Cherry G80-2100HPU

[himynameisbunny]

Hey guys, new to the club. Had a BlackWidow Ultimate for 3 months now, love it. I am using my mates' Model M at work at the moment, and while I do like it, it's just too loud and I miss the features.

So, this board looks like what I'm looking for - the programmable keys would help a lot with the array of programs that I need to work my way around on a daily basis.

That, and I think it's got potential - think MX Blue stems and black doubleshot keycaps.

I can buy them on Taobao but thought I'd try here first.

Just keep in mind I'm in Australia, so you would have to be prepared to ship here.

Cheers.

[Reaif]

Honestly, the only cheap way to get that many switches for cheap is to gut another keyboard. Otherwise, you end up paying a pretty penny for that many. Approx. 71 cents each for 124 switches is a lot. Might as well save yourself the trouble and buy a keyboard that comes with blues.

[himynameisbunny]

Yeah I thought as much. Found somewhere that sold the switches after I posted this :sad:

First post edited to reflect that I'm in Australia.

[Hak Foo]

Have you considered a G80-8200 instead and doing a switch swap?  Maybe get like a Scorpius M10 just to gut for switches, and leave some part of the keypad as they come (to avoid having to purchase another board for extra switches)

[himynameisbunny]

To be honest I don't particularly like the look of the 8200. It has the features I want, but not the look. One look at this would probably explain why...

Show Image

I don't mind paying extra for the look: the G80-8100 that looks NIB is 980.00CNY = 144.832AUD while the cheapest of the clean G80-2100s are 1,350.00CNY = 199.469AUD - it's a bit extra, sure, but IMO it looks a lot better.

In terms of gutting a board, there wouldn't be anything wrong with scrapping an old board from the classifieds here would there? I am particularly looking at the Cherry G80-1000LFADEs here because they're cheep cheep:

Cherry G80-1000 LFADE
8x Cherry G80-1000 LFADE 25€ + shipping each (20€ each if you buy 2 or more)
Blue switches, lasered keys, AT plug.

Thanks for the help :biggrin:

[Hak Foo]

I'd say the big risk of cutting up used boards is wear consistency. You put the old board's PrintScreen switch into E, and then the old board's E into I, and then you're probably getting some incosnstent feel.

The 2100 is gorgeous, but I personally would favour something USB and which can be programmed in software (then loaded to the board) like the newer boards.

[Ascaii]

I think I need to work on my hypnotizing voice... *buy them, you want to, you know it, buy them....*

If all you need is the switches, its possible to go even cheaper. I sent a pcb+keys to Canada recently, shipping was only 7-8 €.
I also have a few g80-3000 boards for the same price that would work for switch donors.

To be honest I don't particularly like the look of the 8200. It has the features I want, but not the look. One look at this would probably explain why...



I don't mind paying extra for the look: the G80-8100 that looks NIB is 980.00CNY = 144.832AUD while the cheapest of the clean G80-2100s are 1,350.00CNY = 199.469AUD - it's a bit extra, sure, but IMO it looks a lot better.

In terms of gutting a board, there wouldn't be anything wrong with scrapping an old board from the classifieds here would there? I am particularly looking at the Cherry G80-1000LFADEs here because they're cheep cheep:



Thanks for the help :biggrin:

[himynameisbunny]

I also have a few g80-3000 boards for the same price that would work for switch donors.

So that's these ones?

Cherry G80-3000 Blue:
I have several of these as well, selling them as is for 30€ each+ shipping. Will do my best to test every board before shipping. Have two donor boards, which will sell LAST. Donors will be cheaper of course.

How much each, and do you know roughly how old they are? Might take you up on the offer if I end up getting the board.

I'd say the big risk of cutting up used boards is wear consistency. You put the old board's PrintScreen switch into E, and then the old board's E into I, and then you're probably getting some incosnstent feel.

Does it really make that much of a difference, provided I get a board thats' been looked after and I use the keys in the same area they were in in the first place? What's GeekHacks' opinion as to how long Cherry keys take to start showing age?

The 2100 is gorgeous, but I personally would favour something USB and which can be programmed in software (then loaded to the board) like the newer boards.

Agreed, I'd rather USB too. However, I don't mind doing all the programming of the keys through DOS - as long as I can figure out exactly what I want to do, print out a command list, and program them I can imagine it would be a one-time affair. The worry is, how long will PS/2 be around for?

[mass]

Nice to see my own keyboard here.
Guess my 2100 photo is circulating...

FYI Here is the latest update.




BTW it is USB + PS/2

[woody]

Beauty.

[himynameisbunny]

Nice to see my own keyboard here.
Guess my 2100 photo is circulating...

FYI Here is the latest update.

Me gusta, me gusta :faint: Couple of questions:

1) What is the exact model number of yours, considering it's tenkeyless?
2) Did it come with USB and PS/2 or is that your own doing?
3) That Cherry logo...it looks black in the pic that Ripster posted. How did you get one that wasn't silver + red?

