deskthority

Another Northgate missing link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134611177764 I wish this one still had the other label present. It's badged as "101" but it's not the Gen 3 ANSI 101 that we usually see. This one has the BAE layout of the 101I, which may have just been called 101 before the 101N with the exp...

These ProXellent boards don't seem to pop up often... this one has a very similar layout and caps to a Northgate Omnikey Ultra/Ultra-T or Focus FK-5001. But it's prominently labeled "MADE IN U.S.A.", so I guess they weren't made by Focus? https://www.ebay.com/itm/134610949196 There were a few Focus...

podgen wrote: ↑

27 May 2023, 11:58

Is my only avenue wiring a teensy to the remnants of cable left in the case, or is there another solution?
Thanks!

Why not just splice a new DIN5 (or PS/2) cable onto the remnant of the original cable and use a plug-in converter?

Excellent, thank you for sharing this.

How consistent is the blue coloring among switches from the same keyboard?

Monterey K104 with German layout: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266258793523 Looks clean and has a nice logo: IMG_8110.jpeg I’m going to guess the switches are white alps. The features say this is a relatively late K104. About equal odds of white SKCM or blue SMK based on that. But the title of the list...

... In addition to the Omnikey models Northgate also sold other "C/T" (Clicky/Tactile) Alps-based keyboards, as seen in a couple brochures posted here in the past. We've seen Northgate-badged Focus and Monterey models as well as Lite-On/Silitek. This is the first time I've seen an Omnikey-style bad...

What’s the deal with this Omnikey 101? Made by LITE-ON? https://www.ebay.com/itm/325662138118 I found something similar several years back. https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17761 Mine has a different case and badging. In addition to the Omnikey models Northgate also sold other "C/T" (Cli...

There weren't a lot of blue Alps XT boards. SKCM switches had only been out a short time when IBM came out with the AT in 1984, and the clone makers soon followed with AT 84 key keyboards. That basically made XT keyboards obsolete--the AT protocol, not the layout. I worked for an electronics recycle...

Nice. That was my very first Alps keyboard, 30-some years ago, after trying to buy a Northgate at a local computer store. The Northgate didn't happen, even though I had cash in hand ($69, marked down from $99) because the guy couldn't get the receipt printer to work. I used the Leading Edge until I ...

Well it is worth to note that blue itself went through multiple changes as well so there are different versions of skcm blue. There I just dig the rabbit hole deeper for ya Absolutely, only it's worse than that, because the case and keycaps make as much difference as the switches. I have probably h...

Really soldering? I thought i can swap only the switches without soldering. Like in this pic i thought i have to swap only the orange marked parts. Personally I do less damage soldering and desoldering switches than I do working on the tiny parts inside. But that's because I've been soldering for o...

Dell AT-101W is a very nice chassis and is even available in black. Its larger footprint puts some people off, but it has a good solid sound and feel. I have a "black" (actually dark blue-gray) AT-101W, which I used as a partial cap donor for my Multitech KB-101A. The Dell keycaps were very soft, n...

Yes, I am on a Mac. The Mac is 3 modifier keys: Shift., Option and Command. Shift maps to shift on a Windows keyboard. Alt maps to Option and Windows maps to Command. Mac keyboards have always had an extra key. I used a Mac Mini for a while, and I never remapped anything. I need to double check, bu...

apastuszak wrote: ↑

04 May 2023, 04:50

I guess I could always use a Soarer's Converter and map Control to Caps Lock, map alt to control, and map Windows to Alt.

Now I just need to find an SKCM Blue board at a reasonable price.

Didn't you just say you're on a Mac?

I've never used Windows keys myself. Can't miss what I never had.

Looks like a Focus 727 or 747. It should be labelled on the PCB. I didn't know those existed with a black housing. What a fucking steal! Give me some of that luck of yours, I think it's about time someone else gets a turn :lol: Wow, the keycap legends are absolutely Focus. I've never seen a black F...

