Some videos I've made about my keyboards

[photekq]

I've been having fun making some typing tests lately, so I thought I'd share them here. I can't promise a regular upload schedule or anything, but subscribe if you like what you'll see

Next up will be an F107 typing test, with internal foam removed - the pingiest keyboard I've ever heard. I'm also working on an IBM 3278 review.

I guess I'll keep this topic updated when I make more too

[Bjerrk]

Nice work! What's the story with that modern looking Blue Alps board?

[photekq]

Nice work! What's the story with that modern looking Blue Alps board?

I touched on it a little in the description of the video, but I'll touch on it a bit more here

It might look modern, but it's pretty old. The keyboard itself is a Koala, designed by a Korean member from otd.kr & kbdmania.net named Korellas. I believe the original group buy was run in 2011, so this thing is well over a decade old now. The public group buy units were near-identical but had no internal brass bar like this one. This is one of the very few prototype/private units with that brass bar, I believe there are somewhere between 5 and 8 of them out there. I bought this one years and years ago from one of the Korean members fortunate enough to have one.

The Koala was originally designed for MX only, using an A87 PCB, which was one of the earliest user-designed PCBs. It became a very commonly used PCB and even to this day, you'll find PCBs with an identical layout/shape in modern customs. That's how I was able to put this Alps build together so easily - a user called Hineybush offers his H87 PCBs, which are backwards compatible with the A87, and he offers an Alps version. It's also doubly lucky because some modern customs use the exact same plate outline as the Koala, since it was based on the open-source A87 acrylic casing design. So, in short, I bought an Alps PCB/plate intended for modern customs, which just so happen to be backwards compatible. The person who sold me those (big up Ryan!) included 87 NOS blue Alps and a Dell AT101 keyset along with them, so all I had to do was assemble!

I didn't expect it to turn out very well, I usually agree with people that Alps switches are most suited towards vintage casings. But I was wrong - it's bloody lovely, and has plenty of spirit!

[photekq]

[Go-Kart]

Good lord! I don't know which board I'm more fond of! That F without the foam is ridiculous. I took my F XT into the office last week; my colleagues lasted about four hours before someone piped up and said they couldn't handle it any more I usually treat them to my HHKB Type-S. What would they have thought if my XT was foamless!?

[Muirium]

So, Wales is getting really clicky these days? You'll catch up with Scotland soon enough.

[photekq]

Oops, forgot to post one

[TNT]

That's a mighty pretty board!