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Tactile Alps clones without tactile leaf?

Posted: 14 Aug 2016, 12:51
by Lynx_Carpathica
I recived this Mac keyboard with my PMacintosh 7500.
And it contains non-clicky, tactile Alps colnes (Are they actually clones, or an other alps-mount brand, like Omron?)
The prev. owner told me that the keys were sticky, so he lubricated them. Yupp, the keyboard was on the top of the computer, and the Mac was swimming in WD-40. Yuck! How could anyone lubricate switches this badly?
The keyboard is called Adesso. Are theese switches common?
Alps.jpg
Alps.jpg (47.48 KiB) Viewed 7210 times
Adesso.jpg
Adesso.jpg (68.77 KiB) Viewed 7210 times

EDIT: I'm going to try to make a better picture. What you can't see, are the contact leaves.

Posted: 15 Aug 2016, 09:26
by terrycherry
Good share post. Waiting for your contact leaves photos with good light. I'm prefer you desloder the switch and take it.
It seems like the Xiang Min KSB series.

Posted: 22 Aug 2016, 10:57
by Lynx_Carpathica
terrycherry wrote: Good share post. Waiting for your contact leaves photos with good light. I'm prefer you desloder the switch and take it.
It seems like the Xiang Min KSB series.

Sorry, I did not have time so far, and will not have untill Tomorrow night. Sorry for being late :(
I'm not at home.

Posted: 22 Aug 2016, 10:58
by Lynx_Carpathica
Lynx_Carpathica wrote:
terrycherry wrote: Good share post. Waiting for your contact leaves photos with good light. I'm prefer you desloder the switch and take it.
It seems like the Xiang Min KSB series.

Sorry, I did not have time so far, and will not have untill Tomorrow night. Sorry for being late :(
I'm not at home.
A moderator pwase delete this thread. I dont have time as of now for keyboards.

Posted: 29 Aug 2016, 05:23
by terrycherry
Lynx_Carpathica wrote:
Lynx_Carpathica wrote:
terrycherry wrote: Good share post. Waiting for your contact leaves photos with good light. I'm prefer you desloder the switch and take it.
It seems like the Xiang Min KSB series.

Sorry, I did not have time so far, and will not have untill Tomorrow night. Sorry for being late :(
I'm not at home.
A moderator pwase delete this thread. I dont have time as of now for keyboards.
Sad. No chance to see which clone it is. It always a big question about which swithes on FCCID KJXKB205 keyboard.
Hope to see you back soon and enjoy this vintage.

Posted: 04 Sep 2016, 11:30
by Lynx_Carpathica
Today is the day. I'm gonna go fishing with my father, and ASA I come back home, I'm going to desolder one, and will have a look at them. :)

EDIT: The inside looks like simplified alps as far as I can tell. The leaf spring is bent in, giving a verry good tactile feedback.

Posted: 04 Sep 2016, 15:55
by Lynx_Carpathica
Lynx_Carpathica wrote: Today is the day. I'm gonna go fishing with my father, and ASA I come back home, I'm going to desolder one, and will have a look at them. :)

EDIT: The inside looks like simplified alps as far as I can tell. The leaf spring is bent in, giving a verry good tactile feedback.
Weeeeeelllll, I ran into some problems. While desoldering the switches, I dropped it, and the pcb cracked on a few points, just flakes. Can be fix'd... There is no interesting stuff on the bottom on the switches either.

EDIT: Random numbers: 2Exx
XX=19, 20, 13, usw.
The return key is a linear yellow switch, with this: 3E31. It's also heavyer.

Edit2: It can't be possible... My phone broke, so I can't upload a pictore AGAIN.... :cry:

Posted: 05 Sep 2016, 04:55
by terrycherry
Glad to see you back to update this.

Please take a look carefully.
Is the green's internal leaves and spring are same as this one?
01.jpg
01.jpg (259.37 KiB) Viewed 6838 times
Is the Linear yellow on both enter and space bar? the internal leaves and spring are same as this one?
Alps.tw_Type_T8.jpg
Alps.tw_Type_T8.jpg (209.39 KiB) Viewed 6838 times

Posted: 05 Sep 2016, 13:43
by Lynx_Carpathica
Will have to check it, but linear only was under the big-ass return key.

Posted: 05 Sep 2016, 18:58
by terrycherry
Is the green switch under the space bar?
Is it something special under the Caps lock?
Can't wait to see your photos if it is possible 8-) .

Posted: 05 Sep 2016, 20:06
by Lynx_Carpathica
There is No tactile leaf, but there is tactile feedback on those switches.
The yellow return one is also in the album, uploaded to OneDrive.
Please stand by, uploading the pics.

