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Author Topic: Dell AT101W retrofit  (Read 3859 times)

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Offline ocdonkb

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Dell AT101W retrofit
« on: Sat, 14 November 2009, 18:45:34 »
So I'm in the process of retrofitting this Dell AT101W:



I've opened up one of the ALPS switches, and removed the "tactile leaf". But I can't yet decide if this is what I want.... This is an old board, and leaving it in there makes key downstrokes sound very "sandy", almost like it's rubbing against sand paper. Removing the tactile leaf and it's a very smooth linear downstroke that feels "clean", almost reminds of my cherry brown.

Another interesting thing, on a whim, I bought this $5 rubber-dome PC Concepts board.



Once taken apart, its keys sits nicely on these "trays". The keys push down on the rubber dome via a white "stem" (the little white pieces on the floor in picture above). This stem is very similar to the plunger on the ALPS, so much so that the keys are identical!!

Here's a comparison. Top is a shift key from the PC Concepts rubber-dome, bottom is from the DELLA AT101W.





Not only do the these keys fit right on the Dell ALPS, even the metal stablizers are the same. So now I can replace the Dell's old keys with these relatively newer keys.
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| Filco Brown 87 key | Realforce 87U | Unicomp Spacesaver | IBM Model M | Cherry ML4100 | Dell AT101W | Focus 2001 |

Offline AndrewZorn

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Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 14 November 2009, 19:03:07 »
so what, did you just get ULTRA lucky when it came to compatible keys?

from all these stories, im probably going to take apart my NIB AT101W (but the warranty!)
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Offline ocdonkb

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Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 14 November 2009, 21:03:21 »
yeah, all the key caps i've tried so far work just fine. Of course some can't be used due to their shape(the PC Concept board is ergonamic, with a center split).

So has anyone here tried ALPS Black, but without the tactile leaf? Any issues/concerns before I start opening all these switches? I thought I read about this on one of the ALPS threads, but search is failing me.
« Last Edit: Sat, 14 November 2009, 21:06:03 by ocdonkb »
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| Filco Brown 87 key | Realforce 87U | Unicomp Spacesaver | IBM Model M | Cherry ML4100 | Dell AT101W | Focus 2001 |

Offline erricrice

  • Posts: 326
Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 15 November 2009, 12:40:48 »
That was me.   No problems to speak of.  They were to light for me, but silky smooth!  Reduced the actuation force from 60g to 40g, that was on an M1 mind you so it may be different for the originals.
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I\'m selling all my Shizz! Please buy it!

White ALPS: Northgate Omnikey 101-NCS(Real-Complicated)****Filco Zero FKBN87Z/EB(Fukka Simplifieds)****Siig MiniTouch(XM Simplifieds)
Black ALPS: Black Dell AT-101W(Real-Complicated)****ABS M1(Modded Black ALPS, Linear)
Buckling Spring: Model M 1391401(1988 & 1993)
Cherry Blues: DAS III Pro
Cherry Blacks: Cherry G80-11900
Cherry Browns: 3X Cherry G80-8113LRCUS-2
Cherry MY: G81-7000HPBUS-2****G81-3000LANUS-0****Modded to 20g
Rubber Dome: HHKB Lite 2 (White & Black)
Logitech G5[/FONT]
Erricrice\'s Song of the Day: Gorillaz - El Maņana
Yup, Blatantly stealing this from you Kishy, hope you don\'t mind, it\'s a great idea.

Offline ch_123

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Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 15 November 2009, 14:07:49 »
They're light and linear. I'd actually consider them superior over the regular Black Alps, but they're still not my cup of tea.
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Offline ocdonkb

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Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #5 on: Wed, 18 November 2009, 01:03:10 »
wow, I just went to took out all the tactile leaves... I think I may just have trashed this board. Oh well, it was cheap, and there're plenty more on ebay.

It became linear, very light, and w/o the tactile leaf there slowing the down stroke, the only feel I get now is the feel of the ALPS stem rubbing "dryly" against the switch casing. It's a very unpleasant feeling, imho.

At least I learned tonight that I'm not a linear-switch fan. :)
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| Filco Brown 87 key | Realforce 87U | Unicomp Spacesaver | IBM Model M | Cherry ML4100 | Dell AT101W | Focus 2001 |

Offline chimera15

  • Posts: 1441
Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #6 on: Wed, 18 November 2009, 01:52:53 »
Quote from: ocdonkb;133531
wow, I just went to took out all the tactile leaves... I think I may just have trashed this board. Oh well, it was cheap, and there're plenty more on ebay.

It became linear, very light, and w/o the tactile leaf there slowing the down stroke, the only feel I get now is the feel of the ALPS stem rubbing "dryly" against the switch casing. It's a very unpleasant feeling, imho.

At least I learned tonight that I'm not a linear-switch fan. :)

Yeah I can't stand linear's  either.  You found a rubber dome board with alps keys?  Any more details about it?


http://cgi.ebay.com/Beige-Keyboard-w-107-keys-to-help-you-work-smarter_W0QQitemZ170098466628QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Mice_Trackballs?hash=item279aa89f44

Is that one?  What model number?
« Last Edit: Wed, 18 November 2009, 01:55:42 by chimera15 »
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Alps boards:
white real complicated: 1x modified siiig minitouch kb1903,  hhkb light2 english steampunk hack, wireless siig minitouch hack
white with rubber damper(cream)+clicky springs: 2x modified siig minitouch kb1903 1x modified siig minitouch kb1948
white fake simplified:   1x white smk-85, 1x Steampunk compact board hack
white real simplified: 1x unitek k-258
low profile: 1x mint m1242 in box
black: ultra mini wrist keyboard hack
blue: Japanese hhk2 lite hack, 1x siig minitouch pcb/doubleshot dc-2014 caps. kb1903, 1x modified kb1948 Siig minitouch
rainbow test boards:  mck-84sx

Offline ocdonkb

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  • Posts: 112
Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #7 on: Wed, 18 November 2009, 02:46:25 »
Quote from: chimera15;133538
You found a rubber dome board with alps keys?  Any more details about it?

It's this one:

PC Concepts SK 6000
http://www.recycledgoods.com/zoom.aspx?productID=28203
« Last Edit: Wed, 18 November 2009, 02:51:34 by ocdonkb »
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| Filco Brown 87 key | Realforce 87U | Unicomp Spacesaver | IBM Model M | Cherry ML4100 | Dell AT101W | Focus 2001 |

Offline ocdonkb

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  • Posts: 112
Dell AT101W retrofit
« Reply #8 on: Wed, 18 November 2009, 10:19:11 »
Quote from: ripster;133598
Oh well, Sorry, I'll stop recommending THAT mod then.  (But I did say just do the WASD cluster to start!).

And Chloe did like it.  Maybe she was more of an ALPS fan in general though.


hehe, no worries. It was cool to try. In fact, I just got another AT101w off ebay just now. These things are like cheap candy :)
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| Filco Brown 87 key | Realforce 87U | Unicomp Spacesaver | IBM Model M | Cherry ML4100 | Dell AT101W | Focus 2001 |
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