Found an older "OmniKey Plus," looking for info on it (pictures)

[MycoRunner]

Hi, I found this unusual keyboard at my relatives' house and I was hoping to find out some more info on it. It is 'clicky,' feels pretty much the same as a Model M, but has a strange layout.


key layout is a little wonky... I like the colors though:


There are three DIN ports I believe, with different numbers of pins:



There's also a dip switch on the back with about 8 or so switches, but I forgot to take a picture. Also I forgot to take a picture of the back! Oops...
But if you have any info on it, that would be great! Especially, can it be used via PS/2 or USB with an adapter? What layout is it? Is it definitely buckling spring?

Thanks and enjoy your Thanksgiving!

[Puddsy]

Do those use blue ALPS? I seem to recall that they use blue ALPS.

[Fullcream]

I think may be white complicated Alps

[tuxsavvy]

I don't have that exact same keyboard but a very similar one. It only has one PS/2 lookalike socket instead of three.

As mentioned that it is an ALPS sort of switch but I am not exactly sure which sort of ALPS is it. I broke a few key cap stems off mine (by pure accident when trying to hopefully revive the old keyboard that I snatched awhile ago) but it looks like white coloured ALPS switch, at least for the slider.


I have some links that maybe of use to you:

• Northgate OmniKey Keyboards | Lueck Data Systems
  - Contains the manual for the keyboard, goes through DIP switch settings and what not if the keyboard is programmable.
• Northgate Keyboard Repair - These guys deal with the repairs and refurbishments of mainly Northgate Omnikey series keyboards. They may also be able to help you if you have any issues with your Omnikey.
• http://sandy55.fc2web.com/keyboard/omnike102_02.html - This site apparently has more information about your keyboard (as it did for mine). Unfortunately it is written in Japanese so I guess one will need to use things like Google Translate for instance.
• http://deskthority.net/wiki/Fuhua_Alps - I think I bookmarked this was probably because this was what it was sussed out as for my Omnikey.
• http://5k177keyboards.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/northgate-omnimac-for-pc-or-mac-mechanical-nos-clicky-keyboard/ - An old blogging page that the person was trying to sell the keyboard. I really don't know if any of the information as stated are true.

As for the cable, I really do not know if one could simply just use a PS/2 to USB adapter. I do know that the cable that came with the keyboard was a 270 degree PS/2 lookalike plug with old DIN plug on the other end. I have recently heard of similar cable found on IBM Model F series were actually not compatible with PS/2 conversion from DIN. Meaning in other words a USB adapter may fail to work as a result.
However in my case I am able to use the cable with an adapter as it is (cable was provided with the keyboard, the adapter I had to purchase extra) I was able to use the keyboard with modern computers via PS/2 port. I guess if I were for instance to get a PS/2 to USB or DIN to USB it would work fine out of the box.
Somehow as of writing this, and looking at how the F keys are arranged and all. I guess that keyboard maybe would have been the equivalent of an IBM Model F, which may mean that it would not work with a modern computer without one for instance swapping out the controller and maybe even reprogramming it so that it will work with a modern computer. I could also be very wrong about this, so I would suggest that you maybe ask the guys at Northgate keyboard repairs and see if they have any information on whether or not would it work with modern computers.

[MycoRunner]

Thanks for the replies. Those manuals should definitely help with all the dip switches and the links I'm sure will be helpful. I noticed comparing yours and mine that yours has a more standard looking layout, this one may have been designed for some old computer, we'll see. I did find a DIN to PS/2 adapter with it so as you said maybe it could work with a PS/2 port, if not a USB. I tried to pop off a key to see what switch it has, but they were pretty solidly on there and I didn't want to break it.

[opensecret]

There's also a dip switch on the back with about 8 or so switches, but I forgot to take a picture. Also I forgot to take a picture of the back! Oops...
But if you have any info on it, that would be great! Especially, can it be used via PS/2 or USB with an adapter? What layout is it? Is it definitely buckling spring?

