[IC] DCS Alps Pingmaster (7/28 Update! Completely Revamped kits! Again!)

forter4

25 Jun 2020, 22:27

Important Update (7/28): So after a bit of deliberation, we have decided to really make the set as faithful as possible to the Pingmaster, taking inspiration from both the Chinese and Japanese variants. This means that we have combined the text and icon modifiers into one base kit, but we think the set looks great, and we hope you do too!

We're also looking to do one or two renders, but unfortunately, because no one has the DCS profile modeled out, the renders will need to be in Cherry profile

Hi Everyone!
Fredington (from Geekhack) and I would like to introduce you to DCS Alps Pingmaster!

Like many in this hobby, I discovered Alps switches and ended up loving them. But unfortunately, there isn’t that much choice for Alps lovers when it comes to keycaps. It seems like the only choices are Tai Hoa sets (but dolch is always out of stock), the sets from those two GBs from back in the 2010’s, or a yellowed vintage set. And good luck finding a set with a single zero keycap for the numpad. Honestly, as a fan of Alps switches, I kind of just want a new keycap set haha

A few key things about this set:
  • The set is PBT with Dye-sublimated legends
  • We went the PBT route since Alps keycaps in Doubleshot ABS tend to have an issue of very fragile stems, and SP informed us that because the PBT Alps keycaps are single shot molded, fragile stems shouldn’t be an issue
  • The longer spacebars (6u, 6.25u, 6.5u, 7u) will be in ABS as the PBT spacebar is known to warp pretty badly
  • The set was inspired by the IBM Pingmaster because I’ve always liked the Japanese Alps keycaps.
  • (UPDATE: 7/28)We have gone back to one base kit; this time, with both text and icon modifiers, to be more faithful to the Pingmaster keyboard, incorporating elements from both the Japanese and Chinese variants
  • (UPDATE: 7/28)We included full compatibility for JIS layouts
  • All Modifiers will have MX mounts for stabilizers
If you are interested in this set,please fill out this form here!

Geekhack IC Thread: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=107021.0

Kits:

Base kit
Image
After even more deliberation, we felt it was best to make the set more faithful to the Pingmaster, but incorporating both text and icon modifiers into the base kit, using inspiration from both theChinese and Japanese variants
The legends have also been changed to more accurately reflect the Pingmaster legends. Specifically, we moved the English legends from the top left, to the bottom left

JIS
Image
Offers full JIS layout compatibility; accents included

Numpad
Image
We initially wanted the base kit to include everything, but due to the legends, it got a bit pricey. So we split out the Numpad to make it more affordable.

Split Spacebars
Image
We added a Split Spacebar kit for more compatibility with various layouts. Please note which spacebars are marked as ABS

Other Considerations:
  • We wanted to include relgendables in the GB, but they only offer them in a couple of PBT colors. And because the tooling was made for ABS, the PBT tends to shrink
  • We really wanted to try to include a Big Ass Enter, but unfortunately, it's just not possible right now
Standard SP Color Codes:
  • Alphas: GKK
  • ABS Spacebars: Color matched to GKK (in the event that we can’t color match, this will be GSL)
  • Modifiers: GDE
  • Blue Accents: BFD
  • Pink Accents: RCA
Special Acknowledgements:
  • Thank you again to Fredington for creating the fonts, kits, and just being a pleasure to work with
  • Thank you to kidviddy and konstantin for helping Fredington with the new text and icon modifiers
  • Thanks to ai03 for giving us his blessing. It was genuinely a mistake that this set looks like his SimpleJA keycap set; we honestly forgot that he had already created a PBT set with Katakana sublegends
Image

To-do’s:
  • Gather feedback (done)
  • Possible polling (done)
  • Finalize kits (done)
  • Finalize colors (done)
  • Pricing (in progress)
  • Renders (in progress)
  • Vendors (in progress)
  • GB Date
Changelog (Posted on GH on 6/18)
7/28/20
  • Revised modifiers to both text and icon to be more in line with Japanese and Chinese Pingmaster variants
  • Revised kits from separate Alphas and modifiers, back to one Base Kit
  • Added full JIS layout support
  • Finalized color codes
7/4/20
  • Revised legends so English Alphas sit on the bottom left, being more in line with the Pingmaster's legends
  • Broke out Alphas, Icon Mods, and Katakana Mods
  • Unfortunately, had to remove the BAE kit
6/25/20
  • Added Icon Modifiers Kit
  • Broke out accents to be combined in other sets
  • Included standard accents in Base Kit
  • Included Icon BAE keys with accents in BAE Kit
  • Broke out ISO into its own kit, and included accents and Icon ISO Enter Keys with accents
  • Added Split Spacebars Kit (note: Similar to the base kit, the longer 6u and 6.5u spacebars will be made in ABS)
6/19/20
  • Confirmed that the spacebars will be ABS
Last edited by forter4 on 28 Jul 2020, 19:38, edited 8 times in total.

andrewjoy

26 Jun 2020, 16:47

Would this set work on a dell AT101W ?

EnthusiastDude

26 Jun 2020, 17:04

andrewjoy wrote:
26 Jun 2020, 16:47
Would this set work on a dell AT101W ?
"All Modifiers will have MX mounts for stabilizers"

forter4

26 Jun 2020, 20:09

andrewjoy wrote:
26 Jun 2020, 16:47
Would this set work on a dell AT101W ?
I believe people actually use some combination of Costar and Matias stabilizer sets

The only real hurdle would be the wire for the 2.75u right shift key. SP make their MX stab mounts closer to the middle

So you would need to take the Alps 2.75u stab wire and unbend, and then rebend it to fit. I've seen people do it and it doesn't look too difficult. However, I do know people are looking to try and make a special stab wire just for this specific use occasion

forter4

04 Jul 2020, 23:39

Based on feedback, we separated the Alphas from the modifiers to give people a choice between Icon and Katakana mods

Also, we unfortunately had to remove the BAE =/

forter4

28 Jul 2020, 18:02

Updated the kits back into one base kit that includes both alphas and modifiers as we decided to combine both text and icon mods from the Japanese and Chinese variants of the Pingmaster

We think this is more faithful to the name, and honestly should have been this way from the beginning. And we understand if people are disappointed, but we hope you like the changes as much as we do

cods

24 Oct 2020, 23:41

Very cool.

Post Reply

Return to “Group buys”