|
Apple
Adjustable Keyboard
Model Number:
M1242
FCC ID ; BCGM1242
ALPS Low Profile Clicky switch.
Introduced to the market in 1993
Mine was modified with oily grease
around stems and click leaf to dampen clicking sound.
Not sure if this is stock condition or mod by ex-owner.
|
You can find many pages introducing Apple Adjustable keyboard.
Please refer following pages for detailed review..
Wikipedia
TidBIT
Keyboard
Maniacs_annother side ( Unfortunately great review is no more
available )
Apple
keyboard collection S.D's
Macintosh site
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Please note that metal
springs are used to lock
legs in up-right position. |
I don't have any Mac system and do
not know
how to use these tact
switches..
|
|
|
|
ALPS Low Profile Switch
Switches used in this board is described as SKFS/clicky in ALPS catalog
'94 edition.
But all switches on mine don't click at all but they give firm tactile feedbacks.
In
famous MouseFan page, the author says his adjustable
has clicky
sound.
By what reason, mine had
been lubricated with oily grease all around stems, inside
switching assemblies including click( tactile )
leaves. Because I didn't know if mine had been
initially lubricated by factory or ex-owner had done it, I didn't
want to make this Adjustable page for long. But it's not
that bad to examine ALPS Low Profile Switch.
U.S Patent 4935591 is very close to this switch. but Figs in
the patent paper are bit different from this switch.
You can see
patent 4935591
here
Here is mine.
|
 |
|
|
You may notice grease pasted around
stems. |
Close up
|
|
|
 |
|
not a little bit of grease, but a lot of
grease used around a stem, click leaf, coiled spring and inner
walls of upper housing.
You can use a hand made tool for Cherry MX for removing upper
housing of this Low Profile Switch.
|
| Inner construction and parts |
 |
A cupper belt seen in upper section is a built-in jumper.
Bellow the jumper, you can see a silver click leaf ( tactile leaf
in this case) |
 |
Viewing from opposite angle.
Switching assembly is similar with what can be seen in U.S
patent
4935591 as noted above.
|
 |
Some may feel this switching construction resembles those used
in Simplified-I.
But there are big differences between this one and
simplified-I.
1. Movable switching leaf with two arms is placed close to the
wall ( outer side ) and non-movable plate
is placed close to a
stem. They won't wobble.
2. Both leaf and plate are tightly held within slits in a lower
base assembly.
Switching plates in Simplified-I are just
loosely sit in a base assembly and they are held upright position in
separated rooms of upper housing. Separations are wide
enough for inserting switching plates.
|
 |
 |
This side meets a Click( tactile ) leaf.
|
This side faces to switching leaves. Two projections at both
side
push switching leave to keep open contacts while a stem is not
pressed. When a stems goes down, switching leaves close
contacts.
|
 |
 |
Click leaf.
The bumps at the both end make clicking sound.
I think upper portion of arms at both ends hit a jumper
too.
|
This side faces to a stem.
You can see two stabilizing bends in about 80 degrees at the
bottom den of the plate. |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Upper housing from top
|
Upper housing; inner view
|
Is this board clicky or
tactile ?
After removing oily grease from a stem, leaf spring, inner walls
around a jumper plate in the lower housing, this switch actually
generate slicking sound. But it's impossible to remove all
grease from inner assemblies. removing/assembling click leaf is
tad difficult compared to real-complicated Bigfoot class
ALPS. I don't want to do this cleaning for all
switches on this board. Apple used *tactile* switches for their mechanical keyboards
like M0115, M0116, GS-II and Extended II with rubber damper.
Exception was Extended II Mitsumi Linear version. In order to produce
this Adjustable Keyboard with complicated mechanism,
APPLE had to use low profile switch in order
to save total height of the keyboard. While in ALPS low profile line, ALPS had only two variations, one
was clicky ( model number SKFS ) and the other was linear (
model number SKFR )*1. For this board,
I think Apple choose clicky version and my greased board was a
stock model from their factory.
In EX-II line, squared S mark is a designation of
damped switches. My board has same mark as pictured above while this
board doesn't have ( though the author doesn't mention it his
board clicks or not ).
|
 |
|
Looks COOL! want a NIB one with palm
rests. |
|
By the way........ |
 |
 |
|
Don't you think this NEC switch looks like
ALPS Low Profile ? You can see this
switch here
|
*1; there is an another variation of ALPS low
profile linear switch. Older type can be seen in IBM Multistation
keyboard P/N 5962851 and Toshiba Laptop J3100GT ( sold as
T5200 in US&EMEA )
|
Edited and uploaded; Feb.23.2009
By Sandy. |
|
Apple
Adjustable Keyboard
Model
Number: M1242
FCC ID ; BCGM1242
ALPS Low Profile Clicky switch.
