If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
I thought APCs always came with oval switches Oo . You learn something new every day...
If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
The NEC does seem to have a high chance of having blue Alps. It's priced close to what I expect the SPK-100 to end at so I bought it after getting three offers rejected. I will report back when I get it.
If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
The NEC does seem to have a high chance of having blue Alps. It's priced close to what I expect the SPK-100 to end at so I bought it after getting three offers rejected. I will report back when I get it.
If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
The NEC does seem to have a high chance of having blue Alps. It's priced close to what I expect the SPK-100 to end at so I bought it after getting three offers rejected. I will report back when I get it.
Congrats, i was going to buy it earlier but decided i didnt want to spend that much just to desolder the switches from a brand new board(cant stand the layout also). Totally going to try and win the one up for bid though.
If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
The NEC does seem to have a high chance of having blue Alps. It's priced close to what I expect the SPK-100 to end at so I bought it after getting three offers rejected. I will report back when I get it.
Congrats, i was going to buy it earlier but decided i didnt want to spend that much just to desolder the switches from a brand new board(cant stand the layout also). Totally going to try and win the one up for bid though.
Does the one that I posted a Blue Alps BoarD?
[SNIP]
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161872163348?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Does anyone know if this one is a Blue Alps as well?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161872163348?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITI’m 100% sure it’s NEC blue oval switches.
Does anyone know if this one is a Blue Alps as well?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-NORTHGATE-OMNIKEY-ULTRA-T-560-0022-GT60MNIKEY-ULT4-W-PS2-TESTED-/351628191198?hash=item51deac65de:g:eywAAOSwwPhWlUgT&autorefresh=trueAlmost certainly White Alps.
What about these? Are they Blue ALPS?
It looks like a blue and white Label so Im guessing it's not?
They're blue! Here is the image the seller sent back:Very cool. Looks like the key caps are doubleshot too.
(Attachment Link)
even dirty boards in horrible condition are going for 150-200 dollarsYeah, this is dumb. Nobody should be paying significant amounts for switches in poor condition. Restoring them to a nice state is hours of tedious work, if it succeeds at all. External board cleanliness isn’t the best proxy for switch condition though.
If someone wants an overpriced (probably) blue Alps board:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/151093015376
I was watching these two others for a while hoping the price would drop. At some point somebody asked the seller to pull a cap and then snatched them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/161154033379
The NEC does seem to have a high chance of having blue Alps. It's priced close to what I expect the SPK-100 to end at so I bought it after getting three offers rejected. I will report back when I get it.
Haha wow it ended at $341.58 + $19.90 for shipping, simply crazy :)) A new account started bidding at the last few minutes and bumped the price up a bunch though.JAYSUS FOOKENCRIST the price of these boards seemsto go up exponentially nowadays xD .
I'm curious as to how so many people are able to find some of these blue alps boards.If by “so many people” you’re talking about me, I just spent a lot of time 1–2 years ago looking at ebay keyboards, and now have a pretty good intuition about it.
I know I had little chance given how deep the pocketbooks some of these buyers have, but wow. I can't afford to blow almost $400 on a single keyboard; my SO would kill me, dig me up and then kill me again.
It's pretty disheartening. With the hyper-inflation of the prices on Blue Alps boards these days, it seems impossible to get one for less than half a grand. It's absurd. :(
Assuming the winner is not a shill, I can imagine that seller is quite the happy camper with that final auction price!
I should sell a couple of my blue alps boards... :-*
If you cruise around at thrift stores, e-cyclers, flea markets, and similar places, you can find great old keyboards for much cheaper than ebay.
On the whole, the thing feels a bit suspicious, yes. For that price I'd have gone with the Keytrak and been incredibly happy, considering its condition and rarity (trackball, Adler-style caps, etc.).There was a new account with 0 feedback who only bid on this listing in the past 30 days. They brought the price up to $178.00 then stopped. Then two other bidders put in snipes at the last few seconds of the auction for $336.58 then $341.58. It could just be the seller bidding up their own auction.
(You also won't find any good keyboards at thrift stores, at least where I live. No e-cyclers nearby, either. And I've looked in two different states, even.)
Honestly, I've been seeing this on several Blue Alps boards that have gone up for auction and it's beginning to feel a little suspicious. Either there's some desperate people with very deep pockets out there, or I don't know...
On the whole, the thing feels a bit suspicious, yes. For that price I'd have gone with the Keytrak and been incredibly happy, considering its condition and rarity (trackball, Adler-style caps, etc.).
(You also won't find any good keyboards at thrift stores, at least where I live. No e-cyclers nearby, either. And I've looked in two different states, even.)
Honestly, I've been seeing this on several Blue Alps boards that have gone up for auction and it's beginning to feel a little suspicious. Either there's some desperate people with very deep pockets out there, or I don't know...