Thanks and enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Yes, you can run to USB using a PS/2 -> USB adapter, but you need a good adapter; cheap ones often don't work.   Bob Tibbetts at Northgate keyboard repair -- http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/ -- sells adapters, and I have two systems that use the cable combination below from cablestogo.com: 


Item #:       09471
Product:      10ft PS2 M/M Keyboard/Mouse Cable
Stock Status:      In Stock - Ready to ship today!
Quantity:     1
Item Price:   $12.99
Total Price:  $12.99
**********************************************************************
Item #:       27225
Product:      1ft USB to PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Adapter Cable
Stock Status:      In Stock - Ready to ship today!
Quantity:     1
Item Price:   $19.99
Total Price:  $19.99
**********************************************************************

Northgate boards work with modern computers.  You generally need to do a little bit of keyboard remapping, because most don't have a Windows key, which is vital in Win8.  (I've also used one with a Mac, but I had trouble finding a keyboard remapping app that would give me the layout I wanted.)

I'm currently typing on an Omnikey Ultra which is similar to yours, but has function keys both side and top (see pic below).  The Northgates generally have white Alps switches.  They were made by Northgate Computer, which tried to compete with Dell back in the 90s, but keyboards were their most successful product.  The boards have been out of production for years, but still have many diehard fans, including me.  (I own three and have my eye out to get another.  I love the layout and love typing on them, and they tend to be very durable.   

[ Attachment Invalid Or Does Not Exist ]

[opensecret]

Oops, missed on the attachment in my previous post.

[tuxsavvy]

The looks can be somewhat pretty deceptive. I checked back to the site where I mentioned they do repairs on mainly Northgate Omnikeys and I read that the Northgate P model supposedly does not come with manual:

All Northgate P model keyboards do not have a manual or a new cord, as these keyboards were hardwired and software driven written for W98 and earlier.

I am somewhat stumped by what they meant "P". According to their site, my Omnikey would have been 101P because of the notable door latch to adjust the DIP swiches. Unlike the models you guys have, where the logo printed on the top left hand corner of my keyboard is actually a door latch that one can open up and adjust the switches.

In any case I stand corrected. The non programmable Northgate Omnikey most likely would not have came with manual then.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Fuhua_Alps - I think I bookmarked this was probably because this was what it was sussed out as

Got a photo of one of the switches showing the writing on the top? Alps simplified switches are pretty rare — I'd like to confirm whether Northgate really did use them, as it's news to me.

[tuxsavvy]

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Fuhua_Alps - I think I bookmarked this was probably because this was what it was sussed out as

Got a photo of one of the switches showing the writing on the top? Alps simplified switches are pretty rare — I'd like to confirm whether Northgate really did use them, as it's news to me.

Unfortunately no, though I am charging the device as we speak so I should be able to post up a photo later on once the battery is fully charged.

Looking at my Omnikey 101 keyboard and closely comparing with the deskthority wiki on Fuhua Alps I guess it might not be Fuhua Alps at all but could possibly be Alps SKCL/SKCM series: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCL/SKCM_series

Judging by some noted differences which I will describe here:

• Fuhua Alps photo on the deskthority wiki does not have the letters printed "ALPS" on the bottom centre aligned of the switch housing.
• The number "7" is printed on the top left of the switch housing on mine. Also the number "7" is printed inside a circle. Compared to Fuhua Alps photo, which has the number "5" printed and not within a circle but raised. I guess mine is indented (printed in).
• Top right on my Omnikey 101 bears the characters "16L". That is true for the letter "K" on my Omnikey but it is hard to tell if it is "160" or "16L" on the letter "B". However when tilting the keyboard to get a better reading on that "B" switch it reveals more closely to "16L" instead of "160".
• The "ALPS" printing appears to be engraved/indented rather than raised which I guess would be classed as complicated Alps switch: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCL/SKCM_series#Colours
• Via recognition to see if it is a clone or not: http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKCL/SKCM_series#Recognition I guess mine is classed "quite possibly Alps CM" as it appears to have the two long tabs on the sides.

I guess I may have bookmarked the stuff in the wrong area. Maybe my Clicker keyboard is using the cloned Alps (i.e. Fuhua).
Again I will post later on when my device is fully charged.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Yeah sounds like you have a complicated switch in the OmniKey. The Alps logo is still raised, but only barely. The simplified ones don't have circles around the numbers, while complicated switches mostly do. "16L" is a complicated-style mould number.

"Clicker" is a brand of Taiwan Tai-Hao, and they use either APC series Alps clones, or a membrane-based switch with dual click leaves.

