Cherry MX8100

[Lain1911]

Under $50. 7 left. I'm tempted. 


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cherry-MX8100-Computer-Keyboard-G80-8100LRCUS-White-Switch-w-Touchpad-Used/251966078175?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3Dd25f29f796f4445b87f2401f87415116%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D221786819247&rt=nc

[user 18]

Put in an offer for $25, and had it accepted. Shipping to Canada brought it up above $50 though.

I think these are clears, not whites (whites should have the nub at the side that indicates a clicky switch, and these don't seem to). I guess we'll see when it shows up.

[digi]

Yea, they accepted offer of $24, $41.28 shipped, hope they're clears =) Thanks for posting!

[nubbinator]

I think these are clears, not whites (whites should have the nub at the side that indicates a clicky switch, and these don't seem to). I guess we'll see when it shows up.

They're either Browns or Clears historically.  If Browns, they should be nice and worn in Browns that actually feel good to type with though.

[user 18]

I think these are clears, not whites (whites should have the nub at the side that indicates a clicky switch, and these don't seem to). I guess we'll see when it shows up.

They're either Browns or Whites historically.  If Browns, they should be nice and worn in Browns that actually feel good to type with though.

Definitely not browns, as the seller provided a shot with a cap pulled. Either whites or clears from the colour. Googling shows that this model number has been seen before with clears as well. There's also a review on the seller's page indicating that theirs came with clears.

I'm also excited for the relegendables, so it was a good buy either way.

[nubbinator]

One pic of one board with a cap pulled does not mean they all have Browns.  The last time these came up, some people got Browns even though the pic was of Clears.

Like I said, it can be either or.  Hope for Clears, but you might get Browns.

[dorkvader]

I think these are clears, not whites (whites should have the nub at the side that indicates a clicky switch, and these don't seem to). I guess we'll see when it shows up.

They're either Browns or Clears historically.  If Browns, they should be nice and worn in Browns that actually feel good to type with though.

These are almost certainly clears, as with almost all the beige PS/2 ones.

Taking out the little diode can be annoying.

Switches are usually extremely dusty.

Iv'e gone through like 5-10 of these.

at $25 + $15 shipping (for me) it's not worth, IMO. Wait and you can often get better deals.

[digi]

oOoOoOo "vintage" clears confirmed! hah!

[nubbinator]

These are almost certainly clears, as with almost all the beige PS/2 ones.

Taking out the little diode can be annoying.

The one I got in the last go around was Browns :/  I think something like 20-30% of them were.  Still nice.  Just wanted to make sure no hopes were shattered.

And the diodes are a huge PITA.

[digi]

What is it about the diodes that are such a pain?

[nubbinator]

They can be a pain to desolder and get out of the switch housing.

[digi]

gotcha, thx

[Vanilla]

The seller is declining $25 offers now.

[Vanilla]

Anybody successful in getting an offer accepted today?

If so, how much?

[ghostjuggernaut]

The seller has another listing with brown's.  They said they have NIB and used boards available for the browns.

[Lain1911]

The seller has another listing with brown's.  They said they have NIB and used boards available for the browns.

They also have NIB for what they call "whites"

[ander]

These are awesome. I'd get one just for the outrageous aspect ratio.

Just offered $25 for one, but was turned down. Time to reopen negotiations with the head of finance (AKA "wife").

[digi]

These are awesome. I'd get one just for the outrageous aspect ratio.

Just offered $25 for one, but was turned down. Time to reopen negotiations with the head of finance (AKA "wife").

counter them with $26.75, hah!

[Vanilla]

These are awesome. I'd get one just for the outrageous aspect ratio.

Just offered $25 for one, but was turned down. Time to reopen negotiations with the head of finance (AKA "wife").

counter them with $26.75, hah!

I did $28 for my last offer, they have it set to auto decline. Probably for all offers under $30.

[user 18]

Mine came in today. MX Clears, all relegendable pieces intact. Caps are thin lasered PBT.

Trackpad works okay too, but I've been spoiled by multitouch pads in modern laptops. I was thrown for a second by the lack of two-finger scrolling.

Board is lighter than I expected it to be, probably because it lacks a plate. All in all, I'm definitely happy with it.

Relegendable caps are a bit harder to pull than the alphas for some reason. With their lids off, they feel a little different than the alphas as well. I think the legends are pad printed on those keys, but I'm not sure.

Most of the additional keys are not sending scancodes through the PS/2 connector. Not sure if that's changeable or not. Will probably end up using it for parts eventually.

[Blaise170]

This was one of my very first keyboards long ago. It's not bad to type on and it works a charm, but you have to use the software to use the relegendables and the card scanner. If you've never tried Clears, this is a good board to do it if you can snag it for under $40-50 but it does lack a plate so it will feel different than a plate-mount Clear.

