Datacomp switch
Datacomp switches are a family of Alps clone keyswitches produced by Datacomp. They are first known to have appeared in keyboards in 2018, but appear to have been in development several years prior and have been acknowledged on Datacomp's website since at least 2016.<ref name="dc-dfk191" /> They are said to be the result of overhauling the tooling for the Alps SKBL/SKBM series, which Datacomp acquired from Forward Electronics after it had worn out. <ref name="dt-background" /> This means that the housing has the two large tabs normally associated with genuine Alps switches, rather than typical four-tab clone switches. It has also been alleged that a mistake was made in the retool, resulting in the switches being incompatible with normal Alps mount keycaps.
Variants[edit | edit source]
Three variants are produced, according to Datacomp's website; a linear variant with a red slider, a "tactile" (probably actually clicky) variant with a blue slider and a "silent tactile" (tactile, non-clicky) variant with a brown slider.<ref name="dc-red" /><ref name="dc-blue" /><ref name="dc-brown" /> These colour choices appear to be designed to correspond to Cherry MX switches and should not be taken to indicate that these switches are intended to imitate existing Alps designs in these colours. All variants are listed as having a total travel of 3.5mm and a lifetime of 20 million cycles.
| Colour | Type | Actuation force |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Linear | 55 gf |
| Blue | Clicky | 60 gf |
| Brown | Tactile | 60 gf |
Keyboards[edit | edit source]
- Some KBP V60 keyboards<ref name="dt-kbp" /><ref name="mk-kbp" />
- Modern Datacomp DFK2020<ref name="dc-dfk2020" />
- Modern Datacomp DFK191<ref name="dc-dfk191" />
References[edit | edit source]
<references> <ref name="dt-background">Deskthority - New Datacomp Alps</ref> <ref name="dc-red">Datacomp - Product listing for the red Datacomp switch</ref> <ref name="dc-blue">Datacomp - Product listing for the blue Datacomp switch</ref> <ref name="dc-brown">Datacomp - Product listing for the brown Datacomp switch</ref> <ref name="dt-kbp">Deskthority - KBP V60 Datacomp Brown Alps</ref> <ref name="mk-kbp">MechanicalKeyboards.com - KBParadise V60 Vintage 60% Mechanical Keyboard (Datacomp switches, as well as Xiang Min KSB, erroneously listed as "ALPS")</ref> <ref name="dc-dfk2020">Datacomp - Product listing for the Datacomp DFK2020</ref> <ref name="dc-dfk191">Datacomp - Product listing for the Datacomp DFK191 - Archived 31 July 2016</ref> </references>