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Taiwan_Tai-Hao_APC_series
http://deskthority.net/wiki/APC_membrane_switch

So far as I can tell, Forward Electronics ("Fuhua") could have been responsible for the simplified Alps from day one — I have (assuming it's not in the Minguo calendar!) a spec sheet from 1991 from Forward for simplified Alps. I posted my two Forward spec sheets to the wiki the other day. That's why I'm really curious about who used these switches and when. My current theory is that Alps complicated (SKCL linear/SKCM tactile and clicky) was always made in Japan, and Alps instigated or sanctioned their Taiwanese manufacturing partner Forward Electronics to make a budget range, SKBL/SKBM, branded as Alps, and referred to as "simplified" Alps. However, they seem to be extremely rare in the West until the late 90s/2000s when complicated Alps stopped being sold, so who was using them throughout the 90s?

[tuxsavvy]

Yeah sounds like you have a complicated switch in the OmniKey. The Alps logo is still raised, but only barely. The simplified ones don't have circles around the numbers, while complicated switches mostly do. "16L" is a complicated-style mould number.

"Clicker" is a brand of Taiwan Tai-Hao, and they use either APC series Alps clones, or a membrane-based switch with dual click leaves.

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Taiwan_Tai-Hao_APC_series
http://deskthority.net/wiki/APC_membrane_switch

So far as I can tell, Forward Electronics ("Fuhua") could have been responsible for the simplified Alps from day one — I have (assuming it's not in the Minguo calendar!) a spec sheet from 1991 from Forward for simplified Alps. I posted my two Forward spec sheets to the wiki the other day. That's why I'm really curious about who used these switches and when. My current theory is that Alps complicated (SKCL linear/SKCM tactile and clicky) was always made in Japan, and Alps instigated or sanctioned their Taiwanese manufacturing partner Forward Electronics to make a budget range, SKBL/SKBM, branded as Alps, and referred to as "simplified" Alps. However, they seem to be extremely rare in the West until the late 90s/2000s when complicated Alps stopped being sold, so who was using them throughout the 90s?

Thanks for the information and references. I guess one learns something new every day. 

I opened the back of my Clicker keyboard simply because I was curious and was unable to pull a key cap off the switch. After reading the links that you posted as well as eventually managing to pull a key cap off the switch my Clicker board is definitely more similar to APC membrane switch.

There are a coupe of tell tales:

• There was a soft membrane sort of board over the keys and because it was soft whenever a key is pushed from underside, it would raise the membrane board easily. It was a bit of a pain for me to close the back of the keyboard again. Definitely not a Tai-Hao series but the much latter model.
• When I managed to pull the keycap off the keyboard. The switch definitely resembles the Alps rectangular shape however the housing seems to be molded right into the keyboard case (much like how HHKB Pro series are). I did not see any markings on the switch housing but it had a clear sort of slider.
• The leaf sort of spring that I noticed when trying to reseat them were not made of copper but of I guess some cheap metal (steel?). The back plate for the leaf spring sort of covers for one side as well. It just sits on I guess either side of the base of the housing.

I guess as soon as I can get some photos up maybe I can contribute to the deskthority wiki for that Clicker keyboard. Thanks again for the links and all!

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Tai-Hao / Taiwan Tai-Hao is the manufacturer of APC/Clicker keyboards. I'm unclear on the difference between APC and Clicker as brand names. Their old switch brand was Aruz — it's possible that they were the first Alps clone manufacturer that everyone else copied, as the APC series is clearly derived from the old Aruz switches.

Alps always used steel for the click leaves, as did the clone manufacturers originally. However, sometime around the end of the 80s, the clones started moving to copper-based metals for the click leaves (typically reduced to a fraction of the width), which in the specs I've seen are listed as PBS (an Asian abbreviation for phosphor bronze).

[tuxsavvy]

Yeah I think I have at one stage bookmarked information on Aruz switch under the same area for my Clicker board. Though I don't think at the time that may Clicker keyboard would have been Aruz based. At that time I believe I did not pull that keyboard apart as well.

I too don't know what is the difference between APC and Clicker in brand names. I guess APC might have been a registered trademark name in the US maybe based UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply). Maybe in a bid to prevent legal battles (regardless if there ever was a legal battle to begin with). APC traded their names as Clicker. So the logo on the front of the keyboard clearly shows that it is known as a Clicker brand but on the back of it tells a different tale that it is APC brand or APC manufacturered brand.

Interesting, I guess my Clicker board would have been around the 1980s or so era.

