Author Topic: Alps Appreciation Thread (Read 2451894 times)

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6000 on:** Thu, 29 March 2018, 10:07:52 »

Definitely not Orange Alps so they are Salmon.

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6001 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 18:22:42 »

Anyone have any ideas on what the best source of alps compatible caps will be for a 60%? It's got to be a layout that alps64 supports.

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6002 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:40:41 »

The easiest keys to source are the doubleshot Alps sets.

subcat · « **Reply #6003 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:56:34 »

Quote from: Blaise170 on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:40:41

The easiest keys to source are the doubleshot Alps sets.

in other news, the best keycaps for your mx switches are the mx keycaps

seriously what does this even mean, tai-hao?

klennkellon · « **Reply #6004 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 21:01:51 »

Quote from: subcat on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:56:34

Quote from: Blaise170 on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:40:41
The easiest keys to source are the doubleshot Alps sets.

in other news, the best keycaps for your mx switches are the mx keycaps

seriously what does this even mean, tai-hao?

my favorite mechanical keyboard is the one with the switches

Delirious · « **Reply #6005 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 22:11:42 »

Quote from: klennkellon on Fri, 13 April 2018, 21:01:51

Quote from: subcat on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:56:34
Quote from: Blaise170 on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:40:41
The easiest keys to source are the doubleshot Alps sets.

in other news, the best keycaps for your mx switches are the mx keycaps

seriously what does this even mean, tai-hao?
my favorite mechanical keyboard is the one with the switches

My favorite layout is the one with all the keys lining up in staggered manner.

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6006 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 22:14:11 »

Quote from: Delirious on Fri, 13 April 2018, 22:11:42

Quote from: klennkellon on Fri, 13 April 2018, 21:01:51
Quote from: subcat on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:56:34
Quote from: Blaise170 on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:40:41
The easiest keys to source are the doubleshot Alps sets.

in other news, the best keycaps for your mx switches are the mx keycaps

seriously what does this even mean, tai-hao?
my favorite mechanical keyboard is the one with the switches

My favorite layout is the one with all the keys lining up in staggered manner.

My favorite is my favorite.

E3E · « **Reply #6007 on:** Fri, 13 April 2018, 22:46:20 »

Personally, I like

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6008 on:** Sun, 15 April 2018, 02:46:13 »

Quote from: subcat on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:56:34

Quote from: Blaise170 on Fri, 13 April 2018, 20:40:41
The easiest keys to source are the doubleshot Alps sets.

in other news, the best keycaps for your mx switches are the mx keycaps

seriously what does this even mean, tai-hao?

Typing on my phone, I meant Tai Hao...

nguyenhimself · « **Reply #6009 on:** Mon, 16 April 2018, 02:02:20 »

Asking again as I keep failing to get an orange Alps on eBay (my only option for AEKs):

How heavy/stiff is the salmon Alps? If I find MX Black and MX Clear too heavy for my fingers, will I be OK with salmon Alps?

Thanks.

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6010 on:** Mon, 16 April 2018, 03:04:08 »

Woo just got an M3501 going to clean/use the caps

and maybe try to resell the cream dampeneds. Or keep em for some random project who knows.

Also the salmons have a 70g peak tactile force and a 65g bottom out force which is about 10g heavier than the oranges. Cherry mx clears have a 65ish gram tactile bump and 95g bottom out force and blacks have an actuation of 60g and a bottom out force of 80g. Salmons should feel comparable to clears on tactility but significantly easier to bottom out.

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6011 on:** Tue, 17 April 2018, 08:17:41 »

Quote from: Acereconkeys on Mon, 16 April 2018, 03:04:08

Woo just got an M3501 going to clean/use the caps and maybe try to resell the cream dampeneds. Or keep em for some random project who knows.

Show Image

Also the salmons have a 70g peak tactile force and a 65g bottom out force which is about 10g heavier than the oranges. Cherry mx clears have a 65ish gram tactile bump and 95g bottom out force and blacks have an actuation of 60g and a bottom out force of 80g. Salmons should feel comparable to clears on tactility but significantly easier to bottom out.

I'd be interested in the PCB if you are going to toss it anyways.

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6012 on:** Tue, 17 April 2018, 11:36:27 »

Sure! I don't know for sure the board is functional btw so no promises. I bought it on ebay from a guy that hadn't tested it.

