Alps Appreciation Thread

[Wingpad]

Guys, guess what I finally started putting together?

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My Omnikey Dream Build ❤️:

Massive shout-out to fohat for helping make this happen; he sold me the board and did a great job painting the plate. I mean, my car got wrecked today (I wasn't driving it so I'm safe) but at least I have this

[mike52787]

Guys, guess what I finally started putting together?

More

My Omnikey Dream Build ❤️:

Show Image

Massive shout-out to fohat for helping make this happen; he sold me the board and did a great job painting the plate. I mean, my car got wrecked today (I wasn't driving it so I'm safe) but at least I have this :thumb:

That green plate is gorgeous! fully customized omnikeys are so great. Are you planning on painting the case? what caps are going on that beauty?

[Wingpad]

That green plate is gorgeous! fully customized omnikeys are so great. Are you planning on painting the case? what caps are going on that beauty?

I don't think I'll paint the case, this one is in really nice shape and so I wouldn't have anything to "hide." Hoping to find some Alps Electric double-shots for the alphas. The Japanese made AT101 I found (on Taobao) ended up being out of stock but I still have some OG Tai-Hao double-shots I could put on there in the mean time... Or AT101 PBTs... Or IBM 5140 PBTs... The point is I have options. I'll probably go with the AT101 PBTs since PBTs (in general) seem to sound really nice on this chassis when paired with Blues, we'll see. I'm still going to be pining for a Japanese Made AT101 with pine switches and Alps Electric double-shots, though, haha. I told the seller to let me know as soon as he finds one

[mike52787]

That green plate is gorgeous! fully customized omnikeys are so great. Are you planning on painting the case? what caps are going on that beauty?

I don't think I'll paint the case, this one is in really nice shape and so I wouldn't have anything to "hide." Hoping to find some Alps Electric Double-shots for the Alphas. The Japanese made AT101 I found (on Taobao) ended up being out of stock but I still have some OG Tai-Hao double-shots I could put on there in the mean time... Or AT101 PBTs... Or IBM 5140 PBTs... The point is I have options. I'll probably go with the AT101 PBTs since PBTs (in general) seem to sound really nice on this chassis when paired with Blues, we'll see. I'm still going to be pining for a Japanese Made AT101 with pine switches and Alps Electric double-shots, though, haha. I told the seller to let me know as soon as he finds one

I can sell you a set of alps electric alphas, Im not using them. They were the ones that were on my alps64 when you saw it. such nice caps. nice and thick.

[Mattr567]

Looks great. Also the Tamdem uses Alps Electric doubleshots just like the NeXT and that Japanese AT101. Too bad the layout is so unconventional.

SKCL Striped Amber impressions:

They are in essence the perfect linear Alps switch. No bones about it. They have a cushion like SKCL Brown while not being too heavy. In terms of weight they are realy close to SKCL Yellow (while a bit heavier) but even so Yellow doesn't have the cushion. Yellow is an obvious descendant of Green while SKCL Striped Amber is basically the Goldilock of linear Alps switches. They really are that good. SKCL Green be damned!

E3E also described them to be the "nixdorf" of Alps since it has the stripe like how those nixdorf MX Black's have the clear housings. Extremely rare as well. No one else knows about this switch. Not even those random Japnese websites have this switch or the Tandem itself documented. The best linear Alps switch no one got basically.

[E3E]

SKCL Striped Ambers are definitely both lookers and really well-balanced switches. It's a shame they're like hypermegasuperare. On sites abroad, ie in Asia, the least documented switches seem to be Alps SKCM Green while Alps SKCL Striped Amber has no documentation at all.

There's no prior documentation or photos of these anywhere at all. They are definitely "nixdorf rare," but then so is every switch up to Alps SKCL Brown (which I tier as one tick more common than pine SKCM Greens). These are probably a lot harder to find than nixdorfs. They just don't carry the obscene price.

I need to get some coins to measure these and SKCL Cream and Brown again.  The striped ambers aren't too heavy, but the spring provides a real nice cushioning at the bottom of the stroke, which is one reason I like SKCL Brown so much.

[edb5s]

Hi all. Figured I'd try this request in this thread before starting a new one. I just bought an Alps Glidepoint Keypad. It's a numpad/trackpad combo. Part number KGL017-00. Serial port connection. I got a USB-serial converter and plugged it in, installed the converter's driver, and the trackpad works but none of the keys do. Can't find a driver for the keypad anywhere. This thing was made in '95 and thus came with a 3.5" floppy with the driver on it  . Any help would be appreciated. Below is a link to the product.

https://www.amazon.com/GLIDEPOINT-KEYPAD-Numeric-Computer-TrackPad/dp/B0032NDNRO

[fohat.digs]

That is a cool little device. I am surprised that it only has 1 plug, usually mice/pads had their own plugs and the "keyboard" part had a different one.

