Very Early Focus FK-2001 w/ SKCM Blue

[Mattr567]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/201521971642?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Lots of rust on that plate though Good candidate for a daily driver.

[GL1TCH3D]

I'm not that kowledgeable in the vintage section but the keycaps and in general, the entire board, seems very clean.

But yea, that rust =(

Is this the famous blue alps that people like?

[Mattr567]

I'm not that kowledgeable in the vintage section but the keycaps and in general, the entire board, seems very clean.

But yea, that rust =(

Is this the famous blue alps that people like?

Yep, a very large majority of FK-2001's use SKCM White Alps and later clones. Only very early 2001's use Blue Alps. Have a few in my Alps switch tester, they feel very nice but aren't worth the super inflated price they are at right now imo. It will be interesting to see what this 2001 ends up going for.

[axtran]

Looks like a lot of refurbish to use the board considering the amount of rust. The person lives in New Orleans, so it's likely due to the intense humid seasons there.

That being said, it'll probably go for way too much money. You really should pay at most $75 for one of these, but there's a bunch of people out there just itchin' for SKCM Blue, which although is a pain to find, isn't really that rare. Most of the people who own them probably don't even know how to use eBay.

[GL1TCH3D]

I'm not that kowledgeable in the vintage section but the keycaps and in general, the entire board, seems very clean.

But yea, that rust =(

Is this the famous blue alps that people like?

Yep, a very large majority of FK-2001's use SKCM White Alps and later clones. Only very early 2001's use Blue Alps. Have a few in my Alps switch tester, they feel very nice but aren't worth the super inflated price they are at right now imo. It will be interesting to see what this 2001 ends up going for.

I've always wanted to try blue alps but yea... never really got to try it and most of the boards featuring them sell for a lot.

[khronokrator]

The hype over Blue Alps is pretty insane right now. I'm hoping that like most market bubbles, this one eventually bursts and the prices return to saner levels.

But right now, it's very much a seller's market and virtually any Blue Alps boards that go up for auction are easily going for $300.

[GL1TCH3D]

The hype over Blue Alps is pretty insane right now. I'm hoping that like most market bubbles, this one eventually bursts and the prices return to saner levels.

But right now, it's very much a seller's market and virtually any Blue Alps boards that go up for auction are easily going for $300.

To give you an idea the Yamaha vintage planar magnetic headphones that were $25 ish, shot up to several hundred depending on the model because of a couple of users praising it for the sound quality and modding potential.

Similarly, another vintage planar, the sansui SS100, used to sell for under $80. When I was right in the middle of the headphone market, these things sold for $300-450 depending on condition. I hear now that they sell for over $700 now.

[khronokrator]

Yeah, I have a friend who's a bit of an audiophile and I've been treated to several rants on the crazy price fluctuations that can happen in that market. I'm no longer concerned as much with Blue Alps, personally, and I advise people wanting to try them to take the same attitude.

Don't give up looking for them, obviously, but when it comes to eBay auctions you'd better have some very deep pockets in today's market. Yes, Blue Alps are pretty scarce by definition (since they were only made for a few years in the mid-80s and early 90s, it seems, compared to the enormous number of keyboards made in the 90s with White Alps and White Alps clones), but the hype is real right now.

I'm of the opinion that SMK Monterey Blues seem almost as good, and you can usually find them for a fraction of the price. The only problem is the Monterey boards themselves tend to be pretty unremarkable keyboards, to be honest, with crummy keycaps and made of flimsy plastic. 

[chyros]

The most beautiful Alps board, with the best Alps switches. Hope this goes to someone who will appreciate it .

[khronokrator]

I still maintain that your KB101A is the most beautiful Alps board, Chyros. 

[Mattr567]

I still maintain that your KB101A is the most beautiful Alps board, Chyros. 

Agreed. Looks ok, but a little flimsy. The KB101A or a SKCM Blue swapped Alps made Bigfoot keyboard would be the best. SKCM Oranges in mine are already amazing

[chyros]

I still maintain that your KB101A is the most beautiful Alps board, Chyros. 

Agreed. Looks ok, but a little flimsy. The KB101A or a SKCM Blue swapped Alps made Bigfoot keyboard would be the best. SKCM Oranges in mine are already amazing

Haha, yeah, it's true, all Focuses are somewhat flimsy xD . They all look great though, IMO, and the 2001 (actually the 2002) is the best-looking one, especially with the dust cover. By contrast, the Omnikey is the best-built one, and it looks like crap xD .

[fohat.digs]

They all look great though, IMO, and the 2001 (actually the 2002) is the best-looking one, especially with the dust cover.
By contrast, the Omnikey is the best-built one, and it looks like crap.

I have to disagree. Focus styling is goofy and the brown dust cover seems incongruous. The Northgates are beautiful, although the ones with little squares painted where keys are supposed to be look silly.

[chyros]

They all look great though, IMO, and the 2001 (actually the 2002) is the best-looking one, especially with the dust cover.
By contrast, the Omnikey is the best-built one, and it looks like crap.

I have to disagree. Focus styling is goofy and the brown dust cover seems incongruous. The Northgates are beautiful, although the ones with little squares painted where keys are supposed to be look silly.

