which keyboard has orange Alps switch ?

[overdriver]

Too bad you'd have to buy an entire Apple IIc just to get a switch.
Even a broken one goes for $70 here

not all Apple IIc has Alps switches like mine. only later model and certain serial number(I guess it's later too) has Alps. Many Apple IIc has just crappy non-alps keyboard.
The difference is hugh. The most of Alps one does not fail at all for last 20 years of abuse.. but the most of other no name crappy keyboard on Apple IIc fails. Many collectors want Alps keyboard one but it is rare.

[overdriver]

Thanks for pointing out the rare part.  I was tempted to buy that broken Apple IIc for $70.

FYI, If you see the pic of Apple IIc bottom that has full label sticker like this:
and this is old style and 100% it does NOT have Alps




If the bottom label has only serial barcode and rest of them are embossed then it may have Alps(I would say 80% but there is still small chance not to be alps)



to be 100% you need to ask the seller to remove key cap

[bigpook]

jumping in without reading all of the posts but I have in AEK I got off of a customer site. Its pretty dirty, but I popped the key and the slider looks orange. The click leaf looks very similar to what I have in the black alps but the spring isn't as tightly wound.

I swapped the pause key out on the filco with the spring and click leaf. Maybe I need to do some more keys but it doesn't feel any different then the black alp.

[bigpook]

your right, I need to do more keys...tedious, but I am bored, brb

[bigpook]

yes,everything. I did the arrow keys, page up/down, home/end and the tab key.

I need to play with it but so far if there is a difference it is subtle. The biggest difference that I can see is that the springs are different. The AEK have longer springs versus the black alps. But I don't feel anything obvious.

[bigpook]

I'm back.  I know why.  It's because you live in Florida.  ALPS Oranges prefer warmer climates.

The Rare Swiss Orange

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you have quite the imagination. but yes, it is warmer here. its 77 degrees and we have the windows open. there is a nice breeze blowing through the house.

[microsoft windows]

You're making me hate New England winters even more. I thought today was warmer than usual because I didn't freeze my face and hands off when I went outside with a heavy coat and a hat.

[bigpook]

: O its nice here now, come here in August. Not so nice then.

[microsoft windows]

Here in New England, people go crazy when it goes up to 90 degrees. They'd all melt if they went to Florida in the summer.

[bigpook]

yeah, florida can be pretty nasty in the summer time. but the winters are nice.

[ch_123]

Are you swapping upper housing, springs, sliders AND leaf?

I think the leafs and sliders (other than color) are the same, but the upper housing and springs are not.

Among my ALPS keyboards the White Clicky Complicated ALPS are on the left.  The Black Complicated ALPS and White Dampened Complicated ALPS (Apple AEK2 and SGI Granite) are the type on the right.

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The slider from my Cream Alps fits in my Blue Alps switch... The Alps plot thickens...

Here in New England, people go crazy when it goes up to 90 degrees. They'd all melt if they went to Florida in the summer.

Here in Celsius land, we quite literally would melt if it was 90 degrees...

[PRISONER 24601]

What's with the Pink/Orange/Orangish-Pink thing? I have pinks, and I have pinkish-orange sliders, but there are also darker orange sliders that I don't have.

I think.

[sandy55]

I think the leafs and sliders (other than color) are the same,

Surface treatments are different between green/blue/orange and the rest. ( according to an expert, plastic material is also different )
Shape of green stem is different from others. ( technically speaking,  shape of green stem is more suitable and works efficiently when used with click or tactile leaf ).  Hope you don't ask me how and why. Hard to explain in English for surface treatment and material.
 

the White Clicky Complicated ALPS are on the left.  The Black Complicated ALPS and White Dampened Complicated ALPS (Apple AEK2 and SGI Granite) are the type on the right.

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Upper housing of
a) later version of Clicky complicated Whites belongs to the right ( without slits).
b) earlier version of Black complicated belong to the left ( with slits ).
Blacks on AT-101W are not earlier version and belong to the right.
Two variations in Yellow and dampened Cream.
All of Green/Blue/Orange/Pink( and yellowish one of this thread ) belong to the left off course.


Seems like  my hard drive died last night.  may take a long time to recover whole data.

[bigpook]

I went ahead and changed out all of the keys except for the F keys( I will do them later).

The orange alps are a bit smoother it turns out then the black alps. I noticed it straight away. The orange is a little bit softer then the blacks, still tactile, no click.

I took some pics, will post them later.

The lower assembly seemed to be identical to me between the orange and the black. I changed everything in the upper assembly when I swapped them. Top half, spring, leaf and slider as they are different from the blacks.

Sandys plastic theory is interesting, it would be nice to verify that though.

[bigpook]

I think I like the black alps better...sigh.

here are some pics:


The donor board is an old AEK I got off of a customer site. They had a bunch of stuff going to the dumpster and I was able to grab this before it got chucked.


AEK back


pulled the keys to reveal the orange alps. pretty dirty but not unexpected.


here is the filco tenkeyless(was a white XM) with some of the orange alps in place for testing.


with the upper assemblys removed. the lower assemblys look the same as in the AEK.if there is a difference *aside from color* I can't see it.


parts is parts



not a good pic but this particular key was the enter key on the numpad. I ended up using it as the enter key on the filco. I think its a white alps but don't know what the black pieces are on the slider.


here you can see the white alps enter key on the numpad.


its all halloween looking now.


