Pictures first >>> https://imgur.com/gallery/SyO9E
A little about this board.
I was lurking on Yahoo Auctions as usual about a month ago, and just trying to get deeper and deeper into the wormhole to see what I could find by chance. This has been the way that I come across most of the gems that I possess now, and most have been had for pennies. Somehow, I chanced upon the auction for this board. The picture showed it, and the manual, and was shot with a phone camera which looked to be from 2005. The seller described it as junk, and unable to verify if the item was in working condition. There were no close ups or detail to be had from either for me. As it was, the wife was not feeling very helpful that night in helping me bother somebody in her native tongue about things that are honestly beyond my level of communication in the language.
I pulled the trigger anyways.
Finishing the work year up, and the required new year celebrations and family gatherings have kept me from remembering that I had it for the most part and making a post about it.
It arrived quickly and was sent to the shelf of old boards, where they all wait for their assessment and cleanings on arrival. I opened the box today. As I lifted it out of the box, I felt a slight shift inside the case. I immediately wondered what was wrong, and assumed that this was the reason the seller sold it as junk. I turned it upside down to undo the screws from the bottom of the case and felt another slight bump. There was definitely something inside. Turns out it was a replacement kit of extras in case anything were to break, and what seems like the ribbon cable for connecting it to the system. I tried to document everything as it is, hoping to help shed some light on the mysteries of ALPS. If any necessary pictures or information is needed, please let me know. The whole board seems to be in pristine condition, aside from what looks to be similar to calcium deposit(?) of some sort on the bottom of the pcb. I am not sure where this was stored, aside from the old cardboard box that it arrived in (which was not alps branded, but definitely the original shipping box).
The board is completely SKCC Cream.
Enjoy!
Sorry for the low quality pictures. Tried to get the best lighting possible.
ALPS ASCII Terminal Gallery
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snuci
- Vintage computer guy
- Location: Ontario, Canada
- DT Pro Member: 0131
- Contact:
Congratulations! You found an Alps-"inator" (my little pet name). It's an AKB-3420 like mine here: photos-f62/alps-akb-3420-vintage-keyboard-t12200.html My manual is on the AKB-3420 wiki page here that looks to be similar to yours: wiki/Alps_AKB-3420
It is slightly different (you can quickly see from the back of the keyboard PCB) but the assembly model numbers are similar. Mine is a KCCAB902 and yours is a KCCAA902. Was that tape and foam stuck to the back of the keyboard PCB? That "calcium residue" should come off but dried up marking tape is not easy, if that's what it is. It should be only cosmetic anyway.
Anyway, congrats. and I hope you enjoy your keyboard.
It is slightly different (you can quickly see from the back of the keyboard PCB) but the assembly model numbers are similar. Mine is a KCCAB902 and yours is a KCCAA902. Was that tape and foam stuck to the back of the keyboard PCB? That "calcium residue" should come off but dried up marking tape is not easy, if that's what it is. It should be only cosmetic anyway.
Anyway, congrats. and I hope you enjoy your keyboard.
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2ZQ
- Location: Nishi-Tokyo, Japan
- Main keyboard: GH60
- DT Pro Member: -
The tape was stuck, yes, but not in that location. Hoping I can clean it! I like the look of yours much more than mine! Thanks for the links, and thank you.
Third board in the past month that has a big Q! I am running out of space...
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seebart
- Offtopicthority Instigator
- Location: Germany
- Main keyboard: Rotation
- Main mouse: Steelseries Sensei
- Favorite switch: IBM capacitive buckling spring
- DT Pro Member: 0061
- Contact:
Very nice find 2ZQ! Your pictures are fine. It would be an honor for me to add this to our wiki if you don't want to yourself but we will need a few more pictures. This is why I never lurk on Yahoo Auctions, if I found this I could not resist buying it. 
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2ZQ
- Location: Nishi-Tokyo, Japan
- Main keyboard: GH60
- DT Pro Member: -
Sure thing! Let me know what you need and where to send them!
Yahoo Auctions is dangerous! I am going to have to start purging boards soon
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Daniel Beardsmore
- Location: Hertfordshire, England
- Main keyboard: Filco Majestouch 1 (home)/Poker II backlit (work)
- Main mouse: MS IMO 1.1
- Favorite switch: Probably not whatever I wrote here
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
Curious.
Calculators were big in the 70s, and indeed SKCC was used in calculators. Because very few people here collect calculators, and because switches seem to mean nothing to calculator collectors, the preceding stage of Alps history is not understood.
Monroe was a major customer to Datanetics, and Monroe transferred their business to Japan in 1975, to an unknown company. Indeed, here is a Monroe calculator with SKCC switches, made seemingly around January 1979:
http://imgur.com/a/BUJCJ
This is the oldest example of SKCC to date, with 2ZQ's keyboard being slightly bit newer, and using the more conventional cream switches instead of black and dark grey. Someone has an [wiki]Apple M0110[/wiki] keyboard (made in 1983 or later) with a single black switch, which makes one wonder how long the black ones were made for, and whether they were replaced by cream, or were an alternative specification. Knowing this would help, because grey, black and cream are now all known from 1979.
Not enough SKCC part numbers are known; we only know that green is SKCCBK and tall cream is SKCCAF, and "K" and "F" are both some way into the alphabet. SKCCAC also exists, but has never been seen.
