How do I get the Cherry MX Balck Vintage Switch?

[madam]

I'd like to get a very sleek Cherry MX Balck Vintage Switch, but from which old keyboard can I get it?

I heard that the first half of the 1980s is good.

Also, if there is a person who sells to me, I would like to trade on ebay etc.

[ddrfraser1]

You can find out which keyboards had them in the deskthority wiki. I got a WYSE WY-50 that came with some.

[treeleaf64]

Wyse terminals have it

Before 1995 is generally good ~
Before 1990 is very good ~
Before 87 is exceptionally perfect ~

Cleanliness is the best way to see if the switch feels good

[tp4tissue]

Keep in mind,  if you're going to repurpose switches, Make sure to buy a desoldering pump.

Preferably a desoldering suction gun, if you can afford it.

These switches are not meant to be resoldered,   The housing where the copper is will melt slightly. The less skilled you are at -Desoldering- the longer you have to keep heating it.  The longer you heat it, the more the internal mechanical alignment is affected.

This culminates in keys chattering, inconsistent key feel, etc..


The sliders make very little difference, the well worn HOUSING in vintage switches is what's responsible for the bulk of the smoothness.

THAT SAID,  vintage black is still not as smooth as Cherry MX Blue.  MX Blue has the smoothest travel of any switch because it has that white internal slider with huge clearances, so you perceive overall very little friction.

[Maledicted]

Unitek K151Ls are guaranteed to have "vintage" black switches. They're usually cheap too, and not particularly rare.

I hope nobody is trashing perfectly good boards for old linear switches. If so, send them my way and I'll give them proper clickies. 

I have a K151L I went the opposite route on, desoldering the "vintage" blacks so that I could put Kailh box jades in it, so I have a bag full of "vintage" black switches, if that would additionally save a poor vintage keyboard from destruction. I think most of them still have the diodes inside of the switch housing though.

Keep in mind,  if you're going to repurpose switches, Make sure to buy a desoldering pump.

Preferably a desoldering suction gun, if you can afford it.

These switches are not meant to be resoldered,   The housing where the copper is will melt slightly. The less skilled you are at -Desoldering- the longer you have to keep heating it.  The longer you heat it, the more the internal mechanical alignment is affected.

This culminates in keys chattering, inconsistent key feel, etc..


The sliders make very little difference, the well worn HOUSING in vintage switches is what's responsible for the bulk of the smoothness.

THAT SAID,  vintage black is still not as smooth as Cherry MX Blue.  MX Blue has the smoothest travel of any switch because it has that white internal slider with huge clearances, so you perceive overall very little friction.

I never thought of MX blue as particularly smooth, but the tactile event's rattle and inconsistency is distracting enough to throw that perception off. It definitely isn't noticeably scratchy like most blacks and browns.

[tp4tissue]

I never thought of MX blue as particularly smooth, but the tactile event's rattle and inconsistency is distracting enough to throw that perception off. It definitely isn't noticeably scratchy like most blacks and browns.

That internal slider configuration is a marvel of engineering. The majority of other switches pressed at an angle will be scratchy,  Not Mx blues though.  Sm000ttt +++

[Rayndalf]

Unitek K151Ls are guaranteed to have "vintage" black switches. They're usually cheap too, and not particularly rare.

I thought so to until recently. I've seen XT only and AT/XT variants with MX blacks, but I found an AT/XT variant with Mitsumi(?) switches as well.

[Maledicted]

Unitek K151Ls are guaranteed to have "vintage" black switches. They're usually cheap too, and not particularly rare.

I thought so to until recently. I've seen XT only and AT/XT variants with MX blacks, but I found an AT/XT variant with Mitsumi(?) switches as well.

I stand corrected. Looks to be MX mount Mitsumi miniature. I have never seen one that actually has a badge there either. There are apparently others as well.

[Rayndalf]

Unitek K151Ls are guaranteed to have "vintage" black switches. They're usually cheap too, and not particularly rare.

I thought so to until recently. I've seen XT only and AT/XT variants with MX blacks, but I found an AT/XT variant with Mitsumi(?) switches as well.

I stand corrected. Looks to be MX mount Mitsumi miniature. I have never seen one that actually has a badge there either. There are apparently others as well.

I was surprised too. The badge alone was exciting to me even if it's just a sticker. The switches are interesting and still have diodes for NKRO (this time on the PCB under the switch, so you can remove switches without also removing the diodes). Not sure what kind of plate it has (looks plateless, but weighs too much), I might have to break the warranty seal and find out.

MX blacks
Mitsumi Mini yellow, white, green

When it comes to Tawainese OEMs I guess there are no sure things... is this how Alps aficionados feel every day?

[Maledicted]

Unitek K151Ls are guaranteed to have "vintage" black switches. They're usually cheap too, and not particularly rare.

I thought so to until recently. I've seen XT only and AT/XT variants with MX blacks, but I found an AT/XT variant with Mitsumi(?) switches as well.

I stand corrected. Looks to be MX mount Mitsumi miniature. I have never seen one that actually has a badge there either. There are apparently others as well.

I was surprised too. The badge alone was exciting to me even if it's just a sticker. The switches are interesting and still have diodes for NKRO (this time on the PCB under the switch, so you can remove switches without also removing the diodes). Not sure what kind of plate it has (looks plateless, but weighs too much), I might have to break the warranty seal and find out.

MX blacks
Mitsumi Mini yellow, white, green

When it comes to Tawainese OEMs I guess there are no sure things... is this how Alps aficionados feel every day?

You know how those boards are constructed. Even the plastic case is twice as thick as most, and the base is pretty beefy steel as well if I remember right. I love how even the flip out feet are thick steel wire. Unsung hero of the MX switch in AT layout if you ask me. The one I swapped box jades into I had diodes that had literally rusted through. I replaced them all and either snuck them into the box housing or put them on the reverse of the PCB so that I never have to mess with them again.

I have never tried any Mitsumi switches before myself. How do you like them? I doubt Unitek is still honoring that warranty anyway. 

I can't speak for all Alps fans, but I don't think I've ever just rolled the dice on something like a Chicony mystery box. The Leading Edge DC-2014s I snapped up for songs were guaranteed to have SKCM blues. I do gamble on SKCM white vs blue, since early whites are really nice too (possibly just as nice) and the boards they come in are usually cool too. I have always lost that gamble, but the mint (still has a plastic sleeve on the cable) 1989 Omnikey 102 I just got recently has got some really buttery whites in it. There's SKCL green vs yellow in the Zenith boards, but I think those are both great linears either way.

I am physically repulsed by Apple logos, and boards that don't have inverted T arrows. The only Apple mystery box I picked up I grabbed in a lot of 5 or 6 boards at a recycling place. I think that has dampened creams in it.