M0110s you could get your money's worth

It's probably a decent buy, are those Alps salmon, orange or brown? My guess is salmon but I can't quite make it out.

M0110 = Alps SKCC. Completely different from SKCM. Per closed ads on ebay, highly variable pricing, from $50 to $150 US.

Apple Keyboard II (M0487) = dome/slider.
Apple Design Keyboard (M2980) = dome/slider or membrane dome.

Looking at the pics, it looks like the Alps slider/dome variant has Alps-compatible keycaps and they're PBT. YMMV.

I'm pretty sure this one on the bottom has something tasty (probably salmon, I have a similar board with ABS caps and SMK switches, they're respectable).

The M0110s are certainly the real find, but
In my experience (a lone Yamaha QX1) SKCC are kinda meh. The ones I felt were linear(?) and either had less travel than I expected or just pinged a bit. Either way bottoming out wasn't particularly pleasant.

It's now $480+$100 shipping, so I'm sure it'll sell soon. I swear the M0110s would go for more than that individually, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[xxhellfirexx]

Wang with maybe Alps SKCM black switches.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133711526781?m ... olid=10001

[John Doe]

The honeywell SD keyboards appeared couple times on ebay, and gone very fast. So probably someone here has interest to take it.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3331905588

[TNT]

The honeywell SD keyboards appeared couple times on ebay, and gone very fast. So probably someone here has interest to take it.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3331905588

What a beauty!

[John Doe]

The honeywell SD keyboards appeared couple times on ebay, and gone very fast. So probably someone here has interest to take it.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3331905588

What a beauty!

Bring it home, dude.

[dokyun]

Boxed Northgate near Seattle for a decent price:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/sop/ ... 47128.html

[jbtb077]

The honeywell SD keyboards appeared couple times on ebay, and gone very fast. So probably someone here has interest to take it.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 3331905588

Damn sold already.

[Polecat]

(...and especially not to a cheapskate like me, who's never paid more than $50 for a keyboard of any kind...)

That's the spirit!

My Kishy and my Beamspring were over $100, but not much. Seeing as they're reliably 4 figure boards now, I think those two splurges were just about worth it.

Oh, I'm not knocking anyone else for spending money to get what they want. I probably have $100 into my black Focus driver after restoring it recently. Especially considering that the $45 I paid for it originally was in 1990s dollars. But $800-900 for a blue Alps board? Not gonna happen for me, in this lifetime at least.

[the_ambyguous]

It's starting to look like that DC-3014 that went last night for $960 was a legit bid

Wow. Blue alps owners: are they $800-900 better than white alps?

Well I'm a multiple blue Alps owner and I'm just as happy with *early* white Alps switches. White Alps are definitely not all the same, so it's not really a fair question. (...and especially not to a cheapskate like me, who's never paid more than $50 for a keyboard of any kind...)

IYKYK

early white alps switches are hardly discernible from blue alps

[E3E]

I understand the demand for the LE DC-3014. It hits a lot of notes that make it very desirable, and it's not just the fact it (most often) comes with Alps SKCM Blues.

1) Blue Alps
2) NKRO - Press all the keys
3) ANSI Layout - So quite modern and ideal for many
3a) Keycaps - It has high quality Alps Electric doubleshot ABS key caps, guaranteed, unless someone has swapped them. The Acer KB101A, as an example of a similar board, does not always have doubleshots.
4) Aesthetics - I find it to be a very aesthetically pleasing board at least.


On that, the design of the case is actually really well-done. The LE DC-2014 and 3014 both have flip up feet that are accessible from the side of the keyboard, without having to lift or flip the board over.

That said, would I pay nearly $1k for one? Hell no. It's a lovely board, but even if I didn't already own one, I couldn't justify that for something that really isn't unobtanium level in terms of scarcity.

[hellothere]

I understand the demand for the LE DC-3014. It hits a lot of notes that make it very desirable, and it's not just the fact it (most often) comes with Alps SKCM Blues.

1) Blue Alps
2) NKRO - Press all the keys
3) ANSI Layout - So quite modern and ideal for many
3a) Keycaps - It has high quality Alps Electric doubleshot ABS key caps, guaranteed, unless someone has swapped them. The Acer KB101A, as an example of a similar board, does not always have doubleshots.
4) Aesthetics - I find it to be a very aesthetically pleasing board at least.


On that, the design of the case is actually really well-done. The LE DC-2014 and 3014 both have flip up feet that are accessible from the side of the keyboard, without having to lift or flip the board over.

That said, would I pay nearly $1k for one? Hell no. It's a lovely board, but even if I didn't already own one, I couldn't justify that for something that really isn't unobtanium level in terms of scarcity.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that NKRO is something you'd really want for gaming, not for typing. I don't game, but I'd think a linear keyboard or something that doesn't have such a high force-grade would be something you'd want.

For me, my ideal KB would have a BAE, a full-sized delete/backspace, Windows keys, Control and ALT keys in their modern places, full sized Shift keys, and be compatible with modern keycaps. So, the closest I could probably get is a Dell AT10xW.

I have a really nice-looking set of standard black/white double-shots on the blue Alps 'board I'm typing on, but I do like the PBT keycaps on Apple keyboards. I think they physically feel better. They're really smooth. I also do like me some color, so I'd have to get one of those Dell AT10xWs and a new Tai-Hao set.

I personally don't use the keyboard feet. This might because I'm a four to 5 finger typist. That being said, something that had at least two levels would be nice. One that can be used at anything from 0 degrees to 18 degrees would probably be good. I know Apple attempted to do that in the AEK II, but I've maybe seen 1 out of 10 where that feature actually works.

I think that black keyboards look the best. There aren't many of those in the Alps world. I think the beige "bigfoot" keyboards look OK. There's so much real estate on one that it makes the keyboard look more minimalist, which I think is nice.

As far as durability is concerned, I know that most Northgate OmniKeys and some old Focus KBs have steel bottom cases and a metal mounting plate. I don't know of a stock Alps-based keyboard that has both a top and bottom metal case. If you know of one, I'd be really interested.

Sorry. Kinda went into the weeds a bit and made this into a "build the best blue Alps keyboard" thread.

[John Doe]

Anybody noticed the keyboard is a little bit weird?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333944476485

[jbtb077]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Copam-K-430-ke ... 4644487844