G84-4700

[TheSoulhunter]

- Got a Cherry G84-4700 keypad
- Got some more relegendable keycaps
- Removed the pictograms from the 3 2x1 keycaps with fine sandpaper (800)
- Spray-painted the 2x1 keycaps with silk-matt clear varnish (acually 3 layers)
- Made high resolution pictograms for functions I often use (ie. un-do and re-do)

In case you are interested in the images for the pictogram prints -> Click here!

Hope you like it,
Have fun!

[Manyak]

Wow, that came out nice.  The last sandpapered keycap I saw looked real funky yet these look perfect.  Must be that varnish trick.  What kind/brand of varnish you use?  Spraycan I assume?

It looks like you'll be using it for general purpose tasks but would be perfect as well for Photoshop, CAD/CAM or others.

I once tried FPS gaming on my Kinesis keypad but it didn't work for me.  Keys sure felt better than my Nostromo N52 though.

- Ripster



- Ripster

Ugh, I ordered an N52 off of newegg last year and returned it the next day. That thing was horrible.

This, on the other hand, is nice Did you program the pad itself or are you just using AutoHotkey?

[Manyak]

LOL I was asking TheSoulHunter

[lowpoly]

Lookin' good.

[TheSoulhunter]

Wow, that came out nice.  The last sandpapered keycap I saw looked real funky yet these look perfect.  Must be that varnish trick...

Yeah, the sandpaper job has to be even, fine, and not too deep (maybe something like sanding via airbrush pistol would be even better).
And the silk-matte varnish was to bring back the "textured" surface this caps usually have!

What kind/brand of varnish you use?  Spraycan I assume?

Good question! It was a spraycan from the local DIY store, it was acryl based what I remember, and it was meant to be super resistant (following the info on the can).
I used the can up and threw it away 2 weeks ago or so, cant remember the name/brand.


Regarding the paintjob:

1. After grinding I cleaned the caps in warm soap water to remove dust and grease
2. I build a small "paint box" (cardboard box + plastic bags) so no dust can get on the varnish while drying
3. After the first layer fully dried I grind it again with even finer sandpaper to remove the last unevenness
4. Finally I added two thin layers (the second after the first fully dried, ~24h later)

It looks like you'll be using it for general purpose tasks but would be perfect as well for Photoshop, CAD/CAM or others.

Well, I use it for:

- Photoshop (undo, redo, copy, paste, zoom...)
- Firefox (reload, close tab, prev, next, zoom...)
- Windows (volume, calculator, notepad, copy paste...)
- Video editing (prev/next keyframe, copy, paste, cut, undo, redo...)

So yes, to put it simple: General purpose tasks

This, on the other hand, is nice Did you program the pad itself or are you just using AutoHotkey?

I used the Cherry software to program it... Works well!

[itlnstln]

I really like the finish on the blank keys.  I wish the Costar-based 'boards had that finish; I think it might be more durable than what they are using now.

[itlnstln]

itlnstln, hey, if I remember right - you're the "finish" guru. Are the Costar (Das, Filco) keys spray textured somehow? I think you mentioned that once and I didn't quite understand that. You mean the whole key is coated or are you just talking about the lettering.
 
- Ripster

It seems like the whole key is sprayed/dipped in some sort of textured clearcoat.  I can't really tell if the lettering is under or over the coat, but I would guess that they are under the coating since, I haven't worn off any letters despite wearing off the coating.  It looks great, but it is not very durable.  I much prefer it when the plastic used to mold the key is textured.  The G80-3000 uses a very fine texture on in the plastic that would look OK on a Filco.  The plastic used to make the keys on the G80 is different, though, and it can be kinda slick.  Lowpoly (I think) described it best when he said that the keys on the G80 almost feel like Teflon (they almost feel like surface of a Teflon pan).
 
If the texture is as fine as the mod above, I wouldn't mind checking out some keys coated in truck bed liner.

[TheSoulhunter]

I can confirm that the Filco keycaps have some sort of coating the Costar "default" boards don't have... Either costar adds this coating especially for Filco (don't think so) or Filco adds the coating on their own (more likely). I doubt my coating will be much more durable than the one Filco uses. But lets see, I`ll post back in some months or so!


Something like the TDKs Durabis coating would be cool. They developed it for BluRay discs because scratches that do nothing to a DVD can render a BR unreadable... Here are some links: 1, 2, 3

[itlnstln]

I think Costar adds this coating since the Das keyboards and the ABS M1 also have the same coating.  It might be one of the options companies can pick from when they spec for Costar.

[Hak Foo]

Can it tell the difference between two keyboards?

I think I have a small numpad somewhere.  I'd like to reassign it without confusing the real numpad.

[Rajagra]

Unless your keypad came with special software I don't think the standard keymapping programs can distinguish different keyboards.

Easy trick though.  Leave one in NumLock mode and the other not.  Then map keys using AutoHotkey - it can distinguish keys in either mode.  From there you can remap away.

- Ripster

The Cherry 4700 does come with software that treats it differently to other numpads.

[Rajagra]

Just to make sure I understand that right - the Cherry software can tell the difference between KP8 for example on the main keyboard and KP8 on the keypad?  In other words one doesn't have to be KP8 and the other KPUpArrow?

Also, does it feel like a G84 keyboard, just a little flatter (horizontal) to the desk?

- Ripster

When a key has no macro assigned it acts the same as any other numpad.
But once you assign a macro it acts completely independently.
For example right now when I hit the 4700's number keys I get the words:
One Two Three
etc. appearing (haha I'm easily amused.) NumLock doesn't affect this. The number pad on the main keyboard acts normally at all times.

Also I saw on their website that there are special key combinations that change the keyboard mode*, e.g. you can force the 4700 to always send numbers, no matter what the NumLock status is (handy for laptops.) I don't know if the software is needed to do that.

The key feel is identical to the G84-4100.

The pad is sloped slightly:


EDIT> (*) From: http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/keyboards/FAQs/index.htm#_What_languages_does

The keypads will operate with a notebook computer without affecting the Num Lock on the Notebook in mode 2. You can put the keypad in mode 2 by:

Using the keypad:
Hold down the "NumLock" and "2" keys and press "Enter".

[hoggy]

Looks fantastic.  Does anyone know where I can get those keycaps in the uk?