Focus FK-2001 restoration (Aztech rebrand)

[niubio]

Ok, so I've got served with a bunch of old boards, in which I've found a nice, but seriously beaten up duo of mechanical FK-2001s. It took me three days to get one of them done (a little touch 'n love). Still, I'm not satisfied with the final result... Aztech logo was burned during ozone treatment. Function keys legend literally broke apart in my hands when I pulled it out - so it's missing. Stand feet were also gone. I put it today for a local sale (about $50, is that too much...?), maybe next time I'll be more successful





[Pic 3] [Pic 4] [Pic 5] [Pic 6]

1) Electrical check - OK
2) Disassembly
3) Keycaps ultrasonic & manual (unfortunately) cleanup
4) Case + cord cleanup
5) Methyl ethyl ketone spacebar + case treatment (cracks)
6) ALPS Switch high-pressure one-by-one cleaning (some of them were clogged or didn't connect)
7) Hydrogen peroxide pressure chamber + UV
Ozone generator
9) Spacebar sanding + polishing
10) Assembly + stabilizers lubrication
11) ABS protective spray (love the smell)

Keycaps are double molded (even green/blue/red Shift/Alt/Ctrl/Esc!). I really enjoy using this board. I must say I prefer ALPS over Cherries! (Cherries feel more solid tho - ze German).

EDIT: Fixed links pointing to my server, as old hosting domain does not belong to me...

[niubio]

Another day, another happy board! This time it's BTC 53 series foam-over-foil. Got some pretty nasty blooming during overnight UV session, but overall I've managed to get it done right. Damn, I hate those permanent markers! During the '80/early '90 ppl used this stuff to put "inventory" numbers on the case (or name of the institution which bought it). This was a poor-mans idea to prevent stuff from being stolen. Remember, a keyboard like this was pretty expensive back then! "ZSZ nr 1 Gdansk" stands for: "Zespol Szkol Zawodowych numer 1 w Gdansku" ("Assembly of proffesional schools no. 1 in Gdansk city").





[Pic 3] [Pic 4]

EDIT: Fixed links pointing to my server, as old hosting domain does not belong to me...

[spiceBar]

Impressive work.

[niubio]

Thanks I know, those are very popular, en-masse boards, but still I like to restore them the most - maybe because they got "old" and other ppl don't find any use for them, just throw them away without any respect... Anyway, that'll be the last one for now - DELL SK-1000REW. I know there are some mechanical variants out there, unfortunately mine is a simple s***ty rubber-dome... I gave it a shot anyway.

There are some strange colors on the first pic - it was ~5 A.M. and the only lightsource in my lab was an UV aura from the oxydizing tank (with BTC 53 inside!).





[Pic 3] [Pic 4]

EDIT: Fixed links pointing to my server, as old hosting domain does not belong to me...

[DamnDan]

Thanks I know, those are very popular, en-masse boards, but still I like to restore them the most - maybe because they got "old" and other ppl don't find any use for them, just throw them away without any respect... Anyway, that'll be the last one for now - DELL SK-1000REW. I know there are some mechanical variants out there, unfortunately mine is a simple s***ty rubber-dome... I gave it a shot anyway.

There are some strange colors on the first pic - it was ~5 A.M. and the only lightsource in my lab was an UV aura from the oxydizing tank (with BTC 53 inside!).

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[Pic 3] [Pic 4]

Used the same Dell prior buying the AT101W. For rubberdome it is quite nice to type on

[fohat.digs]

The early Dell QuietKeys made in Malaysia or Thailand with numbers like 45RJD... are much better than the later ones with numbers like 1000 made in China.

[niubio]

Yep, this one is made in Malaysia. Feels solid for a RD. I like those "double-stands" and quite unique "cord plug" on the back - a small chunk of plastic which makes it easier to pull out the wire during disassembly process. The feeling when I type on it kind of resembles Logitech Deluxe 250 for me. Not that bad.

[CPTBadAss]

I was a little skeptical that the UV would help with the deyellowing process but it looks really good in your pictures. I'm going to have to give it a try sometime...

[Daniel Beardsmore]

The early Dell QuietKeys made in Malaysia or Thailand with numbers like 45RJD... are much better than the later ones with numbers like 1000 made in China.

You mean RT7D5JTW? I have added that to the table on the wiki listing NMB OEM part numbers.

[niubio]

I've had to change all links pointing to photos uploaded to my old domain... And also made some videos of all keyboards I've had mentioned in this thread. If anyone's interested, here's a link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/utensilia/videos

I've also added strange Optimus / Silitek board (rebrand) - quite rare I think. Video of Focus 2001 on it's way, but it's pretty common so no big deal... Cheers!

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I thought I recognised that site. I remember coming across it when researching whether Chicony had anything to do with the OK-100M.

What makes you think that the OK-100M is Chicony?

[niubio]

I thought I recognised that site. I remember coming across it when researching whether Chicony had anything to do with the OK-100M.

What makes you think that the OK-100M is Chicony?

It was a year ago, so I really don't remember where did I dig that info from. Maybe it was some caption from the inside of the case, maybe a page on the Internet, I don't know. Those were funny days - I started to shot videos in my basement one day, no reason - just felt like doing it. I keep posting some from time to time (and now is the time i guess).

I sold my OK-100M half a year ago...

[niubio]

...so OK-100m is not Chicony but Oriental Tech after all. I've found a thread in which you guys were talking about this model. Well, it was my mistake a year ago - I've fixed the page, description and YouTube channel to display proper name. Now I've learned you should never trust just one source, especially on www OK-100m is a strange model tho, as simple, recognizable manufacturer name in literally nowhere to found around the case (except for those OTC markings).

[Daniel Beardsmore]

It's pretty common for keyboards to have no branding at all, or for there to be no indications of who actually made it. Frequently, keyboards are branded as the customer, not the OEM. For example, my two Tulip keyboards are made by Monterey and SMK, but they have Tulip's own model numbers and logo. The former does not say "Monterey" anywhere (I only IDed the OEM when someone posted a photo here of a stock Monterey K101), and the latter has SMK written on the PCB.

Sometimes the same product is registered to more than one OEM, and you can't tell where it really originated. The ETC PowerGlide 105 was registered by Commtron Corporation in the US, (not ETC) while it was probably made by Ortek in Taiwan or some factory they hired. The SIIG and Micro Warehouse branded versions were also registered by Commtron, although some Micro Warehouse production runs had an FCC ID registered by Wentek Technology Inc in the US. Mine has an 'O' for Ortek key, and Ortek's name does appear on the PCB.

The Monterey K101 was registered with the FCC by Monterey, as were the K104W and K108/K108W (the 'W' models are not confirmed to exist). In between these, K102, K103 and K104 (not K104W) were registered with the FCC by Keytech, whoever they were.

Some modern Dell keyboards have recognisable details (e.g. SK models from Silitek and RT models that say NMB on them) but most of them have no recognisable manufacturer details anywhere inside or outside. The OEM is often a secret. You would also find keyboards that didn't even have OEM customer branding — mystery keyboards!

A few companies like IBM actually made their own keyboards! That was rare, though. The term "Bigfoot" that is applied to Alps switches is a mistake: "Bigfoot" refers to the Alps standard keyboard platform used for a lot of keyboards, such as the Bull we saw here recently. (The SGI Granite looks the same, but I don't know that it's not made by Silitek, the same as later Dell AT10X(W) keyboards.)