Weird keyboard!

[Morning Song]

So, I just did a little end-of-semester dumpster diving at my uni, and while i didn't exactly strike gold, i found an interesting little sphinx! I haven't been able to find a whole lot of info about it, but it seems to be the keyboard of one of those industrial "luggable" computers.  (and please excuse the poor photography--i'm not exactly a shutterbug)



So, at first glance, it looks like an Americanized version of an ISO layout--note the blank key by the left shift. The layout looks kinda similar to some of the compact cherry layouts i've seen pictures of around here, but more on that later.



The back has some rubber feet and a lone "made in taiwan" sticker--no trace of a birth certificate, sadly.



This is the only real clue i have to the parentage of this board--Prism seems to be a manufacturer of luggable PCs.

But, remember how I mentioned it looked kinda like a cherry layout? I pulled a couple keycaps, and found this--


Which looks an awful lot like the pictures of ALPS switches. The keys also look a lot like ALPS keys, and they require a fair bit of effort to pull--i can pull Model M keys with my fingers if i'm careful, but for these, i need some serious leverage.



Unfortunately, it doesn't work--plugging it in makes my computer not boot, and hotswapping it with another PS/2 keyboard just acts like nothing's plugged in. I imagine there's a loose connection in there somewhere, but there are some screws covered by the label on the front, and it has resisted all my attempts at removal. So it appears this won't be seeing any actual usage.

However, one last twist remains--everything i've read indicates black alps are tactile, but nonclicky, but these keys have a distinct high pitched click to them (as well as a ring when they topout), which leads me to believe the switches are knockoffs. I made a ripster-esque recording (Typing a sentence, followed by home row, followed by 5 regular taps, 5 long taps and 5 light taps)

[Morning Song]

Weird, it is definitely clicking! The light taps i did on that recording are definitely not bottoming out. But there's almost no travel before the click. (unlike, say a buckling spring that can go down a fair bit before it clicks)

[ch_123]

Looks suspiciously like Black Alps to me.

[quadibloc]

It's still a valuable find. You might have another ALPS keyboard with white keys, so now you can use some keys from this keyboard to change the color scheme. Or you could use the switches and the keycaps to convert another keyboard to being tactile.

[Morning Song]

Wait... i'm an idiot. Or maybe just myopic. I took a closer look at the switch, and it says in big raised letters "ALPS"

[washuai]

Wait... i'm an idiot. Or maybe just myopic. I took a closer look at the switch, and it says in big raised letters "ALPS"

Even with the bad photography it does look like they read ALPS.  I'll comment by not commenting on vision/attention to detail.

[Morning Song]

Kay! It took me a bit, but i got the switch apart-- i'm not exactly sure how to count the tabs... there's the little forked thing at the top, then at the bottom, there's two tabs on the side, then one long tab at the foot.... here's a couple pictures (bad photography again, but i did my best

[Morning Song]

Heeee! So it is a weirdo after all. I'm proud.

[Morning Song]

Positive--the slider is the exact same color as the switch casing. (the photo makes it look a little brown, but visually it's not at all)

[Phaedrus2129]

Alps switch with properties that don't match its color?


Call it a rare collectible ALPS keyboard using ultra-rare (and therefore guaranteed to be nearly perfect) clicky-black ALPS switches. Say it has a 2* difference in tab angle, or an extra coil in the spring. For added effect, use a blue or other color marker on the springs. Then sell to crazy ALPS fanatic for $10k.

Profit.

[clickclack]

I don't hear any "click" either just the normal operation of tactile ALPS switch. However looking at your leaf there is a click indentation on it (under the forked tongue). This is not an uncommon switch, what it sligtly less common is the dark slider housing, but the color slider really has nothing to do with the type of switch. If you see indentations with little black pieces of rubber on either side of the slider on a switch then its a dampened ALPS switch.

The switch you have can be found in many third party mac marketed keyboards of the AEK II era and slighty later. Seems like a fun find though, a new keyboard (even if it doesn't work) is still like a mini x-mas! =D

[clickclack]

well... not entirely ripster...

It's usually a combination of the tabs (or lack of one set) and the dent/protrusion on the backside. If you need further convincing/ or a better explanation shoot me a pm first if ya can =)

[itlnstln]

I think that in well-used blacks, the click leaf start to bend and creates a slight clicking sound.  In one of the used AT-101Ws I had, there was a click on the keypress of several of the keys.  It wasn't as deliberate as the whites, and it was obvious it wasn't an intentional feature of the switch.  It sounds like this might be what's happening here.

[itlnstln]

Actually, the pic below is more telling, IMO (I'm not sure how I missed it earlier). You can see the striker on the back, so yes, it is a clicky leaf.  I wonder if this was modded or if it really is brown stemmed, but either way, I really don't care about ALPS any more.

[itlnstln]

No. ALPS is the crazy ***** you never want to see again.  An active Facebook account would prove that she's still alive and didn't DIAF like you hoped she would.  I would say that about Cherry browns when I am typing on the HHKB, though.

[Morning Song]

Would it help if i got a closer-in shot of the slider by itself? And it may well have been modded before i got it--I don't have anything remotely resembling a pedigree for this board.

[itlnstln]

Maybe, but it's ALPS.  There's no consistency with them.  For all we know, the color of the slider might change simply due to the day of the week the switch was made and have nothing to do with the type of switch it is.  Personally, I find them to be pretty mediocre, and have lost pretty much all interest in them.  Just like Cherry's keyboard model numbers.

[Morning Song]

Here's about as good of a picture i can get--the click leaf got bent a little because i messed up reassmbling the switch the first time (I took the same key apart both times, so as not to do any more damage than i have to)

[Morning Song]

This makes me tempted to get something like a Dell at101w, or some other cheaply available alps board, and swap the switches with this one. I kinda like the feel.

[Morning Song]

Roughly... there was a little nub where the spring went, and there was a standing piece of flexible copper that i tried to remove, but when it didn't respond to gentle pulling, i left it alone.

[Morning Song]

Aww. There goes my plan to sell it on ebay for $300

[didjamatic]

Don't let it discourage you, if it's a switch you like, that's good - who cares what others say about it.  The biggest issue people have with ALPS is that it's so hard to know what you're getting until it's in your hands.

[Morning Song]

Oh, i like the switch. The only problem is it doesn't work. So i think i'm going to pick up something cheap with crappy alps (like a Dell AT101w) and swap clickleafs.