Xerox Docutech Keyboards and Restoration [Alps SKCM Lime/Neon Green]

[E3E]

Ohh - drool - very classy! And US ISO looks just perfect - that enter-key! - it seems a bit narrower that SP ISO enter?
:)_
Any chance of a sound clip with the keyboard on a steady surface?

Yep! Now that they are all restored, I will definitely make a clip showing both variants of the switch and possibly the boards with lubed stabs vs unlubed too.

[E3E]

Typing videos uploaded and added to OP! Yeah, I'm totally pretending like these work on my PC. I'll have to try and figure this out eventually.

[Chyros]

Hmmm, interesting, they sound like somewhere between SKCL green and bamboo SKCM black, interesting. Thanks for the uploads, is this the only typing video of these switches? xD

[E3E]

Hmmm, interesting, they sound like somewhere between SKCL green and bamboo SKCM black, interesting. Thanks for the uploads, is this the only typing video of these switches? xD

I think so! I really need to make my videos public too.

When you say they sound like a cross between the two, do you mean in both instances, or are you referring to one or another?

Yeah, your description isn't too far off, since their tactility is more rounded than typical tactile Alps. When I first tried SKCM Browns, for example, I thought they were linear until I actually typed on them. The tactility is so weird with this family of tactiles. It's pleasant, but really hard to describe well.

Also, I really need to try some SKCM Black. I hear the pine are really pleasant and the bamboo are really not.

Both of the variants, pine and bamboo, are pleasant with these, in my opinion though. I COULD BE BIASED though. I did spend a crap load of time with these, haha.

[ohaimark]

Certain switches respond oddly to press speed. Some tactiles are more tangible when moving at high speeds. Others are only tangible when moving glacially.

Edit: as to making them work with PC, just use a Teensy soldered up to the row/column outputs. It'll take some tracing, but oh well.

[Chyros]

Hmmm, interesting, they sound like somewhere between SKCL green and bamboo SKCM black, interesting. Thanks for the uploads, is this the only typing video of these switches? xD

I think so! I really need to make my videos public too.

When you say they sound like a cross between the two, do you mean in both instances, or are you referring to one or another?

Yeah, your description isn't too far off, since their tactility is more rounded than typical tactile Alps. When I first tried SKCM Browns, for example, I thought they were linear until I actually typed on them. The tactility is so weird with this family of tactiles. It's pleasant, but really hard to describe well.

Also, I really need to try some SKCM Black. I hear the pine are really pleasant and the bamboo are really not.

Both of the variants, pine and bamboo, are pleasant with these, in my opinion though. I COULD BE BIASED though. I did spend a crap load of time with these, haha.

I mean the sound is somewhere between the two. When you hear bamboo SKCM blacks you'll notice they sound different from all other Alps switches; something some refer to as "more plasticky" or "hollow". These sound like they have that a little bit (both of them), but mixed in with a more typical Alps sound.

[E3E]

Certain switches respond oddly to press speed. Some tactiles are more tangible when moving at high speeds. Others are only tangible when moving glacially.

Edit: as to making them work with PC, just use a Teensy soldered up to the row/column outputs. It'll take some tracing, but oh well.

Yep, these seem to have their full effect during normal typing and not through deliberate "glacial" key presses, as you say, which makes them pretty dynamic, browns being the same way.

MAR82 has traced out the paths for the Xerox 6085 keyboard, so there's that, but I'm really not sure if I want to modify these. I guess we'll see.

I mean the sound is somewhere between the two. When you hear bamboo SKCM blacks you'll notice they sound different from all other Alps switches; something some refer to as "more plasticky" or "hollow". These sound like they have that a little bit (both of them), but mixed in with a more typical Alps sound.

You know, I've just started getting into the more common switches like SKCM White and such. I've just ordered a Dell AT101W (mainly for some maintenance parts if I ever need them for these Lime switches, the bamboo ones anyway, as I have salmons and whites that can work with the pines). I guess I'll soon see what you mean!

I think, in general, once the switches went to the 70g uniform weighting and shortened the switch plates, the feel and sound got a bit more hollow in general. Salmons and Whites certainly feel this way to me compared to Oranges and Blues. Harder to say when it comes to SKCL Yellow, but I have switched an SKCM Blue top housing into an SKCM Salmon bottom housing and the feel changed, as odd as it might seem. The solid, long switch plates seem to lend a particular feel and sound to switches.

There IS a bit more empty space in the shorter plate housings because of the MM or so of empty space beneath the switchplate (which has pegs to compensate for the lack of height).

[alh84001]

This just arrived at my office. I won't have my hands on it until monday. It's gonna be a loooooong wait