Alps Appreciation Thread

[chyros]

Noice! That 3001 is looking really good . I never noticed how similar it is to the 2001 if you don't look at the right side of the keyboard.

It's hard to make an old Focus look bad.

This is very true... I'll probably never forgive myself for missing out on that black FK-2001 a while ago xD .

[Magna224]

Well, here it is. I present a restored FK-3001. Nice and white! I couldn't totally fix the screen but whatever. Still displays something legible.

Looking spiffy!

Here's a picture of mine and a few others I had laid out for someone to try out. (Ironically out of Focus)

[mike52787]

Well, here it is. I present a restored FK-3001. Nice and white! I couldn't totally fix the screen but whatever. Still displays something legible.

Looking spiffy!

Here's a picture of mine and a few others I had laid out for someone to try out. (Ironically out of Focus)

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Nice wang! what is that numpad?

[Magna224]

Nice wang! what is that numpad?

Thanks! I've never used it's just disassembled in my closet. It's a really nice keyboard though. Some day when I have less keyboards that need attention I'll make a cord for it and put it back together.

As for the number pad... Its one of these (http://launchpadoffice.com/wordpress/?tag=keypad). It has a wrist wrest too and I got it for $3 in what seemed like new condition in the box. I have a green mitsumi switch one too that works and I use with the wrist wrest when I need a keypad.  If anyone used it they didn't use it very long. The plate was CLEAN and the pad printed keycaps had no signs of wear. This guy (http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-KeyPad-Keyboard-Numerical-Brand-New-/282067214199?hash=item41ac841f77:g:~bYAAMXQUmFSk9vd) took my $10 offer and the keypad is very similar but with a different connection but has very similar parts. If I see cheap mechanical keyboards like that I just buy them for parts/projects.

[mike52787]

As promised some pics of my painted omnikey. looks pretty good to me! The only before pics I have are the pics from the ebay listing I bought it from.

Very yellowed, pretty nasty too.


Looks good to me!

[Mattr567]

Great paint job! Looks OEM.

[Mattr567]

Taobao has come through! My stuff has arrived at the proxy.

The SKCM Blues look alright and restorable but that top row is filthy! Going to have to do some more in depth cleaning for those. The rest only need a good dusting.



The Multistation looks great!

[chyros]

It looks soooo dirtyyyyy xD . Hopefully they clean up well! Don't forget to clean the inside of the top housing and the slider well too, that's where most of the friction is!

Is the one with the blue Alps from an Alps M by any chance? The super tall F keys really remind me of that.

[Mattr567]

It looks soooo dirtyyyyy xD . Hopefully they clean up well! Don't forget to clean the inside of the top housing and the slider well too, that's where most of the friction is!

Is the one with the blue Alps from an Alps M by any chance? The super tall F keys really remind me of that.

Will do. Yea its that Model M clone. It will clean up well

[Blaise170]

I bought several from that guy too. My favorite is the SHARP X68000 that I got for like $40, I can use it to restore my (near) mint beige X68000 and maybe swap switches into my black X68000. Here's what I got from him:

[Mattr567]

I bought several from that guy too. My favorite is the SHARP X68000 that I got for like $40, I can use it to restore my (near) mint beige X68000 and maybe swap switches into my black X68000. Here's what I got from him:

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Ah, you were the one who bought the X68000, that came from the same listing as my Multistation. Both were $30 each :) See you grabbed a couple SKCM Blue boards as well.

How much was shipping for you? Mine is $70 for both boards and they apparently weigh 7.2 pounds. Yours must be more since you have 3?

[Wingpad]

How much was shipping for you? Mine is $70, and both boards, and they apparently weigh 7.2 pounds. Yours must be more since you have 3?

I paid $40 to ship two boards and a set of caps. No clue how much it all weighs, haha.

[Mattr567]

How much was shipping for you? Mine is $70, and both boards, and they apparently weigh 7.2 pounds. Yours must be more since you have 3?

I paid $40 to ship two boards and a set of caps. No clue how much it all weighs, haha.

Hmm. That Multistation must be heavy or something then.

[E3E]

Hmm. That Multistation must be heavy or something then.

