Northgate OmniKey 101 review (Alps SKCM White)

[Chyros]

It's been a while since we looked at an Alps keyboard, let alone such a classic! It's also one of the more accessible Alps, even generally vintage, keyboards. Hope you enjoy the video!

[hellothere]

I beg to differ that OmniKeys are ugly.
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Spoiler:

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(For folks who just hit Chyros' video and see my post, the switches in the brown Alps OmniKey aren't original.)

I do agree that the Zeniths look great, though.

[zrrion]

I also wouldn't call them ugly, but they are a very boring keyboard. Good, but not exciting. They're built sturdy, but I can't exactly say they're built well since the build effects the sound in a negative way. They also use the most common sort of doubleshot alps cap that I'm aware of so sure they're nice but they aren't uniquely nice unless you're after ansi caps in particular which are bizarrely uncommon outside of pad print on Acer and Dell keyboards or PBT on apple ones (yeah I know apple isn't quite ansi but it's close enough) and anyway you should just give up and embrace the superior monterey layout.

[raoulduke-esq]

Cor! We were already in the stratosphere for these things…. A fresh review is gonna push them out into orbit. They may be “one of the most common” but they’re sure not priced like it.

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[hellothere]

Cor! We were already in the stratosphere for these things…. A fresh review is gonna push them out into orbit. They may be “one of the most common” but they’re sure not priced like it.

I should have partnered with Chyros to get the review out before I sold the four or five OmniKeys I had . I now have three or four that I'm going to fast track to capitalize on this review

FWIW, all the OmniKeys I've bought were in horrible shape when I bought them, with the exception of that OmniMac. There were two I bought from the same seller that had an inch or two of human hair wrapped around each keycap. I also had to do some serious rust repair to the switch mounting plate on both.

[TNT]

This made me think. Has anyone ever tried to put clicky Alps into a Zenith keyboard? Looks better than the Omnikey imo, but does it sound better? Maybe the Omnikey isn't the ultimate Alps chassis after all

[raoulduke-esq]

I should have partnered with Chyros to get the review out before I sold the four or five OmniKeys I had . I now have three or four that I'm going to fast track to capitalize on this review

FWIW, all the OmniKeys I've bought were in horrible shape when I bought them, with the exception of that OmniMac. There were two I bought from the same seller that had an inch or two of human hair wrapped around each keycap. I also had to do some serious rust repair to the switch mounting plate on both.

Damn! I should have sprung for one when they were a mere $200 for white and $500 for blue. Maybe someone will trade you an Unsaver for one of those 3-4 you have left

[Polecat]

This made me think. Has anyone ever tried to put clicky Alps into a Zenith keyboard? Looks better than the Omnikey imo, but does it sound better? Maybe the Omnikey isn't the ultimate Alps chassis after all

Keep in mind the Zeniths, at least the Z-150 models, have an electronic clicker already. I had one back in the day, and that feature made it usable for me. Quite pleasant actually.

[TNT]

This made me think. Has anyone ever tried to put clicky Alps into a Zenith keyboard? Looks better than the Omnikey imo, but does it sound better? Maybe the Omnikey isn't the ultimate Alps chassis after all

Keep in mind the Zeniths, at least the Z-150 models, have an electronic clicker already. I had one back in the day, and that feature made it usable for me. Quite pleasant actually.

Yeah I know. The Z-150 is one of the boards I use the most and I like the clicker a lot. Just wondering if blue Alps would sound better in an Omnikey compared to a ZKB-2, for example

[raoulduke-esq]

I ended up with whites in an AEK and something about the heavy plate and PCB combined with the thick and roomy case made it rather enjoyable! The salmons it came with were rusted through.

[hellothere]

This made me think. Has anyone ever tried to put clicky Alps into a Zenith keyboard? Looks better than the Omnikey imo, but does it sound better? Maybe the Omnikey isn't the ultimate Alps chassis after all

Keep in mind the Zeniths, at least the Z-150 models, have an electronic clicker already. I had one back in the day, and that feature made it usable for me. Quite pleasant actually.

Yeah I know. The Z-150 is one of the boards I use the most and I like the clicker a lot. Just wondering if blue Alps would sound better in an Omnikey compared to a ZKB-2, for example

Please note that I really need to get the pinout of a Z-150 AT from the keyboard side. I have a Z-150, but no keyboard cable.

I should do some measurements of the thickness of the plastic and metal on the Z-150 vs the OmniKey. I've finally got some digital calipers.

[TNT]

Keep in mind the Zeniths, at least the Z-150 models, have an electronic clicker already. I had one back in the day, and that feature made it usable for me. Quite pleasant actually.

Yeah I know. The Z-150 is one of the boards I use the most and I like the clicker a lot. Just wondering if blue Alps would sound better in an Omnikey compared to a ZKB-2, for example

Please note that I really need to get the pinout of a Z-150 AT from the keyboard side. I have a Z-150, but no keyboard cable.

I should do some measurements of the thickness of the plastic and metal on the Z-150 vs the OmniKey. I've finally got some digital calipers.

That sounds interesting. Sorry, I unfortunately have the XT version, otherwise I would have already wrote an answer in your thread