Best Case/PCB for Alps Switches

[Rezene]

I bought 110 NOS white alps and I don't know what to do with them. I want them to sound nice and I heard that using small 60% boards make them sound worse. What modern pcbs can I buy that are compatible with alps? I don't care what layout it is within reason anything between a tkl and a 40%. What type of case should I buy? I also wouldn't mind buying a vintage board that is in dirty condition and clean it up and put my alps in it. What vintage board makes alps sound the best? I want a bassy, full and loud sound.

[TheInverseKey]

I bought 110 NOS white alps and I don't know what to do with them. I want them to sound nice and I heard that using small 60% boards make them sound worse. What modern pcbs can I buy that are compatible with alps? I don't care what layout it is within reason anything between a tkl and a 40%. What type of case should I buy? I also wouldn't mind buying a vintage board that is in dirty condition and clean it up and put my alps in it. What vintage board makes alps sound the best? I want a bassy, full and loud sound.

I actually just built a board with hineybushes H87Alps Plate which is made out of FR4. Now while the plate and PCB are cheap, boards that are compatible with said plate and pcb are not.

Really your main concern is keycaps and what board you want to build since most kustom Alps boards are centered around keycaps.

[swampangel]

For vintage chassis, people think the Leading Edge DC-series boards sound really good, and I can say I love the sound of my Omnikey 101.

You could also consider a wooden case like viewtopic.php?p=452706#p452706

[Rezene]

I bought 110 NOS white alps and I don't know what to do with them. I want them to sound nice and I heard that using small 60% boards make them sound worse. What modern pcbs can I buy that are compatible with alps? I don't care what layout it is within reason anything between a tkl and a 40%. What type of case should I buy? I also wouldn't mind buying a vintage board that is in dirty condition and clean it up and put my alps in it. What vintage board makes alps sound the best? I want a bassy, full and loud sound.

I actually just built a board with hineybushes H87Alps Plate which is made out of FR4. Now while the plate and PCB are cheap, boards that are compatible with said plate and pcb are not.

Really your main concern is keycaps and what board you want to build since most kustom Alps boards are centered around keycaps.

can I just buy any pcb? How do I know if its compatible with alps. Ive never built a board before

[swampangel]

can I just buy any pcb? How do I know if its compatible with alps. Ive never built a board before

Nope, you need to look for one that is alps-only or supports both alps and cherry.

For example, here's the regular h87a https://hineybush.com/collections/all-p ... ducts/h87a and here's the alps-compatible version https://hineybush.com/collections/all-p ... ts/h87alps

Same goes for the plate. Alps switches have a different shape than cherry mx, but there are some "universal" plates that support both.

[TheInverseKey]

can I just buy any pcb? How do I know if its compatible with alps. Ive never built a board before

Nope, you need to look for one that is alps-only or supports both alps and cherry.

For example, here's the regular h87a https://hineybush.com/collections/all-p ... ducts/h87a and here's the alps-compatible version https://hineybush.com/collections/all-p ... ts/h87alps

Same goes for the plate. Alps switches have a different shape than cherry mx, but there are some "universal" plates that support both.

Very true most of these boards that support this plate are out of Group Buy though and the amount of money that they go for on r/mechmarket might hurt your wallet.

[swampangel]

Very true most of these boards that support this plate are out of Group Buy though and the amount of money that they go for on r/mechmarket might hurt your wallet.

Yeah. Not a lot of economical options for alps customs. What case did you put your h87alps in?

[TheInverseKey]

Very true most of these boards that support this plate are out of Group Buy though and the amount of money that they go for on r/mechmarket might hurt your wallet.

Yeah. Not a lot of economical options for alps customs. What case did you put your h87alps in?

I joined the Duck Orino V3 GB a while back.

[CountNoctua]

I've been exploring this for a few months myself, and there are only a few Alps-mount PCBs regularly in stock, mainly LFKeyboards' SMK ones (SMK and Alps mount) and a few other MX plus Alps capable ones (e.g. Kprepublic's XD87).

Other issues are you need a compatible plate and keycaps. You can get a Alps plate cut by using Keyboard Layout Editor + swilllkb's case builder tool, and then send resulting file to cutting service, but apparently 1.2mm is ideal thickness for Alps plate so keep that in mind (some of the services default to 1mm or 1.5mm).

For pre-cut plate, supposedly Sentraq has a universal one that is Alps-compatible, but i haven't checked this myself.

Keycaps is another issue. You'll have to either get in on a group buy (there are a few, I think Yuri has an Alps option), harvest an old board, or buy from a handful of in-stock sets. I just got an Alps-mount Tai-Hao set in; they make a few others, as well, but not a ton of options.

As for case, that can be decided on after keycaps and PCB. As mentioned, wood sounds great, but you have to do some work for that or pay someone to do it.