Actually I had these bookmarked under APC/Clicker related stuff:

• http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8/clicker-a-semi-mechanical-alps-wannabe-t4861.html
• http://deskthority.net/wiki/Fame_GOG3YLTH-5539
• https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/Eas731GrantForm.cfm?mode=COPY&application_id=62617&fcc_id=GOG3YLTH-5539

The first link is quite similar to my keyboard, the only differences are the key cap legends, brand name "style" for both front and rear as well as mine lacks a model number. The FCC ID printed on the back of my Clicker seems to not exist (hence the third link but that maybe irrelevant). My FCC ID is printed in quotes on my signature.
The second link was what cropped up on Google search where I was trying to find out more information about my Clicker keyboard. That came up and hence it had reference to Aruz switch I guess. Again my Clicker keyboard does not appear to be Aruz switcher based. The switch housing in mine is white as opposed to black from the photos of Aruz switch.
The last link as sort of stated above reveals a bit more information about the company and all at the time of course. I quickly searched up my Clicker keyboard via the Patent number (apparently it is labelled as Pat No: 73990) seems to be invalid or non-US based patent. I sort of wonder could my Clicker keyboard have been made somewhere around the late 80s era as both the FCC ID as well as the Patent number are invalid?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

That number is far too short to be a US patent in the 80s. The US patent of that number is from 1868. You'd have to scour all the patents with that number: http://worldwide.espacenet.com/searchResults?compact=false&ST=singleline&query=73990&locale=en_EP&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com

FCC IDs are an odd one — I've encountered many keyboards where the FCC ID on the keyboard is not registered with the FCC. My ETC Power Glide 105 for example — the FCC grantee exists, but not the ID. It's possible that these companies were making FCC IDs up, but it's more likely that the FCC lost a load of paperwork and the records never got computerised.

Taiwan Tai-Hao still refer to their switches as "APC", by the way.

[tuxsavvy]

Thanks for the link and information.

Looks like sifting through all those patent would be a pain than what I would expect. I recognised some of the patents had two characters before the number and they are categorised similarly as ISO country code used by iana.org (root zone database) if I'm not mistaken. For instance, DE is Germany (Deutschland), JP is Japan, HK is Hong Kong, FR is France, SE is Sweden, etc. US is obviously United States. Even at that there are still some nameless patents, sounds like it is going to be heck a lot more work than expected just to scour some background information on the keyboard. Even worse if the patent number gains nothing in the end if it was fake.

Yeah I have to admit that FCC are odd, when it comes to mostly non wireless (radio capable) equipment the information seems scarce. For instance you get keyboards with FCC logo but no FCC ID. Then you get ones with part of the ID that has information and the specific one is either invalid, not lodged, etc. I generally use FCC ID searches on wireless equipments in most cases.

I wonder if APC could be Tai Hao's name for everywhere except for where APC has registered their trademark. It might be that or APC is the actual name whilst the Clicker is the model name. Even at that my clicker keyboard doesn't look all that similar to the Clicker board from that deskthority forum link. Some things make you wonder I suppose. Could it be a clone? why did they stop putting model numbers? etc.

That number is far too short to be a US patent in the 80s. The US patent of that number is from 1868. You'd have to scour all the patents with that number: http://worldwide.espacenet.com/searchResults?compact=false&ST=singleline&query=73990&locale=en_EP&DB=worldwide.espacenet.com

FCC IDs are an odd one — I've encountered many keyboards where the FCC ID on the keyboard is not registered with the FCC. My ETC Power Glide 105 for example — the FCC grantee exists, but not the ID. It's possible that these companies were making FCC IDs up, but it's more likely that the FCC lost a load of paperwork and the records never got computerised.

Taiwan Tai-Hao still refer to their switches as "APC", by the way.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

You said that your Clicker has FCC ID GOG3YL, that should make it legit. I doubt it's a clone — there are different variants of that membrane model. It would not surprise me in the least if you'd found a whole new model that we've not seen before.

My conversations with Taiwan Tai-Hao were restricted by the language barrier, which made it hard to get even the most basic details straight, added to the fact that we're talking about a switch series going back nearly 30 years. I don't know if I ever asked what APC meant, but I did confirm that Aruz was their brand.

[tuxsavvy]

I personally have my suspicions over FCC ID printed on my Clicker keyboard as either valid or not. It may be a valid FCC ID even though FCC doesn't have anything related to the keyboard. On the other hand, I am not sure but I have been examining through a couple of different devices (again mostly wireless stuff) with FCC and some of them were either invalid or non-existant.