Epic looking keyboard man, respect :biggrin:

[Mr. Perfect]

That 122key Cherry is impressive. I'll have to look it up. Where did you get those clear caps, Signature Plastics?

[kbdfr]

Agreed, I'd rather USB too. However, I don't mind doing all the programming of the keys through DOS - as long as I can figure out exactly what I want to do, print out a command list, and program them I can imagine it would be a one-time affair. The worry is, how long will PS/2 be around for?

The G80-2100 has a large 5-pin DIN connector. It works fine with a DIN to PS/2 converter and even with a DIN to PS/2 converter plus PS/2 to USB converter. Programming is not affected when made on the fly, as the keyboard just registers the keystrokes and stores them in an intern memory, and after programming sends them to the computer when you press the programmed key.
However, there is only one way to retrieve your programming or to programm the keyboard using software: having the keyboard connected directly to a computer with a 5-pin DIN socket and running the dedicated Cherry software, which means having an OS not later than Windows 95.
I use a G80-2100 on a daily basis, and reprogramming a key for a single task which is going to be repetitive on a given job can even be fun :-)

[himynameisbunny]

Mass, looking at your photo, your keyboard has an ANSI layout instead of the BIGass Enter key layout on the one I'm looking at:



I'm assuming you modified it to be this way?

If you could tell us whether or not you had any issues getting keys to fit it would be great: I'm currently looking at a set of engraved keys for it that are meant for a Filco/Ducky/DAS - I'm assuming I'll need a new spacebar and to find some windowed keys for the Cherry etc?

However, there is only one way to retrieve your programming or to program the keyboard using software: having the keyboard connected directly to a computer with a 5-pin DIN socket and running the dedicated Cherry software, which means having an OS not later than Windows 95.

So the only way to program it is through the DIN socket natively? But in the pic for the auction of this G80 it's only a PS/2 connection:



Also, for further confusion, this model has a 3 letter model code, but it is now known what P is:

Three-letter (old models)
Up to early 1996, it consisted of 3 letters:

XYZ

X: Type of keycap lettering.

   H(igh-quality?) = two-shot injection molded (beige/grey keys)
    S(tandard) = dye sublimation (white/grey keys)
    L(asered)

Y: Variant, including switch type (G80) and cable.

    A: Indicates MX black switches (linear), or browns (tactile reduced force) on ErgoPlus (G80-5xxx) boards (G81: ?)
    E: Indicates MX clear switches (tactile)
    F: Indicates MX blue switches (clicky + tactile)
    B: ? - MX black switches (linear) (G81: ?)
    C: ? - MX black switches (linear)
    D: ? (G81)
    G: MX black switches (linear), cable with reduced length of coiled section
    P: Where is P?

Z: Keyboard layout.
D = German, F = French, U = US, B = Belgian, C = Swiss, V = Russian, ...

Reckon it would work if I tried to run the software through DOSBox or something?

[kbdfr]

So the only way to program it is through the DIN socket natively? But in the pic for the auction of this G80 it's only a PS/2 connection:

Show Image

Reckon it would work if I tried to run the software through DOSBox or something?

Never heard of a G80-2100 with a PS/2 connection before - but well, why not? And sorry, I just don't know about DOSBox, my programming software is located somewhere around between my ears ,-)

By the way, for still another Enter key layout, have a look at the pics there (some other keys are not original, though):
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=14560

[himynameisbunny]

This leads me to believe that there's probably another switch under that Enter key :nod: would it be hard to convert to ANSI?

[sixty]

Actually mass wrote a brilliant guide on how to convert ISO to ANSI over here:

http://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=155

Check it out!

[himynameisbunny]

Guess I better start looking for a blank ISO enter key then :Cry:

[mass]

Me gusta, me gusta :faint: Couple of questions:

1) What is the exact model number of yours, considering it's tenkeyless?
2) Did it come with USB and PS/2 or is that your own doing?
3) That Cherry logo...it looks black in the pic that Ripster posted. How did you get one that wasn't silver + red?

Epic looking keyboard man, respect :biggrin:

Sorry for the delay, I don't come here often.

Anyway, my 2100 has been modified to tenkeyless by cutting and resoldering the PCB.
AS sixty said, ISO-ANSI modification can be seen through the link he's provided.
I've also moded the cable so I could switch between PS2-USB by adding a switch underneath. +  some wirings.
That Cherry logo is a metal-sticker ordered by one of the Korean member at OTD. Also is the clear cap, not sure whether it's from SP though.

[himynameisbunny]

That Cherry logo is a metal-sticker ordered by one of the Korean member at OTD. Also is the clear cap, not sure whether it's from SP though.

 
The rest of that post sounds a bit too hard for me, but this interests me. Would you be able to point me in the direction of the OTD member? Can he speak English also?

The clear cap looks nearly exactly the same as the SP ones I have seen so I wouldn't be surprised...