I actually don't think small size is a limiting factor as long as there's enough room in the tray of the case; the M0110D I have sounds fantastic (SKCC Tall Creams) even though it's fairly compact. I'm currently working on a custom printed nylon case for the SMK65, and it should have enough room in the tray (bass needs space) that I hope blue Alps sound good in it. Also have some wood for another case after that, which will likely be designed for a TKL PCB.

I'm not a fan of group buys/kickstarting as I hate waiting and there are often issues with crowd funding, but I did get in on the ADK18 (Alps compatible numpad, Apple style) to accompany my 65%, and that's coming in before end of month; a separate numpad makes a smaller layout more palatable, in my opinion.

Buying a clean vintage board to transplant your switches into is probably the easiest and quickest option.

[cli]

I think the easiest solution is to get an used KBParadise V80 and swap the switches for complicated White or Blue Alps.
You can replace the plastic case for an aluminium case (TEX TKL case or the Aluminium TKL case on Aliexpress).

I asked KB Paradise if they could sell me a V80 Alps kit without the switches, they informed it would be 80 USD, excluding shipment and import duties.

[cli]

I think the easiest solution is to get an used KBParadise V80 and swap the switches for complicated White or Blue Alps.
You can replace the plastic case for an aluminium case (TEX TKL case or the Aluminium TKL case on Aliexpress).

I asked KB Paradise if they could sell me a V80 Alps kit without the switches, they informed it would be 80 USD, excluding shipment and import duties.

Some mix up, just checked my mail. it was cheaper...
ALPS PCB : USD 20 ( 1 big PCB + 1 small PCB )
ALPS plate : USD 10
USB min flat cable : USD 2 ( standard mini USB hard to plug in )
Up and bottom case : USD 19 ( shortage feet stand now. need 1~2 week apply )
V80 ALPS keycap , ABS Vintage or Black , cost USD 16/set
shipping cost : USD 10 (post + registed )

[Rezene]

If i buy a vintage board and swap the switches do I need to desolder or can I just swap the components?

[cli]

If i buy a vintage board and swap the switches do I need to desolder or can I just swap the components?

I usually desolder the switches, but if your desoldering skills are wanky I would just swap the spring, slider, clickleaf and housing.
Never did a test if there is much difference in sound and keyfeel between desoldering vs swapping the components, but I think there shouldn't much difference.

[swampangel]

I think the easiest solution is to get an used KBParadise V80 and swap the switches for complicated White or Blue Alps.
You can replace the plastic case for an aluminium case (TEX TKL case or the Aluminium TKL case on Aliexpress).

I asked KB Paradise if they could sell me a V80 Alps kit without the switches, they informed it would be 80 USD, excluding shipment and import duties.

Some mix up, just checked my mail. it was cheaper...
ALPS PCB : USD 20 ( 1 big PCB + 1 small PCB )
ALPS plate : USD 10
USB min flat cable : USD 2 ( standard mini USB hard to plug in )
Up and bottom case : USD 19 ( shortage feet stand now. need 1~2 week apply )
V80 ALPS keycap , ABS Vintage or Black , cost USD 16/set
shipping cost : USD 10 (post + registed )

Ooh this is a great idea.

I usually desolder the switches, but if your desoldering skills are wanky I would just swap the spring, slider, clickleaf and housing.
Never did a test if there is much difference in sound and keyfeel between desoldering vs swapping the components, but I think there shouldn't much difference.

Yeah. As long as the original switches were in half decent shape and work reliably, this seems like it would work fine.

[ScarletBegonias]

There is also the ortholinear approach. Apart from the usual one-piece suspects (Planck and Preonic), there are also a couple of split options: Iris and Kyria.

[ZedTheMan]

I personally have SKCL greens on my Iris. It's a good mix, I think. Partially because I wanted a split ergo alps build.

[ScarletBegonias]

I personally have SKCL greens on my Iris. It's a good mix, I think. Partially because I wanted a split ergo alps build.

A split ortho Alps build will be my next project. What did you end up doing about keycaps? I can't decide whether to go with Matias blanks, vomit, or a combination of the two.

[ZedTheMan]

I used Tai Hao keycaps. Tomcat worked well with the top steel layer of the iris.

[Rezene]

If I wanted to use an alps64 pcb what cases are compatible with it? Do i need a plate because I don't have aek keycaps and that layout is the only one hasu sells a plate for right? Does anyone sell plates for standard ansi layout?

[ScarletBegonias]

If I wanted to use an alps64 pcb what cases are compatible with it? Do i need a plate because I don't have aek keycaps and that layout is the only one hasu sells a plate for right? Does anyone sell plates for standard ansi layout?

I built an Alps 64 +/- four years ago. It's a great little board. There are plenty of details in Hasu's OP: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69740.0

I used an aluminum Pok3r case for mine. I can't remember if it is a Tex, or some other brand. The group buy I jumped in on offered four, or perhaps five different stainless steel plates and I certainly would recommend the use of a plate. I'm not quite sure what the plate situation is these days, though.

As for caps, there is an IC at the moment for some beige on black Alps DCS caps. If I understand correctly, they expect to run the GB after the first of the year: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=102206.0