Hate to also sound like as if I am some sort of a whistleblower if and when devices uses wrong identification tags and what not but at the same time it makes things sometimes frustrating for me who wants to read up more information and yet not gain anything at the end. Curiousity I guess "kills the cat" as they say. 

It is somewhat a little funny that they don't hire people that can sort of speak English as well. I mean most Asians in SE Asia should be able to speak English if they want to broaden their horizons with the now defacto human language. Then again as much as I would love to rub such issue in that I am also ashamed my Chinese is probably no better than their English considering that Chinese is my main language. If I knew my Chinese well enough I guess I could have somewhat helped.

Also nothing really wrong with old school stuff.  Somehow I wish to think that they would have some sort of information left in the filing cabinet somewhere. Sure it is legacy product but hoarding certain things maybe useful in the future as it is right now with 30 year old technology being discussed in 2013.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I was communicating with Xiang Min, Taiwan Tai-Hao and Hua-Jie in English, but their English is probably still better than me using Google Translate to write in Chinese (judging by how bad Chinese to English comes out).

As far as FCC IDs are concerned, they would have had all their information in filing cabinets, and then maybe some mainframe system. I can easily understand records getting lost — maybe a clerk had a load of files out when a sprinkler went off and the records are now papier mβchι. I suspect that this is more likely than falsified IDs, but I couldn't say for certain. Maybe a poorly-trained intern did a bad DELETE FROM and that was the point that they realised that all the backup tapes were worn out.

I wish companies did feel a responsibility to historical knowledge, but what would you do with keyboard switch specifications? It's not as though anyone out there cares. Now that geekhack and Deskthority are becoming better known by switch and keyboard manufacturers, maybe one or two people will turn over their paperwork to the community instead of tossing it all, but for example when Devlin threw out the specs and tooling for the ITW magnetic valve switch in 2005, there was certainly no Deskthority and probably no geekhack. Wishful thinking though, especially with Asia.

[tuxsavvy]

Definitely I would personally never use Google translate thoroughly, even though they offer free translations (up to certain limits) the information contained therein may not be better than what a specialised translator can offer or even if one knows a bit of the language they are translating from. Actually I am somewhat amazed that you got hold of a staff who happens to know keyboard technology from way back 30 years but still the information seems a little scarce to me.

Now that I have the information from you mainly, I guess I have collectively another set of issue to worry about. I guess it might just be the membrane part is sort of failing to work now. I am thankful for your inputs on this particular keyboard that I have in my hands. I was sort of somehow hoping there would be some information be provided and/or fixes but that now has largely been resolved (of course not for fixing as yet I guess).

About the FCC ID, I admit that I was frustrated trying to get some useful information out somewhere but have gained nothing of that much particular use. Ultiumately it is hard to know who was at fault but I'm not going to persist with the issue further as I have got most of the much needed information about the "rare" keyboard.

On the topic of preserving historical data, if only I can find out ways or at least maybe get someone else to fix up the keyboard within due time. I am glad nonetheless to actually hear that Tai-Hao is still operational, there are probably a few manufacturers that have seemed to disappeared and left no information about their products which again can only frustrate enthusiasts who wants to make use of some legacy/discontinued product. Virtually in other words only where places like geekhack and deskthority for sure remains to be the only place for such things that one can hopefully find answers for/on.
Also true, technologies for example seems to flow/evolve fairly rapidly in Asia which can be a bit of a concern for those who have all these that was once a fancy technology back then and lacks useful documentation.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

You should post some photos of it.

Yes, lots of companies have disappeared. Keypot (KPT), Podworld, Hearst, and so many others have vanished. Nan Tan (who were a prolific keyboard manufacturer) is now part of Clevo, and I doubt we'll get anything from them now. Focus's website is still up, but their sales mailbox has been full for well over a year, and their news page hasn't been updated since the middle of 2011, so I have no idea what's left of them now.

Cherry have long discarded most of their data on the M6/7/8/9/10/11, though Ed Ferraton in ZF USA did find a spec sheet for the M11 switch that was only very recently discovered (no-one has M10 or M11 in catalogues). SMK were rude, and Alps, Futaba, Sejin (Futaba's manufacturing partner), NMB, Forward and various others have completely ignored me. I'd love to get confirmation from NMB of the acquisition of Hi-Tek Corporation, and the approximate date, but no luck so far.

There are a lot of companies I want to query about Alps clone switches, to see how many are able to confirm that they did indeed use Himake/Hua-Jie switches, i.e. am I correct in that no-one else used the same numbering styles? These include Focus (unreachable), Ortek (no response), ELSA Communications (seemingly now iRocks -- deliberately unhelpful) and MacAlly (also unhelpful).

