Author Topic: Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch  (Read 43993 times)

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Offline huttala

  • Posts: 63
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #50 on: Sat, 17 March 2012, 09:08:14 »
For science!!
It's 7 swedish 1 krona and one 20 euro cent. Total weight of 54.74G, when I took the 20 cent off and the weight was 49G it didn't activate the switch.



Offline sordna

  • Posts: 2248
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #51 on: Sat, 17 March 2012, 11:52:35 »
Nice photos. Ok, this confirms that these XMs are lighter than cherry blues (which take about 60g to overcome the tactile point), as most people (with few exceptions) have been reporting. In fact, they might be even lighter than cherry bowns !  Looks like an awesome switch.
« Last Edit: Sat, 17 March 2012, 11:56:41 by sordna »
Kinesis Contoured Advantage & Advantage2 LF with Cherry MX Red switches / Extra keys mod / O-ring dampening mod / Dvorak layout. ErgoDox with buzzer and LED mod.
Also: Kinesis Advantage Classic, Kinesis Advantage2, Data911 TG3, Fingerworks Touchstream LP, IBM SSK (Buckling spring), Goldtouch GTU-0077 keyboard

Offline huttala

  • Posts: 63
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #52 on: Sat, 17 March 2012, 13:25:13 »
Quote from: ripster;548921
WHEW, that took a while to post, site is so slow.




Hey LOOK!  SAME ****ING NUMBERS WEBWIT!

GRAVITY IS THE ****ING SAME IN TAIWAN AND SWEDEN!


Haha, awesome!

Offline NorrisB

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #53 on: Sat, 17 March 2012, 14:10:55 »
Mine weighted in at 50 grams (10 nickels)

Offline huttala

  • Posts: 63
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #54 on: Mon, 19 March 2012, 08:14:57 »
I freaking love this keyboard, where can I get other keyboards with switches that has the same feel as these switches? Maybe one that doesn't sound this bad. Love the tactile bump right at the top, it's nothing like cherry switches.

Topre just feels like mushy rubberdomes compared to these switches.

Offline Grimey

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #55 on: Mon, 19 March 2012, 20:21:09 »
Quote from: huttala;550455
I freaking love this keyboard, where can I get other keyboards with switches that has the same feel as these switches? Maybe one that doesn't sound this bad. Love the tactile bump right at the top, it's nothing like cherry switches.

Topre just feels like mushy rubberdomes compared to these switches.

Enjoyed these switches so much in my 1087 that I ordered a 1008 to harvest the switches from to put in my Dell AT101W (put the black ALPS into the Ducky which now lives at my parents).  Not the answer you are looking for, but I would agree with you that these switches are fantastic.
Erlang your pants off

Offline Grimey

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #56 on: Tue, 20 March 2012, 00:35:02 »
Quote from: dante;551053
Holy hell!  This sounds awesome!  How difficult is this to do? (ie: how much time?)

It was my first soldering experience, so I can't give a good estimate on time but it certainly is fun.  Taking the board apart and putting them back together is simple and straight forward.  De soldering and soldering all those switches is the time consuming part (mostly the De soldering for me).  I could probably do a full switch swap between boards in 3 hours or so at this point, but again I am pretty novice in the soldering department.  This particular mod is a great way to get into soldering and what not as neither of these boards was terribly expensive.

I guess the best way to gauge time would be to calculate the time to swap a sing key: 4 de solders, 4 solders, and multiply that number by ~104 or so.

 Fortunately the Ducky 1008 comes in a 108 key layout so that you don't need to transfer over any of those LED ALPS switches that feel terrible.  I disliked that switch so much on my work 1087 CAPSLOCK that I swapped it with a complicated white ALPS from a fellow GHer.

The result is quite awesome in the end though for this swap.  I like having my 1087 at work as the main driver for code development on my Linux box, but when I need to swap over to the BSD box I like the battleship that is the AT101W as a GUI is rarely involved.
Erlang your pants off

Offline huttala

  • Posts: 63
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #57 on: Tue, 20 March 2012, 09:27:01 »
Sounds awesome, but how is the black alps compared to these greens?

By looking at the force charts the black switch seems pretty tactile, and the wiki says that it's not clicky, so I'm kinda interested in the Ducky 1087XM with black alps as well, but if they make the same amount of noise that these green switches does its not that interesting.

Offline Grimey

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #58 on: Tue, 20 March 2012, 10:32:32 »
Quote from: huttala;551392
Sounds awesome, but how is the black alps compared to these greens?

By looking at the force charts the black switch seems pretty tactile, and the wiki says that it's not clicky, so I'm kinda interested in the Ducky 1087XM with black alps as well, but if they make the same amount of noise that these green switches does its not that interesting.

The complicated Black ALPS that come in things like the AT101W are much stiffer than the Ducky Green ALPS in these modern boards.  The Black ALPS are tactile and non-clicky as well (which is quite a bit less noise), but the Ducky Black ALPS are supposed to be linear I guess.

