Blue Alps 60%

[scottc]

Ahhh, I love the thunky sound of the blue Alps! It's one of my favourite parts about them.

Thanks for the tip about plates, pyrelink! I'd love to get one pre-cut if possible. I'll take a look for that thread now.

[pyrelink]

Here is the thread I was talking about. I will definitely be building another one if this takes off the ground.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74524.0

[Chyros]

Awesome keyboard man, looks really nice! Must've been a labour of love . Blue Alps really are a delight to type on .

Here is a quick typing video I put together. I will say it sounds different in the video then it does in person. In person the switches click in a little lower frequency, but overall its a pretty decent representation.

It's very hard to find something that records typing noises accurately. I've found that most typing videos, even those with high-end cameras like the one they use on Keychatter, are quite unrepresentative of the actual typing noise. This is partly why I record my typing videos with a different camera than the other part of my reviews - although very cheap, that particular camera is extremely good at making a true reproduction of the typing sound.

I can still recognise the lovely sound of Blue Alps in it, though ;D .

[Muirium]

"Miking" is a whole world of gear and technique all of its own. As much as there's a fair few keen photographers here on DT, I don't think any of us count as audio engineers! I use a separate microphone — a large diaphragm USB Samson Meteor — for my typing videos. But I'm not sure I'm any good at it! I got that mic for voice work, which it's solid at, but the thing with keyboards is the sound reverberates with the desk and changes a lot depending on where you put the board, as well as the mic.

Anyway, I like to do my recordings with as few variables as possible. I pop the mic in the same spot behind the board every time, on the same desk, with the same gain, and type away. That means you can compare apples with apples at least.

[Hypersphere]

I concur with Muirium. An important considering in making audio recordings is to isolate the microphone from noise conducted through things like the desktop. I use a Samson Meteor suspended from a boom arm and mounted in a radial shockmount. I also agree with Muirium about keeping everything as constant as possible from one recording to the next, such as the orientation of the mic and its distance from the source (such as a keyboard).

In any event, I do like the sound of those blue Alps!

[Muirium]

Ah, a boom, very fancy. The reason I got the Meteor mic was the bang for buck (it's a great diaphragm for that price), portability and the fact it has a built in tripod which really helps when you're starting out.

[Hypersphere]

Ah, a boom, very fancy. The reason I got the Meteor mic was the bang for buck (it's a great diaphragm for that price), portability and the fact it has a built in tripod which really helps when you're starting out.

Same here. At first, I was going to go with the snowball for some of the same reasons (except portability). The Meteor is a great all-around mic, and I found a way to mount it in a shockmount and boom. However, the mic is easily removed from this rig, and for many purposes it is handy to have the built-in tripod. Besides, I like the way it looks -- like an Art Deco spaceship.

[pyrelink]

Yeah, while my audio set up is better then my camera microphone, it is not that sophisticated anymore. To record this I used a Blue Yeti mic, on top of an iPhone box in the front middle of the keyboard, and I recorded into audacity with the microphone set to stereo mode.

It certainly sounded better then when I recorded it from the camera microphone, but I could have done better. Namely isolating the microphone from all the desk noise and vibration, which could have been done with a boom or with a towel under the keyboard and under the mic or something of the sort to deaden the vibrations.

I had originally attempted to record a whole bunch of versions of sound deadening with Hyper's Topre O-Rings, but after spending a while working on it, I didn't feel my recordings were up to snuff, and then Muirium posted his and I gave up.

[Muirium]

Whoops. That video of mine was a quick and dirty iPhone shoot! No fancy mic there, just getting real close to the boards.

[Hypersphere]

Yeah, while my audio set up is better then my camera microphone, it is not that sophisticated anymore. To record this I used a Blue Yeti mic, on top of an iPhone box in the front middle of the keyboard, and I recorded into audacity with the microphone set to stereo mode.

It certainly sounded better then when I recorded it from the camera microphone, but I could have done better. Namely isolating the microphone from all the desk noise and vibration, which could have been done with a boom or with a towel under the keyboard and under the mic or something of the sort to deaden the vibrations.

I had originally attempted to record a whole bunch of versions of sound deadening with Hyper's Topre O-Rings, but after spending a while working on it, I didn't feel my recordings were up to snuff, and then Muirium posted his and I gave up.

If I felt compelled to meet or exceed Mu's impossibly high standards, I would never post anything!

