Goodies from China

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Menuhin

11 Jan 2017, 11:41

Wodan wrote:
Mr.Nobody wrote: Do you have no sense of humour?
I'm sure you love jokes about the Nanjing Massacre in China as well?
...
I see thereäs not enough understanding on both sides. Mainland Chinese do not actually understand modern European history and Germans do not actually understand modern Chinese history... leading to unnecessary poking each other at the most fragile part of belly.

"Nanjing Massacre" does not poke a joke about the recently inflated but yet still fragile national pride of mainland Chinese, instead it is real bad... it infuses intense hatred into mainland Chinese towards Japanese (its people, its culture) which is already part of the national education program in mainland China. In this historical event, the Japanese army arrived Nanjing were the villain, and killed an unconfirmed number of Chinese people some in very brutal way. The actual number of victims were never confirmed and in a published book about studies of the historical photos of this "Nanjing Massacre", there were lots of potential "photoshopped" photos as suggested by the author. After all, the hatred planted by the Japanese themselves or by the US propagandists who first used the term and published films about it during WWII have been serving really well to destabilize the region, almost ruling out the possibility of collaborating between Japan and China up until today.
It is definitely a taboo topic if you are in a table with Chinese (regardless of where they're from) and Japanese, especially during a business context.

On the other hand, an average Chinese may only know that Hilter is a famous villain in modern history - of course should have killed quite some number of people, end of the story. But they never know and actually never care to know the killings were allegedly committed in a few remote cities in Poland, and the alleged plans were never recorded even in a single word in the many years of notes of the Fuhrer's personal secretary, and the alleged methods of killing were spit out the first time (not in the much bigger initial war trials that filled 22+ volumes but now available and keyword-searchable on Yale Law School's website) from the mouth of a prison officer whose wife and children were kept captive, and the methods were never formally forensically proven and testified like in any other court murder cases (I challenged a few history PhD friends to find the court case numbers where the methods were testified with forensic examinations results, none of them could add anything leading to some archive numbers, and they love to use the "oral history" method). Of course it must be true because it is the official history anyways.
There's no need to infuse more self-hatred into the Germans. There are 2+ years of mandatory education for every children here in Germany to learn how bad and shameful their Grandparents generations were. And the Hollywood has been repeatedly using this historical theme to bombard the German identity and self-recognition to remind the Germans how bad they were according to the official story, and usually these Hollywood stories won Oscars.

How about a movie with people playing Bush and Blair as the villains and tell people what they have done? Just one of the many pieces of real history not emphasized in mainstream media but brought up by academic activists like Noam Chomsky.
No wonder such a movie will not be screened, only perhaps in some underground theaters the BRIC countries and its allies.

Okay... I actually try to keep the topic keyboard related, although I'm also distracted to wander in the off-topics a lot. :oops:
Last edited by Menuhin on 12 Jan 2017, 14:07, edited 9 times in total.

User avatar
Wodan
ISO Advocate

11 Jan 2017, 11:54

Mr.Nobody wrote: Don't tell me that you guys are the designers of Kinesis :D I posted 57 keyboards and you guys single out one joke out of 57 just to crusify me? Is it because of what I said in the Taihao thread and you want to spread the war zone over every thread posted by me? Well if you don't like my jokes you can just suck my Asian k.....keycaps... :D:D
It was the one holocaust joke that made it stick out a little ...

I think I made my point clear. If you think someone is lacking humor because he takes offence when you joke about the holocaust, you have proven to be _very_ ignorant. Look at the response I get for translating your joke into something similar that happened in China...

User avatar
kbdfr
The Tiproman

11 Jan 2017, 12:10

Menuhin wrote: […] and the alleged methods of killing were […] never formally forensically proven and testified like in any other court murder cases. […]
Image

User avatar
Mr.Nobody

11 Jan 2017, 12:12

I have a hunch this thread is going to be rather political...

User avatar
Wodan
ISO Advocate

11 Jan 2017, 12:14

matt3o wrote: Mr.Nobody, my suggestion: post less keyboards with more links
... and stop making "jokes" ...

Voila, we could be back on topic ...

User avatar
Mr.Nobody

11 Jan 2017, 13:14

I don't see others overreact so much, there is a simple solution for some overly-sensitive folks, just don't click into my thread.