On the whole, the thing feels a bit suspicious, yes. For that price I'd have gone with the Keytrak and been incredibly happy, considering its condition and rarity (trackball, Adler-style caps, etc.).There was a new account with 0 feedback who only bid on this listing in the past 30 days. They brought the price up to $178.00 then stopped. Then two other bidders put in snipes at the last few seconds of the auction for $336.58 then $341.58. It could just be the seller bidding up their own auction.
(You also won't find any good keyboards at thrift stores, at least where I live. No e-cyclers nearby, either. And I've looked in two different states, even.)
Honestly, I've been seeing this on several Blue Alps boards that have gone up for auction and it's beginning to feel a little suspicious. Either there's some desperate people with very deep pockets out there, or I don't know...
I’ve found several blue Alps boards on ebay for <$50 shipped 1–2 years ago. You just have to know what you’re looking for, and spend some time doing non-obvious keyword searches.
In any event, blue Alps switches are hardly the end-all of keyboard switches. There’s a lot of great parts out there for people willing to take chances on weird keyboards, and willing to do some work building cases and wiring everything together.
True enough. My bad fortune seems to be in finding Blue Alps before they're gone, leaving only the exorbitantly expensive, popular auctions left on eBay.
It seems like a lot of boards are showing up these days that don't have any corresponding entries on the DT wiki, so one can never tell what kind of switch they have. I also tend to weed out boards that show obvious signs of being dirty, as I've had enough problems buying dirty old used boards with scratchy and sticky Alps keys. I'm decent at desoldering/resoldering the switches if needed, but not so much at taking them apart and cleaning them; it's a hassle I'd rather do without.
Someday I'd like to find a nice Acer, like the one Chyros was so fortunate to obtain. But those seem rarer than Model M SSKs. :p
(I definitely feel like something weird was going on with the seller on that auction, though. Probably decided to rack up the bidding once he realized how crazy people are over Blue Alps.)
Here’s an awesome white Alps keyboard:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/111878928726
Or there are an unlimited number of cheaper white Alps keyboards on ebay if you just want the switches. Chicony, Focus, Siig, Nan Tan, Adesso, Ortek, Datacomp, Alps, .... not to mention all the wacky rebranded versions of those.
Or find a nice looking Apple M0116 with orange Alps switches and click-modify them.
Or just get some Matias clicky switches.
Chyros has definitely created a bit of publicity for that board
an impulse buy attributed to Chyros' review. He does more to create keyboard hype than anything else, I swear. :pYou've got to be kidding me xD .
Someone should probably ask the seller to pull a keycap, just to be sure.
I call shenanigans. For what it's worth, blue Alps are not $200 better than white Alps, which, in good condition are great switches. Sure, they're not AS good, but in terms of value for money they're way better.Chyros has definitely created a bit of publicity for that boardan impulse buy attributed to Chyros' review. He does more to create keyboard hype than anything else, I swear. :pYou've got to be kidding me xD .
I was quite taken in with the Ortek 142-key 'battleship' someone linked over on DT the other day... but hesitated because I wasn't 100% sure if the switches were Simplified or Complicated White Alps. Evidently someone snatched it up within the past 12 hours, right before I got home and was ready to make my decision.
*Expletive* Story of my life. :mad:
It's true, my friend! I think the Acer KB101A was relatively unknown before your reviews! That said, your reviews are something that's nice to see in the community! They're well-put together and insightful without being too technical or too unstructured.
So yeah, I certainly think your reviews probably upped a lot of antennae toward the Acer KB101A. I don't think it would have as much attention as it does now otherwise! Not that that's a bad thing, per se!
Edit: Though, E3E is right: I'd say Chyros' YT videos have definitely had some influence on the wider vintage collecting hobby, especially after his Acer review. His videos are informative, but never boring, and everyone seems to enjoy his Dutch-English accent.Haha thanks guys, I really didn't think my opinion would carry that much weight xD .
Chyros, your videos were what sold me on both the Model F terminal keyboard and the FK-2001. I managed to get one of each that were NOS for quite a reasonable price, and am very happy with them. The terminal keyboard is just too large to fit in the keyboard drawer on my desk, so it mostly goes unused. Like everyone else, though, I've been less lucky locating one of the elusive KB101As.
Looking for someone who is willing to sell their blue alps board to me. I've been camping Ebay everyday have not seen one . The last one there sold for an absurd amount of money. :pDefinitely ask E3E. He appears to be able to find even impossible blue Alps boards everywhere xD .