That's actually a very low shipping rate for two keyboards from TaoBao. Sounds about right to me. You can't expect to pay anything less than $20 on shipping from TaoBao. My Monterey K103 101 was $63 + $57 to ship.

Which is why I really hate ordering from TaoBao.

You could choose the cheaper options of shipping though, but it will take considerably longer.

[E3E]

As promised some pics of my painted omnikey. looks pretty good to me! The only before pics I have are the pics from the ebay listing I bought it from.

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Very yellowed, pretty nasty too.

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Looks good to me!

Looks good! Personally, I'd always relent when it comes to painting vintage keyboard cases as it kills the natural translucence of the plastic and is also more vulnerable to scratches. I'd rather retrobright or dye. Wingpad made me aware of a VHT Vinyl dye that does actually dye plastics as advertised (not just a coating), which I totally would've used for my Orion v2's space bar if I had known.

It seems like it'd work very well on cases.

I should have also said that I HAVE tried painting an old case, my original NTC 6151N. I was just really unsatisfied with how the paint ruined the kind of natural look of the plastic, and I tried like three different kinds of off-white to get what I wanted; it just never looked right to my eyes.

[Mattr567]

Hmm. That Multistation must be heavy or something then.

That's actually a very low shipping rate for two keyboards from TaoBao. Sounds about right to me. You can't expect to pay anything less than $20 on shipping from TaoBao. My Monterey K103 101 was $63 + $57 to ship.

Which is why I really hate ordering from TaoBao.

You could choose the cheaper options of shipping though, but it will take considerably longer.

I guess it depends, didn't expect 7 pounds though. Wingpad got 2 boards and some caps shipped for $40. I would do Airmail over EMS but i'm over the weight limit.

[Blaise170]

Here's my total cost for all three shipped to the US.

[Mattr567]

My stuff has shipped

[Wingpad]

My stuff has shipped

Cool beans, my stuff currently appears to be state-side, woohoo!

[klennkellon]

I am off to go through some thrift stores in my city to find something of value. Please pray for me to keep the rubber domes far and few!

[mike52787]

I am off to go through some thrift stores in my city to find something of value. Please pray for me to keep the rubber domes far and few!

Good luck buddy, I have found an AEKII clone, A KB-5161 with monterey blues, some ****ty foam and foil board, and my sharp SKCL green typewriter, whose switches are in my alps64.

[Blaise170]

I think I've been to every flea market and Goodwill in the state of Kentucky and the only thing I've found are a few HP and a few Dell rubber domes.

[mike52787]

I think I've been to every flea market and Goodwill in the state of Kentucky and the only thing I've found are a few HP and a few Dell rubber domes.

Now that is some ****ty luck. I guess florida has better thrift stores.

[emdude]

I think I've been to every flea market and Goodwill in the state of Kentucky and the only thing I've found are a few HP and a few Dell rubber domes.

I'm surprised, I would think you'd be able to find IBMs at least, with their old manufacturing operation in Lexington (then Lexmark's, now Unicomp's).

[mike52787]

oh yeah, KY should be model m country. I guess you just have bad luck.

[klennkellon]

I did not find any mechanical boards, but I did find this Packard Bell that uses some sort of ALPS mount dome-with-slider. Fujitsu possibly? They're mushy but quite smooth and the tactility is reasonably sharp.

Sorry for potato pics:







I cant use it because the pins in the PS/2 port are bent to hell. Shame because I actually quite like the keyfeel. I have a full set of somewhat decent laser etched ALPS caps in a "Focus" layout at least. They also "fart" a little if you press them right xD

[mike52787]

Those are btc dome with sliders, the oversized esc is a telltale sign of a btc board. Theyre said to be some of the best dome with slider boards made.

[klennkellon]

Those are btc dome with sliders, the oversized esc is a telltale sign of a btc board. Theyre said to be some of the best dome with slider boards made.

Strange. They don't look at all like BTC Dome With Sliders switches though and are ALPS mount.

[fohat.digs]

I had one of those. I stripped it but kept the bottom part to stick Alps caps into to keep them upright for Retro-Briting.

