Alps Appreciation

emdude · 09 May 2016, 23:15

Nice, switching it to blue alps will be a fun project for sure.

seebart · 09 May 2016, 23:16

Let's see the blue Alps board! The Dell AT looks clean alright.

alh84001 · 09 May 2016, 23:38

Well, it will be a wait of some two to three weeks

I'm going on vacation just about when the dell is about to arrive. No time to play with soldering iron until I get back.

seebart · 09 May 2016, 23:39

Ah OK I thought you had it already, what is it?

alh84001 · 10 May 2016, 00:05

It's shown in the post

. It will be a Dell AT101W, with blue alps soldered in.

This Dell has lasered keycaps, right? Thinking of getting SGI Granite eventually.

Abstractions · 10 May 2016, 00:06

ohaimark wrote: ↑I just acquired more Blue Alps from an obscure eBay listing for just a hair over $100.

Now the question is... Do I flip or do I use?

Well... I guess you chose to flip it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Chicony ... Sw3zxXL8S2

emdude · 10 May 2016, 00:07

alh84001 wrote: ↑It's shown in the post . It will be a Dell AT101W, with blue alps soldered in.

This Dell has lasered keycaps, right? Thinking of getting SGI Granite eventually.

Oh, I think Seebart was wondering what the blue alps board was.

And IIRC, the AT101W does have lasered caps, not the best, unfortunately.

alh84001 · 10 May 2016, 00:15

emdude wrote: ↑ Oh, I think Seebart was wondering what the blue alps board was.

I guess I wasn't clear enough in my initial post

. There is no other blue alps keyboard. I got the Dell, and I got the switches. I'll combine the two and make a blue alps keyboard that has One True Proper Layout

emdude · 10 May 2016, 00:20

Abstractions wrote: ↑
ohaimark wrote: ↑I just acquired more Blue Alps from an obscure eBay listing for just a hair over $100.

Now the question is... Do I flip or do I use?

Well... I guess you chose to flip it:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Chicony ... Sw3zxXL8S2

IMO, at the price he got it at, it is not worth flipping, but then again it is hard to gauge how much it will go for.. It will be interesting to see where the auction goes.

fohat · 10 May 2016, 00:49

alh84001 wrote: ↑
I'll combine the two and make a blue alps keyboard that has One True Proper Layout

The Dell is a great solid keyboard that is "just right" except that the footprint is unnecessarily large by about 10%.

A black case is a nice upgrade if you run across one, but keep the pearl/pebble keys.

The only superior Alps keyboard in my collection is my Omnikey 101 with transplanted blue Alps.
I have the modern "Dolch" doubleshot set but unfortunately it is not a perfect match ....

Redmaus · 10 May 2016, 01:02

I'm with you fohat, Omnikey build quality is top notch with the metal backplate and everything.

ohaimark · 10 May 2016, 02:14

emdude wrote: ↑Well... I guess you chose to flip it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331851380983

The final decision was based on the use I would get out of it and my current financial situation. I sat there staring at the bugger for a good 20 minutes. Then I typed a few sentences on it. Keep? Sell? Keep? Sell?

I cleaned it. I tried it. I saw the badass Samsung logo. It just didn't appeal to me enough to make it worth keeping vs. earning more than I paid for it, even if the earnings are a pittance. I guess I bought it for the experience just as much as the profit -- if I can try a 'board and not suffer a loss it's a good deal.

emdude · 10 May 2016, 02:25

I see, well that's understandable. For me, all the trouble one might go through from buying a board, cleaning it, etc. etc., and then reselling it outweighs getting a minimal profit with eBay fees and all, especially if it uses a switch I have already tried.

ohaimark · 10 May 2016, 02:36

This... Might make me weird, but I like purchasing and cleaning keyboards.

I had only tried Blue Alps for any length of time in a DC-3014 and DC-2014. They're a totally different experience from the Chicony 'board. Blue Alps change their tune entirely when you put them in a case that isn't over-engineered like the LE products.

Their feel is, perhaps, a bit springier. But the sound gets absolutely insane. The Chicony is much louder and bassier. I like how they sound in the 5161 better than the LEs, remarkably.

emdude · 10 May 2016, 02:50

I can understand wanting to be into keyboards for the restoration aspect too.

I have heard something along those lines for blue alps too, well, that they tend to sound better in larger boards and whatnot anyhow.

andrewjoy · 10 May 2016, 11:15

fohat wrote: ↑
alh84001 wrote: ↑
I'll combine the two and make a blue alps keyboard that has One True Proper Layout

The Dell is a great solid keyboard that is "just right" except that the footprint is unnecessarily large by about 10%.

A black case is a nice upgrade if you run across one, but keep the pearl/pebble keys.

