Northgate Omnikey 102 Gold label question

[Paco666]

Quick question here, I have the chance to grab a northgate gold label keyboard but the seller doesn't want to remove a keycap, so I wanted to know if there is a chance that i'll be surprised and find something else then blue alps there? Any help is greatly appreciated.

By the way if someone know how much a model f bigfoot goes for nowadays it would also be appreicated. I tried searching it up but havent really found anything substantial.

[ZedTheMan]

I haven't seen any examples to the contrary of blue Alps on those things.

[cli]

Worn out Blue Alps switches is no fun to type on.

[//gainsborough]

2/3 gold label boards I’ve owned have had white alps >_<. Don’t know serial number or dates but can check when I have free time

[ZedTheMan]

2/3 gold label boards I’ve owned have had white alps >_<. Don’t know serial number or dates but can check when I have free time

Well shit, I guess I'm a big ol dummy for never seeing that before.

[//gainsborough]

I think i’m just unlucky, Hahahha.

[snacksthecat]

Is it at a price where you’re willing to gamble the money? Good luck by the way.

[Paco666]

Is it at a price where you’re willing to gamble the money? Good luck by the way.

It should be somewhere along the line of 100$ so I’m not sure if the board with white alps would be worth that so I would be close to not losing anything even if it had white alps.

[Paco666]

2/3 gold label boards I’ve owned have had white alps >_<. Don’t know serial number or dates but can check when I have free time

Well shit, I guess I'm a big ol dummy for never seeing that before.

Nobody’s perfect and we all expand our knowledge every day. I also thought that they were a sure shot at blue alps until I read a post saying that it wasn’t guaranteed.

[Paco666]

Btw here are some pics of it in case it could help

https://imgur.com/gallery/tIkOm1v

[ZedTheMan]

Alps discontinued blue Alps somewhere in late 1989 iirc. February should mean blues I think.

[Paco666]

Alps discontinued blue Alps somewhere in late 1989 iirc. February should mean blues I think.

Ok cool that’s good to know. I’ll try to research that a bit and see if it leads me to a definite answer.

If ever this board had white alps in it what do you think would be it’s minimal value?

[XMIT]

$50.

But stop hemming and hawing and just buy it already! It's not even that yellow!

[Paco666]

$50.

But stop hemming and hawing and just buy it already! It's not even that yellow!

In fact I’m still sorting out the price with him. Should be getting some news tomorrow.

He also has other boards that I wanted to bundle up with the omnikey but his prices were pretty high. So I’m trying to get him down to bring in a NMB RT8255CW+ a unitek k 151-l and a Model F 5291 “Bigfoot” home with the gold label.

By you guys experiences what would be a good price for the 4 boards mentioned?

[cli]

Paid 40 euro for a Monterey K102 Alps White .
(and the Monterey K101 Alps Blue only 30, but need lot's of work)

[Paco666]

Paid 40 euro for a Monterey K102 Alps White .
(and the Monterey K101 Alps Blue only 30, but need lot's of work)

What’s the difference between monterey blues and blue alps other then the price. If I recall monterey blues are worth less then blue alps right?

[ZedTheMan]

"Monterey blues" aren't Alps at all, or even Monterey. They are SMK second generation, very solid switches but feel different from Alps.

[Polecat]

Sorry, I'm a bit late coming in on this. I've been keeping a database of Northgate keyboards (also Focus, Monterey, and a few others) and here's what I have so far on Gen 1/Gold Label Northgates. 26 total on the list at present. 17 of those have blue SKCM switches, 5 have white SKCM, and 4 I don't have switch info for. Two others on the list have an "8071xxxx" inspection number, both with blue SKCM. The earliest with white switches and a known date is from May 1989, but some examples are missing the fragile paper labels. And the inspection number stickers do not necessarily correlate with dates on those with labels present. In other words, nothing on the paper label or the inspection number is a guaranteed indicator of slider color. But based on the date I'd say there's a very good chance (but no guarantee, of course) of it having blue Alps switches.

That said, my personal opinion is that very early white SKCM switches are indistinguishable from blues. And that the perception that blues are "better" than whites is based on comparisons with later versions of white SKCM switches, which have a considerably different sound and feel than the early ones. I used to dismiss it as hype, and an irrational obsession with "sliders of color", but after more consideration I've conceded that blue Alps switches are a "sure thing" (depending on condition, of course), while white Alps are literally all over the place for sound and feel. Again just my personal opinions, individual results may differ. Considerably.

[cli]

"Monterey blues" aren't Alps at all, or even Monterey. They are SMK second generation, very solid switches but feel different from Alps.

No, it's a Tulip Monterey K101 keyboard with real Alps Blue ... wiki/Monterey_K101
It's just not in the best condition.

These are the prices in Netherlands, 30-50 euro for Alps boards, 50-75 for IBM model 2.