Controversial opinion: If a manufacturer can develop doubleshot injection molded keycaps with tolerances precise enough to produce a consistent removable friction fit on an MX keystem, they can produce switches with a stock performance that should beat what you or I can achieve at home with a $2 pa...

Nope, the change from blue to white was in mid-1989 and Windows keys didn't come into being until mid-1995 when Windows 95 came out. By then Alps switches were significantly degraded from what they used to be. As were keyboards in general (cases, keycaps, etc.). Which means transplanting blue Alps i...

Hey there, i have a question. How many key rollover has a Vintage Focus FK-2002 with blue alps? Is it 2 key rollover or more? And are 2 key rollover enough for playing videogames? thanks I don't know the answer to that, but I think it's more complicated than just "X-key rollover", maybe depends on ...

I have a question for another one. No other pics aviable. 4F8975FC-63CA-40B1-8726-136491954C1D.jpeg 9D4F2E83-DA87-457D-8426-C6909CB4CC65.jpeg Just judging from that rubber foot and the screw right next to it (on the front edge of the board), that's probably not a Chicony and not a G80-1000 either (...

Sorry, stuff moves fast when buyers are lined up and waiting. I've had zero results when I've posted "Wanted" items here in the past. Much better luck being proactive and resourceful on ebay searches.

One just came up on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/266227670209

More on the Northgates. Looking at my list more closely I have two other July and August 1989 102 (Gen1) examples with blue and white badges and normal serial numbers. Other July and August examples have gold badges, and like other Northgate features there's no clear break by serial number or date. ...

So the 102's with blue badges may still have blue Alps? The sticker on this particular one says it's August 1989, past the blue Alps cutoff date listed on the wiki page. My opinion, and it's only that, is that all the Gen1 Northgates started out with gold badges, and got the later badges as part of...

On a related note, this wiki page needs a few updates. Some 102's which I guess can be called Gen 1a (like this one ) have all the features of Gen 1 (vendor code 111, non-detachable cable, no DIP switches, AT/XT switch) except for the gold badge. I strongly suspect they have pine white Alps. Likewi...

engr wrote: ↑

13 Apr 2023, 18:58

Isn't the metal case bottom the same for the comparable models (101 vs 101P, 102/Ultra-T vs 102P/Ultra-TP?)
It should be possible to wire the PS/2 connector (I think it's part of the case rather than the PCB) to the Gen4 PCBs.

Between Gen3 and Gen4, yes. Anything earlier, no.

The Gen2 and Gen3 Northgates were the ones with detachable cables. The Gen2 case was shorter than Gen3 and Gen4, and had a different top row layout, and probably wouldn't take the internals from a Gen4. Seems like it would be easier just to wire a PS/2 connector to the Gen4 and install it in the rea...

Interesting, thank you for checking. Looks like I will have to keep looking for an Avant Stellar if I want a working the holy grail of Alps keyboards - a reprogrammable Omnikey battlecruiser with Windows keys. These seem to be pretty rare, I have yet to see one in the wild. I've been keeping a data...

Switches and caps were to me the only things that were compromised on the Gen4 boards. Some Gen4 Northgates still had double shot caps, but some were printed, with a blob of clear paint over the printing. Switches on the Gen4 boards were SKBM (simplified) Alps, with possible exceptions. The heavy pl...

I just checked three keyboards for the version ID. The 101I (Gen2, Rev 1.02) and 101 (Gen3, Rev 7.03) both give an ID at a Win7 command prompt, but it only appears for a second and disappears. If you blink you'll miss it. That's using a Soarer's converter. The Avant Stellar (Gen4) does not show a ve...

...and there's one of Bill Ingold's neat features, which may or may not work on the Gen4 Northgate/Avant boards. Get yourself to a DOS prompt, hold both Shift keys and press F8. That reports the firmware version of your keyboard, at least on some of the earlier versions. That may help to determine a...