geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Arcanius on Wed, 22 April 2015, 10:41:40
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Hey all, been a while since I've been active, so I may be out of the loop.
I'm thinking of dipping my toes into the ALPS world. Are there any modern ALPS boards being made at a decent price, besides the Matias? I know the Filco Zero is discontinued. If there's nothing modern, what vintage board would you recommend? Not really feeling an M0110 hardwiring; I'm not lowpoly.
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The last one before the Matias that I know of is the ABS M1, but it is discontinued.
Other than that you are looking at boards that were discontinued in the late 80's - early/mid 90's. I have personally tried the following:
Dell AT101W (black alps)
Apple Extended Keyboard (orange alps)
Northgate Omnikey 101 (white alps)
Leading Edge DC2014 (blue alps)
BTW, you can search for boards by switch type by using the Deskthority Wiki:
http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCM_White
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The KBParadise V60 is available at mechanicalkeyboards.com. Other than that and Matias, there's no off the shelf current board I can think of.
Vintage? Omnikeys are very nice. Anything Apple is nice (M0116, M0118, etc). For a project, I think the AT101W is solid and you can swap out the Black Alps if you're not into them.
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SIIG had one that they sold with white alps clones up until a couple of years ago. It was about $60-$80 at Microcenter.
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Matiases are pretty nice, but they're not the same as old Alps. Moreover, they're expensive. Try to get hold of one of the old standard boards with Alps in for a decent price and see if you like them and want more. Good tryouts are anything with white Alps. In addition to the previous, the Focus FK-2001 (with Alps) is pretty common and good too. Clones range from slightly inferior to noticeably inferior.
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For the sake of you knowing all the options, there is a cheap keyboard made by Tai Hao with ALPS clone switches (around U$S45/50), they are branded Rosewill RK 6000 or Azio Clicker i think.
I have bought the Rosewill, just to satiate my curiosity, and I found that the board is really cheaply made, also the switches feel very uneven across the board (some very clicky, others not so much, even some of them feel almost linear). Only after opening and modify all the clicky leafs of the switches the keyboard become something usable (feels quite good now btw, i will make a post about the mod later). I do this because i love to tinker with this stuff (my neck still hurts a little LOL) but is not a good keyboard by any mean (beside the switches problems the plastics feel very cheap, the keys are very wobbly, which is normal on alps board but not at this degree, and the legends on the keycaps are just rubish)
BTW: I recommend to you the Matias, I´ve just get one (Tactile pro PC) and I am more than satisfied with the product. Also they are made in your country I believe..
Regards
Gabriel
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Love KBP V60MTS' Matias Alps and layout, but don't like its build quality.
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I wouldn't advise going into Alps clones boards if you have the option to go for a board with real Alps. The latter will almost certainly be cheaper, much more well-built, and with slightly superior feeling and considerably better sound. Old, yes, used, probably, but still better than knockoffs.
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I really like the Filco/Costar cases, so my current project is to take an ABS M1, the only Costar keyboard to use alps clone switches IIRC, and transplant some type of alps switch into it. I'm leaning toward Matias clicky because I can buy new ones and be sure of the quality, but I haven't decided yet.
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I really like the Filco/Costar cases, so my current project is to take an ABS M1, the only Costar keyboard to use alps clone switches IIRC, and transplant some type of alps switch into it. I'm leaning toward Matias clicky because I can buy new ones and be sure of the quality, but I haven't decided yet.
Filco Zero uses Costar like stabilizers. Or do you mean OEM?
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I really like the Filco/Costar cases, so my current project is to take an ABS M1, the only Costar keyboard to use alps clone switches IIRC, and transplant some type of alps switch into it. I'm leaning toward Matias clicky because I can buy new ones and be sure of the quality, but I haven't decided yet.
Filco Zero uses Costar like stabilizers. Or do you mean OEM?
Well the Filco Zero is TKL and I was looking for a fullsize, so that is the main reason I chose the ABS M1.
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Ohhh I see. Now it's all making sense :)
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I really like the Filco/Costar cases, so my current project is to take an ABS M1, the only Costar keyboard to use alps clone switches IIRC, and transplant some type of alps switch into it. I'm leaning toward Matias clicky because I can buy new ones and be sure of the quality, but I haven't decided yet.
Filco Zero uses Costar like stabilizers. Or do you mean OEM?
Well the Filco Zero is TKL and I was looking for a fullsize, so that is the main reason I chose the ABS M1.
Filco Zero came in a full size as well.
(http://pds8.egloos.com/pds/200802/28/36/c0025036_47c6c4152e90d.jpg)