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Author Topic: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?  (Read 4317 times)

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Offline snarfarlarkus

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How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 17:22:50 »
Hey guys, just received my Omnikey 102! The spacebar is a bit stuck I believe from transit but I can't remove it. Please help me out? CHeers
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 17:47:32 »
Use 2 butter knives or flat screwdrivers and pry up both ends. There are 2 plastic tabs in the underside of the spacebar and 2 plastic tabs in the front plate. If any of these come loose and/or stay attached to the wire, it is no big deal. All can be re-installed.

Did you use the keyboard for a few hours to really get a feel for it?

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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 snarfarlarkus

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 18:00:14 »
Thanks fohat! I just pryed it out now, is the spacebar meant to have a tactile click like every other key? My space bar is linear yet its still a blue alps? Maybe I need to clean it or something.
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Offline chyros

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 18:38:45 »
Yes, that's also supposed to be clicky. If it feels linear, maybe the switch has been damaged or it's in a bad condition.
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Offline snarfarlarkus

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 19:47:30 »
Yeah, it must be in bad condition. I'll open it up and relube it, etc. Hopefully it'll come right. Also, anywhere to buy replacement caps? My up arrow stem of the keycap is stuck inside the slider... Previous owner didn't take too much care of it or it was just sitting in inventory for 20 orso years.
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Offline blueangel2323

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 19:57:44 »
Replacement Alps keycaps are a big problem... as far as I know the only companies making them are Matias and some obscure Chinese company that also makes Apls clones. Otherwise you have to salvage them off old keyboards. I haven't found any backlit Alps keycaps for sale yet.
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Offline snarfarlarkus

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 21:11:26 »
Hm... Matias are laser etched and are $50 a set but I only need one keycap haha. Hopefully I'll be able to buy just an arrow cluster off of someone.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 21:22:50 »
Cheapest easiest Alps boards are Dell AT101 and Apple Extended Keyboard to harvest caps.

Apple caps are superb but many of the pieces don't fit and the font is stupid.

Early early Dell caps are PBT but those are rare.

Somebody is supposedly selling a doubleshot Dolch set in a couple of months and that would/will be awesome.
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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 blueangel2323

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 21:54:50 »
Actually, the double-shot Dolch set is here! https://www.massdrop.com/buy/alps-keycaps

Good: double-shot legends, nice professional font (Helvetica), very cheap ($20 for Black, $23 for Olivette or Dolch, + shipping)

Bad: the caps look VERY thin, and legends are not transparent (no backlight), ABS (not PBT + POM) although that is the rule rather than the exception
« Last Edit: Tue, 29 September 2015, 21:59:16 by blueangel2323 »
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Offline blueangel2323

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 21:57:46 »
And yes, these are made by Tai Hao, which is the Chinese company making Alps clones I was referring to (although they are based in Taiwan which is a separate country depending on who you talk to - but let's not get into politics here)
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Offline snarfarlarkus

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 29 September 2015, 23:15:54 »
THanks for the reply! I'll make sure to buy that dolch alps set, although itll look a tad odd on my Omnikey 102 I think. Hey, one of those grey things that hold the stabilzer down on the space bar isn't there, should I just take one off of another stabilizer key or is there any where i can buy one? Thanks!!!
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 07:09:35 »
Quote from: snarfarlarkus on Tue, 29 September 2015, 23:15:54
Hey, one of those grey things that hold the stabilzer down on the space bar isn't there, should I just take one off of another stabilizer key or is there any where i can buy one?

I thought that those Dolch sets were not going into production yet. I never figured out Massdrop, but I don't want any more "memberships"

Look around carefully for that wire tab holder. It may be between the PCB and the plate or rattling around somewhere else. As I recall, the 2 on the spacebar are larger and longer than the others, but they may work in a pinch. If you are getting into Alps, it is probably worthwhile to get something like a junked Dell AT101 as a parts donor.
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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 chyros

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 09:06:40 »
Btw, as a reply to the original question; a good way to take large keys off is with a ring puller. Wire pullers are better for normal keys, but ring pullers can take off longer keys.
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Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #13 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 09:12:34 »
Quote from: blueangel2323 on Tue, 29 September 2015, 19:57:44
Replacement Alps keycaps are a big problem... as far as I know the only companies making them are Matias and some obscure Chinese company that also makes Apls clones. Otherwise you have to salvage them off old keyboards. I haven't found any backlit Alps keycaps for sale yet.

Massdrop is doing a bunch of Tai Hao cap drops and MK.com should have some Tai Hao Alps in soon. Also there have been two Alps keycap GBs by SP through GH. This is in addition to the Matias caps. Definitely a good start for nice aftermarket Alps caps.

And why would you want backlit Alps caps? There's not many backlit Alps boards...maybe some of the Korean custom PCBs support it? I've seen boards with backlighting like Sifo's GON but it's not backlighting each keycap like a Ducky.
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Offline Bucake

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #14 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 10:20:40 »
i just removed a long, old ABS alps bar.
to make sure i didn't break the bar, or bend the stabilizer, i removed all the caps around it first and then just used both hands(my fingers) to clamp the bar in such a way that i had a lot of control.
for gripping it safely, i just searched for the stronger points in the bar by lightly squeezing it.
then it was just a matter of slowly lifting the bar up while wiggling and rocking a bit, barely took any force.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #15 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 10:33:15 »
Quote from: Bucake on Wed, 30 September 2015, 10:20:40
i just removed a long, old ABS alps bar.

Those Leading Edge 2014 spacebars are what, 9-10 units long? Ha Ha, don't have to worry about re-using it somewhere else!
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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 Bucake

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  • Location: The Netherlands
Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 15:09:52 »
this one's 9. not the longest, but long enough to call long :P
(it looks like the LE 2014 also uses a 9)
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Offline blueangel2323

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 30 September 2015, 23:46:05 »
Quote from: chyros on Wed, 30 September 2015, 09:06:40
Btw, as a reply to the original question; a good way to take large keys off is with a ring puller. Wire pullers are better for normal keys, but ring pullers can take off longer keys.
What is a ring puller? Like one of those 3D printed ones?

Quote from: CPTBadAss on Wed, 30 September 2015, 09:12:34
Quote from: blueangel2323 on Tue, 29 September 2015, 19:57:44
Replacement Alps keycaps are a big problem... as far as I know the only companies making them are Matias and some obscure Chinese company that also makes Apls clones. Otherwise you have to salvage them off old keyboards. I haven't found any backlit Alps keycaps for sale yet.

Massdrop is doing a bunch of Tai Hao cap drops and MK.com should have some Tai Hao Alps in soon. Also there have been two Alps keycap GBs by SP through GH. This is in addition to the Matias caps. Definitely a good start for nice aftermarket Alps caps.

And why would you want backlit Alps caps? There's not many backlit Alps boards...maybe some of the Korean custom PCBs support it? I've seen boards with backlighting like Sifo's GON but it's not backlighting each keycap like a Ducky.
Yep, I linked to the Tai Hao Alps caps on Massdrop above.
Re: backlight, I want to custom build my own alps backlit board.
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Offline chyros

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Re: How top remove Blue Alps spacebar?
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 01 October 2015, 03:01:45 »
Quote from: blueangel2323 on Wed, 30 September 2015, 23:46:05
Quote from: chyros on Wed, 30 September 2015, 09:06:40
Btw, as a reply to the original question; a good way to take large keys off is with a ring puller. Wire pullers are better for normal keys, but ring pullers can take off longer keys.
What is a ring puller? Like one of those 3D printed ones?
It's one of these:

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