Author Topic: [IC] DCS Alps WoB Keycaps Revived! - GB Live Now! (Read 24548 times)

PigeonsLikeBread · « **on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 11:05:51 »

GB is live now, please refer here for finalized kitting and renders, as well as information on where to buy: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=118246

Hello everyone,

This is an interest check for DCS Alps White-on-Black keycaps from Signature Plastics. As some of you may recall, this was previously an interest check by hineybush. He is no longer able to continue with the project and was nice enough to let me take over.

The purpose of this IC is to flush out some kitting, as well as throw out some ideas I had about making an Alps “starter pack.”

One of the biggest hassles with making a custom Alps build is having to source a compatible PCB and plate, switches, keycaps, and stabilizers. Unlike MX parts which are generally standardized, Alps parts do vary and can cause compatibility issues.

Finding aftermarket Alps-compatible PCBs has become easier with so many boards supporting h87a, h88a, and 60% w/ JST. Signature Plastics Alps keycaps use MX stabilizers, so that part is easy too. That leaves keycaps (which this GB covers), plates, and switches.

So along with this group buy, I would like to offer forged carbon fiber plates for many different boards, as well as genuine Alps switches. The latter is a little hard since Alps are no longer made, but I am doing some work to source them.

If this is something of interest to you, please let me know what board(s) you would be interested in getting plates for. Please make sure the board has an Alps compatible PCB already, because that will not be offered.

Now onto kitting:

I reworked some of the kitting. Most notably, I added Alice layout support in the base kit. F13 is TBD since I will need to confirm that it is possible to add at a reasonable price. I also made some changes to the spacebar kit and 40s kit. The ISO kit remains the same. See below.

Note: Legends will be in the style of DCS Midnight, not how they appear in the kits picture

I’d also like to offer relegendables and maybe a macro kit (for boards with a KMAC Mini style left cluster). Any preferences on a relegendable vs macro kit?

I am very open to suggestions for kitting, so please, if you have any, let me know!

My partner and main vendor for this GB is Bear Cable Co. (https://www.bearcables.com/). He will be the US vendor, and possibly, depending on demand, the global vendor. If there is enough interest, regional vendors could be added.

Interest Check Form: https://forms.gle/EpSoCeHza4sZ8MS69
Link to my Discord! https://discord.gg/dTTbRd5rTT

Any and all constructive feedback is great! Thank you.

PigeonsLikeBread · « **Reply #1 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 11:07:27 »

Reserved

7empest · « **Reply #2 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 11:12:16 »

Nice! Glad to see this is back. Alps is so neglected and there is such a need for more Alps customization! Glwic!

Also, I would def lean on the relegendable side

Zeelobby · « **Reply #3 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 11:14:34 »

On board as well.

ttom · « **Reply #4 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 11:21:03 »

I'd be interested in a 60% tray plate, but also imagine koala and v2ce plates would be quite popular. Probably in but would much prefer the font that we saw on DCS Alps Yuri.

Neely_12 · « **Reply #5 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 12:12:40 »

Want to see some good renders, but it’s nice to see alps getting some love. DCS profile is also

GLWIC!

Fraaaan · « **Reply #6 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 12:43:58 »

Consider getting rid of UK ISO kit and adding basic ISO support to base kit.

Weltschmerz · « **Reply #7 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 13:57:12 »

Interested! Hopefully this does well so we could potentially branch out to more interesting color schemes. I'd probably be in for a set or two

LightningXI · « **Reply #8 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 15:08:31 »

Nice. Good to see this back in the running.

jH0Ni · « **Reply #9 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 16:09:41 »

Would love a kit for vertical fn/macro cluster a la kmac mini. If so, I'd prefer macro keys rather than relegendables.

tpec · « **Reply #10 on:** Sun, 27 June 2021, 21:07:36 »

Glad this is moving forward! Can't wait to get some nice Alps caps:)

see · « **Reply #11 on:** Mon, 28 June 2021, 10:59:17 »

ooooh, been reading up on more alps/vint stuff recently and this is cool. especially with the non-standard dcs font (the font on dcs is one of the turn offs for me although it's not too bad)

good to see this is being revived

i luv chuletas · « **Reply #12 on:** Mon, 28 June 2021, 10:59:26 »

So glad to see this back up and running again!