Shoot me a pm we'll figure out the details.

a_ak57 · « **Reply #6013 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 07:09:12 »

So dumb question perhaps but are dampened and undampened Cream Alps different internally aside from the dampeners? From what I can tell it seems like the undampened version is considered better and that it isn't replicable simply by removing the dampeners so I assume they are completely different, but in that case why use the same nickname for both?

subcat · « **Reply #6014 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 07:27:45 »

Quote from: a_ak57 on Thu, 19 April 2018, 07:09:12

So dumb question perhaps but are dampened and undampened Cream Alps different internally aside from the dampeners? From what I can tell it seems like the undampened version is considered better and that it isn't replicable simply by removing the dampeners so I assume they are completely different, but in that case why use the same nickname for both?

yes they are internally different, the naming scheme is just the way it is for lack of a better word. i know some people who called it 'ivory' for a time but i dunno.

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6015 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 14:02:04 »

Well a major difference is that the more common SKCL Cream and SKCM Cream damped are completely different actuation types - SKCL is linear and SKCM is tactile. The much rarer SKCM Cream also is a bit different from it's dampened counterparts, but if you remove the dampers they are pretty similar.

Delirious · « **Reply #6016 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 14:34:19 »

NEXT skcm undampened creams and regular dampened creams are miles apart in terms of differences.

1. Spring weightings are different
2. Switch plates are different (long in undampened vs. short in dampened)
3. Tactile leafs are different
4. Sliders are different

Adding all of those up we have a superior typing experience in NEXT undampened creams comparing to the mediocre dampened counterparts. MX Blacks and Reds are similar in designs but tiny differences(spring weights, slider angles) result in polarized typing experiences. As a matter of fact, if all linears are “pretty similar” then why do we have a millions varieties of linear switches. If all rubber domes are “pretty similar” then why enthusiasts spend large amounts of cash collecting bke domes from old topre boards, why bother with Topre at all.

Little things here and there do add up exponentially. I highly recommend trying out undampened creams first before passing judgement.

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6017 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 14:37:55 »

You're being pedantic. I've tried undampened Creams and also without the dampeners... They are similar. I didn't say they were the same switch. Similarly, MX Reds and Blacks are similar. If you place an MX Black spring in an MX Red, most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Delirious · « **Reply #6018 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 16:29:42 »

Different strokes for different folks. I can see your point.

Undampened creams are my number one tactile choice so I can be picky in comparison.

rich1051414 · « **Reply #6019 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 18:13:28 »

Quote from: Delirious on Thu, 19 April 2018, 16:29:42

Different strokes for different folks. I can see your point.

Undampened creams are my number one tactile choice so I can be picky in comparison.

I always assumed the point in 'undampened creams' was to approach the feel of orange alps.

subcat · « **Reply #6020 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 19:54:54 »

Quote from: Blaise170 on Thu, 19 April 2018, 14:02:04

Well a major difference is that the more common SKCL Cream and SKCM Cream damped are completely different actuation types - SKCL is linear and SKCM is tactile. The much rarer SKCM Cream also is a bit different from it's dampened counterparts, but if you remove the dampers they are pretty similar.

skcl cream are not common by any means, they're actually rarer than skcm cream

mike52787 · « **Reply #6021 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 20:02:23 »

Quote from: Blaise170 on Thu, 19 April 2018, 14:02:04

The much rarer SKCM Cream also is a bit different from it's dampened counterparts, but if you remove the dampers they are pretty similar.

give me a hit of what you were smoking when you came to that conclusion

Delirious · « **Reply #6022 on:** Thu, 19 April 2018, 21:34:04 »

Quote from: rich1051414 on Thu, 19 April 2018, 18:13:28

Quote from: Delirious on Thu, 19 April 2018, 16:29:42
Different strokes for different folks. I can see your point.

Undampened creams are my number one tactile choice so I can be picky in comparison.
I always assumed the point in 'undampened creams' was to approach the feel of orange alps.

Absolutely not, I think we’re talking about 2 different alps here. I keep saying NEXT undampened since NEXT Non ADB is the easiest way to find them. Besides the NEXT board, you can also find them in Canon typewriter, NEC-PC computer, or HP laptop which dated back as early as 1987.

I believe the ones you’re thinking about are from AEK ll, those are post 1990. They are complete ****, a few in this thread experimented with them before trying to recreate Oranges. But no matter how many times you polish, a turd is still a turd

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6023 on:** Fri, 20 April 2018, 09:40:28 »

Mountain Dew Escapism (Alps). Unfortunately the stem snapped a couple of years ago so I'll have to try and repair it with another stem at some point.

rich1051414 · « **Reply #6024 on:** Fri, 20 April 2018, 19:00:09 »

Quote from: Delirious on Thu, 19 April 2018, 21:34:04

Quote from: rich1051414 on Thu, 19 April 2018, 18:13:28
Quote from: Delirious on Thu, 19 April 2018, 16:29:42
Different strokes for different folks. I can see your point.

