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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Valen on Sat, 24 January 2015, 04:09:40

Title: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Sat, 24 January 2015, 04:09:40

Can someone identify this switch? Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
http://imgur.com/a/cpEFX (http://imgur.com/a/cpEFX)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: jacobolus on Sat, 24 January 2015, 04:36:32

Probably a simplified switch. See http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKBL/SKBM_series

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:01:25

Thanks, I think you are right, it is a simplified because it has a single alphanumeric character in each of the north-west and north-east positions.
I can get one $35 shipped, very tempting. :-\

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: fohat.digs on Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:15:48

Quote from: Valen on Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:01:25

I can get one $35 shipped, very tempting.

Looks like very nice caps.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: jacobolus on Sat, 24 January 2015, 14:38:12

Quote from: fohat.digs on Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:15:48

Looks like very nice caps.

Thick printed ABS?

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: fohat.digs on Sat, 24 January 2015, 15:19:32

Quote from: jacobolus on Sat, 24 January 2015, 14:38:12

Thick printed ABS?

The pictures are not very clear, but neither are my eyes. I was hoping that they were dye subs.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sat, 24 January 2015, 18:12:47

It's a Datacomp keyboard — it will be pad printed ;-)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Sat, 24 January 2015, 23:19:38

Are there other better choices to harvest Alps keycaps? Pad printing aside, it does not look too bad to me and the font is fine too.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: jacobolus on Sat, 24 January 2015, 23:45:23

If you’re trying to fill this specific board, it’s going to be tough to find alternative keycaps, since there are a bunch of irregular ones. I think thick ABS can be reasonably nice, depending on your preferences.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sun, 25 January 2015, 07:16:32

What keyboard are you intending to use the keycaps on?

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Sun, 25 January 2015, 19:16:46

I am just interested in testing different switches and find out what I like before buying a more expensive KB with the same/similar switch. I think I will just get it and see how I like Alps and if I don't like how it feels then I will scrap my plans on getting a Tex Yoda with Matias (which should feel similar from what I have been reading).

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Mon, 26 January 2015, 15:48:09

If your plan is to harvest keycaps (and assuming no colour preference), it's important to know the target keyboard, since keycap size and shape varies a lot, including enter (bigass, skinnyass, ISO, ANSI etc), modifier width, space bar size, backspace size etc.

I didn't realise there was a Matias Tex Yoda — I'm not turning up anything for that.

As a note, Matias Click switches don't sound or feel like the simplified Alps switches I have (unbranded, though they presumably say "FD" on the bottom). Matias switches are softer, although that's all I can say as I don't have both keyboards in the same place (TP3/Mac and TP4/PC).

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Wed, 28 January 2015, 08:36:24

It is here. Keycaps feel pretty good to the touch. It is pad printed the quality is good and I don't see them wearing out soon. Vortex PBT doubleshot is on the right to compare thickness.
Backspace has a bump. Why?
The switch feels similar to Mtek K108 but with a harder spring. It has a metal plate and I like the sound and feeling when I bottom out.
(http://i.imgur.com/tnQ8hgx.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/YiUEQ9d.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/EVfqDIF.jpg)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Wed, 28 January 2015, 17:58:45

Monterey (Mtek) K108 has at least two known switches (blue Alps and type T1 clones) — which switch are you thinking of?

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Wed, 28 January 2015, 20:16:48

Type T1 clones (white). Mine is used so some switches do not sound the same which is expected, but they are still in good condition. This Datacomp is NIB so the click and feel is pretty even across the board. I won't buy a second hand KB from now on unless I can test them before buying to avoid differences in switches.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: jacobolus on Wed, 28 January 2015, 20:41:08

Yeah, Hua-Jie, Xiang Min, clicky SKBM, etc. switches are all somewhat similar.

Inconsistency from switch to switch might not be from use per se. Even brand new keyboards with these switches are often pretty inconsistent from switch to switch.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Thu, 29 January 2015, 16:41:34

T1 that is lighter than simplified Alps? Interesting.

T1 should be ivory, not white (with no exceptions that I'm aware of) — if they're white¹, I'm definitely curious.

(¹ For most switches, "white" is the same as Cherry MX Clear; Cherry MX White is a solid white that's very unusual.)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Fri, 30 January 2015, 07:09:46

You are right, T1 is ivory not white. It just looked white to me the first time I saw them since the keycaps on them are old and yellow. This is how they look like with Vortex PBT double-shot white as a reference. Top is K108 and bottom Alps. This is the best I could do with my phone.
(http://i.imgur.com/sUDejc3.jpg)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Fri, 30 January 2015, 16:58:09

I assume you've had one of the Alps clone switches apart and confirmed that it's a T1? (There's no way to tell without opening one up.)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Fri, 30 January 2015, 19:18:05

Took it apart and now I am confused. What is this switch?
(http://i.imgur.com/Zn4Cj5T.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/yBt78Ft.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/92JrH8t.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/PfoaHDn.jpg)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: chyros on Fri, 30 January 2015, 19:50:26

Doesn't look like a T1, that has a mantis leaf apparently. I can't really make out the shape of the contact leaf all that well; maybe you can find the switch yourself on this page:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Four-tab_clone

Looks like it might be some alps.tw Type OA2, but I can't see it well enough to be sure.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Sat, 31 January 2015, 06:35:59

Yeah, that's OA2. That should mean that the keyboard is no newer than 1993–1994. Here's a 1995 K108 with T1 switches:

http://kbtalking.cool3c.com/article/6100

You can see the controller chip says 9549 on it: week 49 of 1995. I think OA2 was the older design of switch, replaced by T1 somewhere between 1992 and 1995; there seems to be another design in between the two, based on a photo I got from Himake.

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Valen on Mon, 02 February 2015, 06:58:06

Thanks guys, I am learning a lot from everyone here.
This is the Intel chip on mine which is different from the one on the link above.
(http://i.imgur.com/6ruWN0d.jpg)

Title: Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
Post by: Daniel Beardsmore on Mon, 02 February 2015, 16:16:03

Early 1994 — that still fits <_< >_>

Thanks. My theory isn't busted yet!