Alps product codes: a theory

[Mattr567]

Damn I can't find it for the life of me. I think it was in their archives or something.

I remember they said something along the lines of "enthusiasts have loved our keyboards from the 1970's so much that today we are are bringing them back! Something something new SSK."

This?

That's it!

Even they acknowledge their keyboard past. Alps? Not a peep.

[lancre]

All mildly interesting the the only real burning question for me is:

What type of lubricant?

Yes, I've been trying to push him for this especially. He did say that they used it at least, so the lubricant theory seems to be confirmed with this, at the least. I'm not sure what kind of JIS spec lube they used, but maybe he can find out more.

Of course, if I find out more, I'll post it .

I gotta ask: what's he like? Is he aware that there are thousands of nerds out there who are downright fanatical about Alps switches? I wonder if he's very bemused or very proud. I'd imagine a bit of both.

I wonder if he has carrier-bags full of switches lying around in his garage?

It's such a shame that the tooling and the techniques and the people who made Alps Alps are faded in history so quickly. I hope one day enough will be known in order that Alps switches can be resurrected and made from new again.

[Chyros]

All mildly interesting the the only real burning question for me is:

What type of lubricant?

Yes, I've been trying to push him for this especially. He did say that they used it at least, so the lubricant theory seems to be confirmed with this, at the least. I'm not sure what kind of JIS spec lube they used, but maybe he can find out more.

Of course, if I find out more, I'll post it .

I gotta ask: what's he like? Is he aware that there are thousands of nerds out there who are downright fanatical about Alps switches? I wonder if he's very bemused or very proud. I'd imagine a bit of both.

I wonder if he has carrier-bags full of switches lying around in his garage?

It's such a shame that the tooling and the techniques and the people who made Alps Alps are faded in history so quickly. I hope one day enough will be known in order that Alps switches can be resurrected and made from new again.

He's nearly retired is most I know. I've already asked, but they have no old stock lying around at all.

[Darkshado]

Is he aware that there are dozens of nerds out there who are downright fanatical about Alps switches?

^^ FTFY

I wonder if he has carrier-bags full of switches lying around in his garage?

I don't really see why an employee would get the OK to take such quantities home... Doing so without permission is a pretty good way to get (at a minimum) fired in lots of places.

[lancre]

Is he aware that there are dozens of nerds out there who are downright fanatical about Alps switches?

^^ FTFY

I wonder if he has carrier-bags full of switches lying around in his garage?

I don't really see why an employee would get the OK to take such quantities home... Doing so without permission is a pretty good way to get (at a minimum) fired in lots of places.

I remember a story about Woolworths stores in the UK where in the final few days of their existence, members of staff and the public had not only been stripping shelves of the stock, but taking the actual shelves, fixings, posters, tills, key safes, rugs and cabinets out of the shops too.

I was hoping that the free-for-all would extend to factory components. But having said that, I guess that Alps as a company are still very much alive.

[E3E]

Is he aware that there are dozens of nerds out there who are downright fanatical about Alps switches?

^^ FTFY

I wonder if he has carrier-bags full of switches lying around in his garage?

I don't really see why an employee would get the OK to take such quantities home... Doing so without permission is a pretty good way to get (at a minimum) fired in lots of places.

I remember a story about Woolworths stores in the UK where in the final few days of their existence, members of staff and the public had not only been stripping shelves of the stock, but taking the actual shelves, fixings, posters, tills, key safes, rugs and cabinets out of the shops too.

I was hoping that the free-for-all would extend to factory components. But having said that, I guess that Alps as a company are still very much alive.

It's very possible though. The guy I got my last two Xerox 6085 keyboards from, his brother worked as an Xsoft employee, and when their offices ended up closing down, he was told that he could take anything he wanted, including furniture. He took home 3 Xerox 6085 Daybreak systems without an issue, and those were and are still not cheap systems.

Fringe benefits.

[Cattus_D]

So, we've been struggling with Alps codes for a while now. I've been working on a theory though.
[...]

Interesting stuff - thank you for sharing!

[Scarpia]

It's very possible though. The guy I got my last two Xerox 6085 keyboards from, his brother worked as an Xsoft employee, and when their offices ended up closing down, he was told that he could take anything he wanted, including furniture. He took home 3 Xerox 6085 Daybreak systems without an issue, and those were and are still not cheap systems.

Fringe benefits.

Reminds me of one guy I knew who had previously worked for a company that made super high end hardware (switches, firewalls) for internet infrastructure; they got bought out by Intel and the whole team was moved to work on the Intel product line, which meant they had to discontinue all their own products. With permission, he took home two prototype switches (worth 5 figures each) that his team had been running final tests on

Years later when I met him, he was in charge of tech at a large company, and one of those switches was still running their office network and the other one just sat in his garage