« previous next »
Pages:  [1]     Go Down

Author Topic: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps  (Read 2120 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline WhiteRice

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 850
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« on: Thu, 05 August 2010, 23:58:26 »
I wanted to try my hand at dying some keys for my ABS M1. I have read that finding a donor board to pull the caps from is my best bet.

Here are the criteria I have came up with.

Must fit Alps switches
White keys so they can be dyed to any color

Can you guys make a few suggestions? I wasn't sure whether or not all Alps key caps are created "equal".

If they are then I'll just go through the keyboard ref and start searching on ebay.

Thanks
Logged

Offline Morning Song

  • Posts: 90
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 07 August 2010, 11:33:30 »
My first thought would be a Dell AT101/w. The keycaps are two-toned like most older keyboards, but light colored and used AT101ws are easily available at cheap prices.
Logged
Clicky keyboards and big trackballs forever!

Keyboards:
Buckling Spring: IBM Model M 1391401, Unicomp Customizer 104, PS/2 modded IBM Model F Terminal 6110668 (current favorite)
Cherry: Filco Majestouch 105 Blue NKRO w/ doubleshots
ALPS: Dell AT101W Black SNAFU (Silent No-longer; All Fukka\'d Up), Siig Minitouch KB1948 Geek Hack Spacesaver edition, Focus FK-2001 w/ WinKeys+XM Alps
Rubber Dome: Belkin F8E887-BLK, Silitek SK-6000, Logitech Internet Navigator Keyboard

Works in Progress:
Prism ATX N9 Keyboard w/ Fukkas (Clickleaf Donor), Cherry G80-8113HRBUS-2/02 Brown NKRO, Cherry G81-7000HPCUS-2/02 (Doubleshot donors), Unicomp Customizer 101 (Springs donor, needs boltmod)

Pointing Devices:
Kensington Expert Mouse 7, Wacom Intuos3 6x8 w/ classic pen

Looking to buy/trade for:Dolch Cherry keycaps, Northgate Omnikey (With Fkeys on top, or both top & left), IBM Model F AT

Offline WhiteRice

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 850
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 07 August 2010, 14:16:21 »
Thanks guys, great!
Logged

Offline spolia optima

  • Posts: 580
  • Location: On the shores of the cosmic ocean...
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 07 August 2010, 15:31:25 »
AEK / AEK II are the best donor 'boards for ALPS caps. 2 reasons:
-they're essentially the same pbt dye sub caps found on the SGI 'boards that ripster mentions above
- you can get a used AEK/AEKII for under $10 shipped. They're all over the place.

cons:
-ridiculous nub on "K" key
-ridiculous nub on "D" key
Logged
keyboards!

Offline Findecanor

  • Posts: 5037
  • Location: Koriko
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 07 August 2010, 18:33:00 »
The keys on the bottom row of the AEKII are not all the same size. The Option keys are smaller than the Control and Command keys. The layout of the numeric keypad is also different, with an extra = key and a small + key, with '-' shifted down one step.
Some AEKIIs are also weird in that the left Shift, Caps lock, Tab and ~ are 1/4" wider, while Backspace, Enter and Shift are 1/4" less wide. The alphanumeric section is shifted 1/4" to the right!

The key caps are also weird in that they bottom edge is aligned to the curvature of the case's lid. They might therefore look quite weird on a keyboard with a flat case.
Logged

Offline Pylon

  • Posts: 852
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 07 August 2010, 20:13:30 »
How about a Dell Quietkey? Much cheaper than an AT101W ($1-$5 on Craigslist) but the keycaps still fit Alps switches (due to plunger design). However I suspect they're pad printed.
Logged

Offline ch_123

  • * Exalted Elder
  • Posts: 5860
Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 07 August 2010, 20:17:51 »
They are not interchangeable. The slot on the keycap is orientated vertically as opposed to horizontally.
Logged
Pages:  [1]     Go Up
« previous next »