User avatar
Daniel Beardsmore

11 Jan 2017, 13:15

Ail wrote: Yep, that's correct! After shipping it appears it was slightly over $15, but the seller has now since updated the listing and here it is, with every switch I bought and the original set he had listed:

https://world.taobao.com/item/429775074 ... .N.197f905

I bought the bundle with keycaps as well, so it's even cheaper if you just buy the switches!
I've been to Taobao before, and I think I concluded that it was just far, far too much grief to deal with as a non-Chinese speaker. AliExpress is in English (so much so that the use of Chinese text is totally prohibited, so I can't even use Chinese terms to help explain things).

The depicted switches seem to come from three camps:
  1. NOS parts sold cheaply on AliExpress (you have two of the three available SKFR/SKFS types for example)
  2. Used parts sold on AliExpress, often for ludicrous sums (e.g. the corn beef tin half-Alps)
  3. Switches never seen for sale before, used or new (e.g. grey and Gundam Series 725, grey tactile Alps SKCM)
So what's going on? Is this person the originator of the switches being sold extortionately elsewhere? Are they buying the NOS parts from other suppliers and reselling them as part of a bundle?

Is it a pure coincidence that this person just happens to have a load of the same switches that are being sold by others elsewhere? I mean, I can't even see which are NOS and which are used.

The price difference between $15 for that amazing bundle, and the AliExpress prices for the same switches, must be an order of magnitude. 28 keyboard switches at, say, an average of $5 each would be $140! You're getting them at 50 cents each, and that's well below any AliExpress price.

What I don't see, though, is the type I really want, the SMK superextortion, which is a pale blue 2nd generation switch, SMK mount, with LED, and is the only SMK 2nd generation switch on the planet with a known part number.


So, I can only hope that you take the time to give that grey Alps switch a detailed wiki page, as whatever it is, it's extremely rare. Or fake. (Again, no details of the equipment it came in, including the year …)

User avatar
Chyros

11 Jan 2017, 13:29

Mr.Nobody wrote: @chyros

Will this pic confirm the #38? BTW, are keycaps of this kind of switches compatible with Alps mount?
Image
Yes, definitely KT F&F. No, the mount isn't compatible with Alps or anything else really (I think Seebart mentioned it's kinda compatible with Topre but not that well iirc).

User avatar
Mr.Nobody

11 Jan 2017, 13:50

Wodan wrote:
matt3o wrote: Mr.Nobody, my suggestion: post less keyboards with more links
... and stop making "jokes" ...

Voila, we could be back on topic ...
Mommy somebody made a joke I don't like it, make him stop... Well little princess what you think? This is your world and we are just living in it? Even the jokes I made must be in accordance with your taste? I think you are from a democratic courntry from where you learn to act like a dictator? Well I don't come from a democratic country but at least I don't click into others' threads to tell them shut up.
Last edited by Mr.Nobody on 11 Jan 2017, 13:58, edited 2 times in total.

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PollandAkuma

11 Jan 2017, 13:52

Damn, should have come here before the UK taobao Gb...

User avatar
Mr.Nobody

11 Jan 2017, 13:57

#58,Key Pro, if my memory is right, Chyros reviewed a keyboard similar to this one right?
Spoiler:
Image
Image
Image
#59 Two models of Cherry HK2000C WEY Techonology...

User avatar
Ail

11 Jan 2017, 14:38

Mr.Nobody wrote: #58,Key Pro, if my memory is right, Chyros reviewed a keyboard similar to this one right?
Spoiler:
Image
Image
Image
#59 Two models of Cherry HK2000C WEY Techonology...
That HK2000C looks nice, appears to have dyesubs with pad printing on the windowed/colored keys and sub-legends? Hard to tell, but the colored sub-legends appear to be wearing while the black regular ones are still very sharp. This must be new because I have been through that seller's entire catalog before. I guess I am going to have to keep a closer eye on all of my favorite shops!

User avatar
Menuhin

11 Jan 2017, 14:47

I've seen this WEY for a few times, shipping to Germany will be high and most importantly I don't have an appetite of a keyboard this big at the moment. But this WEY is definitely one of the best looking vintage Cherry keyboards.

