Early version of ALPS - Made in Japan

[didjamatic]

I'd like to know the year ALPS manufacturing went from Japan over to Taiwan.  Here's an early style of ALPS that were from Japan in a KCCCA031 Keyboard.

The Lueck Data Systems guy who hosts the Northgate Keyboard manuals website (and sold his stock to Bob at Northgate keyboard repair) said that the Pre-1992 ALPS were made in Japan and around 1992ish the manufacturing went over to Taiwan.  Blue ALPS guarantees you got some that were made in Japan.  Some white ALPS were made in Japan but not all were.  I'd really like to know the actual date manufacture moved, as well as when they began revising switches to simplified versions.  Of course boards could be made years later with old stocks of switches, so switch production doesn't necessarily correspond to keyboard use of switches in production.  The guy from Lueck has a strong preference for pre-1992 Japan ALPS.

One difference I did notice in my BLUE ALPS was that the guts are Gray instead of white.  (the plastic piece that separates the 2 terminal pieces in the base of the switch.)

[ch_123]

I think Sandy told me that 1988 was the changeover point. Then again, there was stuff like Pink Alps being used in keyboards in the early 90s which were supposedly part of the old school. Maybe they were using up their surplus stock?

[didjamatic]

1988 was generally the changing point for Blue to White ALPS in Northgates... however, I believe they still made ALPS in Japan after that change.  And some 1989 Northgates had Blues, I have a metal gold label 102 that I believe was an 89 with Blues.  I also have a 89 that has whites.

[ch_123]

Yeah, seems like a pretty big backlog they must have had.

There was also a different type of Alps switch being produced around that time, but it was linear only. It was compatible with regular Alps keycaps (then again, I think all Alps switches used the same keycaps, at least ones made from the 80s onwards)

[WhiteRice]

The switches on this board how similar are they to the ones that most of us are familiar with?

Could you say... put another alps switch in where that gap is? Do you think those key stems would accept any other alps keys?

[ch_123]

I don't think you can unilaterally declare all Alps based on one type. The Green bigfoot Alps are said to be like Brown Cherries, for example.

[didjamatic]

Interesting, maybe the Japanese ALPS had gray guts and the Taiwan ALPS had white guts.  I don't recall white switches that I've opened having gray but I usually don't open them up, I just pop a key cap.