Micro Switch, Licon/Cortron, Omron, TESLA and Alps mounts
This page is about Micro Switch, Licon/Cortron, Omron, TESLA and Alps keycaps; for other mounts see keycap mounts.
Contents
Overview
Micro Switch SW Series was introduced in 1968, and was the first Hall effect keyboard switch. The SW/SN mount was also used for SD Series. This mount was copied by Licon, Omron and TESLA.
In the diagram above, the dimensions in black are nominal and were taken from the 101SN Series charts. The dimensions in grey were measured and are only approximate.
Mounts
Micro Switch
Micro Switch mount is shared by SW, SN and SD Series. Note that some SD Series switches (SD16 and SD18 Series) use Honeywell mount CT-series keycaps, and are thus incompatible with SW and SN Series and the remainder of SD Series.
| Switch | Compatible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alps SCB | No | Not personally tested |
| TESLA Hall effect | No | The keystem cross section is too large and Micro Switch keycaps do not fit |
| Omron B2H-F7W | Yes | Perfect fit |
| Omron B2R |
Omron
Omron mount is shared by B2C, B2H and B2R Series, as well as at least part of B3G Series (the catalogue page for B3G seems to show two separate mounts).
| Switch | Compatible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Switch SW Series | Maybe | Omron keycaps fit extremely tightly and may split |
| Micro Switch SD Series | ||
| TESLA Hall effect | No | The fit is too loose |
Licon, Cortron and ITW
At present, I have no Licon, Cortron or ITW switches or keycaps for testing (only some stabiliser dummy switches with a different mount). Old Licon/Cortron switches have a mount that is visibly identical to Micro Switch SW and SN Series; later types have mounts that appear to be compatible.
TESLA
TESLA mount is known from their SW Series–inspired Hall effect switches, the name of which is as-of-yet unknown. The keycap design is based on that of Micro Switch and the keycap mount is the same, but TESLA and Micro Switch keycaps and switches are not interchangeable.
TESLA switch have a tall plunger with the return spring visible within it from the outside. The keycaps have the internal slot fairly high up, which means that while they will attach to a Micro Switch or Omron keystem, they sit so low on the switch that it cannot be depressed.
The distance indicated with the arrow above is impossible to measure, but it is over 6 mm, and this is simply too large a gap to accommodate the plungers of other brands.
| Switch | Compatible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Switch SW Series | No | Switch plunger too short to reach inside keycap |
| Micro Switch SD Series | ||
| Omron B2H-F7W | ||
| Omron B2R |
Alps
A similar mount is used on Alps SCB1A163.
| Switch | Compatible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Switch solid state | Yes | Not personally tested |
Digitran
Digitran KM keyboards appear to also be Micro Switch mount, but this has yet to be verified by anyone with a Digitran keyboard.