geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: Chau on Thu, 21 April 2016, 16:30:28
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Any info on this KB would be much appreciated.
Cheers
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It looks a lot like a bigfoot/AT101
what switches?
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Thats a Focus FK-555 (or atleast looks like it), a very nice keyboard, probably has Blue Alps. Those are worth a lot of money. Nice find :) Is the back of the keyboard made of metal?
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It looks a lot like a bigfoot/AT101
what switches?
No, if you'll noticed you can see it has an Omnikey-like lock-like bridge, and the ridge is much taller than a Bigfoot. Should be a Focus FK-555, the board that appears to be the forerunner of the Omnikey.
Should be blue Alps or possibly even cyan Omrons.
Do you have this keyboard already or are you still eyeing it? If the latter, get it!
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It looks a lot like a bigfoot/AT101
what switches?
No, if you'll noticed you can see it has an Omnikey-like lock-like bridge, and the ridge is much taller than a Bigfoot. Should be a Focus FK-555, the board that appears to be the forerunner of the Omnikey.
Should be blue Alps or possibly even cyan Omrons.
Do you have this keyboard already or are you still eyeing it? If the latter, get it!
I see.
The bezel really reminded me of an AT101, hah
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It looks a lot like a bigfoot/AT101
what switches?
No, if you'll noticed you can see it has an Omnikey-like lock-like bridge, and the ridge is much taller than a Bigfoot. Should be a Focus FK-555, the board that appears to be the forerunner of the Omnikey.
Should be blue Alps or possibly even cyan Omrons.
Do you have this keyboard already or are you still eyeing it? If the latter, get it!
I see.
The bezel really reminded me of an AT101, hah
Oh without a doubt the two boards were inspired by the same design. I'm not sure the Bigfoot was the original Bigfoot-like keyboard, though. I think the FK-555 might've been earlier in fact.
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Still eyeing it. Here's the bottom.
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How much is this worth? So I don't get robbed.
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If it does have blue Alps they'll have to charge you quite a lot for you to get robbed :p . They've been going for really high amounts of late.
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Thats a Focus FK-555 (or atleast looks like it), a very nice keyboard, probably has Blue Alps. Those are worth a lot of money. Nice find :) Is the back of the keyboard made of metal?
Back is metal but I haven't been shown the switches. Made in 1988.
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You should be able to resell that for $100 pretty easily, if you decide you don’t want it. I’d pay about $50, but I’m super cheap.
But you probably will like it. Blue Alps are really great switches. (If it turns out to be cyan Omrons, those are quite rare, and I’m sure there’s someone interested.)
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Is it guaranteed that this KB will have Alps or omrons ?
Really curious to try a vintage mech. The only vintage I've used is a Commodore 64 but it wasn't a mech and wasn't vintage when I had it:-)
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Is it guaranteed that this KB will have Alps or omrons ?
Really curious to try a vintage mech. The only vintage I've used is a Commodore 64 but it wasn't a mech and wasn't vintage when I had it:-)
My personal opinion is that this is another Proworld keyboard which uses Cherry-compatible switches that have Alps click leaves in them.
Thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=46705.0
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3707/9457315847_1d57509618_b.jpg)
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2868/9457315221_d37b2810d5_b.jpg)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/524/18936151095_cfc6f9004f_z.jpg)
They look practically identical.
You should be able to resell that for $100 pretty easily, if you decide you don’t want it. I’d pay about $50, but I’m super cheap.
But you probably will like it. Blue Alps are really great switches. (If it turns out to be cyan Omrons, those are quite rare, and I’m sure there’s someone interested.)
This is a very low ball offer, even $100 is considering the prices recently. That is, presuming that these are blue Alps.
However, if this is the Proworld clone board, then you can't really put a price on it since it's rather obscure and rare. I wouldn't sell it for either of those prices.
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So should I get it whatever it is?
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Tell us about the seller price about it. I say if it's above USD 150 then forget it
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My personal opinion is that this is another Proworld keyboard which uses Cherry-compatible switches that have Alps click leaves in them.
Unlikely. Totally different keycaps.
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Unlikely. Totally different keycaps.
It's the closest thing we can compare it to, more so than the Focus FK-555. I don't think this one has blue Alps, but the only way we'll know for sure is if Chau gets the board and lets us know.
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Still trying to get the guy to remove a cap and take a photo.
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Just buy it before he realizes he's sitting on a potential goldmine. Even if it's crap, then at least you've shown us all something new, and we will appreciate the expanded knowledge.
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Is this black alps? Is the KB a Bigfoot clone or something? Is it anything special and worth getting?
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Is this black alps? Is the KB a Bigfoot clone or something? Is it anything special and worth getting?
Those are type OD1, i have some and there not good at all. They use the same pin layout as Omrons, you could always solder in some Omrons but its not worth the effort.
https://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps.tw_Type_OD1
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Thanks for the info. Damn. I was hoping for a nice surprise.
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Interesting. Well, depends what the seller wants for it, and what you’d want it for.
I would still pay about $50 shipped (so I’d buy one from a US recycling center, but probably not from Greece), because I’m somewhat interested in comparing all the Alps-mount switches I can find. I’m sure there are other people here or on Deskthority who feel similar, and would be interested in taking pictures and documenting the keyboard, etc. If someone really likes Omron switches, and has some from a different source, this would also probably be among the best hosts for them, with a sturdy case, metal back, etc.
But if you want to find a keyboard to type with all the time, you might not want it.
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So the consensus is they're not that nice to type on?
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You won’t find a consensus. Almost nobody has typed on these switches.
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Damn, the plot thickens xD . See, this is what I like about vintage keyboards, there's so much variety :D . I'd have loved to give Proworlds a try tbh xD .
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Damn, the plot thickens xD . See, this is what I like about vintage keyboards, there's so much variety :D . I'd have loved to give Proworlds a try tbh xD .
It's a fun guessing game on ebay when the seller doesn't have pictures. If I had more disposable income I would buy a bunch.
Could be blue alps, or could be a rubber dome, or some obscure alps clone