If I like larger keyboards and vintage Cherry boards, and if I am in China, I would definitely get one of those WEY / Dolch / Bloomberg / Reuter boards. It hurts me to see most of these "junk keyboards" collectors and sellers on TaoBao love to cut the cables off these keyboards just for the convenience of stacking them up better.
Last edited by Menuhin on 11 Jan 2017, 19:14, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
Ail

11 Jan 2017, 14:50

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:
Ail wrote: Yep, that's correct! After shipping it appears it was slightly over $15, but the seller has now since updated the listing and here it is, with every switch I bought and the original set he had listed:

https://world.taobao.com/item/429775074 ... .N.197f905

I bought the bundle with keycaps as well, so it's even cheaper if you just buy the switches!
I've been to Taobao before, and I think I concluded that it was just far, far too much grief to deal with as a non-Chinese speaker. AliExpress is in English (so much so that the use of Chinese text is totally prohibited, so I can't even use Chinese terms to help explain things).
As someone who does not speak or read (well some now) any Chinese it is difficult to navigate, and getting Alichat up and running was basically a giant guessing game, but now that I have a system I find it much easier to handle. Superbuy makes the process of purchasing easier as well. I think if I had to buy directly, I would be less likely to do it unless it was special circumstances. Such as my DolchPACs.
The depicted switches seem to come from three camps:
  1. NOS parts sold cheaply on AliExpress (you have two of the three available SKFR/SKFS types for example)
  2. Used parts sold on AliExpress, often for ludicrous sums (e.g. the corn beef tin half-Alps)
  3. Switches never seen for sale before, used or new (e.g. grey and Gundam Series 725, grey tactile Alps SKCM)
So what's going on? Is this person the originator of the switches being sold extortionately elsewhere? Are they buying the NOS parts from other suppliers and reselling them as part of a bundle?

Is it a pure coincidence that this person just happens to have a load of the same switches that are being sold by others elsewhere? I mean, I can't even see which are NOS and which are used.
I have to double check when I get home, but if I recall correctly, nearly every switch has solder still on the pins. There may be a few of the Hi-Teks which do not. I have a theory about how many of these vintage boards ended up in China, but I don't know the history of e-waste well enough to do anything but speculate. The only reasonable explanation for why so many boards manufactured elsewhere, and with layouts not made for the Chinese, ended up in China is because they were taking on e-waste from other countries (and probably still are) and now there are probably piles of old electronics there wasting away. Perhaps this seller has a close source where he is able to go and pick up these boards it would be hard to find anywhere else. Many of the switches were very dirty as well, I have to imagine they were sitting somewhere rotting until the seller or someone else "rescued" them.
The price difference between $15 for that amazing bundle, and the AliExpress prices for the same switches, must be an order of magnitude. 28 keyboard switches at, say, an average of $5 each would be $140! You're getting them at 50 cents each, and that's well below any AliExpress price.

What I don't see, though, is the type I really want, the SMK superextortion, which is a pale blue 2nd generation switch, SMK mount, with LED, and is the only SMK 2nd generation switch on the planet with a known part number.


So, I can only hope that you take the time to give that grey Alps switch a detailed wiki page, as whatever it is, it's extremely rare. Or fake. (Again, no details of the equipment it came in, including the year …)
There are one of two options here, because I intend to buy more of each switch from the seller. If anyone wants any of these switches for the sake of the Wiki I will send them free of charge. Same offers goes out to you, Chyros, for your videos or just as a comparison for your own interest. The other option is the aforementioned Ail takes them apart and documents them himself, which I can do, but have not done a Wiki entry to date so there may be a learning curve. Albeit a small one.

In any case, feel free to PM me and we can work something out if there is interest in a particular switch. If it is for a personal collection, I will have to charge a small fee at least for shipping. :mrgreen:
Last edited by Ail on 11 Jan 2017, 15:18, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
subcat

11 Jan 2017, 15:03

Ail wrote:
Mr.Nobody wrote: #58,Key Pro, if my memory is right, Chyros reviewed a keyboard similar to this one right?
Spoiler:
Image
Image
Image
#59 Two models of Cherry HK2000C WEY Techonology...
That HK2000C looks nice, appears to have dyesubs with pad printing on the windowed/colored keys and sub-legends? Hard to tell, but the colored sub-legends appear to be wearing while the black regular ones are still very sharp. This must be new because I have been through that seller's entire catalog before. I guess I am going to have to keep a closer eye on all of my favorite shops!
They're doubleshots, not dyseubs unfortunately, but yes the windowed/colored keys and sub-legends are pad printed.

User avatar
Wodan
ISO Advocate

11 Jan 2017, 15:07

These Wey Technology keyboards have a very random mix of doubleshot/padprinted legends on the novelty caps as well.

It's pretty nice because of the ISO-US layout though!