Likewise, I've been bitten by the Ortek bug since I let that amazing battleship slip through my fingers, so if anyone has one in good condition and is willing to part with it, I'm definitely interested. :pThe Ortek isn't the only battlecruiser keyboard out there with programmable keys out there tbh :p . It is one of the more overlooked ones, though.
strongly suspect them to be Simplified Alps (I was never actually able to get them apart using your toothpick method, Chyros; the switchec are apparently lodged in their cases extremely tightly and/or I just need better toothpicks).Take a picture of the outside of a switch and we can tell you what they are.
I kinda get what he means though. Some Alps clones have the contact plates retain the upper shell way more. The upper shell has a divider built into it and it clings onto that. It's also why Alps clones are usually harder to reassemble than the genuine article.strongly suspect them to be Simplified Alps (I was never actually able to get them apart using your toothpick method, Chyros; the switchec are apparently lodged in their cases extremely tightly and/or I just need better toothpicks).Take a picture of the outside of a switch and we can tell you what they are.
Also, toothpicks aren’t the best tool. You want something with a wide but flat point, and ideally a bit less breakable than a toothpick. I use two pairs of tweezers, or sometimes some metal right-angle dental picks, but those are also not ideal.
The way the switches are held in the plate has nothing to do with opening them.
As for the toothpick method; I went with that because metal tools damage the plastic.If you’re careful you can avoid digging into the plastic with metal tweezers or tiny screwdrivers or whatever... or you can just not worry about scratching up the exterior of the top piece of POM housing. It’s not like it has any effect on switch function, and the scratches are going to be hidden between the two pieces of switch housing, where you can’t see them even when you take the keycaps off.
It's late, but here's what the switches on my Omnikey look like:Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/qgaGzm7.jpg)
I'll really hate myself if these are genuine Complicated Alps, but I'll be damned if they don't feel very different from the ones on my Focus FK-2001, and not in a way that can be entirely explained by the sturdier construction of the Northgate. Honestly, they feel a lot like Matias Clicky switches to me, which is why I was hesitant to get that shiny new Ortek last week, as its switches look almost exactly the same:Show Image(http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/KSsAAOSw5dNWnLHY/s-l1600.jpg)
I asked on the DT thread where the Ortek was first mentioned if anyone could visually confirm the switches, and even PM'd a guy I knew from r/mk, but got no helpful responses. So I waited it out and some lucky person grabbed it. Likewise, I will doubly kick myself if the Ortek had genuine SKCM switches. :P
Neither of those pictures has the “slits”. Even if they’re SKCM switches, they’re of the inferior ~1995 type. The ones from ~1990–1993 are noticeably nicer.
Oh yeah, pine vs bamboo. I almost forgot about the distinction since all of mine do have slits as well. It's odd how that really does effect feel. So many tiny little nuances that combine to give these switches a really nice feel, at least the earlier ones!
Long contact plate, slits, the symmetrical sliders of the oldest linear varieties and the click and tactile mechanisms. Oh so good.
That Omnikey is a very nice sturdy board if you have some loose Alps switches in need of a good home.
Pretty sure those are simplified Alps (the Alps not made by Alps), they're definitely not as good. Jacobulus is definitely right about the slits on Alps, the slitted ones feel and sound a lot better. However, E3E, it's probably not down to (just) the actual slits but due to several production differences at once; different plastics, different thicknesses, different click leaves, leaf stiffnesses, etc. Even if it's not visually possible to distinguish the different parts ;) .
Of course that'd be the best way to test this sort of thing, parts swaps etc. But it would be quite hard to test it all objectively, especially considering you'd need a bunch of switches of each type, all in NOS condition, and you'd need to test them side-by-side under identical conditions. Very hard to do all that.Pretty sure those are simplified Alps (the Alps not made by Alps), they're definitely not as good. Jacobulus is definitely right about the slits on Alps, the slitted ones feel and sound a lot better. However, E3E, it's probably not down to (just) the actual slits but due to several production differences at once; different plastics, different thicknesses, different click leaves, leaf stiffnesses, etc. Even if it's not visually possible to distinguish the different parts ;) .
So true, Chyros, so true. That wasn't even a thought when I considered that, but I agree. Have you ever experimented with the differences between white long contact plates and grey plates? I find there to be really no real difference, but the white plates certainly have a more raw appearance. I believe of the SKCL compact switches I have, the "half greens" use black contact plates.
I'd wonder how much the feel would improve if you swap in a "pine" top housing on an otherwise grassy "bamboo" switch.
I'm thinking of acquiring an old Chicony or two and seeing if I can harvest the switches for my huge Omnikey Ultra. We need to include a "Look for White Alps with slits if you want the best, authentic Alps experience!" PSA somewhere for people starting out in the Alps world, guys. Ebay is chock full of "White Alps" keyboards that have either simplified or dumbed-down clone switches. ;)
I think old Acer 6011s might be one of the safest bets for solid white Alps switches, and some variants have the same case as the KB101A and look practically indistinguishable aside from the FCC ID and model number (as does the Acer 6311-K with Acer switches).