[Lain1911]

I guess I should have jumped on board with user 18

[user 18]

eh, it's nice as a novelty, but I don't expect it to be any great shakes once the novelty wears off. If it wasn't full of parts I could use, I probably wouldn't have bought it. A board this size definitely would benefit from a plate.

[radish]

picked one up. and took it apart for scrap.

https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=69463.msg1775928#msg1775928

[digi]

This is actually a pretty fun board to type on. The "vintage" clears actually feel really good, was def worth it imo. Thanks again for sharing.

[radish]

This is actually a pretty fun board to type on. The "vintage" clears actually feel really good, was def worth it imo. Thanks again for sharing.

esp considering that clear switches are not available to purchase anywhere else

i like these switches as well shipping was a bit high though.

[ander]

It's fun to see how this board resonated with people according to their particular jadedness levels.  :?)

[digi]

It's fun to see how this board resonated with people according to their particular jadedness levels.  :?)

Are you referring to ISO vs what I said about BAE's?

[ander]

Are you referring to ISO vs what I said about BAE's? :D

BAE's? Wazzat? Anyway, no, you seemed enthusiastic enough.

OK, I got one of these! It took me a while to get down to WA State to collect it. (As with many things, it would've cost more to ship to Canada than the item itself.)

In two words, it's awesome. Did the rest of you get seemingly unused boards? When I corresponded with the seller, he said he'd also listed some NIB for $75—but while mine ($30 offer accepted) didn't come in a Cherry box, it's immaculate, and the cord is still wrapped.

This is the first time I've tried Cherry clears (good luck finding them in a computer store), and I really like them. It's the best board I've ever used for typing without bottoming out. I wish more people got that about the stiffer Cherrys... Most mechanical switches actuate around halfway down, so pressing them any farther is wasted time and effort. Unlike light switches, stiffer switches provide enough resistance to let you control how far you press them—so if you use them with that in mind, they actually help you type faster. Oh well, you've probably read me rant about this before.  :?)

The unusual layout does take a bit of adjustment. (I'll never get used to Delete up with the F-keys; I've turned Num Lock off and am using tenkey Del). But hey, it is a POS board, and a lot less quirky than many.

The ISO -shaped Enter doesn't bother me a bit. I love how "Control" is spelled out. ("Control"—ha!) The trackpad's tiny, but completely usable if you turn up your mouse sensitivity (though no, it doesn't do the fancy two-finger stuff—get an iPad!).

I'll never use the card swiper/chip-reader, but it's hilarious having them there.

The form factor, while delightfully different, creates no problems for me. I haven't measured, but I doubt this is much higher (that is, deeper) than my Model M, and it's sure as heck not as wide. I don't miss a metal plate, either; the KB hasn't budged a bit as I've written this, and typing on it doesn't feel any less substantial than on the heavier MX boards I've used.

Altogether a terrific value for a genuine Cherry MX board (and in my case, an untouched one!). Thanks, Lain1191!

[ander]

Oh, and no one's mentioned it, but these must have little piezo buzzers in them—they go PEEP when you connect them. I don't know if it's used for anything other than an "Okay, I'm ready!" signal.

[user 18]

Oh, and no one's mentioned it, but these must have little piezo buzzers in them—they go PEEP when you connect them. I don't know if it's used for anything other than an "Okay, I'm ready!" signal.

Mine didn't do that.

[Blaise170]

The speaker in my G80-8113 was used for programming purposes. Since you can do embedded firmware remapping of keys, you can set it to beep every single time you press a key or just to let you know when it has entered/exited programming mode.

[ander]

Of course—I knew all that. I just wanted to see if anyone else did.

[digi]

Here she is..naked. Desoldered all the switches last night, very dirty as Dorkvader said. The diodes are not a big deal to remove, just have to open the switch covers...No worse than removing switches from a Dolch Pac (and you get free through-hole diodes) =)

[xorian]

I actually bought three of these, my first mechanical keyboards:

https://imgur.com/a/4pEso

I gave them a fairly thorough cleaning and am using one of them at work.  After trying a borrowed Das Keyboard with MX browns and a borrowed CODE with MX clears, I knew the clears were the switch for me.  I'm not 100% sure what I'll be going with these yet, though I'm thinking about a TKL/60% mod for one and harvesting the switches from another.

[Lain1911]

I actually bought three of these, my first mechanical keyboards:

https://imgur.com/a/4pEso

I gave them a fairly thorough cleaning and am using one of them at work.  After trying a borrowed Das Keyboard with MX browns and a borrowed CODE with MX clears, I knew the clears were the switch for me.  I'm not 100% sure what I'll be going with these yet, though I'm thinking about a TKL/60% mod for one and harvesting the switches from another.

Glad someone got use of these 

[ander]

Glad someone got use of these  :thumb:

Dude, 'twas a genuine Great Find, unlike the well-meaning but apparently lame GF's I'm always posting—for which, at the very least, people get to have fun ridiculing me.