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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: orihalcon on Wed, 17 December 2014, 01:00:00
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Hey all, Just wondering what everyone thinks would be the best board to put blue alps into. The omnikeys that I have feel pretty nice as is and all of mine have the big ass enter keys, and i'm pretty sure there's no mod to separate for that because of how the switch plate is cut, and I have a feeling it would be hard to get matching enter and backslash keys in the same color and condition as mine. Could get an omnikey 101, but that seem boring for a special board. Are three any unique alps boards out there that would be good candidates? I was thinking something like a decent 60% board. ...Or just something that looks really unique.
Any thoughts?
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You could go with something from Duck like the Viper or Eagle if you want 60%, or Kingsaver if you want TKL
Personally, I am waiting for the possibility of a lightsaver with ALPS support.
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The Omnikey 101 was the only choice for me.
The bigger Northgates would have been better, with double function key rows, but I can't live with the bigass Enter.
I used a Dell AT101W for a while (black case with beige PBT keys) which is a really nice board but probably even more "boring" by your standards.
My other blue Alps is a Filco Zero (with Dolch-like doubleshots from a Toshiba laptop!) and that is a great board if you can find one.
For twice that price and even harder to find is the Kingsaver.
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There's the KBP V60. However, you can already get this with Matias Quiet Click or Matias Click, so it depends in part on whether or not you like blue Alps better than Matias switches.
I just got a V60 Matias Quiet Click, and I like it. Now I am thinking of getting one with the undamped Matias switches for comparison. The regular Matias switches are said to feel crisper than the Quiet version, but they are also reportedly quite loud.
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I have a Duck Mini V2 (or 1.5) that I'm carving a solid wood case for.
Would have prefered a TKL but your options for those are the rare Filco Zero and the (reportedly crappy) Ducky XM.
People like to use northgate omnikeys as well. Supposedly even more sturdy than Model Ms.
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There was the Infinity board that was out on massdrop recently.
It's 60% and supports both MX and ALPS.
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You could just take the lazy way out and remap the keys to be as close as possible to a standard layout.
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You’re not going to find anything as solid as your Omnikey unless you have the cash and patience to get a Kingsaver.
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Vintage: Omnikey - these things are unrivaled in quality for a stock board, really nice
Kustom: Kingsaver - another really high quality board. Korean, will set you back quite a bit price wise though
Newer Stock: Infiniti, KBP V60
My recommendation would be the Omnikey. It's a great board, metal back and plate, all around good build, and you should be able to find one for around $100
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Infiniti: problem is (a) you need to convince someone who bought one of these to sell it to you, or wait until MassDrop runs another drop, (b) you are stuck with only using keycaps from Signature Plastics for the stabilized keys, which likely means blank DSA. This keyboard is pretty solid, but has no sides or bottom, since it’s just one piece of bent metal for the plate/case. I kinda like the aesthetic, but it’s probably not for everyone. Hopefully future MassDrop keyboards will use Matias’s upcoming new stabilizer cutouts/inserts/clips/wires, which can make a keyboard compatible with either Alps or MX style stabilizers.
V60: finding nice keycaps for the bottom row is slightly tricky though not an impossible problem. This keyboard is a lightweight plastic case, compared to the solid metal backplate on the Omnikey. Typing on the two is going to be noticeably different, even with the same switches.