Brown/White KPT switch

[MTManiac]

It looks like this is a KPT switch, and should have alps compatible key caps right?

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Oh boy …

Does the writing on the top say something like "AA-16"? (It appears to be AB-something.)

alps.tw refers to the brown switches as "OC3". You've got KPT, TEC, and the brown unbranded ones like yours. KPT and TEC have the same style branding, so they appear to be from the same factory. ("KPT" is short for Keypot; we don't know what "TEC" means). All three are very similar — I can't tell if KPT attracted their own clones, or whether they just changed the style. These switch variants show up in keyboards from various random companies such as Podworld. On the Deskthority wiki I've listed them all under KPT for now.

Yours does look like an OC3. They're listed on alps.tw's Alps page, and that looks like an Alps-compatible keycap.

[jabar]

are those red/black tripleshots?

[laffindude]

Pad printed red legend.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Those doubleshots look awfully similar to the ones on my OTC OK-100M keyboard — colour, material, font, everything. I wonder if they bought them from the same source.

[MTManiac]

here is the e-bay listing, thought I linked it when I made the post
http://www.ebay.com/itm/171048654282?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1427.l2649
the seller has 'white cross alps' that look like cherry mx compatible and some other weird ALPS boards (4 of them with the Cyrillic red legends)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Right, that's another Podworld keyboard. I should probably add Podworld to the DT wiki as they crop up so frequently.

As for the "white cross alps" etc, he/she/they have pages of keyboards — got links?

[MTManiac]

Right, that's another Podworld keyboard. I should probably add Podworld to the DT wiki as they crop up so frequently.

As for the "white cross alps" etc, he/she/they have pages of keyboards — got links?

I would just go to his e-bay sellers page (didn't want to do that and get called a shill, or give you a whole bunch of pics to upload to the wiki, but since you asked for it...)
http://stores.ebay.com/K-Sys-Vintage-Computer-Parts/_i.html?_nkw=keyboard&submit=Search&_sid=1016483584
There are 25 up right now with a majority being ALPS

[Daniel Beardsmore]

That's a Mitsumi switch.

http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/epsontenkey.htm
http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/image/burton.htm

They used both the Mitsumi mount (square recess) and the Cherry MX mount.

[MTManiac]

yea, I should have clarified. the seller is calling EVERYTHING he has ALPS 

I tried messaging him, but he never responded

still, he has some interesting stuff, if not just a little overpriced imo 

[Daniel Beardsmore]

It takes time and effort to familiarise onself with the different switch types. Also, Western knowledge about the different vintage switch types is still growing — for example, when I asked about the switches in BBC Micro keyboards a couple of years ago, we weren't even sure whether or not they were Cherry. Now we not only know what they are (Futabas, provisional name "Futaba simplified linear"), but we have full disassembly photos. Likewise, we know what all the actual Cherry switches of the era looked like as well. (Plus we know that Cherry US made keyboards for DEC (?) using Stackpole switches, which is weird.)

The only thing we don't have, is our own, up-to-date version of MouseFan's switch page:

http://www7.ocn.ne.jp/~hisao/jiku.htm