At the bottom is the LE DC-3014, and above it is it's close younger brother, the DC-2214. These boards have more similarities than differences, which I will get into later in the post.
DC-3014
In my personal opinion this is the absolute best (stock) blue alps keyboard ever made. With features like NKRO, Thick doubleshot Standard ANSI layout and A solid build, what's not to like. The case is made of thick ABS, and is super sturdy. I and many others prefer the sound of all plastic cases to ones with a metal back. There's no beating the resonance and depth of the sound of an all plastic case. I have done quite a bit of work to my example, as it came to me with some major issues. I recently got this board from ebay(surprise surprise), and was initially very pleased with the condition of it. The switches were in beautiful shape despite the grimy looks of the board, and the caps were relatively shine free. A bit yellowed, but nothing serious. All great right? That's what I thought until I plugged it in. Utter disappointment. The board was as dead as a doornail. As it turns out. this board seems to have suffered severe liquid damage. The pins on all the ICs were rotted and falling off. The PCB was discolored and nasty. I was devastated. That is until my friend Delirious came to the rescue with a DC-2214(common white alps version) he had harvested for keycaps awhile back. within a day of me bitching about it on Telegram, he had shipped me the capless board, and a new hope arose for restoring this beast. As it turns out, both the plate and pcb are practically identical from board to board. After swapping the PCBs it works perfectly. I ultrasonically cleaned the switch top housings and lubed the springs to remove the ping. I have included typing demos before and after I did any work to the switches.
Stock, No modifications yet.
Lubed springs, ultrasonically cleaned top housings.
DC-2214
While not as pretty as its older brother, It shares all of the nice features. As stated before, the plate/pcb are identical, as well as the caps and switches. It also shares a nice thick ABS case, but it's not quite as nice as the 3014's. This case is clipped together, instead of screwed together like the 3014. Still a really solid chassis, and an almost as nice sound. I don't like the clipped corners... but what are you gonna do. This board came from ebay as well, and it will be going to a friend. Typing demo is below.
Edit: Added note: This board seems to be quite uncommon with blue alps. 90% of them we have seen come with whites.
Not quite as nice as the 3014, but still a great sound.
All in all the DC-3014 is the only clicky keyboard I ever need. Totally beats any other blue alps offering, or any IBM offering. It's been a dream board for me for awhile, and it finally became a reality. Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this project. This community has some of the most generous and friendly people ever, I could never ask for a better hobby. Thank you all.