This Olympia calculator seems to be from 1981 (the only seemingly datable component is the CPU, marked "8101"), and it uses a cheaper switch:
http://imgur.com/gallery/IMTsl
Sadly this single other example doesn't offer any useful information: the useful data is in Alps-made calculator keypads from the 70s.
Note that both have "CH" PCB codes, which was also used and then corrected in 2ZQ's keyboard. "C" may stand for "Calculator", being replaced by "K" for "Keyboard" when someone realised their error.
Calculators were big in the 70s, and indeed SKCC was used in calculators. Because very few people here collect calculators, and because switches seem to mean nothing to calculator collectors, the preceding stage of Alps history is not understood.
Monroe was a major customer to Datanetics, and Monroe transferred their business to Japan in 1975, to an unknown company. Indeed, here is a Monroe calculator with SKCC switches, made seemingly around January 1979:
http://imgur.com/a/BUJCJ
This is the oldest example of SKCC to date, with 2ZQ's keyboard being slightly bit newer, and using the more conventional cream switches instead of black and dark grey. Someone has an [wiki]Apple M0110[/wiki] keyboard (made in 1983 or later) with a single black switch, which makes one wonder how long the black ones were made for, and whether they were replaced by cream, or were an alternative specification. Knowing this would help, because grey, black and cream are now all known from 1979.
Not enough SKCC part numbers are known; we only know that green is SKCCBK and tall cream is SKCCAF, and "K" and "F" are both some way into the alphabet. SKCCAC also exists, but has never been seen.
This Olympia calculator seems to be from 1981 (the only seemingly datable component is the CPU, marked "8101"), and it uses a cheaper switch:
http://imgur.com/gallery/IMTsl
Sadly this single other example doesn't offer any useful information: the useful data is in Alps-made calculator keypads from the 70s.
Note that both have "CH" PCB codes, which was also used and then corrected in 2ZQ's keyboard. "C" may stand for "Calculator", being replaced by "K" for "Keyboard" when someone realised their error.
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alh84001
- v.001
- Location: EU-HR-ZG
- Main keyboard: unsaver
- Main mouse: logitech m305 / apple trackpad
- Favorite switch: BS
- DT Pro Member: -
Nice! Similar to AKB-3420, but as Chyros put it, Bigfoot version of it. Bigfalpsaver. And the keycaps are in really nice shape, without yellowing.
I just got some time to play with mine AKB-3420 this week, and I got the matrix down (some manual wiring needed), I ran all out of Pro Micros (did a IBM Bigfoot, NEXT and X68k converters the other day), so I have to wait for a new batch to arrive from China. It's a 7x11 matrix, so Pro Micro is enough, as without desoldering LED resistors, it has exactly 18 I/O pins.
BTW, one peculiarity of the PCB is that both SHIFT keys (#46 and #57) are wired to the same matrix position, so you can't differentiate between the two.
I just got some time to play with mine AKB-3420 this week, and I got the matrix down (some manual wiring needed), I ran all out of Pro Micros (did a IBM Bigfoot, NEXT and X68k converters the other day), so I have to wait for a new batch to arrive from China. It's a 7x11 matrix, so Pro Micro is enough, as without desoldering LED resistors, it has exactly 18 I/O pins.
BTW, one peculiarity of the PCB is that both SHIFT keys (#46 and #57) are wired to the same matrix position, so you can't differentiate between the two.
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2ZQ
- Location: Nishi-Tokyo, Japan
- Main keyboard: GH60
- DT Pro Member: -
Thanks for the reply! Always interested in the tidbits of information that you provide. I will definitely start keeping an eye out for old calculators now too! I also thought it was interesting that the model number was scratched out and changed, but remains the same on the PCB!Daniel Beardsmore wrote: Curious.
...
Sadly this single other example doesn't offer any useful information: the useful data is in Alps-made calculator keypads from the 70s.
Note that both have "CH" PCB codes, which was also used and then corrected in 2ZQ's keyboard. "C" may stand for "Calculator", being replaced by "K" for "Keyboard" when someone realised their error.
I was noticing some oddities about this one too! Similar oddities are on the pcb of a pair of skcc cream/green boards I posted last week as well. I don't know if I trust myself to work on these right now as I am a bit busy and would probably rush something, so they will probably live in a sealed box for a while! Please update though.alh84001 wrote: Nice! Similar to AKB-3420, but as Chyros put it, Bigfoot version of it. Bigfalpsaver. And the keycaps are in really nice shape, without yellowing.
I just got some time to play with mine AKB-3420 this week, and I got the matrix down (some manual wiring needed), I ran all out of Pro Micros (did a IBM Bigfoot, NEXT and X68k converters the other day), so I have to wait for a new batch to arrive from China. It's a 7x11 matrix, so Pro Micro is enough, as without desoldering LED resistors, it has exactly 18 I/O pins.
BTW, one peculiarity of the PCB is that both SHIFT keys (#46 and #57) are wired to the same matrix position, so you can't differentiate between the two.
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alh84001
- v.001
- Location: EU-HR-ZG
- Main keyboard: unsaver
- Main mouse: logitech m305 / apple trackpad
- Favorite switch: BS
- DT Pro Member: -
Will do. Also, note that keys 61, 63, and 64 are not connected to anything (they have blank keycaps too). And to make it weirder, someone patched 63 and 64 with wire on my board, but decided to leave 61 as is.