The only superior Alps keyboard in my collection is my Omnikey 101 with transplanted blue Alps.
I have the modern "Dolch" doubleshot set but unfortunately it is not a perfect match ....

the Omnikey series is amazing, the super rare ansi 101 is the one to have i have the ultra T and its nice and all but the plate is so long that it can flex in the middle, not a huge problem that a block of wood cannot solve. I would say the dell is not a bad platform but there are far superior bigfoots out there, get your SGI on.

seebart · 10 May 2016, 11:18

Hmm I'd loooove to get a Omnikey, right on the top of my Alps list.

Chyros · 10 May 2016, 11:21

andrewjoy wrote: ↑
fohat wrote: ↑
alh84001 wrote: ↑
I'll combine the two and make a blue alps keyboard that has One True Proper Layout

The Dell is a great solid keyboard that is "just right" except that the footprint is unnecessarily large by about 10%.

A black case is a nice upgrade if you run across one, but keep the pearl/pebble keys.

The only superior Alps keyboard in my collection is my Omnikey 101 with transplanted blue Alps.
I have the modern "Dolch" doubleshot set but unfortunately it is not a perfect match ....

the Omnikey series is amazing, the super rare ansi 101 is the one to have i have the ultra T and its nice and all but the plate is so long that it can flex in the middle, not a huge problem that a block of wood cannot solve. I would say the dell is not a bad platform but there are far superior bigfoots out there, get your SGI on.

Wait, how is an OmniKey 101 super rare, or even rare at all? xD

andrewjoy · 10 May 2016, 11:22

I would sell you mine , but it was the first none "leet gamerz" vintage i ever got , and i love it to bits , even if i hardly ever use it anymore ( bloody topre ruins everything by being awesome).

@ Chyros The real ansi one is, no bigfoot crap

seebart · 10 May 2016, 11:23

Chyros wrote: ↑Wait, how is an OmniKey 101 super rare, or even rare at all? xD

Got one for me Chyros? Ready to ship? I got €€€.

NIB preferably.

alh84001 · 10 May 2016, 11:27

ban seebart from all sales!
(yes, still jealous of that displaywriter F

)

Chyros · 10 May 2016, 11:33

andrewjoy wrote: ↑@ Chyros The real ansi one is, no bigfoot crap

seebart wrote: ↑
Chyros wrote: ↑Wait, how is an OmniKey 101 super rare, or even rare at all? xD
Got one for me Chyros? Ready to ship? I got €€€. NIB preferably.

From what I've seen on eBay I'd have thought the 101 was easily the most common Northgate, together with the 102 Oo .

andrewjoy · 10 May 2016, 11:37

Chyros wrote: ↑
andrewjoy wrote: ↑@ Chyros The real ansi one is, no bigfoot crap
seebart wrote: ↑
Chyros wrote: ↑Wait, how is an OmniKey 101 super rare, or even rare at all? xD
Got one for me Chyros? Ready to ship? I got €€€. NIB preferably.
From what I've seen on eBay I'd have thought the 101 was easily the most common Northgate, together with the 102 Oo .

Ask northgate bob

http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/

Chyros · 10 May 2016, 11:44

andrewjoy wrote: ↑Ask northgate bob

http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/

Was that the guy who keeps ranting that blue and white Alps are 100% identical? :p

andrewjoy · 10 May 2016, 12:06

Possibly ! But he is northgare bob , he is the expert of the northgates.

fohat · 10 May 2016, 15:04

Yes, Bob Tibbetts is the man.

I did not realize that he had so many keyboards in stock. His inventory usually seems a lot thinner.

seebart · 10 May 2016, 15:23

Bob Tibbetts got "the right stuff":

1 102 Gold Label blue switch in good condition, very slight yellow top

Chyros · 10 May 2016, 15:44

seebart wrote: ↑Bob Tibbetts got "the right stuff":

1 102 Gold Label blue switch in good condition, very slight yellow top

Oooh, very nice... if it had been brand-new I wouldn't've minded trading my Acer for it

.

E3E · 10 May 2016, 17:05

Chyros wrote: ↑Wait, how is an OmniKey 101 super rare, or even rare at all? xD

The ANSI Northgate Omnikey 101 isn't really all that rare, from what I've seen. I don't really trust Northgate Bob's opinion, so shoot me.

I've seen a lot come through eBay.

Chyros · 10 May 2016, 17:15

E3E wrote: ↑
Chyros wrote: ↑Wait, how is an OmniKey 101 super rare, or even rare at all? xD
The ANSI Northgate Omnikey 101 isn't really all that rare, from what I've seen. I don't really trust Northgate Bob's opinion, so shoot me.

I've seen a lot come through eBay.

Yeah, I agree, I've seen plenty of them.