G80-11900LUMEU-2 Ebay $19.99 161 available

[JPG]

From what I know, 2 main things limits the number of keys you can use simultaneously:

The protocol used to send the data to the computer (including the way the controller works)
The way the matrix is made and wired, mainly affected by the presence or absence of diodes.

If we focus only on the matrix (seems the problem with this keyboard), the absence of diodes will have big consequences for the controller to be able to know which keys are actuated. And depending on the matrix itself and how things are wired, it will decide how many keys can be pressed at the same time, and it will vary depending on the specific keys used.

When diodes are used, it prevent many problems so then it's mostly to the controller and the protocol used to be able to send the right information.

[IvanIvanovich]

They are 2KRO I am pretty sure. If you try W and X then K the K won't show up as pressed. The matrix is laid out in such a way that some 'important' groups of keys don't block each other like the keys around wasd. I had another G80 model, I think my 2551 that had this behavior.

[Glod]

They are 2KRO I am pretty sure. If you try W and X then K the K won't show up as pressed. The matrix is laid out in such a way that some 'important' groups of keys don't block each other like the keys around wasd. I had another G80 model, I think my 2551 that had this behavior.

i can press w and then x and then k and then another key just fine.

if what you are saying is that 2KRO would mean certain combinations on the board cannot exceed 2 key combinations but some combinations can be higher (like JPG explained), i haven't found one that would hurt me.

i mean this isnt my primary board, its no secret im a ergodox fanboy, but i am typing on the cherry right now and i am in love with the POM Caps/Black Switch/Plate-less combo. i want this exact feeling on my ergodox but the litster case is plate mounted grrrrr.

[komar007]

Shipping is crazy, $50.
Anybody in for a European group buy?
Shipping is only about $100 for 5 keyboards, and $160 for 10... + the seller supports "make offer".

[SpAmRaY]

Shipping is crazy, $50.
Anybody in for a European group buy?
Shipping is only about $100 for 5 keyboards, and $160 for 10... + the seller supports "make offer".

It's crazy but the cheapest USPS first class option is going to be around $30 for shipping ~3lbs, I can't remember what mine weighed but I'm thinking with a decent box it going to be close to 3lbs.

[dorkvader]

I mailed a 25-35 lb box to eastern europe for $95 or so. It was via Express mail and arrived in three days. this may have been before the price jump though

[Glod]

yeah i couldn't help myself from getting another. It is just so cheap.......

so im playing around with the keyboard more. the whole KRO thing. i guess the whole no-diode thing makes sense

sometimes it lets me do 4 or 6 keys in a row giving me the appearance of 4 or 6KRO, but if i keep trying doing odd key combinations, not every try is successful, some tries lead to just 2KRO. trying to do it really fast i notice not everything i hold down registers. but these tests i did represent really unrealistic usage of the keyboard. for typing i notice no problems, i haven't tried games yet.....

[IvanIvanovich]

Yeah that is what I mean, some combinations don't work for more than 2 keys. But mostly it isn't a problem on these. Too bad all the 2KRO G80 are not this way... but then it would have been better if they had added the $.50 in material costs for diodes in the first place. These you actually can get by gaming for the most part without blocking problems.

Another thing I noticed from your picture, it seems to have a different PCB revision than any of the 11900 I have had. All the ones I have had have spots for extra switches under esc, pause break and 2 between each of the f key and nav blocks. It also didn't have that controller daughterboard that way.

[morpheus]

All you need to do is use this and it will clean it up good.

[Pacifist]

All you need to do is use this and it will clean it up good.

I feel like that...thing will only work for half a board, considering how dirty they are

[do_Og@n]

I think it's worth it especially if you are in it just for modding the switches to something more your liking. I've been debating whether to buy the white or black one myself.

[dorkvader]

my three arrived yesterday, and I've cleaned the cases already and will start to clean the pcb's.

oddly, they have two slightly different labels, as well as different controllers and trackpads. I'm sorting them by date (Serial number) as well as the trackpad date of manufacture.

[Pacifist]

So do these have regular or vintage blacks? Also does the trackpad work well? And how much room is inside of the case? I'm thinking of putting a raspberry pi in this.

Also has anyone seen the board similar to this but with clears, browns, or blues?

[Glod]

These would not be vintage blacks, but they are still pretty smooth from being broken in.

You wont be able to fit a pi in there, the big space is occupied by a controller, see my earlier picture in this thread http://www.flickr.com/photos/panicfx/10061549983/

the trackpad works very well, no scroll wheel though.

I know there is a compaq branded version of this with a trackball that has brown switches. i think its only ps2 though. Deskthority has a huge G80 master list on their wiki explaining each version and what switches are in them. (plus we have resident cherry board experts like ivan)

[Neebio]

Welp, just dropped for three of these... needed to make the international shipping worth it...

The action for these (including the white version) is ending in 2 hours or so as of posting this.  I do get the feeling, however, that the guy will be re-auctioning these.

[boost]

Nice find!, going to order a few.