Gonna bump the topic when it's ready, and put the link in this reply. ;)

I got myself a replacement board for my GT-i9100 from my friend for free. 8-)

Edit: Where is the bump button?

EDIT2: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlXE1_Pee0XpwhZrVUSyJd8vv4Vd
Anyway... there you go guy(s)! :)
It's a nightmare to put back together while disassmebled...

Posted: 06 Sep 2016, 20:31
by terrycherry
Thanks you so much. It's a very very rare Himake switch. I never seen the alps clone with Himake logo on the switch base because Himake sold the manufacture of switch to Hua-Jie quickly.

Your Himake green and yellow one almost have the same internal with alps.tw Type OA2 but without click leaf and branding.
It's linear not tactile. I think you felt it was tactile because the spring was not stand on the middle tip of the internal of base shell. Try to take out the spring, clean the switch shell and assemble them correctly.
wiki/File:Alps.tw_Type_OA2.jpg

Your keyboard is the re-sold product of Ortek Mac-105 keyboard. There's something special under the Caps lock.
wiki/Ortek_Mac-105

Your photos are better than before but not very clear to see the difference. Try to desloder and clean it up, take a shot like the picture I replied on the post.
Is the yellow base are branding Himake too?

see more infomation
wiki/Hua-Jie_AK_series

Posted: 06 Sep 2016, 22:07
by Lynx_Carpathica
Absolutelly ZERO branding on the switches.
The greens can't be linear. They have never been touched, just lubed.
Also, the feedback is too consistant through the keyboard to be incident.
There was nothing special (not even futaba in this case) under the caps lock.
Tonorrow further investigation will be done.

Posted: 07 Sep 2016, 05:41
by terrycherry
The thing is the used dirty keyboard. Switch should not smooth and feel some tactile feedback. Should clean it completely, not just lubed.
Could you make it clean than capture a clips to hear the sound?

Your yellow one should be the AK-CN2 yellow variant(also the AK-LE, and I think there's have LED on the shell)
wiki/File:Monterey_K110_Hua-Jie_--_switches.jpg
wiki/File:Hua-Jie_spring_comparison_in_ ... y_K110.jpg
wiki/File:Monterey_K110_Hua-Jie_switch_comparison.jpg

I can see the base logo is not Himake on one of the switchas following. What is that?
other branding.jpg
other branding.jpg (617.87 KiB) Viewed 6741 times

Posted: 07 Sep 2016, 06:59
by Lynx_Carpathica
That's bacaouse i shoot it on my tai-hao aruz board, easier to focus :D

Posted: 14 Sep 2016, 09:41
by terrycherry
Oh, goodness. So, are the green and yellow switch having the Himake logo like Tai-Hao Aruz?

Posted: 14 Sep 2016, 14:43
by Lynx_Carpathica
No. I have a Tai-Hao Fame keyboard, and I shoot the picture on that board, becaouse that was on my desk.
The Adesso is in parts currently, waiting for the PCB repair. Will be a piece of cake, if I'm going to have energy for it, after restoring the Tai-Hao. It's not quite ready yét.

Posted: 16 Sep 2016, 15:04
by terrycherry
I got it. Wait for your update. Hope you put the metal leaf and parts on the desk together and shot it. Also the base of the shell.=]

Posted: 22 Sep 2016, 13:23
by Lynx_Carpathica
There they are...
https://1drv.ms/f/s!AlXE1_Pee0XpwiO69G-38i6BzReN

I've cleaned the switch, but it still has a very decent tactile feedback. It's very round, and feels very good.

Posted: 21 Mar 2017, 09:41
by Daniel Beardsmore
Interesting, I never saw those pictures. It's a different design again: the stationary contact has two raised contact points instead of the usual one. It may be a better-made version of [wiki]alps.tw Type OA4[/wiki] (where they didn't get two fully distinct contact points).

I don't see any reason for one design to be tactile when the other is not — it makes me curious whether it's just a fluke that it turned out that way, or whether there really is something special.

What's the year on this keyboard? I can't read all the writing on the chip. OA4 seems to be a transition design, and your keyboard seems to likewise be transitional.

Posted: 25 Mar 2017, 11:55
by Lynx_Carpathica
Daniel Beardsmore wrote: Interesting, I never saw those pictures. It's a different design again: the stationary contact has two raised contact points instead of the usual one. It may be a better-made version of [wiki]alps.tw Type OA4[/wiki] (where they didn't get two fully distinct contact points).

I don't see any reason for one design to be tactile when the other is not — it makes me curious whether it's just a fluke that it turned out that way, or whether there really is something special.

What's the year on this keyboard? I can't read all the writing on the chip. OA4 seems to be a transition design, and your keyboard seems to likewise be transitional.
I have no clue where are the parts of the keyboard...