[cli]

Sorry, I'm a bit late coming in on this. I've been keeping a database of Northgate keyboards (also Focus, Monterey, and a few others) and here's what I have so far on Gen 1/Gold Label Northgates. 26 total on the list at present. 17 of those have blue SKCM switches, 5 have white SKCM, and 4 I don't have switch info for. Two others on the list have an "8071xxxx" inspection number, both with blue SKCM. The earliest with white switches and a known date is from May 1989, but some examples are missing the fragile paper labels. And the inspection number stickers do not necessarily correlate with dates on those with labels present. In other words, nothing on the paper label or the inspection number is a guaranteed indicator of slider color. But based on the date I'd say there's a very good chance (but no guarantee, of course) of it having blue Alps switches.

That said, my personal opinion is that very early white SKCM switches are indistinguishable from blues. And that the perception that blues are "better" than whites is based on comparisons with later versions of white SKCM switches, which have a considerably different sound and feel than the early ones. I used to dismiss it as hype, and an irrational obsession with "sliders of color", but after more consideration I've conceded that blue Alps switches are a "sure thing" (depending on condition, of course), while white Alps are literally all over the place for sound and feel. Again just my personal opinions, individual results may differ. Considerably.

Yep, I agree. I think quality degraded begin 90's.
My old Dell AT101 (GYUM95SK) have better switches than the Dell AT101W, the later bamboo Alps Black switches are much worse.
I think the plastic sliders are different, not as smooth.

[cli]

That said, my personal opinion is that very early white SKCM switches are indistinguishable from blues. And that the perception that blues are "better" than whites is based on comparisons with later versions of white SKCM switches, which have a considerably different sound and feel than the early ones. I used to dismiss it as hype, and an irrational obsession with "sliders of color", but after more consideration I've conceded that blue Alps switches are a "sure thing" (depending on condition, of course), while white Alps are literally all over the place for sound and feel. Again just my personal opinions, individual results may differ. Considerably.

Just for fun and to satisfy my curiosity I opened the switches


The Alps Blue switch is from a 1987 board, the Alps White from a 1989 board.
Practically the same, only difference are the sliders. Alps Blue sliders are dry lubed, Alps White sliders are not lubed but the plastic is lot smoother.

[ZedTheMan]

"Monterey blues" aren't Alps at all, or even Monterey. They are SMK second generation, very solid switches but feel different from Alps.

No, it's a Tulip Monterey K101 keyboard with real Alps Blue ... wiki/Monterey_K101
It's just not in the best condition.

These are the prices in Netherlands, 30-50 euro for Alps boards, 50-75 for IBM model 2.

Oh okay I understand now what you mean. Silly me didn't check the model number and didn't realize it was referencing your earlier comment. Really not with it today, it seems.

[Paco666]

Just for fun and to satisfy my curiosity I opened the switches


The Alps Blue switch is from a 1987 board, the Alps White from a 1989 board.
Practically the same, only difference are the sliders. Alps Blue sliders are dry lubed, Alps White sliders are not lubed but the plastic is lot smoother.

Very good information right there. Thanks for taking the time to do this. So basically whatever switch is in that board I cant really go wrong.

Nothing better then a side to side comparison!

[Paco666]

Sorry, I'm a bit late coming in on this. I've been keeping a database of Northgate keyboards (also Focus, Monterey, and a few others) and here's what I have so far on Gen 1/Gold Label Northgates. 26 total on the list at present. 17 of those have blue SKCM switches, 5 have white SKCM, and 4 I don't have switch info for. Two others on the list have an "8071xxxx" inspection number, both with blue SKCM. The earliest with white switches and a known date is from May 1989, but some examples are missing the fragile paper labels. And the inspection number stickers do not necessarily correlate with dates on those with labels present. In other words, nothing on the paper label or the inspection number is a guaranteed indicator of slider color. But based on the date I'd say there's a very good chance (but no guarantee, of course) of it having blue Alps switches.

That said, my personal opinion is that very early white SKCM switches are indistinguishable from blues. And that the perception that blues are "better" than whites is based on comparisons with later versions of white SKCM switches, which have a considerably different sound and feel than the early ones. I used to dismiss it as hype, and an irrational obsession with "sliders of color", but after more consideration I've conceded that blue Alps switches are a "sure thing" (depending on condition, of course), while white Alps are literally all over the place for sound and feel. Again just my personal opinions, individual results may differ. Considerably.

Thanks for the number crunching. I’ve pretty much decided to go in on this. Not too sure on the other boards though.

Any advice for the later would be greatly appreciated also.

Thanks again!

[snacksthecat]

Best of luck! I hope the deal works out for you

[Paco666]

Best of luck! I hope the deal works out for you

Thanks man, in fact it is working out. So I’ll be getting the three boards and the omnikey indeed has blue alps and the unitek k151-L has vintage blacks. Can’t wait to try these out!