....


all done....


they are lighter in feel then the black alps, someone else has said smoother. I guess.
but they aren't such a radical departure then the black alps. not like it is when going to the fukka.

while I haven't tried a whole lot of alps switches, the minor change I feel between the orange and the black is interesting; if only because maybe ALPS was trying to cover the whole range of feel in small steps across the product line?
If it matters, the pic shows the board as pretty filthy, I wasn't sure what to expect when I pulled the keys. But the insides were clean, and the leaf, spring and slider looked new to me. there was no obvious wear that I could see.

I have enough black alps upper assemblys for a tenkeyless board. If anyone wants them, let me know.

[ak_nala]

That "white" Alps on the Enter key is a later-style Cream Alps (tactile w/ dampers) like they put on the AEK II. Very odd if it was original. Not a place you would expect a key to go bad to need replacement either. Curious. Makes me want to open up my AEK I to take a look.

The "black pieces" on the Cream slider are the much coveted dampers that help to cushion the slider when topping and bottoming out.

[sandy55]

I think I like the black alps better...sigh.

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here is the filco tenkeyless(was a white XM) with some of the orange alps in place for testing.

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with the upper assemblys removed. the lower assemblys look the same as in the AEK.if there is a difference *aside from color* I can't see it.

.** above pics are #3/4. I snipped off others **

Your Zero tenless seems like different version from those sold widely these days.
Filco once llisted  *Zero with Black Alps* on their online shop.
I wondered if it has type-1 usually used in Strongman's board or complicated one seen in Dell AT-101W.

Switches of your Zero are not XM as far as I can see through your photo, Switching assemblies are same with Black Alps used in Dell AT101W.
If yours uses XM or simplified-1/2/4,  lower assemblies can't accept upper   cases of Alps Oranges from AEK.
Bigpook, don't you mind to post close up pics of a switching assembly of your Filco Zero tenless ?

[ch_123]

Your Zero tenless seems like different version from those sold widely these days.

You're right about that... He made it himself from a Dell AT101W.

I must post pics of my Blue Alps-equipped SGI AT-101 to cause further confusion.

[bigpook]

right, I removed the original xm's and put in NIB black alps I got out of a Dell.

the lower assemblys looked very similar to me, aside from the color. so the swap was easy to do.

typing on it now, works fine.

[sandy55]

You're right about that... He made it himself from a Dell AT101W.

Ah,  I see.

Still I'm quite puzzled with *Zero with black Alps*

I must post pics of my Blue Alps-equipped SGI AT-101 to cause further confusion.

We all live in cｈaos.  Confusion will be an epitaph of Alps. One of my uses SGI AT-101 with Green slider plus click leaf as his main bard.

[bigpook]

why are you puzzled with *Zero with black Alps*?

[bigpook]

That "white" Alps on the Enter key is a later-style Cream Alps (tactile w/ dampers) like they put on the AEK II. Very odd if it was original. Not a place you would expect a key to go bad to need replacement either. Curious. Makes me want to open up my AEK I to take a look.

The "black pieces" on the Cream slider are the much coveted dampers that help to cushion the slider when topping and bottoming out.

thanks for the input.  its working fine for me as the enter key. I am looking at an orange slider but the sides aren't notched like the white one is.

The "black pieces" are rubber? plastic?

[PRISONER 24601]

I like the dampened creams a bit more than the oranges, but they're both better than blacks imho- also the AEK is a great keyboard.

[bigpook]

I am finding the orange ALPs to be lighter then the blacks. But not as light as a brown cherry.
The blacks get a bad rap here, don't know why, I think they are nice. But the oranges are nice too.
I don't think there is a switch out there that I don't like for one reason or another though so take what I say with a grain of salt.

thanks for the link ripster, I will check it out.

[bigpook]

interesting, the white alp switch I took out of the AEK with the rubber dampers has a different lower assembly. There are two raised feet for the rubber damper to hit on.

dang, I may need to do some soldering.... as it is, I am using it for the enter key and its working fine....wonder what I am missing?

[overdriver]

I just received the leaf of white ALPS from ripster. Thank you, Ripster!
Now, the broken switch makes clicking sound, again
It produces little bit high pitched clicking sound.. but it is almost same.

Here is a comparison between Yellow leaf and white leaf:
(Left is from the White ALPS and the right one is the one from Yellow ALPS)

[bigpook]

The click leaf for the yellow ALPS looks like it extends more than the one for the white ALPS. Does that mean the yellow ALPS click louder?

I am playing with the fukka switch and in an effort to lighten it up I am trying out the click leafs from the black ALPS. I want to finish it tomorrow, will let you know how it works out.

[itlnstln]

The click leaf for the yellow ALPS looks like it extends more than the one for the white ALPS. Does that mean the yellow ALPS click louder?
 
I am playing with the fukka switch and in an effort to lighten it up I am trying out the click leafs from the black ALPS. I want to finish it tomorrow, will let you know how it works out.

I don't think it would click louder, but it might add to the tactility and resistance the leaf presents (all other things being equal).  If anything, it would just change the feel slightly.