//story----------------------
As many of you probably know, I'm somewhat of an omnikey enthusiast. Right now I have, I think, 8 omnikey boards in my collection (but none of them are a blue alps gold label omnikey >_<. I've wanted to do an omnikey project/restoration for a while, but just couldn't figure out what exactly I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to use one of the spare 101 chassis that I had, and I even knew what switches I wanted to use for the project (SKCL brown) - but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with the mounting plate. Should I go with a classic black? Should I go with gold? Should this be the project I try to do a zinc plated yellow chromate plate? It was really a struggle for me because I wanted this board to be special.
One of the things I've been trying to do recently is painting the plate color using inspirational aspects about the brand or logo of the board itself. For example, my Acer kb-101AS has a red mounting plate with blue alps switches in it because the OG Acer logo is red and blue. I did the same kind of thing for my Canon branded kb-101AS by painting the mounting plate silver since the typewriter the switches and caps came from had a bare metal mounting plate. So I thought "why don't I do something similar here and paint the mounting plate blue?" Using this site and an image of the northgate logo (pictured below) I was able to figure out the color of blue is called "Science Blue" - and then I began looking around for retailed spray-paints that match that color the closest.
On my way home from the store though I really started thinking about whether this blue color would match SKCL brown switches, and I wasn't feeling to good about it. "Maybe I'll just go with black or white and call it good," I thought. That's when it hit me, though - "...what if I take this 'matching the logo' thing a step further and just paint the actual logo background colors on the mounting plate?"
fucking brilliant
When I got home I started figuring out where the stripes would go using a HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC (TM) methodology:
Then it was time to paint!
I first applied a white base coat and let it dry before starting to paint the blue stripe. I only took one picture of the painting process for some reason.
I had never done such a complex paint job before (complex for me at least), so this was a fun learning experience. There were two near-catastrophic events that happened during painting this plate...
1. My sprinklers came on while the white base coat was drying... It ended up not being a big deaal because it was insanely hot outside that day and the paint had basically dried and sealed already.
2. On my very last color (painting the grey stripe) the wind kicked up and blew a piece of paper onto the drying blue stripe... This one pissed me off. I fixed it by waiting for it to dry and applying another layer of paint on the stripe.
All-in-all I am happy with the result, but I did apply a little too much paint overall. That made putting the switches and stabilizers (ESPECIALLY the stabilizers) in the plate more difficult than it needed to be. Here's how it turned out, though!
Time for some soldering!
//switches----------------------
The switches came from a Packard Bell keyboard that had already been desoldered (I bought the switches on mechmarket). That particular board comes with 83 SKCL brown alps and 1 SKCL amber switch for the spacebar (which I also used as the spacebar for the //101). I put SKCL brown switches on all the keys that I use very frequently, then I used SKCL green switches everywehere else.
I actually really like the aesthetics of the soldered board. I don't think the colors match that great, but I'm really starting to like it. It's definitely unique.
//caps----------------------
I had previously sold the omnikey 101 keycaps to another member on DT who was looking for a set, so I didn't have any caps for this thing. About 4 months ago though I stumbled upon an ebay listing for an "AT101W" keyboard for $50 - but I noticed it had the old logo. Turns out it ended up being the salmon alps PBT version - the AT101 with FCC ID GYI3PVAT-101. Score!! I've always preferred thick PBT for linear and tactile switches, so this was perfect!
//verdict----------------------
I couldn't be happier, honestly. I'm very proud of this board and I had a lot of fun working on it late into the night using my guest-room air matress to do most of the work on, haha. I think the board will be criticized for sure, but this is basically my ideal vintage! My favorite linear switches in (one of) my favorite chassis!
Now, enjoy some pics (and a typing video) of the final product!
//pics----------------------
I conducted the typing video on my air-mattress for some reason...That's why the board isn't well vertically stationed >_<
Thanks for reading! I have another omnikey project I'm thinking of doing, but this time with my white alps gold label 102!!
またね。
//gains.
Please do it, do it...... that would be amazing to see 
.