Undampened creams are my number one tactile choice so I can be picky in comparison.
I always assumed the point in 'undampened creams' was to approach the feel of orange alps.

Absolutely not, I think we’re talking about 2 different alps here. I keep saying NEXT undampened since NEXT Non ADB is the easiest way to find them. Besides the NEXT board, you can also find them in Canon typewriter, NEC-PC computer, or HP laptop which dated back as early as 1987.

I believe the ones you’re thinking about are from AEK ll, those are post 1990. They are complete ****, a few in this thread experimented with them before trying to recreate Oranges. But no matter how many times you polish, a turd is still a turd

Yep, your right.

klennkellon · « **Reply #6025 on:** Tue, 24 April 2018, 15:06:43 »

I've ordered a few Matias Quiet Click switches to harvest their leafs to swap into my damaged Salmons. Hopefully they will feel nice. If it works well I will order more and also get an ADB adapter

Delirious · « **Reply #6026 on:** Thu, 26 April 2018, 16:26:39 »

Repainted my top piece with gloss black.
Tragicforce hhkb with skcm ambers

romevi · « **Reply #6027 on:** Thu, 26 April 2018, 16:49:10 »

Quote from: Delirious on Thu, 26 April 2018, 16:26:39

Repainted my top piece with gloss black.
Tragicforce hhkb with skcm ambers

Show Image

Show Image

Oh, wow! That looks beautiful.

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6028 on:** Sat, 28 April 2018, 23:03:08 »

Quote from: Blaise170 on Tue, 17 April 2018, 08:17:41

Quote from: Acereconkeys on Mon, 16 April 2018, 03:04:08
Woo just got an M3501 going to clean/use the caps and maybe try to resell the cream dampeneds. Or keep em for some random project who knows.

Show Image

Also the salmons have a 70g peak tactile force and a 65g bottom out force which is about 10g heavier than the oranges. Cherry mx clears have a 65ish gram tactile bump and 95g bottom out force and blacks have an actuation of 60g and a bottom out force of 80g. Salmons should feel comparable to clears on tactility but significantly easier to bottom out.

I'd be interested in the PCB if you are going to toss it anyways.

I have the PCB desoldered if you're still interested in it. Fair warning, I did my best to unbend the pins without lifting the pads but there are a few of the pads that I think got about 1/4 - 1/2 lifted up. Also, I have no idea if this PCB works at all so no promises.

Dumble_Hub · « **Reply #6029 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 11:22:06 »

Thought yall would like this.

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6030 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 17:17:58 »

Quote from: Darocker098 on Sun, 13 May 2018, 11:22:06

Show Image

Thought yall would like this.

Nice board! What switches you got in that beauty?

kmba · « **Reply #6031 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:26:33 »

Just picked up this video writer with brown alps in pretty good condition. Not sure what I'm going to do with them

rich1051414 · « **Reply #6032 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:30:36 »

How do brown alps feel compared to orange?

kmba · « **Reply #6033 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:50:16 »

Quote from: rich1051414 on Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:30:36

How do brown alps feel compared to orange?

much more tactile, like a mechanical topre.

romevi · « **Reply #6034 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:54:55 »

Quote from: kmba on Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:50:16

Quote from: rich1051414 on Sun, 13 May 2018, 21:30:36
How do brown alps feel compared to orange?

much more tactile, like a mechanical topre.

I tried both Orange and Brown. Much prefer Brown. Has a snappy feeling akin to Topre. The Oranges were nice but weren't as poppy. I think it may also have been the plate (acrylic) I used, and maybe the switches themselves needed some lubrication.

Delirious · « **Reply #6035 on:** Sun, 13 May 2018, 22:04:21 »

Browns are unnecessarily tactile in my opinion. Oranges and NEXT Creams are both better choices.

kakan · « **Reply #6036 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:03:42 »

I found a NeXT keyboard with the label ABX rather than AAE or ABP. Does anyone have any information about it?

Blaise170 · « **Reply #6037 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:05:04 »

Have any pictures or anything? Letters on their own are pretty meaningless.

kakan · « **Reply #6038 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:34:50 »

Delirious · « **Reply #6039 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:01:51 »

Quote from: kakan on Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:34:50

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Skcm blacks unfortunately. Creams only come in ansi enter board

kakan · « **Reply #6040 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:05:25 »

Quote from: Delirious on Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:01:51

Quote from: kakan on Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:34:50
Show Image

Show Image

Skcm blacks unfortunately. Creams only come in ansi enter board

Cool, thanks for the info!

