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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: EscapeVelocity on Sat, 13 June 2015, 21:37:09

Title: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: EscapeVelocity on Sat, 13 June 2015, 21:37:09

Here is my new find!  Picked this up for $18 shipped  :))

Fentek has lots of products for visually impaired.

Made in Taiwan

Does anybody know what kind of switch this is?  Stickers on the bottom say SMK.  Seems to be an Alps Yellow? Action feels linear and mid to light weight.

Not sure I like the keycaps on this unit. Definitely dont like the tiny backspace key.

EDIT: I think this keyboard was also sold as the DSI Large Print

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/53e601f3-127d-44ef-ae50-794f38681f67.jpg)

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0070_1.jpg)

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0073.jpg)

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0074.jpg)

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0071.jpg)

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0072.jpg)

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: E TwentyNine on Sat, 13 June 2015, 22:04:12

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKBL_Yellow seems to be the closest match.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: EscapeVelocity on Sat, 13 June 2015, 23:16:37

How hard would it be to find some replacement key caps for it?  Just standard pearl & pebble

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: hwood34 on Sat, 13 June 2015, 23:47:40

Quote from: EscapeVelocity on Sat, 13 June 2015, 23:16:37

How hard would it be to find some replacement key caps for it?  Just standard pearl & pebble

Wouldn't be too hard to find a board with the right layout, bigass enter and 1u backspace seems to be a pretty common layout for alps boards

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: False_Dmitry_II on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:21:05

What he means is buying some other keyboard, taking the keys off and then tossing it. Not always a huge loss, but that is sort of it.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: hwood34 on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:30:32

Quote from: False_Dmitry_II on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:21:05

What he means is buying some other keyboard, taking the keys off and then tossing it. Not always a huge loss, but that is sort of it.

Yeah. If you just want caps you should be able to find some boards pretty cheaply. You could always go the "clicker" route and get some of those cyrillic caps

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: Blaise170 on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:32:33

A lot of the old cheap domes had Alps sliders that you could harvest from too.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: EscapeVelocity on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:44:47

I honestly didnt expect this thing to have mechanical (Alps) switches. Just figured it was rubber dome.  So that was a nice surprise.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: Blaise170 on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:50:33

You are looking at this thing: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Strong_Man_KB-8861

The wiki doesn't list yellows, though I'd agree that they are likely from the Alps SKBM series. If that is true, take some good pics and update the Yellow SKBM page on DT wiki.  :thumb:

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: chyros on Sun, 14 June 2015, 05:54:43

Quote from: Blaise170 on Sun, 14 June 2015, 00:50:33

The wiki doesn't list yellows, though I'd agree that they are likely from the Alps SKBM series. If that is true, take some good pics and update the Yellow SKBM page on DT wiki.  :thumb:

Nope. These are clones, sorry to say. 

Hard to identify specifically without a good closeup of the numbering and a more colour-neutral shot of the slider (looks like a kind of dirty yellow, absolutely not what the colour of SKCL Yellows (and its clones) is).

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: EscapeVelocity on Sun, 14 June 2015, 09:44:47

Ill try to get better closeups of the switch. Post them up tonight.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: Blaise170 on Sun, 14 June 2015, 10:16:47

Well SKBM is different than SKCL/SKCM. Yellow switches back then also had differing colors of dye.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: EscapeVelocity on Sun, 14 June 2015, 18:05:29

Here is a close up from bottom & top side.

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0078.jpg)

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/EscapeVelo/IMG_0079_1.jpg)

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: EscapeVelocity on Sun, 14 June 2015, 18:22:19

FWIW, I believe this keyboard to be 21rst century production...not from the 90s.  Same as the DSI Big Font keyboard.

Title: Re: Fentek Large Print Keyboard Model #KBLFPS2
Post by: Blaise170 on Sun, 14 June 2015, 18:57:50

Probably is. Don't have the time to compare FCC ID of them to find out though.

Here's a DSI big font talking about SKBM Yellows though: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=11391.0