Keyboard plugs/converters (purple) usually do not have the same wiring as mouse/pad (green) ones.

[chyros]

Tht's  known product. I can't remember what switches it has, but I think it was SKFL. Definitely not SKCL/SKCM though.

[edb5s]

Tht's  known product. I can't remember what switches it has, but I think it was SKFL. Definitely not SKCL/SKCM though.

It's SKFS White: https://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKFR/SKFS_series

I'm wondering if I would have better luck with a serial to PS2 converter? Might try that.

[ctm]

Just built a board with Matias quiet linear using Infinity PCB and plate from Alps Party. However I find myself not enjoying linear switches as much as I expected.

[fohat.digs]

I find myself not enjoying linear switches as much as I expected.

Linear switches suck. I don't know why they even exist.

[mike52787]

Just built a board with Matias quiet linear using Infinity PCB and plate from Alps Party. However I find myself not enjoying linear switches as much as I expected.

Thats not an infinity layout, but yeah, matias linears arent great. Use SKCL green if you want nice linears.

[ctm]

Just built a board with Matias quiet linear using Infinity PCB and plate from Alps Party. However I find myself not enjoying linear switches as much as I expected.

Thats not an infinity layout, but yeah, matias linears arent great. Use SKCL green if you want nice linears.

Infinity 1.1 (with LED support) also supports ANSI layout. I think I am just not a linear switch fan in general. I find the tactile feedback to be necessary for me.

[Hypersphere]

Edgar Matias maintains that all Cherry mx switches are inherently linear; some claim to be tactile by grafting a bump onto the slider and others achieve clickiness by adding a clicker. I tend to agree with him, so that for me, the best Cherry switches are the ones that are billed as linear, unfettered with tactile or clicky add-ons. However, I find contemporary linear Cherry switches lack smoothness. Gateron seems to have addressed this, and if I were going to use a linear mx switch, I would choose Gateron yellow for a good blend of actuation and bottoming-out weights along with smooth operation.

I've tried Matias linear switches, and they had two problems for me. First, they were too light. Second, they were linear! They lacked the excellent tactile feedback of the Matias Click or Matias Quiet switches.

Although I like Matias Click and Matias Quiet switches, they aren't as refined as Alps switches in good to excellent condition. At the moment, I favor SKCM blue and SKCM white Alps switches. These have just the right amount of tactile feedback and a relatively subtle click. I still have high hopes for Matias. I hope they will iron out the kinks in their switches and perhaps eventually introduce improved versions that could rival vintage Alps.

As for damped vs. undamped Alps or Alps clones, I prefer undamped. However, I have swapped out the sliders on some of my Alps boards with damped sliders from Matias Quiet switches, but I've kept all of the other parts of the Alps switches, including the return spring and tactile/click leaf. I thought that I might like a hemi-damped slider with damping only on the return stroke, but when I clipped the bottom dampers on some Matias Quiet switches, I was not pleased with the result.

In general, I prefer tactile or tactile/clicky switches to linear switches, but based on what I've read and tried, if I were to use a linear switch, it would most likely be Alps. At the moment, I have two boards with linear Alps waiting in the wings for refurbishing -- one has SKCL green and the other has SKCL yellow. When I eventually get around to making these boards fully operational, I will post my impressions.

[chyros]

Edgar Matias maintains that all Cherry mx switches are inherently linear; some claim to be tactile by grafting a bump onto the slider and others achieve clickiness by adding a clicker. I tend to agree with him, so that for me, the best Cherry switches are the ones that are billed as linear, unfettered with tactile or clicky add-ons. However, I find contemporary linear Cherry switches lack smoothness. Gateron seems to have addressed this, and if I were going to use a linear mx switch, I would choose Gateron yellow for a good blend of actuation and bottoming-out weights along with smooth operation.

Yes, I agree with this completely. It's very obvious that the Cherry system was designed to be linear. Although this is also true for Alps, they went through much greater lengths to adapt that system for tactility and clickiness. Cherry switches, most definitely modern ones, are really bad; rough, scratchy, and badly weighted. Gateron black switches feel much smoother for sure, but their quality control is abysmal.

[mushman]

I still have high hopes for Matias.

