[eBay BIN] Cherry G84-4100 USB $16+FS

[cchan]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/380553840843?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

I'm in need of another 4100 for my desk, so I just bought one the other day and I'm waiting for it to arrive. I haven't seen new USB Cherry boards with mechanical switches go for this cheap, ever.

[Dianoda]

Crazy.  Ordered, ML's sound like they'd be fun to try, and I don't have any super compact keyboards yet (it's just me and my WASD).  Also, are these dye-subs?  Edit - L4yercake's post below is correct - not dyesubs - these are either pad print or lasered.

[L4yercake]

I believe its laser printed, Cherry has a list of them on their website saying they were either "tampoprinted" or "laser printed"

What type of switches do these have? Not that it matters for $16 but I'm curious what to expect.

[Dianoda]

ML switches - cherry's lower profile mechanical switch.

http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/switches/key/ml.htm

http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/keyboards/Industrial/4100/index.htm

[PointyFox]

Thanks, ordered one.  These keycaps are laser engraved. I've heard people complain about how MLs feel, but I've also heard them complain about rubber dome, and I like some of those.

[bazemk1979]

for some reason I have seen cherry boards in banks, post offices used and beat up, but the Lasered keycaps, whether they are lasered and then filled or just lasered.... The legends are still intact!!!!

How come Cherry's lasered keycaps legends just dont seem to wear off???

[kaiserreich]

Can anyone help to proxy this?

[Tarzan]

Thanks for the tip!  Ordered one, great deal with free shipping!

[cchan]

Mine arrived today! It seems to have printed legends, not lasered. It's the off-white one on the bottom; the grey one on top is the PS/2 ML4100 I already had.

[SmallFry]

Dye subs or pad printed?

[histevenhere]

Can someone clarify on "Printed legends"? Is that like the sticker prints on laptop keyboard keys?

[dorkvader]

for some reason I have seen cherry boards in banks, post offices used and beat up, but the Lasered keycaps, whether they are lasered and then filled or just lasered.... The legends are still intact!!!!

How come Cherry's lasered keycaps legends just dont seem to wear off???

Lasered PBT is very wear resistant.

Can someone clarify on "Printed legends"? Is that like the sticker prints on laptop keyboard keys?

That means "pad printed".

My G84-410* has very excellent PBT keycaps. These are nice 'boards for short-travel. I use mine for when I'm away from home.

[zoolzoo]

Awesome find, thanks. Ive always been eyeing this board...just ordered it. Are ML's tactile at all?

[uzoc]

According to specs no tactility and as light or lighter than reds...
My opinion: no tactility (they feel like reds Or lighter?)...

[dorkvader]

Awesome find, thanks. Ive always been eyeing this board...just ordered it. Are ML's tactile at all?

ML's are weird. They're somewhat hard to classify. I don't know about the specifications, but they certainly are tactile (not clicky). I'd say they're more tactile than browns, but not as much as ergo clears. The tactile bump feels more "rounded" than "sharp" to me. I can't really estimate the weight, but they don't feel that heavy. (Keep in mind that I type on greens and IBM all day, but for some reason the model F feels lighter to me than a model M. I feel tactility well, but certainly not weight)

I keep my G84 around to use on my extra computer, 'cause it's small and fits behind it out of the way.

There is at least on member here who likes them. I'll let persons more experienced with ML's comment.

The main reason I don't like it much is that the KB is only 2KRO, and it has some truly awful combinations that are blocked. It's not fullsize enough to use as my main (dvorak, though the profile is flat, so it'll get converted to a real layout eventually) and it can't be used for gaming.

[MarkPharaoh]

2KRO is annoying, but you can't beat the price if for nothing else than to simply try the switches.

[PointyFox]

I got mine in. 

2KRO
ABS keycaps
Model G84-4100PCAUS-0 /04
Nice pad printing on keycaps

The switches feel a lot like rubber domes with an extra long rubber resistance travel distance at the end.

Force vs. distance


Basically you push it, it doesn't move much, you press harder and it pops down about 1/3 of the way, then it gets harder to push passed there.  Like a rubber dome with more resistance at the end.

Also there's a lot more resistance when pressing the edges of keys than their centers, like a bad rubber dome.

[Mugen]

I just got mine, i really like it. the keys feel really nice, doesnt feel like rubber dome to me.

[noons]

I have been tempted to pick one up these up.. *sigh* now might be the time...

[dorkvader]

I have been tempted to pick one up these up.. *sigh* now might be the time...

I'm not sure about "now". I got mine for less (I think), and these show up on eBay rather often for cheap. It's a great low-travel keyboard, so you should get one, especially if you want a collection. Even for "normal use" it's pretty good. I'm thinking of modding my spare laptop (Fujitsu convertible tablet) to having ML's.

[noons]

I have been tempted to pick one up these up.. *sigh* now might be the time...

I'm not sure about "now". I got mine for less (I think), and these show up on eBay rather often for cheap. It's a great low-travel keyboard, so you should get one, especially if you want a collection. Even for "normal use" it's pretty good. I'm thinking of modding my spare laptop (Fujitsu convertible tablet) to having ML's.

Yea I will keep an eye out. I help out family and friends with their desktops and it would be nice to have a small sized keyboard such as this for working on them.

[herbyscrub]

I just got mine today.  It does sort of remind me of rubber dome as well.  But it's so tiny and I'm able to drop it on top of my Dell 14z which is way worse than any keyboard ever made.

What's a good way to swap some keys around in Windows?  The LEFT ALT and ~ keys are killing me.

[dorkvader]

You should be able to move all keys that send scancodes (so all except function) in windows using a program like autohotkey.

[mananddjinn]

Bought one a few days, curious how those MLs feel. Can't beat the price, too. But, jesus christ, I hate fedex smartpost. It's taking a week for it to arrive from 7 hours away.

[zoolzoo]

Finally got to type on mine today. The ML is more like a mini brown switch to me, rather than a rubber dome as some are saying. This is a pretty good board especially for $16, I think I will use it at work.

[Mugen]

Finally got to type on mine today. The ML is more like a mini brown switch to me, rather than a rubber dome as some are saying. This is a pretty good board especially for $16, I think I will use it at work.

Yeah, i use it on top of my laptop keyboard, super fun.

[mananddjinn]

Finally got to type on mine today. The ML is more like a mini brown switch to me, rather than a rubber dome as some are saying. This is a pretty good board especially for $16, I think I will use it at work.

Definitely, I don't really think it feels like a rubber dome board at all. I mean, it's no MX, but I really enjoy the feel of it, especially for the price.