Any old alps mechanical that are USB

[da20valve]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

[dorkvader]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

Unicomp who took over model M production after lexmark/IBM make USB model M keyboards.

Matias who makes alps-similar switches and alps compatible keycaps have wireless and USB keyboards (and has for a while)

[Pacifist]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

Not really. It depends on your definition of Old, but around the days of most old boards, USB (Im pretty sure) wasnt invented.

Also mechanical/alps doesnt make sense, as alps is mechanical

[dorkvader]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

Not really. It depends on your definition of Old, but around the days of most old boards, USB (Im pretty sure) wasnt invented.

Also mechanical/alps doesnt make sense, as alps is mechanical

Depends on your definition of "mechanical", but by many definitions, alps integrated domes aren't.

[False_Dmitry_II]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

Not really. It depends on your definition of Old, but around the days of most old boards, USB (Im pretty sure) wasnt invented.

Also mechanical/alps doesnt make sense, as alps is mechanical

Depends on your definition of "mechanical", but by many definitions, alps integrated domes aren't.

Ah, but you're taking alps and making it "alps mount" instead. There are no Alps that is not mechanical.

[dorkvader]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

Not really. It depends on your definition of Old, but around the days of most old boards, USB (Im pretty sure) wasnt invented.

Also mechanical/alps doesnt make sense, as alps is mechanical

Depends on your definition of "mechanical", but by many definitions, alps integrated domes aren't.

Ah, but you're taking alps and making it "alps mount" instead. There are no Alps that is not mechanical.

at least two variants of alps integrated dome are branded with the alps logo on the bottom (white and black). IIRC a third(blue) has alps branding on the PCB.

Furthermore two of the variants aren't even Z mount, they are cruciform.

[fohat.digs]

at least two variants of alps integrated dome are branded with the alps logo on the bottom (white and black).

Are you talking about "Acer" style "switches" (which aren't really switches but rather "mechanisms")?

I have some black ones that are very nice indeed, but they are PS/2.

[hwood34]

If we just take out the alps aspect, most peoples definitions of old are 80s-early 90s, before the USB was even invented. And you also have to take into account that while it was invented in '96, it still took a little bit before all companies started using them, which is why you have technology still including ps2 ports well into the early 2000s.

[blackbox]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

ps/2 to usb converter is widely available. Is there any reason you do not want to use them?

[pbtforever]

http://www.dsi-keyboards.com/solidtek-kb-6600bu-full-size-alps-mechanical-switch-usb-keyboard.aspx

[tricheboars]

old siig boards maybe?  i think the old siig multi-touches had alps switches. i think....

[Daniel Beardsmore]

at least two variants of alps integrated dome are branded with the alps logo on the bottom (white and black).

Are you talking about "Acer" style "switches" (which aren't really switches but rather "mechanisms")?

I have some black ones that are very nice indeed, but they are PS/2.

:headdesk:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_integrated_dome

Alps made a lot of different switch types:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Category:Alps_switches

Acer switches were made by Acer:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Acer_switch


If by "Alps" one means Alps SKCL/SKCM series ("complicated Alps") then, unlikely, as those went out of production around 1996. USB really took off after the iMac was introduced in 1998, so for USB all you have is simplified Alps (SKBL/SKBM series). I'm hazy on what was still sold from 1998 onwards, but the pickings were fairly slim by then as most mechanical switch series were gone.

[da20valve]

Are there any Old IBM or other brands that are mechanical/alps that are usb or are they all PS2/DIN

ps/2 to usb converter is widely available. Is there any reason you do not want to use them?

That wasn't the question.

[da20valve]

http://www.dsi-keyboards.com/solidtek-kb-6600bu-full-size-alps-mechanical-switch-usb-keyboard.aspx

Why are they so cheap ??.
Its okay I know why..... $106 shipping, are they F-ing Kidding.

[pbtforever]

Where are you located?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

That wasn't the question.

No, but it was still the best answer. It's just reality for you.

Why are they so cheap ??.

Did you read the page? "Type for several years before buying a new one."

Do you not feel truly inspired and confident when you read that?

The page says "Alps Mechanical Key Switch". Considering that, to most people, "Alps" means everything from 1980s blue Alps all the way to Omron, KPT, and anything else that takes keycaps, I would be careful about making assumptions.

While it's alleged that simplified Alps switches are still made (Datacomp apparently bought the tooling from Forward, but I can't get confirmation from Datacomp), I would not automatically assume that Solidtek are using Datacomp switches. Moreover, I have no idea how well made these switches are now. They may have been retooled, as Forward had to remove all the Alps branding a few years back.

Don't forget that Matias lie about this too: the Tactile Pro page says "Mac users who crave the feel of the legendary Apple Extended Keyboard will love the Tactile Pro. Unlike other keyboards made today, each key is built on an individual Alps Mechanical Switch."