User avatar
Ail

11 Jan 2017, 15:13

subcat wrote:
Ail wrote:
Mr.Nobody wrote: #58,Key Pro, if my memory is right, Chyros reviewed a keyboard similar to this one right?
Spoiler:
Image
Image
Image
#59 Two models of Cherry HK2000C WEY Techonology...
That HK2000C looks nice, appears to have dyesubs with pad printing on the windowed/colored keys and sub-legends? Hard to tell, but the colored sub-legends appear to be wearing while the black regular ones are still very sharp. This must be new because I have been through that seller's entire catalog before. I guess I am going to have to keep a closer eye on all of my favorite shops!
They're doubleshots, not dyseubs unfortunately, but yes the windowed/colored keys and sub-legends are pad printed.
Oh I see, thanks for clarifying.

User avatar
Daniel Beardsmore

11 Jan 2017, 19:05

Ail wrote: I have to double check when I get home, but if I recall correctly, nearly every switch has solder still on the pins. There may be a few of the Hi-Teks which do not.
The Hi-Tek switches are the ones most likely to have solder on them, as there is no clear evidence if any at all to suggest that they were ever sold. One would assume that manufacturers or authorised service dealers could buy spares for repair purposes at some point, just as how the modern Cherry MY actuator has a part number of MY1A-21NC (confirmed with Cherry, but there's no written material documenting this; a company called "Daracal" knows about this, as it was revealed on KBDMania, and I assume they meant Datacal, who I've tried reaching but simply ignore me).

The types that I have NOS are: Mitsumi E25-33-137, Alps SKFL standard, Alps SKFRAD (the little yellow one) and SKFSAA (the little white one).

At least, your Mitsumi resembles E25-33-137, but it could also be a used switch from an Amiga keyboard. E25-33-137 in an oddity that I can't explain — the actuator leaf is more like the one from the double-action switch.

It just seems highly unlikely that of the thousands of switch types out there, your source just happens to have the same types that are being flogged on AliExpress at insane prices.

See if you can push him or her on where that grey Alps switch came from. See:

A number of first generation Alps SKC* switches were cream/ivory: alternate action, space bar, tactile (SKCMAF)
The second generation versions went for grey: alternate action (SKCLJC), space bar (SCKLAQ) … but evidence points to tactile inexplicably switching to black (SKCMAP)!

What you have there is pine (1983–1993) and seemingly unbranded (1983–1989), but if there is branding that doesn't show up in the photo (as is often the case), and it's a 1989–1993 switch, it could actually be the grey switch that never was.

Getting some idea of how it was used would be really interesting, plus of course all the actual details (does it click, how stiff is it, is the force curve normal or unusual, etc)

User avatar
OleVoip

11 Jan 2017, 22:00

Mr.Nobody wrote: I don't see others overreact so much, there is a simple solution for some overly-sensitive folks, just don't click into my thread.
*plonk*

User avatar
Ail

11 Jan 2017, 23:14

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:
The Hi-Tek switches are the ones most likely to have solder on them, as there is no clear evidence if any at all to suggest that they were ever sold. One would assume that manufacturers or authorised service dealers could buy spares for repair purposes at some point, just as how the modern Cherry MY actuator has a part number of MY1A-21NC (confirmed with Cherry, but there's no written material documenting this; a company called "Daracal" knows about this, as it was revealed on KBDMania, and I assume they meant Datacal, who I've tried reaching but simply ignore me).
Okay so to clear up any questions of NoS, all of the switches have solder on the pins, and most are bent or show other signs of use.

It just seems highly unlikely that of the thousands of switch types out there, your source just happens to have the same types that are being flogged on AliExpress at insane prices.
Agreed, I didn't catch what you were saying at first. It is likely if they are offering many of these switches, the source is the same. Also for what it is worth this seller was the only one I spoke with who was fluent enough in English to hold an entire conversation without any misunderstandings, or me having to translate Chinese and translate my English.
See if you can push him or her on where that grey Alps switch came from.
I will ask tonight.
What you have there is pine (1983–1993) and seemingly unbranded (1983–1989), but if there is branding that doesn't show up in the photo (as is often the case), and it's a 1989–1993 switch, it could actually be the grey switch that never was.

Getting some idea of how it was used would be really interesting, plus of course all the actual details (does it click, how stiff is it, is the force curve normal or unusual, etc)
Excuse my ignorance but what is it exactly that qualifies the ALPS switch as a pine, just the manufacture date?

If by branding you mean an ALPS logo on the top or bottom, it is there:
Spoiler:
Image
All I can really tell you at the moment is that it is tactile. Lighter than the brown, heavier than orange, similar to salmon; black feels ever-so-slightly lighter. This is by feel only, I have no means to accurately measure the switch. Here it is disassembled:
Spoiler:
Image

Image

Image
That's all I've got for now. I'll report back if the seller has additional information.