I don't.  QC problems, lack of repair facilities, no official voluntary communication or updates, etc.

I think they are finished.

[pixelpusher]

I find myself not enjoying linear switches as much as I expected.

Linear switches suck. I don't know why they even exist.

I LOVE clicky keys.  However, I do find that linear are nice to game with.  I find that with anything requiring constant key press, linear switches make it fun to lightly hover/bounce in the region between the top of the keypress and bottoming out. 

[chyros]

I find myself not enjoying linear switches as much as I expected.

Linear switches suck. I don't know why they even exist.

I LOVE clicky keys.  However, I do find that linear are nice to game with.  I find that with anything requiring constant key press, linear switches make it fun to lightly hover/bounce in the region between the top of the keypress and bottoming out.

I typed my thesis on SKCL green.

[fohat.digs]

linear switches make it fun to lightly hover/bounce in the region between the top of the keypress and bottoming out. 

Oh, I get that. I was being silly to provoke people.

I bought my teenage son a Filco TKL with black switches and O-rings.

[E3E]

Yep, Alps is not that different from Cherry in terms of the SKCM/SKCL line of switches being based off of a linear design. I'd reason that this is because linear switches were the most common kinds of switches before the DIN revision in the 1980s. But yeah, Alps just had a much better system for tactility and clickiness, at the cost of integrated diodes and LEDs sure, but while maintaining quality throughout.

SKCM Brown and Green are very interesting curiosities because of how atypical they are. Yeah, Alps was inventive.

Also, just restored one of several IBM 5576-002s that came in from China.



They've got nice double dye-subbed PBT caps (blue sublegends like the Chinese Multistation's caps; the more typical Japanese version is all black) that are also two-piece designs much like you see on some Model Ms. The PCB is flexible and incredibly thin in order to work with the bent plate. The caps have no sculpt or stepping profile. The board has NKRO.



The layout is very awkward, but kind of a fun challenge to type on.

I am DEFINITELY going to need an ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning caps at this rate. I don't know how I had the patience to restore all my Xerox boards like that.

As someone who also has an IBM P70, the plate-mounted variant is so much better to type on. It's also worth noting that the switch housings are different for plate mount vs PCB mount plate spring switches. The area that houses the slider is the same between them both, but the bottom housing is specific to the mounting style, and PCB switches cannot fit into plates.

I was going to say the plate was only .6mm thick, but that seemed very wrong, haha. Yeah, I didn't have my calipers zero'd correctly.

[streetwizzur]

white/cream alps @ work

[Hypersphere]

<snip>
<snip>
I typed my thesis on SKCL green.

So, your thesis is completed then?

[rm-rf]

i just ordered an alps board, in silk tie form.

[mike52787]

Anyone got an extra SKCL lock switch you can send me? I love locking FN layers.

[alh84001]

I do. if you don't find anyone in the states, let me know.

[E3E]

Little typing demo of the IBM 5576-002

Very awkward layout but kind of fun to make do. Once my adapter for PS/2 to DIN 5 comes in, I'll see if I can't do something with my Soarer's converter.

[chyros]

Alps plate spring are great, they're really nice switches. Sound quite fun too.

[Hypersphere]

Do Alps plate spring switches have to be PCB-mounted?

[mike52787]

Just finished this today, SKCM creams are so good

[E3E]

Do Alps plate spring switches have to be PCB-mounted?

There are two variants (as far as I have personally seen anyway), the plate-mount version and the PCB-mount version. The bottom housing of these switches is what separates them from each other. The P70 has these PCB-mount switches, and they have two fixing pins that are soldered on the PCB. These can't mount into a plate at all.

Then there are the plate-mount versions, which I think only show up in the IBM Japan Alps plate spring keyboards (5576-001 and 002). I have yet to see them in detail, but one of the 5576-002s I have received is incomplete and missing keys and switches, so I plan to dismantle that one.

[Norman_the_Owl]

Those IBM boards are exquisite...

[Quackles]

If you just soak them in warm water with some detergent it should become easy to peel of the stickers. At least it was this way with my m0115 and m0116 which both had stickers on their numpads.

Thanks for that, the stickers came off pretty easily. The keycaps look to be in great condition too!

[Mattr567]

Got the correct Tandem in E3E's and I's were mixed up in shipping if you didn't know. Build quality is pretty good. Switches are nice and smooth. The caps are the same type of Alps Electric doubleshots like the NeXT and other keyboards. Yellowed to death but the shade isn't that bad actually. May retrobright the Alphas for use on other boards.