I liked the complicated Black ALPS enough on my Dell, but compared to other switches they just are not as satisfying.
Erlang your pants off

Offline therecorder

  • Posts: 442
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #59 on: Sat, 07 April 2012, 02:50:52 »
I want to order this keyboard, but I can't understand the page.  I assume that on the right hand side, where it lists shipping charges, you have to make some kind of selection.  I want to buy it in English, using PayPal.  Some help...  Please!

Found the link for English on their home page.  Ordered the board.  Live in Israel, so the shipping was only $10.00.  Can't believe that I got the board, including shipping, for a total of $43.89.  Already bought another Ducky board (earlier today), from TigerImports; a yellow Shine with browns.  Now I'll have a board to hook up to my Notebook in the bedroom.  When you get older (I'm 64), you have to treat yourself nicely.  I actually have 4 other mechanical boards, including a Filco Camo.  Please don't be jealous, I'm disabled, live alone, and my only fun comes from my electronic gadgets.  Well, I also enjoy watching Philly sports on the Internet.  Go Phillies!!!

Offline reaper

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #60 on: Sat, 07 April 2012, 03:07:03 »
Welcome to Geekhack and why don't you try posting in Classifieds first?  Might get lucky and find one closer. =)
Att fly är livet, att dröja, döden.
Din Eli

fossala

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #61 on: Sat, 07 April 2012, 03:32:52 »
Can you desolder the switches and put real alps on?

Offline reaper

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #62 on: Sat, 07 April 2012, 09:49:33 »
I no longer own that board.  Sold it to demik.  Someone else will have to answer that. =P
Att fly är livet, att dröja, döden.
Din Eli

Offline Grimey

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #63 on: Sun, 08 April 2012, 22:17:01 »
Quote from: fossala;569672
Can you desolder the switches and put real alps on?

Certainly can.  I replaced the spongy LED CAPSLOCK with a ALPS branded switch from a Focus board or something on my 1087.  On my 1008 I put all my Black ALPS from a Dell AT101W.
Erlang your pants off

Offline Magna224

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  • Location: Tempe, Arizona
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #64 on: Tue, 10 April 2012, 12:01:49 »
Quote from: reaper;569787
I no longer own that board.  Sold it to demik.  Someone else will have to answer that. =P

I have it now. =)
If you live in AZ you can try my keyboards. I usually keep plenty of different ALPS and MX and buckling springs.

fossala

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #65 on: Tue, 10 April 2012, 14:01:17 »
Quote from: Grimey;571099
Certainly can.  I replaced the spongy LED CAPSLOCK with a ALPS branded switch from a Focus board or something on my 1087.  On my 1008 I put all my Black ALPS from a Dell AT101W.

Thanks, decided to go with a filco zero instead.

Offline mkawa

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #66 on: Tue, 10 April 2012, 23:44:17 »
got my ducky today. first impression is just that the keys are super light; i'm totally spoiled by clear springs now. also, my space bar stabilizer rattles like crazy.

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline Autolyze

  • Posts: 263
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #67 on: Wed, 11 April 2012, 20:14:12 »
My 1087 with green XMs came today. I've only typed on it for a couple hours, but I'm not too crazy about it so far. The keys are kind of loose and wobbly and it feels like the whole keyboard is ready to just fall apart any minute now. I love typing on both Cherry MX blues and the white XM switches in my MiniTouch, and these green XMs do feel similar to both of those in some ways, but they're like cheap soulless imitations. The case is also a little uneven and no amount of flexing seems to make it sit flat on the table.

I'll give the board more time before making up my mind, but at the moment I'm thinking that I'll probably have to find some less crappy switches to install in this. I also just got a soldering station today and I should probably experiment on something like this before I start butchering nicer keyboards. :cool:

Offline mkawa

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #68 on: Wed, 11 April 2012, 23:59:16 »
yep, mine is uneven as well. i put my keyboards on a towel that doubles as a wrist wrest, so i'm fine with that. the switches are super wobbly, but in a way that i don't particularly mind, as the keys provide no lateral resistance -- it's more like they're tracking with your fingers than threatening to fall apart.

i love the clacking. ooooh do i love that clacking. it's not a clear ka-chink, but this wonderful cacophony of little metal pieces tapping on other little metal pieces. it's like a damned piano. this little ugly duckling is definitely growing on me.

to all the brilliant friends who have left us, and all the students who climb on their shoulders.

Offline therecorder

  • Posts: 442
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #69 on: Wed, 18 April 2012, 06:24:00 »
Received my 1087 today (10 days shipping).  Initial impressions...  Doubt it's worth much more than I (we) paid for it; seems sort of flimsy; "Caps Lock" and "Num Lock"/"Scroll Lock" LED's way, way too bright; contrast between colors of keycap and keycap printing is too low (for me); switches a little more wobbly than I'd like, but I guess that's the "Alps Wabble" they're doing :whoo:.  But, let's give keyboard some time.  Want to be fair.

Offline domin8r

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #70 on: Thu, 19 April 2012, 04:00:04 »
Got mine in yesterday.. Really liking it so far!
The keys are indeed wobbly, but that's just alps. My AT101W does that too.. And don't mind the wobble :)
The sound is pretty nice.. from what I had read I was expecting it to be superloud but it's just like black alps with a little more "oomph". No angry coworkers so far.. but they're used to my other coworker rattling away on his AT101W :D

Build quallity is definitely fine for it's price-range. Board is sturdy, it doesn't slip on my desk with the feet up and just works.
This is my first TKL and REALLY liking that too!