User avatar
Menuhin

11 Jan 2017, 23:26

Image
Image
Left - Bamboo, right - Pine

User avatar
Daniel Beardsmore

11 Jan 2017, 23:31

My SKFR/SKFS and Mitsumi type 2 were NOS, so you are indeed seeing a different source of switches. In which case, you likely have the regular Mitsumi switch out of one of the old Amiga keyboards, while I have the anomalous type: http://telcontar.net/KBK/Mitsumi/std_ty ... malous.php

I meant the grey switch — it's in the top centre, next to green and orange. The one you've depicted just now is standard bamboo black Alps, probably from an AT101/AT101W.

"Pine" (as MouseFan calls them; Japanese for highest grade) switches are those from 1983–1993, which have small prongs either side of the slider aperture, formed from cutting slits into the top shell. The only guess we have is that they absorb the impact noise when the key is released. We only know than when the switches were cheapened (the medium grade "bamboo" switches) the slits were removed from the moulds.

It's just useful as a rough dating method.

User avatar
Ail

11 Jan 2017, 23:51

Ohhhhhh, jeez, all of this for nothing! That black switch has a lightly colored slider compared to those in my AT101W's switches which I sat side by side, it looks dark grey to me which is why I thought you meant that one. It is probably due to either age or use because my AT101W's switches are practically new. (Well new as in unused.)

The one that appears grey to you in that original photo is actually a light blue! It is a clicky blue ALPS switch, mystery solved! Hahaha, well I'm sorry to have wasted your time sir, but I did get some good lessons on ALPS switches, so that is something.

User avatar
Daniel Beardsmore

12 Jan 2017, 00:00

Ah, I see. I did notice that the switches that I knew were blue seemed a bit pale, but that blue Alps switch has really lost its colour. At least it explains why it looked like it was from the same era as blue Alps.

Yes, some black Alps switches do have a distinctly grey slider instead of black.

User avatar
Ail

12 Jan 2017, 00:06

I also confused the seller, but I took the opportunity to ask him if he had any full functional buckling ALPS, no dice.

User avatar
y11971alex

12 Jan 2017, 00:13

Wodan wrote:
y11971alex wrote: IMO if a Chinese person has no reaction to the Nanking Massacre, he's a little too detached. Still, it doesn't excuse one from overreacting to it, or provoking one to overreact to it.
Maybe you didn't get the context but he failed to understand why no one here is enjoying a holocaust joke.

What I said wasn't meant to provoke him, I was merely trying to translate his previous joke into his cultural context. What color is used for cynical remarks here?
If you didn't enjoy the joke, like I didn't, just let it drop. People eventually stop making unfunny jokes. The strongest demurrer to inappropriate humour is silence.

User avatar
Ail

12 Jan 2017, 00:16

Thanks for this, I found the source of that first set of spherical key caps:

http://mousefan.telcontar.net/image/paso700.htm

User avatar
Daniel Beardsmore

12 Jan 2017, 00:37

Ail wrote: I also confused the seller, but I took the opportunity to ask him if he had any full functional buckling ALPS, no dice.
Which type do you mean?

User avatar
Mr.Nobody

12 Jan 2017, 01:06

Menuhin wrote: I've seen this WEY for a few times, shipping to Germany will be high and most importantly I don't have an appetite of a keyboard this big at the moment. But this WEY is definitely one of the best looking vintage Cherry keyboards.

If I like larger keyboards and vintage Cherry boards, and if I am in China, I would definitely get one of those WEY / Dolch / Bloomberg / Reuter boards. It hurts me to see most of these "junk keyboards" collectors and sellers on TaoBao love to cut the cables off these keyboards just for the convenience of stacking them up better.
No the cables are not cut buy sellers nor collectors but by scrappers, in scrappers' eyes only that scanty amount of copper matters, in fact these sellers are savers of keyboards, otherwise these boards will definitely end up in shredders.

User avatar
Ail

12 Jan 2017, 01:07

Daniel Beardsmore wrote:
Ail wrote: I also confused the seller, but I took the opportunity to ask him if he had any full functional buckling ALPS, no dice.
Which type do you mean?
The SM-101, not in reference to anything I have here. The Chyros review came up last night when I was watching his other videos on some of the switches I do have here, and I figured it could not hurt to ask. Also asked about the NEC blue.

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