I take back everything I ever said about white alps...

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

I just acquired two new white alps keyboards, and they are fantastic. One is a Northgate Omnikey 102 and the other is an Omnikey Ultra. These are the 3rd and 4th white alps keyboards that I have tried and they feel nothing like number 1 and 2. Up until now, the only two white alps I've tried were some apple clone and a barely used Northgate Omnikey 101, both of which required tremendous amounts of force to use and were very frictiony. How is it that two keyboards that I discovered outside at a recycling place, very dirty, with plenty of signs of use feel so amazing, while two hardly used keyboards that were kept fairly clean feel like trash? On my new keyboards, I can't even feel an increase in friction if I push the keys down off center. That's amazing. Alps makes no sense!

[Clickey]

ALPS is really dependent on condition. I think a lot of people dismiss them because they only try a dell 101 or a bad condition white. Cherry is overrated IMO.

[fohat.digs]

I have had a couple of Northgates, one much better than the other, several Dell AT101s, including at least 2 really good ones and at least 2 really bad ones.

I have had several Apple Extended Keyboards and there was only one early one with pink (salmon, as my daughter says, and she would know) that I especially liked. The "damped" white/creams are not to my taste.

And then there is my dreaded Milton-Bradley Elderly/Educational/Colorful/Visually-Impaired (up to almost 600 views, thanks to this forum, Ripster having looked at it multiple times), which has been beaten like a dead horse, that feels pretty clean and light, although the keys are so big they change everything.

[BiNiaRiS]

I have a brand new omnikey with white Fukkas and I love it. They aren't too hard to press and not too tactile. They just feel awesome to type on. Most if not all of the other white ALPS i have used felt terrible.

[Soarer]

They really do make no sense! I don't know if it's just manufacturing inconsistency or what.

I only have a few 'boards with XMs and Fukkas, and none of them seem to match the 'frictiony' feeling that others describe (although I can well imagine how that must feel). Of the two Fukka 'boards (both Ortek MCK84), one had definately had more use and wasn't as nice to type on as the fresher one. It simply felt less fresh, not horrible. XMs seem to have about the worst reputation for friction and sticking when pressed off-center, but mine (Siig Minitouch and Macally) don't suffer from either and feel great!

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

Has anyone come up with a solution to the horrible, rough feeling alps problem? Lubrication, or contact cleaner? It seems like such a shame not to enjoy a hardly used Northgate Omnikey-101, just because of the switches, when the rest of the board is of such amazing quality.

[Oqsy]

Again, I need to do an ALPS cleaning/rebuild wiki. Ripster hooked me up with a pic of the correct click-leaf angle (worn ones get bent to the point of no click, but its easily fixed). That was really the final piece of the puzzle besides time and a workspace, both of which should happen pretty soon. ALPS will make a bit of a comeback if I get this right
They really are great switches, just need TLC every decade or so

[Clickey]

Has anyone come up with a solution to the horrible, rough feeling alps problem? Lubrication, or contact cleaner? It seems like such a shame not to enjoy a hardly used Northgate Omnikey-101, just because of the switches, when the rest of the board is of such amazing quality.

What do you mean by "rough feeling"? They should not feel rough if they are new.

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

The switches are not new in that they were manufactured recently, but I don't think they were used at all before me. I got the keyboard at a swap meet in a perfectly sized box and it was sealed in a plastic bag. When I pulled it out, I could not find any evidence of wear, yellowing, or dust. So, unless someone even more obsessive compulsive than myself used this keyboard for a very short amount of time without scuffing it or exposing it to sunlight, and then decided to spend several hours cleaning this keyboard, and then sealed it in a plastic bag with a professional bagging machine, I'm pretty sure that it was unused.