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Author Topic: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?  (Read 3838 times)

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Offline Valen

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Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 04:09:40 »
Can someone identify this switch? Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
http://imgur.com/a/cpEFX
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Offline jacobolus

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 04:36:32 »
Probably a simplified switch. See http://deskthority.net/wiki/Alps_SKBL/SKBM_series
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:01:25 »
Thanks, I think you are right, it is a simplified because it has a single alphanumeric character in each of the north-west and north-east positions.
I can get one $35 shipped, very tempting. :-\
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:15:48 »
Quote from: Valen on Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:01:25

I can get one $35 shipped, very tempting.


Looks like very nice caps.
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Offline jacobolus

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 14:38:12 »
Quote from: fohat.digs on Sat, 24 January 2015, 08:15:48
Looks like very nice caps.
Thick printed ABS?
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 15:19:32 »
Quote from: jacobolus on Sat, 24 January 2015, 14:38:12
Thick printed ABS?

The pictures are not very clear, but neither are my eyes. I was hoping that they were dye subs.
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"However, even though I was born in the Mesozoic, I do know what anyone who wants to reach out to young people should say: Billionaires took your money. They took your chance to buy a home. They took your chance at a good education. They stole your opportunities. Billionaires took the things you want in life. If you really want those things, you have to take them back.
That's the message. That's the whole message. Say that every day, not just to reach America's frustrated young white men, but people of every age, race, and gender.
Late-stage capitalism is a wealth-concentration engine, focused on vacuuming up every dollar and putting it in as few hands as possible. Republicans are helping that vacuum suck.
How does a tiny fraction of the population get away with this? They do it by dividing the other 99% of Americans against themselves."
- Marc Sumner 2025-05-30

Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 18:12:47 »
It's a Datacomp keyboard — it will be pad printed ;-)
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 23:19:38 »
Are there other better choices to harvest Alps keycaps? Pad printing aside, it does not look too bad to me and the font is fine too.
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Offline jacobolus

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 24 January 2015, 23:45:23 »
If you’re trying to fill this specific board, it’s going to be tough to find alternative keycaps, since there are a bunch of irregular ones. I think thick ABS can be reasonably nice, depending on your preferences.
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #9 on: Sun, 25 January 2015, 07:16:32 »
What keyboard are you intending to use the keycaps on?
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #10 on: Sun, 25 January 2015, 19:16:46 »
I am just interested in testing different switches and find out what I like before buying a more expensive KB with the same/similar switch. I think I will just get it and see how I like Alps and if I don't like how it feels then I will scrap my plans on getting a Tex Yoda with Matias (which should feel similar from what I have been reading).
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #11 on: Mon, 26 January 2015, 15:48:09 »
If your plan is to harvest keycaps (and assuming no colour preference), it's important to know the target keyboard, since keycap size and shape varies a lot, including enter (bigass, skinnyass, ISO, ANSI etc), modifier width, space bar size, backspace size etc.

I didn't realise there was a Matias Tex Yoda — I'm not turning up anything for that.

As a note, Matias Click switches don't sound or feel like the simplified Alps switches I have (unbranded, though they presumably say "FD" on the bottom). Matias switches are softer, although that's all I can say as I don't have both keyboards in the same place (TP3/Mac and TP4/PC).
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 28 January 2015, 08:36:24 »
It is here. Keycaps feel pretty good to the touch. It is pad printed the quality is good and I don't see them wearing out soon. Vortex PBT doubleshot is on the right to compare thickness.
Backspace has a bump. Why?
The switch feels similar to Mtek K108 but with a harder spring. It has a metal plate and I like the sound and feeling when I bottom out.


« Last Edit: Wed, 28 January 2015, 08:48:20 by Valen »
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 28 January 2015, 17:58:45 »
Monterey (Mtek) K108 has at least two known switches (blue Alps and type T1 clones) — which switch are you thinking of?
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 28 January 2015, 20:16:48 »
Type T1 clones (white). Mine is used so some switches do not sound the same which is expected, but they are still in good condition. This Datacomp is NIB so the click and feel is pretty even across the board. I won't buy a second hand KB from now on unless I can test them before buying to avoid differences in switches.
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Offline jacobolus

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 28 January 2015, 20:41:08 »
Yeah, Hua-Jie, Xiang Min, clicky SKBM, etc. switches are all somewhat similar.

Inconsistency from switch to switch might not be from use per se. Even brand new keyboards with these switches are often pretty inconsistent from switch to switch.
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #16 on: Thu, 29 January 2015, 16:41:34 »
T1 that is lighter than simplified Alps? Interesting.

T1 should be ivory, not white (with no exceptions that I'm aware of) — if they're whiteΉ, I'm definitely curious.

(Ή For most switches, "white" is the same as Cherry MX Clear; Cherry MX White is a solid white that's very unusual.)
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #17 on: Fri, 30 January 2015, 07:09:46 »
You are right, T1 is ivory not white. It just looked white to me the first time I saw them since the keycaps on them are old and yellow. This is how they look like with Vortex PBT double-shot white as a reference. Top is K108 and bottom Alps. This is the best I could do with my phone.
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #18 on: Fri, 30 January 2015, 16:58:09 »
I assume you've had one of the Alps clone switches apart and confirmed that it's a T1? (There's no way to tell without opening one up.)
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #19 on: Fri, 30 January 2015, 19:18:05 »
Took it apart and now I am confused. What is this switch?



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Offline chyros

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #20 on: Fri, 30 January 2015, 19:50:26 »
Doesn't look like a T1, that has a mantis leaf apparently. I can't really make out the shape of the contact leaf all that well; maybe you can find the switch yourself on this page:

http://deskthority.net/wiki/Four-tab_clone

Looks like it might be some alps.tw Type OA2, but I can't see it well enough to be sure.
« Last Edit: Fri, 30 January 2015, 19:52:55 by chyros »
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #21 on: Sat, 31 January 2015, 06:35:59 »
Yeah, that's OA2. That should mean that the keyboard is no newer than 1993–1994. Here's a 1995 K108 with T1 switches:

http://kbtalking.cool3c.com/article/6100

You can see the controller chip says 9549 on it: week 49 of 1995. I think OA2 was the older design of switch, replaced by T1 somewhere between 1992 and 1995; there seems to be another design in between the two, based on a photo I got from Himake.
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Offline Valen

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #22 on: Mon, 02 February 2015, 06:58:06 »
Thanks guys, I am learning a lot from everyone here.
This is the Intel chip on mine which is different from the one on the link above.
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Offline Daniel Beardsmore

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Re: Is this a complicated or simplified Alps switch?
« Reply #23 on: Mon, 02 February 2015, 16:16:03 »
Early 1994 — that still fits <_< >_>

Thanks. My theory isn't busted yet!
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