Only downside was the heft customs fee.. had to pay about $32.80 on customs. And the board itself was $33 (and $20 shipping). Ridiculous!
Compaq MX-11800, Ergo Clear/Brown/Ghetto Red
Ducky 1087XM
Laser SX-25 , White SMK
Black Dell AT101W
IBM Model M 1390120 (\'86)
Cherry G80-1000, Panda Clears

Offline ladiesman2927

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #71 on: Fri, 20 April 2012, 00:14:27 »
Mine ended up coming in today. Everyone was right about these feeling VERY similar to cherry blues. I've been having a bit of fun with it so far. I think I'm enjoying the sound more than the feel of the keys hahaha

In my opinion, the 'alps wobble' isn't nearly as bad as it is made out to be. I can hardly notice it if at all when typing normally. I'm a little disappointed you don't get the ducky keychains from PCHOME anymore though :T

Offline domin8r

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Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #72 on: Fri, 20 April 2012, 02:05:49 »
Quote from: ladiesman2927;579446
Mine ended up coming in today. Everyone was right about these feeling VERY similar to cherry blues. I've been having a bit of fun with it so far. I think I'm enjoying the sound more than the feel of the keys hahaha

In my opinion, the 'alps wobble' isn't nearly as bad as it is made out to be. I can hardly notice it if at all when typing normally. I'm a little disappointed you don't get the ducky keychains from PCHOME anymore though :T

Yeah I was disappointed about the keychain too ;)
Compaq MX-11800, Ergo Clear/Brown/Ghetto Red
Ducky 1087XM
Laser SX-25 , White SMK
Black Dell AT101W
IBM Model M 1390120 (\'86)
Cherry G80-1000, Panda Clears

Offline Keyboarder

  • Posts: 30
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #73 on: Tue, 24 April 2012, 04:20:39 »
Quote from: elbowglue;453325
Ok got my duckies in:


Impressions:  This keyboard is loooud.   Not significantly louder than other clicky white alps.  Build quality is not up to part with filcos, but what do you expect from a ducky... Nothing about the build quality makes the keyboard un-usable.   The plastic thing that goes above the arrow keys and around the insert / delete / home/ end cluster had sorta popped out, but I just popped it back into place.

Key feeling:  Great.  ****ing fabulous.  These are very light compared with say XM's found on the siig minitouch.  I didn't ripometer it but it looks like it's be cheren done before.   There is ZERO off center keypress binding.  I'm not sure I have actually used a fukka alps board but I think this is what they would feel like.  

Roll over:  appears to be pretty much 6kro

Compared with cherry blues?  Click is much louder.  Travel is less (all of this is typical for alps).  Actuation force seems slightly higher.  The tactile point and click is more pronounced. The click is meatier.  This keyboard is much much louder overall.



How do the green ALPS switches compare to the white ALPS?

Offline Exort

  • Posts: 70
Ducky 1087 XM w/ Green ALPS type switch
« Reply #74 on: Thu, 26 April 2012, 10:50:01 »
Quote from: domin8r;579514
Yeah I was disappointed about the keychain too ;)

Someone should really make a tester pack out of all the key chains, topre, apls etc.

Offline diredesire

  • Posts: 2
Just got my board in, too.
« Reply #75 on: Fri, 18 May 2012, 20:36:51 »
I've always liked ALPS switches, moreso, even than Cherry switches, so even with all the bad press, I convinced myself to take a leap of faith on this board. I had the ABS M1 as an introductory mechanical board, I didn't really like the ALPS Black switches, but I LOVED ALPS white switches. So much, in fact, that I swapped the ABS switches out for White switches from a keyboard I found next to a dumpster. That board was bliss, but the controller had a ghosting/transposing issue, and I type pretty fast. I retired it for a Scorpius M10 (Cherry Blue), and now I'm on a Razer Blackwidow. While neither board are regarded as especially great, I'll live.

This board came in today, and there is a pronounced key wobble, much moreso than my ABS board. I'll have to investigate more as to why that is, though. The switches are much louder than my ALPS whites, and a tiny bit louder than my Cherry blues. I would say that the tactile feel of the key is more pronounced than the Cherry Blues, but the build quality of this particular keyboard is pretty terrible. The base layer of the case is bent a little bit, so it wobbles from bottom left to top right corners. It's even worse with the legs folded "open."

With that said, I do like the feel of the switches, but the noise has a "clang" in the reverb after a key is struck, sort of like a buckling spring board. Overall, I'd say I prefer the key feel over my Black Widow, but compared to the other ABS switches I've tried, these don't sound as solid. I'll get over the annoyance of the sound, I think, and work on this board for a while. I prefer my keyboards to have the 10 key, as I do use it to type, but I wanted to experiment with a TKL board and see how it feels with gaming. Maybe I'll be a convert.

Cheers (this might be my first post, now that I come to think of it)...