I'm thinking of acquiring an old Chicony or two and seeing if I can harvest the switches for my huge Omnikey Ultra. We need to include a "Look for White Alps with slits if you want the best, authentic Alps experience!" PSA somewhere for people starting out in the Alps world, guys. Ebay is chock full of "White Alps" keyboards that have either simplified or dumbed-down clone switches. ;)As far as I know, white Alps (the genuine ones) are really mostly slitted. Some clones, most notably OA2, are really good too, I know at least one person that prefers them to real Alps (they're lighter).
:\ still looking for a Blue Alps board.
Blue Alps are not that rare, you'll get your board someday, I'm sure ;) .:\ still looking for a Blue Alps board.
You and me both. Right now they're ridiculously rare, and any boards that get spotted on eBay quickly have their prices inflated into the stratosphere. Your best chance is finding a random eBay listing from someone that doesn't know what they have before the rest of GH and DT sees it and the hype train gets going.
But that's hard, because most clueless eBay sellers don't take pictures of the switches and there seem to be very few boards out there that were manufactured specifically with Blue Alps. A lot of boards from that era could come with any number of different switches; only a relatively few were 'guaranteed' to have Blue Alps (the Acer KB101A and Leading Edge 3014 are two obvious examples), and as a consequence they're nearly impossible to find. They get snatched up quickly, because collectors know what to look for. People selling vintage keyboards are also starting to catch on to the mania and are over-inflating their asking prices accordingly. Demand is very high, supply is low, that sort of thing.
Like the guys were saying to me, you kind of have to sleuth out obscure leads on the internet and not always rely on eBay. Which is hard.
But that said, I too that some will turn up someday, and not for a ludicrous $400 price tag.
I think old Acer 6011s might be one of the safest bets for solid white Alps switches, and some variants have the same case as the KB101A and look practically indistinguishable aside from the FCC ID and model number (as does the Acer 6311-K with Acer switches).
Old Acer boards seem pretty rare, though. Almost as much as the KB101A itself! The only ones I've ever seen in the last few months on eBay are things like these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACER-PS-2-AT-STYLE-VINTAGE-PC-COMPUTER-KEYBOARD-5-pin-DIN-6311-/251781340122?hash=item3a9f565bda:g:RHMAAOSwg3FUqcqL
BTW, E3E, do you have any Blue Alps keyboards on your radar? Or cheap White Alps boards that can be harvested? Chyros did recommend asking you to another poster earlier on this page. :p
Also, before you make a potentially horrible mistake; the DC-3014 did NOT always come with blue Alps; in fact, it's much more well-known for being able to come with linear brown Alps (which are far rarer). The one you might be thinking of is the DC-2014 ;) .
Let me be clear on this: you're saying you bought that board already and they just... relisted it again? :eek:
I've no experience buying stuff on Taobao, though. I wouldn't even know how to begin to search for stuff, let alone whether they ship to the States.
I use a service called taobaoring as an agent. EMS was still through the rough expensive, sadly. It made what was a $67 keyboard a $123 keyboard after shipping, which is why I was hesitant on that 100 Alps + keyboard purchase I could have made. $123 is the most I've ever paid for any vintage keyboard I own.
I have a board that I've been seeing on eBay for a long time that I heavily considered buying that I think you might like, good sir. It's not blue Alps, but it is certified complicated white Alps with pine slits! I'll PM you.
I use a service called taobaoring as an agent. EMS was still through the rough expensive, sadly. It made what was a $67 keyboard a $123 keyboard after shipping, which is why I was hesitant on that 100 Alps + keyboard purchase I could have made. $123 is the most I've ever paid for any vintage keyboard I own.
I have a board that I've been seeing on eBay for a long time that I heavily considered buying that I think you might like, good sir. It's not blue Alps, but it is certified complicated white Alps with pine slits! I'll PM you.
Very interesting. I'd honestly be tempted to snag that K1010 if it wasn't the one you already seem to have bought. :p
And that'd be much appreciated, E3E! I'm on the lookout for any good finds I can get that aren't ludicrously expensive.
Also, in the spirit of the thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket/comments/42ji5b/usma_h_paypal_blue_alps_w_redscarf_77_or_redscarf/
This guy on r/mechmarket has a KB101A, but it seems he's only looking to use it for a trade, alas. :(
Hahaha yeah, i was pretty much using it as a bargaining chip, although i kinda want to list it on Ebay because of the really high prices. I ended up getting a RedScarf96 and was able to buy it :D
Once i get the Realforce ive been wanting for a while ill be selling it.