As a side note, any chance we can get a 1u enter key for the 40's kit? Would love this for my Cajal and some green alps!

Onnimar · « **Reply #13 on:** Mon, 28 June 2021, 14:24:26 »

Count me in. Been waiting on this for a while.

edit "Keep the UK ISO, please."

Little4Real · « **Reply #14 on:** Mon, 28 June 2021, 18:04:08 »

Any chance you could add a 1U "0" to the numpad as well as the 2U version? Would be greatly appreciated.

PigeonsLikeBread · « **Reply #15 on:** Mon, 28 June 2021, 20:04:00 »

Quote from: i luv chuletas on Mon, 28 June 2021, 10:59:26

So glad to see this back up and running again!

As a side note, any chance we can get a 1u enter key for the 40's kit? Would love this for my Cajal and some green alps!

I will probably be revising the 40s kit so I will keep this in mind!

Quote from: Little4Real on Mon, 28 June 2021, 18:04:08

Any chance you could add a 1U "0" to the numpad as well as the 2U version? Would be greatly appreciated.

There is a R4 1u "0" - did you need something else?

Sterenke · « **Reply #16 on:** Tue, 29 June 2021, 04:01:38 »

Just wanted to say that the 40s rows probably have the wrong lables. The lower r2 should probably be r3. I'm also uncertain of who will use the r2 capslock for 40s (you might want to remove it).

In regards to the spacebar kit - you might want to add a 2u spacebar for alice support with 2u+1,25u layout.

Thanks for reviving this!
GLWIC

Sturmtiger · « **Reply #17 on:** Tue, 29 June 2021, 15:40:55 »

Let's go, looking good!

U47 · « **Reply #18 on:** Tue, 29 June 2021, 16:48:35 »

Quote from: Sterenke on Tue, 29 June 2021, 04:01:38

Just wanted to say that the 40s rows probably have the wrong lables. The lower r2 should probably be r3. I'm also uncertain of who will use the r2 capslock for 40s (you might want to remove it).

R3 is definitely missing a 1U ESC and/or a CTRL. That's a lot of Enters.

I'm not super familiar what the 40s kit is trying to support, but there's a lot of >1U keys here.

PigeonsLikeBread · « **Reply #19 on:** Tue, 29 June 2021, 22:41:42 »

Quote from: Sterenke on Tue, 29 June 2021, 04:01:38

Just wanted to say that the 40s rows probably have the wrong lables. The lower r2 should probably be r3. I'm also uncertain of who will use the r2 capslock for 40s (you might want to remove it).

In regards to the spacebar kit - you might want to add a 2u spacebar for alice support with 2u+1,25u layout.

Thanks for reviving this!
GLWIC

Quote from: U47 on Tue, 29 June 2021, 16:48:35

Quote from: Sterenke on Tue, 29 June 2021, 04:01:38
Just wanted to say that the 40s rows probably have the wrong lables. The lower r2 should probably be r3. I'm also uncertain of who will use the r2 capslock for 40s (you might want to remove it).
R3 is definitely missing a 1U ESC and/or a CTRL. That's a lot of Enters.

I'm not super familiar what the 40s kit is trying to support, but there's a lot of >1U keys here.

Thanks for the feedback. I'll definitely be revising the 40s kit.

Little4Real · « **Reply #20 on:** Wed, 30 June 2021, 00:30:13 »

Quote from: PigeonsLikeBread on Mon, 28 June 2021, 20:04:00

There is a R4 1u "0" - did you need something else?

Forgive me, I'm a little dumb sometimes.

Domantas · « **Reply #21 on:** Wed, 30 June 2021, 14:42:14 »

hm maybe buy just to have alps keycaps lol. Though I would recommend make it smaller kit (tkl + 65% and some basic ones) to keep price lower

joshuarubin · « **Reply #22 on:** Wed, 30 June 2021, 15:03:33 »

Curious what “original alps” switches you might be able to source. Are we talking new old stock skcm/skcl? Newer gen? What colors? It seemed like an aside in the post but sounds like a huge deal to me!

beigeandbrown · « **Reply #23 on:** Wed, 30 June 2021, 15:26:06 »