Companies who deserve a gold star for actually being really helpful include Monterey International (who actually told me about Hua-Jie and confirmed that Monterey switches are SMK) and Chicony (who told me about Aristotle and also confirmed Monterey switches are SMK).

The only company who has ever confirmed the brand of Alps clone used is Monterey. 002's MiniTouch (made by Monterey) has switches with two numbering styles, appearing to confirm that both styles are Hua-Jie. My current samples from Hua-Jie match another, much less common numbering style. Collectively the implication is that most western keyboards with Alps clones used Himake/Hue-Jie switches. However, I'm still deeply uneasy until I can get more concrete confirmations from companies such as Focus, Ortek, MacAlly and ELSA who used these switches. This is where it would be far better to have native Chinese speakers contact these companies.

[opensecret]

Those old Northgate boards still have value, and lately the prices may be drifting up.  I just lost my second auction in a row for one on eBay.  I picked up an Ultra-T in August for $83 on eBay, but this one, an OmniKey Ultra like the one I'm typing on,  sold for $112.50, even though it obviously needed at least a cleanup.  The Northgate keyboard fan group isn't huge, but it's passionate.  This board would have been an additional backup that I don't exactly need, but I wouldn't mind a little more insurance.  I had to give up on a Northgate board last year when the electronics went south, and even Bob Tibbetts couldn't bring it back from the dead, so you never know. 

[fohat.digs]

Those old Northgate boards still have value, and lately the prices may be drifting up.  I just lost my second auction in a row for one on eBay. 

I had to give up on a Northgate board last year when the electronics went south, and even Bob Tibbetts couldn't bring it back from the dead, so you never know. 

I have bid on some of those, too. I was not the 2nd-highest bidder, so there is somebody else in there, too.

The standard-ANSI layouts are nice, but after using an F-122 for a couple of years, I don't know how I could do without the left-hand function keys in addition to the ones on the top.

Bob Tibbets bought a dead Omnikey from me for about $30-35 a year or 2 ago, presumably he fixed it and sold it for at least twice that. If it was just switches, I would gladly fix them now that I am a bit more knowledgeable.

Anybody out there have an Omnikey with a few dead switches that they would want to sell me?

[MycoRunner]

The Omnikey that I posted about above doesn't have two sets of function keys (its the plus model, not the ultra) but AFAIK it is in working order. What would one of those models go for, about?

[fohat.digs]

What would one of those models go for, about?

Its value will be determined by the switch type. Personally, I would be uninterested unless the switches were blue.

[opensecret]

The Omnikey that I posted about above doesn't have two sets of function keys (its the plus model, not the ultra) but AFAIK it is in working order. What would one of those models go for, about?

Personally, I prefer the Ultra or Ultra-T because they have the extra set of function keys, but I think there will still be a market for your Plus.  On eBay, I think you'll get at least $50, and I'd guess closer to $75 if it's in good condition.  I've only seen Northgates with white Alps switches -- if they exist with blue Alps, they have to be very rare. 

[calavera]

Didn't bother reading the entire thread but I'm pretty sure they have complicated white alps switches, not blue. Which don't have that much value to be honest. Blue complicated alps are extremely rare.

[tuxsavvy]

Been busy throughout the days, I managed to take photos, clean it and write up stuff about it. I guess I'll post up some "teaser" photos as the last time I recall trying to upload several photos for just one thread entry it did not work well.






My blog entry for that matter here. If you don't mind, I have credited you in my blog entry as well (and others). 

Sounds like you have been through quite a bit of ordeal trying to round up information from manufacturers for the switches. I guess it might just be all to do with the trends as well. If not that then maybe the companies (like SMK for instance) probably is trying to stash some secrets somehow.

Looking at now how there are more posters on this thread talking about Omnikeys it seems like I am sort of thread hijacking haha. I do have an omnikey 101 with at least one broke key switch but I am not willing to sell it. In fact I would rather get it repaired as this other Clicker keyboard is somewhat giving me grief. Having cleaned the keyboard as well as swapping a few metal plates some of the keys still act like they are sticking down. When they stick down it is good that they don't emit any signals to the computer but in some cases like the Enter key gets stuck and at times it will send Enter keycode repetitively to the computer until I pull the key (so to speak) to prevent being it in depressed state.