Lost two switches in the process though 1 had the slider's inside ripped out so no cap will fit, and two had broken off stems stuck in their sliders. I got one off but other one is a goner since the previous owner had tried to glue the original cap back on and it's stuck inside as a result. Maybe if I let it soak in something to remove the glue I could get it off. Unlikely since it's really on there.

Also got a SKCL Brown from E3E. Nice switch. Very similar to SKCL Striped Amber but just heavier. Normal SKCL Amber is heavier still. So 3 new additions to the switch tester. Filled to the brim. Will post pics when I desolder the Tandem.
Pics

[adevriesc]

The voltage regulator on that keyboard has a hilariously large heatsink.

[alienman82]

removed.

[lootbag]

The Zenith Z-150 I purchased from another member arrived in pieces and a lengthy Paypal claim took place.
It took a while but I decided to build the an Alps64 and I am glad I did.

CAD my own SS plate and had a shop in Shenzhen produce it for me, it only cost about 12USD.
I only like the HHKB layout.
Bought the cheap generic plastic case from Taobao.

Still need to order a AT101 for the keycaps though.
Linear greens are perfect, slightly heavier than Topre 45g but less then Topre 55g, exactly what I am looking for.
Smooth and just the right amount of mechanical noise when I need a break from my silenced HHKB.

[pabile]

@lootbag would you mind sharing where you got your plate? i guess shipping to PH will be cheaper from your loc

Sent from my LG-H502 using Tapatalk

[lootbag]

@lootbag would you mind sharing where you got your plate? i guess shipping to PH will be cheaper from your loc

Sent from my LG-H502 using Tapatalk

I got it from Taobao, there are shops that offer the service and just send them a CAD file and choose what material you want.

[Mattr567]

Additional close up shot of SKCL Striped Amber

[pabile]

I got it from Taobao, there are shops that offer the service and just send them a CAD file and choose what material you want.

thanks

[mike52787]

Additional close up shot of SKCL Striped Amber

Show Image

Do they have tall grey, tall white, or tall black switchplates? Do you know their place in the timeline?

[Mattr567]

Additional close up shot of SKCL Striped Amber

Show Image

Do they have tall grey, tall white, or tall black switchplates? Do you know their place in the timeline?

They have tall grey plates. The board was made in 1987, and the switches are lubed so they are first generation. Given their strong relationship to SKCL Brown I'd say it is in the same place as them timeline wise.

[klennkellon]

I opened up my Packard Bell to try to find some markings to find out the date of the board but I could not find ANY markings at all on the inside, even the controller did not have any information on the date. WTH

[E3E]

On my Xeroxes, some of the ICs had a double digit code in the number stamped on them that gave away the year, like 91, 90, 89, etc. Look for something like that on the ICs to get an approximate date.

With SKCL Brown, I'd imagine anywhere from 1986-1989. My Tandem with SKCL Browns was from 1987. The Striped Amber one is from 1986.

[klennkellon]

On my Xeroxes, some of the ICs had a double digit code in the number stamped on them that gave away the year, like 91, 90, 89, etc. Look for something like that on the ICs to get an approximate date.

With SKCL Brown, I'd imagine anywhere from 1986-1989. My Tandem with SKCL Browns was from 1987. The Striped Amber one is from 1986.

IC?

[djpyle]

Some of you may have seen this already, but I just finished a big (for me) AEKII project, and I'm loving the results!



Full album here: http://imgur.com/a/muJvc

I'm already itching to do something more with my salmons and on the hunt for some orange and/or blue switches. I've been using Matias switches (both Click and Quiet Click) for about five years now but only got into vintage switches in the last few months. I love the click-modded salmons to death, but click-modded creams are a nice compromise, quiet enough that I can use them while my wife and kids are sleeping but still nice and clicky.

[Mattr567]

IC is the chip on the PCB. Usually has a year date on it.

That board looks awesome. I actually like the color of those dyed caps. Give off a very SGI-y vibe.

[E3E]

On my Xeroxes, some of the ICs had a double digit code in the number stamped on them that gave away the year, like 91, 90, 89, etc. Look for something like that on the ICs to get an approximate date.

With SKCL Brown, I'd imagine anywhere from 1986-1989. My Tandem with SKCL Browns was from 1987. The Striped Amber one is from 1986.

IC?

Integrated Circuits



These are from my 1996 Xerox Docutech keyboard (before I restored it, which is why it's a little funky ).

[klennkellon]

I found an "86" one one of those with a Texas Instruments (?) logo next to it.