I actually like those squares xD . It seems that we like opposite things xD . Well come to think of it, Northgate was an American company; maybe their styling was made to appeal to an American audience .

[fohat.digs]

It seems that we like opposite things. Well come to think of it, Northgate was an American company; maybe their styling was made to appeal to an American audience.

I like things clean and simple. All those embossed lines and grooves annoy me. And the interlocking zeros in the number are so 1970s.
The dust cover is a good concept, and the side attachment mechanism is clever, but it should have been more transparent or just barely smoky.
Granted, the trap door on the Northgates was overkill, but the actual door is quite intricate and much more interesting than most labels.

[Mattr567]

It seems that we like opposite things. Well come to think of it, Northgate was an American company; maybe their styling was made to appeal to an American audience.

I like things clean and simple. All those embossed lines and grooves annoy me. And the interlocking zeros in the number are so 1970s.
The dust cover is a good concept, and the side attachment mechanism is clever, but it should have been more transparent or just barely smoky.
Granted, the trap door on the Northgates was overkill, but the actual door is quite intricate and much more interesting than most labels.

Then would you like a Bigfoot? The design is pretty simple and uniform.

[fohat.digs]

Then would you like a Bigfoot? The design is pretty simple and uniform.

The Dell/SGI AT101 Bigfoot? Yes, that is a fairly good clean design.

The horrendous various Model F Bigfeet? Absolutely not, they are ridiculously large for no reason. I don't mind huge keyboards if there are valid reasons for their size, but a tiny keyboard inside of a useless huge case is offensive and stupid.

[jacobolus]

FK-2001 just looks cheap. Which makes sense, because the construction *was* very cheap.

Here’s a keyboard that doesn’t waste space around the sides, and is impressively sturdy:

[chyros]

Here’s a keyboard that doesn’t waste space around the sides, and is impressively sturdy:

Show Image

It's also absolutely **** ugly  :)) . Or at least, in my opinion.

[jacobolus]

Looks way better than the Focus.

But to be honest, after figuring out how functionally backwards standard IBM/QWERTY style keyboard layouts are, I find all such keyboards fairly ugly.

I suspect most people’s aesthetic criteria for keyboards is dominated by what’s familiar, which for a long time was the 1985–86 IBM 101-key extended keyboard style, and today is probably Apple keyboards.

Here’s something much prettier, if you start thinking about the typist’s comfort:


Does waste a bit of space though.

Or a bit more polished:

[fohat.digs]

It's also absolutely **** ugly. Or at least, in my opinion.

That little Apple got just about everything wrong except for the acreage and the switch mechanisms.

[Mattr567]

Then would you like a Bigfoot? The design is pretty simple and uniform.

The Dell/SGI AT101 Bigfoot? Yes, that is a fairly good clean design.

The horrendous various Model F Bigfeet? Absolutely not, they are ridiculously large for no reason. I don't mind huge keyboards if there are valid reasons for their size, but a tiny keyboard inside of a useless huge case is offensive and stupid.

Yep, the Alps Bigfoot. Using my SGI right now with SKCM Orange

It's also absolutely **** ugly. Or at least, in my opinion.

That little Apple got just about everything wrong except for the acreage and the switch mechanisms.

Yep, the layout kills it. The Extended's have a very clean design but the switching of the home bumps kills it for me.

[Hak Foo]

Honestly what kills me about the AEKs is the rotated top-row keys.  You're stuck with them.

[FoxWolf1]

I rather like the look of this one, even if it's lacking the usual Focus innovation/madness. Would never actually buy, thanks to Focus quality (and the fact that, given that particular keyboard's age, I'd have to destroy it several times over to get it clean enough), but it's not bad to look at IMO.

What I really want to know, though, is how the tiny Chinese keyboard company RacerKey (who usually don't-- or didn't; I'm not sure they're still in business-- venture beyond modding mainstream rubber domes for better performance) came to be using this shell for their RK-2013 model. Was actually tempted to buy one a few years back, but chickened out, half because of the usual TaoBao risks and half because I wasn't entirely convinced that their system for analog control over PS/2 speed wouldn't make my PC explode...

[jacobolus]

Honestly what kills me about the AEKs is the rotated top-row keys.  You're stuck with them.

They’re great though.

If you put keycaps that tall on Alps switches rotated the normal way, they get very wobbly, but rotated 90° they still work great. Having them be so tall is of great practical advantage when actually using the keyboard.


I wish other producers of Alps keycaps would hop on the super-tall rotated F-row keycap bandwagon.

DCS and similar keycap profiles sometimes have an extra tall F row, but it’s not as extra tall as it should be. For example:


With the extra height of the Apple AEK caps, it would actually be quite practical to make a layout where the F row is very close to the number row, with maybe 1/4u gap (or even no gap, if you want) and still have the F row be usable. On most “75%” keyboards where there isn’t a gap between the number row and F row, the F row keys are basically unusable, because the number row is in the way. To press the F row keys you have to move your hands significantly more than you would with taller keycaps, in order to guarantee that you can press the key down without having your finger collide with the key in front.

For example, this layout is terrible with the keycaps being used in the picture:

[ander]

I suspect we should all probably get out of the house a bit more.

[chyros]

I suspect we should all probably get out of the house a bit more.

I know, fortunately I'm going to get pissed like hell tomorrow xD .