The Tandem 6526 Has Landed in Canada

Harshmallow · 10 Mar 2017, 20:05

//gainsborough wrote: So I finally got around to making a quick vid. of SKCM brown alps on my IBM 5140 to compare with your SKCL brown alps.

I think the acoustics of case vs. no case make it really hard to definitively say what the difference between the sounds are - but to me they sound more clacky than thocky, if that makes sense. The have a kind of *sshhhiiick* sound when you press the keys, and they spring back incredibly fast. They may actually be my favorite alps switch so far (still haven't tried them all yet). It's very satisfying.

I don't mean to hijack your thread, Harsh - I just thought this would be the most relevant place to put the vid!

No worries! I don't care about that stuff. Nice video and thanks for an actual typing demo of these switches. I've seen the mimizu vid a few times but always wished he had an actual typing demo. I love the sound of these - they sound like a great, mechanical alternative to Topre for me. I have yet to try a good tactile Alps switch like orange or brown. I also wish I had some bigger windows in my basement apt. - all my damn rooms are so yellowish from the lighting. Maybe I'll just get some LED bulbs to cool down the tones.

Daniel Beardsmore · 10 Mar 2017, 23:01

KIPS logo → [wiki]File:Brand_logos--KIPS.svg[/wiki]

No matches — whoever they were, they aren't any more.

//gainsborough · 11 Mar 2017, 06:54

Harshmallow wrote: I also wish I had some bigger windows in my basement apt. - all my damn rooms are so yellowish from the lighting. Maybe I'll just get some LED bulbs to cool down the tones.

It's part of the charm of your videos =)

Harshmallow · 11 Mar 2017, 19:41

Daniel Beardsmore wrote: KIPS logo → [wiki]File:Brand_logos--KIPS.svg[/wiki]

No matches — whoever they were, they aren't any more.

Thanks Daniel, looks great converted. For now, I'm going to assume it's the Korea Information Processing Society and is a standards/QA mark like the RU that shows up on most of our boards' labels.

Side note - I just performed the landing pad mod and lubed all the slider rails + stabs on my CM Novatouch and it is...holy shit is is ever smooth. Nothing else I have compares to this anymore. It's so much more refined without that trademark novatouch rattle on the upstroke. Topre people often knock this keyboard or say it doesn't even compare to the better boards like the HHKB, Leopolds or from Topre themselves - but in its current state, with the thick Leopold PBT key caps I have on it, I would strongly disagree! There are tons of typing tests for this mod, but I might upload one with photos anyway at some point.

Daniel Beardsmore · 11 Mar 2017, 21:31

Keyboards don't process information. The biggest concern seems to be with flammability, which is a wholly different concern entirely. KIPS may be the PCB manufacturer, just as how Datacomp PCBs are all branded Sung Wei, who were Datacomp's PCB supplier.

At least now I know why Alps and Hi-Tek boards are marked "PWB": it appears to stands for "printed wiring board", a term I'd never encountered before, but seems to still be around.

Harshmallow · 12 Mar 2017, 01:47

Daniel Beardsmore wrote: Keyboards don't process information. The biggest concern seems to be with flammability, which is a wholly different concern entirely. KIPS may be the PCB manufacturer, just as how Datacomp PCBs are all branded Sung Wei, who were Datacomp's PCB supplier.

At least now I know why Alps and Hi-Tek boards are marked "PWB": it appears to stands for "printed wiring board", a term I'd never encountered before, but seems to still be around.

No, of course they dont. Anyway, the 'About' section of the society at the bottom of their website indicates that that version of KIPS was formed in 1993...so I was definitely incorrect.