MandrewDavis · « **Reply #6041 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:36:06 »

Quote from: kakan on Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:05:25

Quote from: Delirious on Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:01:51
Quote from: kakan on Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:34:50
Show Image

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Skcm blacks unfortunately. Creams only come in ansi enter board

Cool, thanks for the info!

The NeXT boards with the 1.75 ansi enter come with SKCM blacks too but at least those have pine tops and are surprisingly not-awful. Throwback to when the NeXT guy on eBay sent me 6 broken keyboards to harvest with SKCM creams.

kakan · « **Reply #6042 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 17:11:06 »

Quote from: MandrewDavis on Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:36:06

Quote from: kakan on Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:05:25
Quote from: Delirious on Mon, 14 May 2018, 16:01:51
Quote from: kakan on Mon, 14 May 2018, 15:34:50
Show Image

Show Image

Skcm blacks unfortunately. Creams only come in ansi enter board

Cool, thanks for the info!

The NeXT boards with the 1.75 ansi enter come with SKCM blacks too but at least those have pine tops and are surprisingly not-awful. Throwback to when the NeXT guy on eBay sent me 6 broken keyboards to harvest with SKCM creams.

for some, christmas comes more than once a year

Dumble_Hub · « **Reply #6043 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 20:34:04 »

Quote from: Acereconkeys on Sun, 13 May 2018, 17:17:58

Quote from: Darocker098 on Sun, 13 May 2018, 11:22:06
Show Image

Thought yall would like this.

Nice board! What switches you got in that beauty?

Blues they feel amazing

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6044 on:** Mon, 14 May 2018, 22:48:03 »

Quote from: Darocker098 on Mon, 14 May 2018, 20:34:04

Quote from: Acereconkeys on Sun, 13 May 2018, 17:17:58
Quote from: Darocker098 on Sun, 13 May 2018, 11:22:06
Show Image

Thought yall would like this.

Nice board! What switches you got in that beauty?

Blues they feel amazing

My man. Love my blues build it's so amazing.

ptykozoon · « **Reply #6045 on:** Fri, 18 May 2018, 17:28:35 »

always wondered why the japanese/english character sets so popular
makes no sense to me but to each their own

rich1051414 · « **Reply #6046 on:** Fri, 18 May 2018, 21:16:33 »

Quote from: Delirious on Sun, 13 May 2018, 22:04:21

Browns are unnecessarily tactile in my opinion. Oranges and NEXT Creams are both better choices.

Show Image

Theres only one switch that went over the edge for me, it was an ivory colored alps clone in a SIIG MiniTouch. The switches almost felt broken and they were NOS... I would probably love brown alps, but I have kind of moved away from tactile due to generally being unimpressed with the tactility compared to clicky. I might need to try a brown alps keyboard.

ander · « **Reply #6047 on:** Sat, 19 May 2018, 04:19:15 »

I'm not typing on Alps as we speak. However, on the occasion of once again glimpsing this excellent thread, I'd like to take this opportunity to say that I do indeed appreciate them (Alpses, I mean, though GH threads are generally swell too).

Just the fact that Alps switches exist—and that, should one own a keeb containing them, this keeb is available for one's direct and visceral pleasure of experiencing and, dare I say it, appreciating said sliderly key technology—is something that should strike joy and gratitude into the hearts of keeb geeks far 'n' wide. And often does, with good reason.

BTW, I hope you'll keep in mind that Alps is the name of the company that produced Alps switches, not the name of the switches themselves.

For this reason, when using the term Alps to refer to any specific examples of Alps switches, please use the more grammatically correct term Alpses. Example:

Incorrect: These Alps feel a bit scratchy. <--[An Alps switch is not an "Alp"]

Correct: These Alpses feel a bit scratchy.

Thanks for your attention. The AA meeting continues!

Acereconkeys · « **Reply #6048 on:** Sat, 19 May 2018, 18:47:04 »

Quote from: Delirious on Sun, 13 May 2018, 22:04:21

Browns are unnecessarily tactile in my opinion. Oranges and NEXT Creams are both better choices.

Show Image

Hey what's the bottom board in this photo? I've never seen a layout like that with alps? is it custom?

Delirious · « **Reply #6049 on:** Sat, 19 May 2018, 19:09:21 »

Quote from: Acereconkeys on Sat, 19 May 2018, 18:47:04

Quote from: Delirious on Sun, 13 May 2018, 22:04:21
Browns are unnecessarily tactile in my opinion. Oranges and NEXT Creams are both better choices.

Show Image

Hey what's the bottom board in this photo? I've never seen a layout like that with alps? is it custom?

It’s the Monarch, a small Groupbuy back in 2015

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Author Topic: Alps Appreciation Thread (Read 2451894 times)