help me identify an Alps clone^Wmount switch

davkol · 10 Oct 2014, 12:59

The keyboard is branded as JIT Technology; the FCC ID is GWT3P9KM1021S (GWT stands for Lin Ming Industrial Co Ltd and 3P9KM1021 (without the S) is a registered keyboard, according to FCC ID search).

Some pictures are here. It's clearly some old OEM keyboard with Alps-compatible pad-printed keycaps. I'm intrigued by the switches though—there's no branding, the switch top has a rough texture and I haven't found anything like this in the wiki. The switch has three pins in line. Sliders are white and I've found some record of an old eBay listing with blue sliders.

Any ideas?

002 · 10 Oct 2014, 13:12

Closest I can find is the Alps.tw OD1

davkol · 10 Oct 2014, 13:19

Yup, I've seen that one (and KPT), but it looked a bit too different.

002 · 10 Oct 2014, 13:27

Yeah, you're right. The hole for the peg is smaller on yours and the case is a bit different.
Weird...maybe D'eardsmore knows

davkol · 10 Oct 2014, 13:29

Now, looking at the pin-out, it clearly uses three pins, i.e. it's not an Alps clone, but rather something like that Alps.tw thing, Omron or indeed KPT.

seebart · 10 Oct 2014, 14:19

I´d say KPT, but Daniel Beardsmore could say more for sure.

Daniel Beardsmore · 10 Oct 2014, 20:39

Funny, something similar came up at Geekhack:

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=63807.0

His is a Micronorth, who are known for these kinds of switches, and they appear to be TEC switches.

I've not seen the mould pattern on that Lin Ming keyboard's switches before — rough surface with smooth areas around the slider. It seems to be another type of KPT-like switch; these switches have their own mini-vortex:

[wiki]KPT-like switch[/wiki]