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Author Topic: AEKII - Help identifying switches  (Read 2055 times)

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Offline zammykoo

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AEKII - Help identifying switches
« on: Mon, 13 July 2020, 09:29:59 »
Hi all, I recently acquired an AEKII and read through a couple different threads about identifying whether the boards contain Alps or Mitsumi. I'm assuming they are Mitsumi since the serial starts with an M, but I'm still unclear which I have. Is there a for-sure way to know if I pull the keycaps to see? Could anyone please help identify? Thanks!

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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #1 on: Mon, 13 July 2020, 09:42:24 »
Nice! 1989 made in Japan should be one of the best ones.

You will see when you pull off a cap, it might be salmon undampened Alps.

Apple markings are not very good with information.
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“No political truth is of greater intrinsic value, or is stamped with the authority of more enlightened patrons of liberty: The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands .… may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” —James Madison, Federalist 47
“All the powers of government, legislative, executive, and judiciary, result to the legislative body. The concentrating of these in the same hands, is precisely the definition of despotic government. An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one .... in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.” — Thomas Jefferson, commentary on Federalist 48

Offline zammykoo

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #2 on: Mon, 13 July 2020, 16:21:41 »
Ah, interesting! Most of what I have read indicates that they would be dampened cream Alps, but we will see. I just ordered a key cap puller so I’ll post an update once I can pop one off.
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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 07:26:17 »
That M doesn't stand for mitsumi, it'll be cream damped or salmon if you're lucky :)
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Offline envyy24

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 07:41:35 »
According to the wiki, M3051 made in Japan should have mitsumi. I would be interested to know if this has alps, since so many people in here claiming it to have alps.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 07:47:17 »
Quote from: envyy24 on Tue, 14 July 2020, 07:41:35

According to the wiki, M3051 made in Japan should have mitsumi.


I may be wrong, I have never personally had a Japanese one. I assumed that they were Alps, but I don't have firsthand knowledge.
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“No political truth is of greater intrinsic value, or is stamped with the authority of more enlightened patrons of liberty: The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands .… may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” —James Madison, Federalist 47
“All the powers of government, legislative, executive, and judiciary, result to the legislative body. The concentrating of these in the same hands, is precisely the definition of despotic government. An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one .... in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others.” — Thomas Jefferson, commentary on Federalist 48

Offline Riverman

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 11:30:22 »
Quote from: zammykoo on Mon, 13 July 2020, 16:21:41
Ah, interesting! Most of what I have read indicates that they would be dampened cream Alps, but we will see. I just ordered a key cap puller so I’ll post an update once I can pop one off.
The cream dampened Alps models always seem to the have an S in a square on the label, so I don't think you'll find those switches in it.  They're also surprisingly quiet for a mechanical keyboard.  How much of a racket does your make?  I've owned other Apple keyboards with salmon and orange Alps, and they're very clacky keyboards.  I'd hesitate to use one in a modern office.
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Offline zammykoo

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 14:05:07 »
Well folks, we have our answer. My key so puller came in just now and made this a priority. They don’t have the Alps branding on the switch tops, so this means they are Mitsumi? These are pretty quiet to type on, and to be honest feels a bit mushy for my taste - could be due to age. There’s some resistance in the key presses that I’m not used to, which could be just because I’m so used to Apple’s chicklet style boards.

Anyway, I still think this is a cool collectors item. I made a USB adapter and have been playing with it for a couple of days.

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 14:58:50 »
Oh well :(
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Offline Findecanor

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 15:26:54 »
Those switches are definitely Mitsumi.

Apple Keyboard II and Apple Desktop Mouse II also have serial numbers starting with M if made by Mitsumi.
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Offline envyy24

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 16:13:48 »
Yeah well at least the keycaps are very nice and they can be used in your other alps board. So still a win
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Offline zammykoo

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Re: AEKII - Help identifying switches
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 14 July 2020, 16:49:41 »
Thanks all for your feedback :)
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