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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: WhiteRice on Thu, 05 August 2010, 23:58:26

Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: WhiteRice 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
Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: Morning Song 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.
Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: WhiteRice on Sat, 07 August 2010, 14:16:21: Thanks guys, great!
Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: spolia optima 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
Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: Findecanor 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.
Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: Pylon 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.
Title: Donor Keyboard Recommendations For ALPs Key caps
Post by: ch_123 on Sat, 07 August 2010, 20:17:51: They are not interchangeable. The slot on the keycap is orientated vertically as opposed to horizontally.