[klennkellon]

I bent the PS/2 cables and the keyboard is fully functional. Woo.

[klennkellon]

Opened it up, there's a thin metal plate inside and on the mainboard it is branded "Silitek"

[Blaise170]

Yeah Silitek has made a lot of keyboards over the years. They are actually a part of LiteOn. My Mouse Systems ergonomic keyboard has the same Alps slider rubber domes as yours, it's a rebranded Silitek SK-6000.

[mike52787]

oops, I thought only btc did the oversized escape. oops, everyone makes mistakes


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Blaise170]

Not sure what you mean by oversized escape but it's possible that the one you are thinking of was a BTC branded Silitek.

[mike52787]

Not sure what you mean by oversized escape but it's possible that the one you are thinking of was a BTC branded Silitek.

The escape key is 1.25u on that board, that definitely is oversized, most btc boards have 1.25u esc keys


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[Blaise170]

Not sure what you mean by oversized escape but it's possible that the one you are thinking of was a BTC branded Silitek.

The escape key is 1.25u on that board, that definitely is oversized, most btc boards have 1.25u esc keys


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Ah, well the Focus FK-8000 I had, had a giant (1.5U?) Esc so it's not limited to just BTC.

[klennkellon]

Sad news, in the middle of typing it suddenly stopped working properly. What a shame :{

[chyros]

It's a Fujitsu dome with slider board, but not the more typical Fujitsu dome with slider switch observed in for example the Type 5c.

Companies other than BTC did use 1.25 u escape keys, but not nearly as prevalently. As Blaise pointed out, Focus started doing this during their second generation of keyboards and kept on doing it until the end as far as I'm aware. They're easy to distinguish however as BTC used lasered keycaps and very recognisable fonts, whereas Focus used doubleshots with what I think is standard Helvetica (or some other standard font).

[mike52787]

It's a Fujitsu dome with slider board, but not the more typical Fujitsu dome with slider switch observed in for example the Type 5c.

Companies other than BTC did use 1.25 u escape keys, but not nearly as prevalently. As Blaise pointed out, Focus started doing this during their second generation of keyboards and kept on doing it until the end as far as I'm aware. They're easy to distinguish however as BTC used lasered keycaps and very recognisable fonts, whereas Focus used doubleshots with what I think is standard Helvetica (or some other standard font).

Didnt wang use large esc keys on some of their terminal boards?

[mike52787]

Got photos from my proxy, what do you guys think? They look real to me. apparently the board I got was focus layout, score!
http://taobaofocus.com/orders/photos.en.php?id=89087
I asked for a better, clearer photo of the switch also, The markings on the top housing seem to be a good sign.

[CPTBadAss]

Ugh now I really regret passing on a free Focus 3001. Board looks great. And in regards to TaoBao, I don't trust it even if people here have had good experiences with it. It's been a rule of mine not to buy off TaoBao. My personal rules seems silly but it's kept me from being ripped off.

[mike52787]

In my experience with yellow alps, which is very limited, I have never seen yellow sliders this "vibrant". The plate on that board is so incredibly rusted I think the switches would be trashed anyway.
http://shop.taobaofocus.com/item.php?id=40786928421

[chyros]

Didnt wang use large esc keys on some of their terminal boards?

If you mean the 3771; no, but the confusion is understandable; there is a 1.25 u Help key where the Esc key should normally be xD .

Got photos from my proxy, what do you guys think? They look real to me. apparently the board I got was focus layout, score!
http://taobaofocus.com/orders/photos.en.php?id=89087
I asked for a better, clearer photo of the switch also, The markings on the top housing seem to be a good sign.

I can't see those pics, need to log in. Can you host them somewhere else perhaps?

In my experience with yellow alps, which is very limited, I have never seen yellow sliders this "vibrant". The plate on that board is so incredibly rusted I think the switches would be trashed anyway.
http://shop.taobaofocus.com/item.php?id=40786928421

Yellow Alps are always very desaturated AFAIK. Some linear Alps clones do have very intense yellow sliders though, including ones I found on a Focus board as lock light switches.

[mike52787]

Didnt wang use large esc keys on some of their terminal boards?