Thanks

[dorkvader]

I got three, two have synaptics trackpads, the other is cirque (alps). I also have two different controller revisions. all are very dirty and fun to clean up.

[epiphany]

Just got mine in the mail. Gave the outside a good cleaning to test typing on it and then I'll clean the insides later. This is my first MX board. I've been typing on an IBM model M, and this feels so different that I'm making a lot of typing errors. It feels so light though, which is funny to me given how everyone describes blacks as being stiff.

These do come pretty dirty. I wrote the seller asking whether the boards would be clean and the response was yes. In reality not so much. Still, considering, it's in pretty good shape. Does feel like some of the switches are more broken in than others though which is odd (the arrow keys, for instance, feel much stiffer and sound louder than the alphas - same with the numbers).

Anyone know if you can switch the case/keycaps with the 11800 to get brown switches and whether or not you could get the touchpad hooked up? That might be fun.

[dorkvader]

Just got mine in the mail. Gave the outside a good cleaning to test typing on it and then I'll clean the insides later. This is my first MX board. I've been typing on an IBM model M, and this feels so different that I'm making a lot of typing errors. It feels so light though, which is funny to me given how everyone describes blacks as being stiff.

These do come pretty dirty. I wrote the seller asking whether the boards would be clean and the response was yes. In reality not so much. Still, considering, it's in pretty good shape. Does feel like some of the switches are more broken in than others though which is odd (the arrow keys, for instance, feel much stiffer and sound louder than the alphas - same with the numbers).

Anyone know if you can switch the case/keycaps with the 11800 to get brown switches and whether or not you could get the touchpad hooked up? That might be fun.

welcome to geekhack!

Model M's are heavy (and awesome) so blacks are pretty light be comparison. Just imagine how reds feel! Too light for some.

I imagine linear switches would introduce a lot of errors in your typing at first. I had the same problem when I first tried cherry mx, and I had browns. I'd give it a few days and you should settle in.

Switching the switches over to browns is very easy on a pcb mounted keyboard like this. You can use a screwdriver or switch opening tool and just change the springs and stems.

You might want to check the switches that feel different, my three all felt the same, but there could be contamination inside the switch: these are dirty and very heavily used.

Hope this helps!

[epiphany]

Thanks for the welcome!

I think that the keys feel/sound different because there's more grime underneath the alphas. I'm going to pop all the caps off this evening and give it a good cleaning. I'll report back when I'm done with that. All of the keys feel relatively smooth, so I don't think that there's something inside the switches.

I had heard that blacks start to feel smoother over time (wear in of springs?) Do the switches pretty much stay the same regardless?

I haven't spent too long typing on the board yet, but I don't think that it will be too hard to make the switch from the model M (which was really too heavy for me). Still, I'm just trying this out right now and I think that I would like some feedback. Looking forward to trying clears/blues/browns.

[Neebio]

Got three of these in the mail yesterday, but I didn't have the chance to really look at them until now.  Obviously they're pretty grimy, but not really all that bad...

Out of the three I got, only one has real issues.  The bad board's caps lock, L-Shift, R-Shift, L-Ctrl, L-Win, R-Win, L-Alt keys are non-functional.  Cosmetically, the left click of the touchpad is worn down to smooth shiny plastic, but is still functional.  I'll be opening all of these up for a good deep cleaning, and I'll know then if the bad board can be fixed.  Worst case scenario, I've got a bunch of black switches and Cherry key caps!

(Obligatory "all this was typed on the new [functional] keyboard")

[edit]
Turns out one of the good keyboards is missing a foot... sigh.  Also, the bad board seems to be one revision behind the two good boards?
Bad board: S/N --- G80-11900LUMEU-2/04
Good Boards: S/N --- G80-11900LUMEU-2/05
[/edit]

[Pacifist]

So I'm thinking of buying one, but I don't think I can type on blacks. These are PCB mounted, right? So I can just pop off the switch cover, put in say blues or clears, and then put back the cover, thereby changing the board to a different switch but then having a bunch of black stems in the not original casing.

Also anyone in the USA want to split up a purchase? The cheapest shipping is priority mail, so if someone bundles up and sends the other board via first class, it would *hopefully* be cheaper

[Neebio]

So I'm thinking of buying one, but I don't think I can type on blacks. These are PCB mounted, right? So I can just pop off the switch cover, put in say blues or clears, and then put back the cover, thereby changing the board to a different switch but then having a bunch of black stems in the not original casing.

If you're going to replace the internals of the switches (eg remove spring and stem and replace with blue spring + stem) I would assume you would be left with a bunch of black stems/springs, and a bunch of empty switch housings from where you pulled the blue stems/springs out of.  So effectively you could just swap the internals of the switches in the keyboard with your new switches, and you'd be left with the board having the switch that you want, and a bunch of left-over (semi-frankenstein) black switches.

[Pacifist]

So I'm thinking of buying one, but I don't think I can type on blacks. These are PCB mounted, right? So I can just pop off the switch cover, put in say blues or clears, and then put back the cover, thereby changing the board to a different switch but then having a bunch of black stems in the not original casing.