[Muirium]

Does Hasu's PCB support Montereys?

http://deskthority.net/wiki/SMK_Alps_mount

A friend might have just picked up a donor board…

[Ray]

The wiki link you gave states they have different mounting hole and pin layout, so unless hasu explicitly states his PCB is made for it, I don't think so.

[Muirium]

That's why I ask.

I wonder if any custom PCB out there supports SMKs. They're so much better than clicky Matias it's criminal!

[Ray]

lookin at the photo of the PCB on hasu's opening post, I can see only one pair of holes for pins per switch. Which means only Alps I guess. But I have seen neither Alps nor SMK switches from the bottom, so I can't tell how they don't fit.

And how many custom PCBs other than hasu's do you know about that support Alps? I don't think there was one for SMKs that made a group buy, but please prove me wrong.

[Muirium]

That's why I ask! I don't know the answers.

But I did hear, earlier in this thread, that Hasu's making a second generation PCB. Hopefully, hopefully…

Montereys are easily among the greatest clicky switches in modular form. They have a sharpness that even an IBM snob like me can get behind.

[pyrelink]

Yeah this PCB only supports Alps. While Montereys of course support Alps keycaps, the pin layout is different and I have not seen a custom Monterey PCB before. That would be exceptionally cool though.

The Hasu Alps 60% has gone through 2 revisions so far, (my PCB being in the 2nd run) and is awaiting enough interest to run a third: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=74524.0 https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69740.msg1674818

I do not know the technical requirements of adding Monterey support, or whether it would be better suited for a second PCB entirely. In either case, would love to see it happen. Might be worth pinging Hasu.

[Muirium]

Thanks for the links. A Poker case compatible Alps PCB is a great thing in itself, but with Monterey support… well, I PMed the master. I can only guess what the technical obstacles would be.

[Hypersphere]

This project requires making a plate, correct! Any tips on how to go about making a suitable plate?

[HzFaq]

Hacksaw and a willing sacrifice .

[pyrelink]

I don't think the SMK switches with alps style keycap mounts had PCB mounting pins on the bottom shell of the case, so I believe a plate would also be necessary.

[Muirium]

I'm thinking laser cutter. I wouldn't want to waste my time, tools, or the moral purity of the universe by even attempting a literal chop! Laser cut plates work nicely on MX customs. Even in very small numbers.

I'll probably need to laser cut a plate for my space invader TKL mod, when I get to it.

[Hypersphere]

@Mu: I'll ask Gort to drop by your place when he's finished running off a few things for me.

Gort.jpg (24.51 KiB) Viewed 5527 times

The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951

[pyrelink]

Was just watching that movie on TV the other day. Man I love that movie.

I agree though. I rather cut my own plate out of aluminum with nothing but a dull exacto knife, then to chop up another plate with a hacksaw...

[gogusrl]

DanielT and a few others did a great job cutting up a Dell plate to size.

[DanielT]

You can hack a normal plate to TKL or 60% size quite easy, hacksaw doesn't help don't even try it will look like shit. You need a Dremel or something like that, with good cutting disks, Dremel has some really good ones. I managed to do it with some crappy cutting disks in under a hour. And the end result was more than decent.

[scottc]

DO NOT USE A HACKSAW! It was a terrible ordeal.

[Muirium]

I can well believe that!

Anyway, I have no donor board for this. Actually, my friend seems to like his Monterey as it is, so there probably won't be a Monterey 60% project after all. Pity, as those switches are in fine fettle! It's a lousy, bendy keyboard with crap caps and brilliant switches!

IMG_0563.JPG (260.61 KiB) Viewed 5444 times

[HzFaq]

Sorry, I was being frivolous when I said hacksaw, what I meant was some kind of DIY solution rather than getting something custom made. This is the "hacksaw" I'm using to cut my donor plate down .

Spoiler:

[Muirium]

Man, that beast looks serious.

Nope, it's not my keyboard, and it seems to have found a good home. Note the worn legends on N and M. They aren't double shots! I'd harvest the precious switches for a custom keyboard and put AEK caps on them, but he doesn't like the destructive sound of my advice. Yet. That big ass Enter might tip him in my direction with time…

[HzFaq]

I hastily removed that comment after I realised the the N and M weren't being obscured by some kind of glare or flash . I have a few sets of lovely caps, but the only one that fully fits my purpose are Portuguese, which isn't a massive problem but I would prefer some nice UK ones.