Northgate OmniKey 102 gold label review (Alps SKCM Blue)

Chyros · 12 Nov 2016, 17:32

Something quite special this week! Blue Alps in a Northgate, does it get any better than this?

E3E · 12 Nov 2016, 20:57

Did you trade away the iconic Acer KB101A for this like you had always mentioned doing?

Chyros · 13 Nov 2016, 00:12

E3E wrote: Did you trade away the iconic Acer KB101A for this like you had always mentioned doing?

Nope, still have it ^^ . This was a donation

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Scottex · 13 Nov 2016, 00:21

E3E wrote: Did you trade away the iconic Acer KB101A for this like you had always mentioned doing?

It was also featured in the video

That spacebar in the omnikey sounds like heaven, not even a little rattly and deep as hell

Chyros · 13 Nov 2016, 00:24

Scottex wrote:
E3E wrote: Did you trade away the iconic Acer KB101A for this like you had always mentioned doing?
It was also featured in the video
That spacebar in the omnikey sounds like heaven, not even a little rattly and deep as hell

It's incredible how much of a difference there is between the two OmniKeys' spacebars. I really don't know what causes the difference.

E3E · 13 Nov 2016, 01:42

Chyros wrote:
E3E wrote: Did you trade away the iconic Acer KB101A for this like you had always mentioned doing?
Nope, still have it ^^ . This was a donation .

Oh man, the fringe benefits of being a mega popular youtube sensation!

Jealous!

Scottex wrote:
E3E wrote: Did you trade away the iconic Acer KB101A for this like you had always mentioned doing?
It was also featured in the video
That spacebar in the omnikey sounds like heaven, not even a little rattly and deep as hell

Haha, I impulse commented! First thought in my mind.

Elrick · 13 Nov 2016, 02:08

Chyros wrote:
Scottex wrote: It's incredible how much of a difference there is between the two OmniKeys' spacebars. I really don't know what causes the difference.

You need to do a TAKE-APART video showing the subtle differences between the two spacebars because there is nothing on the web showing any examples.

Old-style Alps is a very rare switch these days so I thought you would provide a more thorough Attenborough-style examination of this unique species of switch

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Chyros · 13 Nov 2016, 03:01

Elrick wrote:
Chyros wrote:
Scottex wrote: It's incredible how much of a difference there is between the two OmniKeys' spacebars. I really don't know what causes the difference.
You need to do a TAKE-APART video showing the subtle differences between the two spacebars because there is nothing on the web showing any examples.

Old-style Alps is a very rare switch these days so I thought you would provide a more thorough Attenborough-style examination of this unique species of switch .

Exactly, that's why I did a whole teardown of white and blue Alps switches in the video

. There are so many subtle differences between the two, it's almost annoying xD .

I'm hoping to document each switch in detail at some point, including some detailed photography, but I don't have a camera that's up to the job at the moment. I'll try and do what I can though

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Elrick · 13 Nov 2016, 03:51

Chyros wrote: Exactly, that's why I did a whole teardown of white and blue Alps switches in the video . There are so many subtle differences between the two, it's almost annoying xD .

Maybe I didn't say it correctly here (my fault), what I meant to say is there is NO mention/showing of SPACE-BARS using ALPs switches.

We need someone showing the whole space bar hardware, stabilizers used section because the most complicated part in the ALPs universe is the Space bar section, which gives you that feeling when pressed.

Hence please show that because I haven't seen any specialty videos showing a complete take apart of ALPs Spacebars within any style of keyboards. If there is any difference between how a spacebar feels when pressed, it's definitely in there with how that large key is connected to the pcb/plate area.

seebart · 13 Nov 2016, 08:32

A donation ?!?... JEEEEZ.

OK a this point I could see where someone donates you a fully restored Beamspring. Anyway great review, If you want a trillionbillion for your Northgate OmniKey 102 gold label I'm ready to send a truckload of cash.

Elrick · 13 Nov 2016, 09:30

seebart wrote: A donation ?!?... JEEEEZ.

Why not......he is the ONLY one on the Net that presents perfect examples of rare keyboards and inspires every nerd to go look for one.

Also his voice is to die for, like a said earlier women just swoon when they here him talk, suspect he's a very popular man with the ladies

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seebart · 13 Nov 2016, 09:38

Elrick wrote:
seebart wrote: A donation ?!?... JEEEEZ.
Why not......he is the ONLY one on the Net that presents perfect examples of rare keyboards and inspires every nerd to go look for one.

Really? I wonder what the rest of us are doing...pushing daisies?!?

GTFOH...

E3E · 13 Nov 2016, 10:04

Elrick wrote:
seebart wrote: A donation ?!?... JEEEEZ.
Why not......he is the ONLY one on the Net that presents perfect examples of rare keyboards and inspires every nerd to go look for one.

Also his voice is to die for, like a said earlier women just swoon when they here him talk, suspect he's a very popular man with the ladies .

Yeah, no. There are a lot of people who work hard doing just the same thing in the keyboard community.

The only one on the net? C'mon, man. What website are you on right now?

Elrick · 13 Nov 2016, 11:07

seebart wrote: Really? I wonder what the rest of us are doing...pushing daisies?!? GTFOH...

Sorry Seebart, didn't mean to sound so ignorant towards your efforts. It's just that here on DT it's the Mrs who loves his keyboard reviews.

My fault for saying he is the ONLY one doing it

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seebart · 13 Nov 2016, 11:24

Elrick wrote:
seebart wrote: Really? I wonder what the rest of us are doing...pushing daisies?!? GTFOH...
Sorry Seebart, didn't mean to sound so ignorant towards your efforts. It's just that here on DT it's the Mrs who loves his keyboard reviews.

My fault for saying he is the ONLY one doing it .

No worries man, you wouldn't want to diss everyone else doing reviews, not like me or Chyros are the only ones around here.

In fact this fella makes all of us look like noob idiots...

Spoiler:

E3E · 13 Nov 2016, 16:56

Yeah, Haata is pretty crazy, in a good way.

But yeah, general statements are kinda lame.

Hypersphere · 13 Nov 2016, 17:54

@Chyros: Splendid review, as always!

If only the NG Omni 102 Gold Label had an ANSI layout! It would then be virtually perfect (for me).

Did I hear you say "Microsoft WordPerfect"? If so, this was just a slip. I'm sure you know that WordPerfect was originally its own company. Later it was bought by Novell and later still by Corel. WP has always been in competition with MS Word, which for good or ill has achieved dominance.

teebor · 13 Nov 2016, 20:54

Gorgeous board, great review.

ulises3.14 · 13 Nov 2016, 22:46

Nice review, but there is something that I don't understand: why are the function keys marked atop but the actual keys are on the side?

Chyros · 14 Nov 2016, 04:05

ulises3.14 wrote: Nice review, but there is something that I don't understand: why are the function keys marked atop but the actual keys are on the side?

The function keys on the left is no doubt a nod to the old AT and XT layouts, which a lot of typists liked almost religiously. The strip couldn't really fit anywhere else. If they had been daft enough to stick it between the alpha block and the F keys, the board, which is already quite long, would've just been stupidly elongated xD .

alh84001 · 14 Nov 2016, 04:15

I think much can be said about Omnikeys, but, strictly visually speaking, I don't think Elegance by Design is one of them

One of the nicest thing on this nice board are the rubber feet. They seem blindingly white. And my 101s have clips on both feet as well, but one of them seems unusable. It was probably cheaper for them to have just one mold.

BTW, if you don't have need for those spare Ctrl/CapsLock keys, pm me