If you're going to replace the internals of the switches (eg remove spring and stem and replace with blue spring + stem) I would assume you would be left with a bunch of black stems/springs, and a bunch of empty switch housings from where you pulled the blue stems/springs out of.  So effectively you could just swap the internals of the switches in the keyboard with your new switches, and you'd be left with the board having the switch that you want, and a bunch of left-over (semi-frankenstein) black switches.

But I can still use these frankenstein blacks on other boards too, right? Just want to make sure before I spend so much on shipping and whatnot

[dorkvader]

The easiest way would probably be to just buy lighter springs to make them into reds.

Basically: if you were to buy switches and swap stems / springs, you could use the switches on other keyboards. I have done exactly this on a number of occasions.

[Jrwestcoast]

So I'm thinking of buying one, but I don't think I can type on blacks. These are PCB mounted, right? So I can just pop off the switch cover, put in say blues or clears, and then put back the cover, thereby changing the board to a different switch but then having a bunch of black stems in the not original casing.

If you're going to replace the internals of the switches (eg remove spring and stem and replace with blue spring + stem) I would assume you would be left with a bunch of black stems/springs, and a bunch of empty switch housings from where you pulled the blue stems/springs out of.  So effectively you could just swap the internals of the switches in the keyboard with your new switches, and you'd be left with the board having the switch that you want, and a bunch of left-over (semi-frankenstein) black switches.

But I can still use these frankenstein blacks on other boards too, right? Just want to make sure before I spend so much on shipping and whatnot

Yes these are PCB mounted  and it's easy to open and removed them. The one I got was very dirty but everything worked after a good cleaning.

[Pacifist]

I have another question.

Does the trackpad work, and how good is it?

[berserkfan]

I can't answer for purchases from this particular seller, since I didn't buy from him, but I have a similar 8--11900 and can assure you that the touchpad is genuinely of high quality. Too bad I found the format not something I could get used to.

I have another question.

Does the trackpad work, and how good is it?

[fohat.digs]

I have another question.

Does the trackpad work, and how good is it?

My G80-11900 has the best touchpad I have ever used, anywhere, period.

[dorkvader]

I work on computers, mostly laptops, and have serviced hundreds of trackpads.

These are decent. Either cirque (alps) or synaptics, the CPI is too low for use on a large monitor, but they are otherwise great and track well.

Keep in mind on the heavily used ones, the plastic protector on the trackpad might be smooth.

[Neebio]

These appear to be 20% off for the next four days. (white version too)

[Pacifist]

These appear to be 20% off for the next four days. (white version too)

Agh, this or a model f

Also is it possible to attach a teensy to get NKRO?

[dorkvader]

These appear to be 20% off for the next four days. (white version too)

Agh, this or a model f

Also is it possible to attach a teensy to get NKRO?

In order to achieve NKRO with soarer's code, you have to have a PS2 (or XT, AT, etc.) protocol keyboard that has a matrix that supports NKRO (basically, it has to be capacitive or have diodes)

These keyboards have jumpers and 2KRO. You would need to replace the jumpers with diodes and then make a custom controller for this to be NKRO or 6KRO. They are also USB, so you can't use soarer's converter code and a teensy with them at all.

[Pacifist]

These appear to be 20% off for the next four days. (white version too)

Agh, this or a model f

Also is it possible to attach a teensy to get NKRO?

In order to achieve NKRO with soarer's code, you have to have a PS2 (or XT, AT, etc.) protocol keyboard that has a matrix that supports NKRO (basically, it has to be capacitive or have diodes)

These keyboards have jumpers and 2KRO. You would need to replace the jumpers with diodes and then make a custom controller for this to be NKRO or 6KRO. They are also USB, so you can't use soarer's converter code and a teensy with them at all.

Oh. Thanks anyways.

I haven't used a 2kro board before, how restricting are they for typing at around 90 WPM?
Also for gaming where I would press space, w, and one or two more keys?

[Neebio]

I checked a couple things when I got mine in, mostly just making sure they all worked.  But here are my observations.

These are a no-go for FPS/RTS games.  Probably also a no-go for MOBAs.  It gets a bit restrictive with things like hitting wasd, and other gamer-type key combinations.

For regular typing, I didn't notice any issues.  I wasn't up to full speed or anything on them just yet, but I do type pretty quick (max out around 106 WPM on a good day) and I didn't have any issues.

[dorkvader]

I haven't used a 2kro board before, how restricting are they for typing at around 90 WPM?
Also for gaming where I would press space, w, and one or two more keys?

With a very uncommon exceptions, all rubber dome boards are 2KRO. You have used one before, I am sure.

Key rollover doesn't affect typing much at all.

[do_Og@n]

2KRO usually doesn't include modifiers keys too.

They count only Alpha and Numeric keys.

[Nakapfao]

Cool deal. Might want to get one, not now though no money TT

[Pacifist]

I talked to the people selling the boards and they hinted at a mass buy discount.

So we could try to get them to give us a discount but ship them out to every person because these boards are pretty heavy.