It'd be very cool if you would get sckm blue/orange and skcl greens but I think finding a good source of dell big foots, pine (old logo) if possible, would be ideal because people could try tactile, clicky, and linear (through modification of leaves) at a much lower price than sourcing the colored switches (esp. with those blue alps reaching $4+ per switch).

sntXrrr · « **Reply #24 on:** Wed, 30 June 2021, 18:58:02 »

Interesting, not sure if I will join. When it comes to Alps I have a Keymacs and will own a Borsdorf, both have non-standard layouts so these caps won't help me much there. But maybe I'll buy them anyway for some future board I don't know about yet.

matthewdias · « **Reply #25 on:** Fri, 02 July 2021, 02:10:06 »

I feel like 1 large base kit would make cost much more viable for those that need the extension kits. You could trim down 40s to just 1.75 backspace, 1.5 enter, and 1.25 tab, and do terminal ISO, so you arent adding too many keys to base. i think you can delete the 1.5u bar and the extra 2.75u bar, they arent really adding support for anything unless theres something alpsey idk about.

Croktopus · « **Reply #26 on:** Fri, 02 July 2021, 08:29:20 »

nice. hopefully it gets multiple rounds to encourage more alps kb/pcb design

rpiguy9907 · « **Reply #27 on:** Fri, 02 July 2021, 11:01:29 »

I have the opposite opinion - make smaller, cheaper kits.

No need for a num pad in the base kit. There are very few full size/1800 customs that need the numpad.

Make a small, cheap kit.

J3ff_Leopard · « **Reply #28 on:** Sat, 03 July 2021, 01:50:48 »

Quote from: rpiguy9907 on Fri, 02 July 2021, 11:01:29

I have the opposite opinion - make smaller, cheaper kits.

No need for a num pad in the base kit. There are very few full size/1800 customs that need the numpad.

Make a small, cheap kit.

Breaking up kits results in substantial price increases for people who need that compatibility. More than everyone else saves in most instances. Also for each kit you add, you significantly increase the risks that each one won't succeed. And yes, in 2021 there are still major concerns over Alps kits hitting moq. If anything it's only getting worse as time goes on as less switches become available/usable.It's very much still a niche within a niche. In my opinion, we should have as few kits as possible and support each other as a community to make sure it gets made.

drdoc · « **Reply #29 on:** Sat, 03 July 2021, 09:07:36 »

Y'all can throw rocks if you like, but a Matias kit would be the cat's PJs.

They make good switches and decent boards, but their keycaps are really awful.

And maybe a BAE set just for giggles

Cods · « **Reply #30 on:** Sun, 04 July 2021, 02:56:40 »

Interested in one or maybe two sets of each.
Would also be interested in other colourways - black-on-white, or even something like the design/colours Drop + BIIP throwback set.

U47 · « **Reply #31 on:** Mon, 05 July 2021, 10:41:32 »

As a veteran of the Alpine Winter buy, I think you should keep it as simple as possible. There are going to be more than enough problems with manufacturing and logistics, lack of Alps stab tooling, SP mess-ups, etc. etc. There's no need to try and scratch everyone's itch.

Signature Plastics caps are nothing to write home about, but a WoB PBT set is a legitimate goal that doesn't currently exist. It's a good goal.

I would suggest supporting as many layouts as is reasonable, and make a single kit (or maybe split it into two). That's already enough for any Alps group buy, imho. Fancy colourways, novelties, etc. can come later if this one is successful.

Bushhawk · « **Reply #32 on:** Fri, 09 July 2021, 14:28:36 »

Nice to see some love for Alps.

cgbuen · « **Reply #33 on:** Fri, 09 July 2021, 16:14:13 »

In for at least one!

hottrout · « **Reply #34 on:** Sat, 10 July 2021, 04:51:08 »

I'll take a set of everything, thank you for the simple but perfect ISO kit, I can't understand why all GB have a set like this as standard.

U47 · « **Reply #35 on:** Mon, 12 July 2021, 11:26:58 »

Question: does Signature Plastics have the ability to make convex Alps spacebars shorter than 6U? Honestly, that's my unicorn.

It's been mentioned already and you have said you're revising the 40s kit, but having 2 2U spacebars in the 40s kit is probably a good idea.

Looking forward to this hopefully happening.