Introduced to the market in 1993
Mine was modified with oily grease
around stems and click leaf to dampen clicking
sound.
Not sure if this is stock condition or mod by ex-owner.
|
You can find many pages introducing Apple Adjustable
keyboard. Please refer following pages for detailed
review..
Wikipedia
TidBIT
Keyboard Maniacs_annother side (
Unfortunately great review is no more available )
Apple
keyboard collection S.D's
Macintosh site
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Please note that
metal springs are used to lock
legs in up-right position. |
I don't have
any Mac system and do not know
how to use these tact
switches.. |
|
|
|
ALPS Low Profile Switch
Switches used in this board is described as SKFS/clicky
in ALPS catalog '94 edition.
But all switches on mine don't click at all but
they give firm tactile feedbacks.
In
famous MouseFan page, the author says his
adjustable has clicky
sound.
By what reason, mine had been lubricated with oily
grease all around stems, inside switching assemblies
including click( tactile ) leaves. Because I
didn't know if mine had been initially lubricated by
factory or ex-owner had done it, I didn't want to
make this Adjustable page for long. But it's not
that bad to examine ALPS Low Profile Switch.
U.S Patent 4935591 is very close to this switch. but
Figs in the patent paper are bit different from this
switch. You can see
patent 4935591
here
Here is mine.
|
|
|
|
You may notice grease pasted
around stems. |
Close up |
|
|
|
|
not a little bit of grease, but a
lot of grease used around a stem, click leaf, coiled
spring and inner walls of upper housing.
You can use a hand made tool for Cherry MX for
removing upper housing of this Low Profile Switch.
|
| Inner
construction and parts |
|
A cupper belt seen in
upper section is a built-in jumper.
Bellow the jumper, you can see a silver click leaf (
tactile leaf
in this case) |
|
Viewing from opposite
angle.
Switching assembly is similar with what can be seen
in U.S patent
4935591 as noted above. |
|
Some may feel this switching
construction resembles those used in Simplified-I.
But there are big differences between this one and
simplified-I.
1. Movable switching leaf with two arms is placed close
to the
wall ( outer side ) and non-movable
plate is placed close to a
stem. They won't wobble.
2. Both leaf and plate are tightly held within slits in a
lower
base assembly.
Switching plates in Simplified-I are just loosely sit in a
base assembly and they are held upright position in
separated rooms of upper housing. Separations
are wide enough for inserting switching plates.
|
|
|
This side meets a Click( tactile ) leaf.
|
This side faces to switching leaves.
Two projections at both side
push switching leave to keep open contacts while a stem is
not pressed. When a stems goes down, switching
leaves close contacts.
|
|
|
Click leaf.
The bumps at the both end make clicking sound.
I think upper portion of arms at both ends hit a
jumper too.
|
This side faces to a stem.
You can see two stabilizing bends in about 80
degrees at the
bottom den of the plate. |
|
|
|
|
|
Upper housing from top
|
Upper housing; inner view
|
Is this board
clicky or tactile ?
After removing oily grease from a stem, leaf spring, inner
walls around a jumper plate in the lower housing, this
switch actually generate slicking sound. But it's
impossible to remove all grease from inner assemblies.
removing/assembling click leaf is tad difficult compared
to real-complicated Bigfoot class ALPS. I
don't want to do this cleaning for all switches on this
board.
Apple used *tactile* switches for their
mechanical keyboards like M0115, M0116, GS-II and Extended
II with rubber damper. Exception was Extended II Mitsumi
Linear version. In order to produce this
Adjustable Keyboard with complicated mechanism,
APPLE had to use low profile switch in order to save
total height of the keyboard. While in ALPS low
profile line, ALPS had only two variations, one was clicky
( model number SKFS ) and the other was linear (
model number SKFR )*1.
For this board, I think Apple choose clicky version
and my greased board was a stock model from their factory.
In EX-II line, squared S mark is a designation of
damped switches. My board has same mark as pictured above
while this
board doesn't have ( though the author doesn't mention
it his board clicks or not ).
|
|
|
Looks COOL! want a NIB one
with palm rests. |
|
By the way........ |
|
|
|
Don't you think this NEC switch
looks like ALPS Low Profile ? You can
see this switch here
|
*1; there is an another variation of
ALPS low profile linear switch. Older type can be seen in
IBM Multistation keyboard P/N 5962851 and Toshiba Laptop
J3100GT ( sold as T5200 in US&EMEA )
|
Edited and uploaded; Feb.23.2009
By Sandy. |
|
|