That's nonsense. The switches are assembled from parts made in unknown factories by Dongguan Gaote, to a design very similar to simplified Alps. Even if the design is superior to simplified Alps, it's still not an Alps switch.

Sadly I can't find a photo of the switch in that Solidtek keyboard.

[johndavis33]

I have a board with USB that uses simplified black alps. I got it at a thrift store for only a couple of bucks, so I don't have much information but ti's got a very distinct color scheme. It's translucent white and green plastic, clearly meant to match the old iMacs, so I assume it's from that time.

[Hak Foo]

http://www.dsi-keyboards.com/solidtek-kb-6600bu-full-size-alps-mechanical-switch-usb-keyboard.aspx

Why are they so cheap ??.
Its okay I know why..... $106 shipping, are they F-ing Kidding.

I have one; well, I've pulled it apart recently to scavenge parts.  You used to be able to find it for less than suixty dollars delivered.

The drawbacks that help to justify the price:

* Only 2KRO
* Ugly, ugly pad-printed caps in a mildly non-standard layout (6x spacebar, random size modifiers, bigass enter)

It IS a USB board, and on my example, the switches do say ALPS.  They're nice enough switches, but the layout was too frustrating for me.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some large stockpiles of ALPS-style switches-- leftover from defunct manufacturers both at the switch level and the board level-- and a tendency to stuff inexpensive boards with "whatever they can sell us 5 million switches cheaply"

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I have a board with USB that uses simplified black alps. I got it at a thrift store for only a couple of bucks, so I don't have much information but ti's got a very distinct color scheme. It's translucent white and green plastic, clearly meant to match the old iMacs, so I assume it's from that time.

Chances are it's Strong Man, something like this:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Strong_Man_SMK-8112JU

[lonedruid]

oh god i want a matias board so bad. Give me money!!!!

[johndavis33]

I have a board with USB that uses simplified black alps. I got it at a thrift store for only a couple of bucks, so I don't have much information but ti's got a very distinct color scheme. It's translucent white and green plastic, clearly meant to match the old iMacs, so I assume it's from that time.

Chances are it's Strong Man, something like this:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Strong_Man_SMK-8112JU

That's exactly what it is.

[esoomenona]

There's always the Filco Zero, seeing as others are suggesting newer boards.

[pbtforever]

http://www.dsi-keyboards.com/solidtek-kb-6600bu-full-size-alps-mechanical-switch-usb-keyboard.aspx

Why are they so cheap ??.
Its okay I know why..... $106 shipping, are they F-ing Kidding.

I have one; well, I've pulled it apart recently to scavenge parts.  You used to be able to find it for less than suixty dollars delivered.

The drawbacks that help to justify the price:

* Only 2KRO
* Ugly, ugly pad-printed caps in a mildly non-standard layout (6x spacebar, random size modifiers, bigass enter)

It IS a USB board, and on my example, the switches do say ALPS.  They're nice enough switches, but the layout was too frustrating for me.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some large stockpiles of ALPS-style switches-- leftover from defunct manufacturers both at the switch level and the board level-- and a tendency to stuff inexpensive boards with "whatever they can sell us 5 million switches cheaply"

Thanks for info

[Daniel Beardsmore]

There's always the Filco Zero, seeing as others are suggesting newer boards.

Which? The one with XM switches requires jackhammers for fingers, and the one with simplified Alps switches was reported to have transposition error problems. (Must have got the controller from Strong Man …)

Filco should bring that product back with Matias switches, but call it something else to distance it from the Zero. Filco One ... Filco Plus Plus!

I wish there had been an ABS M1 ISO :°(

[esoomenona]

Either? He asked for "Alps" keyboard with USB, thus the Zero. Replace the switches with Alps of your choosing. Replace the controller with a HID Liberator or Pegasus Hoof.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I wouldn't be surprised if there was some large stockpiles of ALPS-style switches-- leftover from defunct manufacturers both at the switch level and the board level-- and a tendency to stuff inexpensive boards with "whatever they can sell us 5 million switches cheaply"

No-one is 100% sure on the details — I need to look up the release date of the Tactile Pro 2, as that was when people first noticed simplified Alps switches with the branding removed. I don't know how that date co-incided with the termination of the 30 year Alps/Forward joint venture, but I think Forward were licensing the Alps branding for a few more years afterwards. That said, although the Tactile Pro 2 is when we noticed the removal of the Alps branding from the switches, nobody noticed the change from white to grey switches with the original Tactile Pro, so the branding removal could have occurred earlier than we believe.

Stockpiles of "ALPS-style" switches still makes it deceitful to claim to be using "Alps switches", though most people mistake anything with a slider for Alps, and on eBay it's clicky if it has keys on it …

This is far from complete, but this might help people — switches that take Alps keycaps (now with photos):

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_mount_recognition

Recognition guides by keycap mount:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Switch_recognition


In terms of finding keyboards by parameters, you'll have to find the guy who was making this and find out what happened to it:

http://kbdb.io/