PigeonsLikeBread · « **Reply #36 on:** Mon, 12 July 2021, 12:09:00 »

Quote from: U47 on Mon, 12 July 2021, 11:26:58

Question: does Signature Plastics have the ability to make convex Alps spacebars shorter than 6U? Honestly, that's my unicorn.

Hopefully it can be done, we will be working with SP on this.

Domantas · « **Reply #37 on:** Wed, 14 July 2021, 06:50:41 »

Quote from: J3ff_Leopard on Sat, 03 July 2021, 01:50:48

Quote from: rpiguy9907 on Fri, 02 July 2021, 11:01:29
I have the opposite opinion - make smaller, cheaper kits.

No need for a num pad in the base kit. There are very few full size/1800 customs that need the numpad.

Make a small, cheap kit.

Breaking up kits results in substantial price increases for people who need that compatibility. More than everyone else saves in most instances. Also for each kit you add, you significantly increase the risks that each one won't succeed. And yes, in 2021 there are still major concerns over Alps kits hitting moq. If anything it's only getting worse as time goes on as less switches become available/usable.It's very much still a niche within a niche. In my opinion, we should have as few kits as possible and support each other as a community to make sure it gets made.

I am always for either: super small base kit (kinda just to try it before new revision) OR super huge base kit and no other kits (unless it is 40% which is rare as it is, so it can be seperate). Thus I love drop sets (but kinda don't like drop itself lol). Hionestly anything could be alps but somehow people don't like to make plates and pcb for it. Generally I like base kit so either this or smaller

BOK · « **Reply #38 on:** Fri, 23 July 2021, 12:40:47 »

Reserve

F13 · « **Reply #39 on:** Fri, 23 July 2021, 16:36:03 »

Thanks for picking up this GB.

Looking forward to this going live!

ephemeral25 · « **Reply #40 on:** Fri, 23 July 2021, 16:52:37 »

Super nice project, still interested in it.

Could you please consider pipe R3 for the ISO kit ? (for ISO US)

_rubik · « **Reply #41 on:** Mon, 09 August 2021, 20:14:14 »

Ditto. Still interested.

TjarleN · « **Reply #42 on:** Mon, 23 August 2021, 04:24:45 »

ne updates avail?

PigeonsLikeBread · « **Reply #43 on:** Mon, 30 August 2021, 21:04:42 »

Currently working on kitting as well as plates.

So far I have prototypes for standard 60% (tray & o-ring), Jane V1 (with smaller tabs for Orion board compatibility), Jane V2, and Jane V2 CE, all in 1.1mm forged carbon fiber.

Pictures available here: https://imgur.com/a/TjnaBoX

I will be adding both macros and relegendables kits most likely, as well as regional vendors.

audax989 · « **Reply #44 on:** Mon, 30 August 2021, 22:39:53 »

Quote from: PigeonsLikeBread on Mon, 30 August 2021, 21:04:42

Currently working on kitting as well as plates.

So far I have prototypes for standard 60% (tray & o-ring), Jane V1 (with smaller tabs for Orion board compatibility), Jane V2, and Jane V2 CE, all in 1.1mm forged carbon fiber.

Pictures available here: https://imgur.com/a/TjnaBoX

I will be adding both macros and relegendables kits most likely, as well as regional vendors.

would definitely be interested in a Jane / Orion Alps solution. Hopefully this makes it.

AeternusCo · « **Reply #45 on:** Mon, 30 August 2021, 23:26:04 »

I'd suggest removing the R2 caps key from the 40s kit, that's not really a key that's used

headdent · « **Reply #46 on:** Fri, 03 September 2021, 17:05:29 »

Would love to see a relegendable kit happen.

xjejex · « **Reply #47 on:** Sat, 11 September 2021, 12:21:12 »

def interested, keep up the good work!

kameron · « **Reply #48 on:** Sat, 11 September 2021, 12:41:17 »

some renders would be nice and i agree that a relegendable kit would be great glwic.

treeleaf64 · « **Reply #49 on:** Sat, 11 September 2021, 13:34:27 »

Will purchase for the long awaited day when someone decides to remake alps skcl green my favorite linear so i can put it on my kebyoard

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Author Topic: [IC] DCS Alps WoB Keycaps Revived! - GB Live Now! (Read 24548 times)