If you mean the 3771; no, but the confusion is understandable; there is a 1.25 u Help key where the Esc key should normally be xD .

Got photos from my proxy, what do you guys think? They look real to me. apparently the board I got was focus layout, score!
http://taobaofocus.com/orders/photos.en.php?id=89087
I asked for a better, clearer photo of the switch also, The markings on the top housing seem to be a good sign.

I can't see those pics, need to log in. Can you host them somewhere else perhaps?

In my experience with yellow alps, which is very limited, I have never seen yellow sliders this "vibrant". The plate on that board is so incredibly rusted I think the switches would be trashed anyway.
http://shop.taobaofocus.com/item.php?id=40786928421

Yellow Alps are always very desaturated AFAIK. Some linear Alps clones do have very intense yellow sliders though, including ones I found on a Focus board as lock light switches.

Here, I put together an imgur album of all the pictures my proxy sent me.
http://imgur.com/a/aFZFu
As for the wang help key, what does it do when plugged into a normal pc? does it send scan codes?

[chyros]

Didnt wang use large esc keys on some of their terminal boards?

If you mean the 3771; no, but the confusion is understandable; there is a 1.25 u Help key where the Esc key should normally be xD .

Got photos from my proxy, what do you guys think? They look real to me. apparently the board I got was focus layout, score!
http://taobaofocus.com/orders/photos.en.php?id=89087
I asked for a better, clearer photo of the switch also, The markings on the top housing seem to be a good sign.

I can't see those pics, need to log in. Can you host them somewhere else perhaps?

In my experience with yellow alps, which is very limited, I have never seen yellow sliders this "vibrant". The plate on that board is so incredibly rusted I think the switches would be trashed anyway.
http://shop.taobaofocus.com/item.php?id=40786928421

Yellow Alps are always very desaturated AFAIK. Some linear Alps clones do have very intense yellow sliders though, including ones I found on a Focus board as lock light switches.

Here, I put together an imgur album of all the pictures my proxy sent me.
http://imgur.com/a/aFZFu
As for the wang help key, what does it do when plugged into a normal pc? does it send scan codes?

On my converter I think it sent some kind of modifier + F key combo. Most of the weird keys on the board did that.

As for the board, does that have one of those EEPROM chips on it? Oo

[mike52787]

Didnt wang use large esc keys on some of their terminal boards?

If you mean the 3771; no, but the confusion is understandable; there is a 1.25 u Help key where the Esc key should normally be xD .

Got photos from my proxy, what do you guys think? They look real to me. apparently the board I got was focus layout, score!
http://taobaofocus.com/orders/photos.en.php?id=89087
I asked for a better, clearer photo of the switch also, The markings on the top housing seem to be a good sign.

I can't see those pics, need to log in. Can you host them somewhere else perhaps?

In my experience with yellow alps, which is very limited, I have never seen yellow sliders this "vibrant". The plate on that board is so incredibly rusted I think the switches would be trashed anyway.
http://shop.taobaofocus.com/item.php?id=40786928421

Yellow Alps are always very desaturated AFAIK. Some linear Alps clones do have very intense yellow sliders though, including ones I found on a Focus board as lock light switches.

Here, I put together an imgur album of all the pictures my proxy sent me.
http://imgur.com/a/aFZFu
As for the wang help key, what does it do when plugged into a normal pc? does it send scan codes?

On my converter I think it sent some kind of modifier + F key combo. Most of the weird keys on the board did that.

As for the board, does that have one of those EEPROM chips on it? Oo

Yup, that ceramic EEPROM seems really strange. Im hoping its a sign that the board is early enough NOT to have simplified type 3 blue alps. Could you check the switches for me? they look real enough.

[Mattr567]

Ok, enough of the quote chains lol.

They look legit to me. That chip looks like a good indication also. Plus those are quite rare so I would think there would be a higher chance of SKCM Blues than the type 3's since the seller had so much SKCM Blue on hand.

[chyros]

Almost certainly genuine SKCM blue.

[mike52787]

Well now im the one going out thrifting, wish me luck with no rubberdomes


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[mike52787]

Nothing again. typical.