Thanks. And yes, it actually isn't that bad. As soon as I get my new PC up and running, I'll be back uploading. I have lubed one switch as a test and it seems good.
Truly love these videos, doing a relatively basic Alps build myself soon using some new old stock green clones, bought a basic KBDfans case and the XD64 PCB and plate, these videos were short but very entertaining and you're a great speaker! :)
The one thing I seriously appreciate about Alps switches is DAMN it is easy to 3D print a stem insert for that slot. Gotta whittle any warped edges flat but it's FAR easier than getting an MX cross stem sized just right. I was all depressed about breaking a freshly retrobrited Alps keycap but I actually got it fixed in 20 minutes. The sound is way off with that PLA insert glued in there but small price to pay. I printed 15 cherry mount keycaps for custom media keys before I got that mount right. With Alps I nailed it in TWO. A dastardly fellow could potentially buy up a set of nice keycaps with cracked stems, snip them all off and replace them with Alps mounting pegs. And it's similarly easy to print half decent Alps stabilizers. Won't be very smooth but keep the print lines along the axis of wire movement and grease them up, no problem.
Re plaster, Victorians used to pronounce it as "Play-ster". Thanks for the video! Going to be putting my Midnight Blue Alps (a mod using APC leaves in white housings with black springs. There's a sound test in my videos if you care to have a listen) in a v80 TKL tomorrow. Thanks for the tips.
This is very cool. I'll definitely give it a try when I get more comfortable building a keyboard so I can salvage the orange alps on my apple II keyboard
I hope they're in good condition. Mine are OK, but I don't have much experience to compare them. I'll be adding one more episode to this series since I have lube and springs now.
Hey I have a quick question, where did you find the plastic tube shown at 2:24? (The one that houses the weird space bar pole thing) I've been looking everywhere to find one for my keyboard, as it's missing and I can't seem to find any for sale!
Ok, bit late. I unclipped the metal bar for the stabs and inserted it into the spacebar, you lay it in place along with the plastic rod into the housing, then using tweezers I pushed the metal bar into the clip on the plate
I managed to get a hold of a NIB board with SKCM Whites which I'll someday get around to harvesting to make a new board, too bad about the Nexus sliders though, hopefully they are able to improve the tolerances on the next run.
Honestly, they sound much scratchier than they should. You should lube them with dry lube, but I think you just got a heavily used and dirty batch of orange alps :(
The PCB is pretty easy to get since Hasu does production runs fairly regularly. The case might be more difficult as you'll probably have to find one used.
@@Chokkan Late update: I eventually got Hasu's pub and a DZ60 case on AliExpress. Toshiba portable Dolch-like alphas and mix of Apple, Miami and other random keycaps. Really happy with how it has turned out. Still having trouble with layer switching. Could you post your .hex so I can figure out wtf I'm doing wrong. Why can't I get back to base layer? Tried using Hasu's example of TMK HHKB layout, but still get stuck. I have the same exact key layout to yours. Thank you in advance.
Thanks so much for the detailed, entertaining videos! These are very helpful as I'm restoring an AEK with orange alps and also intend to use an ultrasonic cleaner. Just curious how the lube went (and what type you wound up using) as well as if you have any advice/potential pitfalls regarding that part of the process?
I haven't lubed them yet. I was going to use RO-59 as that's what a lot of people say is 'the' stuff. Luckily the guy who sells it is in Japan right now. I think it needs to be dry lube though. That's one thing most people agree on. I don't think you'll have any problems, but I heard you shouldn't put the metal parts in the ultrasonic cleaner. Also careful where you apply the lube. I think it should be on the sides of the slider only.
I was lucky enough to have two people in America send me a bag. I'm sure there are some Apple II, M0116 or Desktop Bus keyboards with them in here. I've seen some on Yahoo! Auctions, but they go for high prices. Since I only want the switches, I never bothered trying to get those ones.
I'm no expert, but most will point to the fact that for tactile switches, no MX switch can compare with the feeling. For clickies, no MX switch can compare with the feel or the sound. I think the Kailh switches are impressing some ALPS aficionados, though. Chyros seemed to like them.
