Cherry g80 Model 1191 made by tandem. (FIXED)

[crimzongryphon]

Hello! Recently I found a rejected old keyboard which I recognized as something similar to a cherry g80. It looks like this:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a23 ... s=1#detail
I took it home in the hopes that it worked but so far it has not. Firstly I had to buy a DIN to ps/2 converter as I don't have a DIN slot in any of my computers. However when plugged in, the lights on the caps, num and scroll lock keys turn on for 1 - 2 seconds then turn off. Aside from this nothing worked. I have also tried with a ps/2 to usb converter (from DIN to ps/2 to usb) and that did not work either. When I plug it into my laptop it fails to install drivers. Any clues what the problem is and if there is a solution? I am fairly sure this thing uses vintage MX blacks although that is tbc.
Also anyone willing to buy it for parts is welcome, this is my first mechanical so I have no idea how much it's worth, I tend to just read about them. Also the keycaps look odd on the inside. The best way to describe it is as if someone has put black tape inside then roughly peeled of sections. It may be doubleshotted(?).
P.s. Just found out that pressing the "lock" buttons causes their respective lights to flash in a Morse code like way. If they are all pressed at once they flash in sync.

Sorry if this post is confusing or not meant to be placed here.

[Nuum]

PS/2 is not made for hot plug. You may need to restart your PC for the keyboard to work.

[crimzongryphon]

Haven't tried this yet but will do right away.

[photekq]

A 1191! Nice find! What condition is it in?

Try checking if there are some switches on the back of the keyboard. If there are, they will allow you to switch between AT and XT. You want AT.

[crimzongryphon]

I want AT? I saw the switches before and asked a friend and he said XT? It's fairing is farily dreadful but nothing is cracked or broken except maybe the keyboard it's self (still testing). I found it at the tip lol. Someone threw it out and I spotted it. Pretty lucky. I've seen a g80 there before but the people who work at the tip were not too happy having their junk recycled... This time I lied and said I owned it and someone else had thrown it out.

[Nuum]

Jep, you'd want the switch on the AT position on modern computers.

[crimzongryphon]

FYI there is also MF but now that I have restarted the "lock" keys do nothing.

[crimzongryphon]

Just out of curiosity, I opened up the keyboard and found that behind the PCB there is a plastic sheet disconnecting it from a copper sheet. What is the use of this copper sheet? I'm interested.

[Nuum]

It's an electromagnetic shielding to prevent interference with other electronic devices. I think it's not needed for normal use nowadays.

[crimzongryphon]

Oh cool. Hmm this keyboard is causing a lot of problems. Such a pain.

[kbdfr]

[…] Also anyone willing to buy it for parts is welcome […]
Also the keycaps look odd on the inside. The best way to describe it is as if someone has put black tape inside then roughly peeled of sections. It may be doubleshotted(?).[…]

Obviously doubleshots, otherwise you wouldn't see a second colour inside. Don't let the caps go for too cheap especially if they are ANSI layout, they are not easy to find with windowed CapsLock, NumLock and ScrollLock.

Or is it ISO? From your posts you seem t be in the UK (and you might consider this to avoid the question).

[photekq]

We need some photos of the board! I might be interested

[Dubsgalore]

I'm extremely interested in some photos! thanks for posting crimz!

[crimzongryphon]

Yay it works! Yeah I'll send some photos now. I think the problem was the USB bit. I have to plug it in with a DIN to ps/2 adapter into the ps/2 slot. Then restart fully instead of just doing a driver restart. I was in a rush earlier. Yeah I'll upload pictures soon but it's not pretty. Plan on cleaning it up tomorrow but need advice on what not to use that might damage the keycaps (such as types of soap).

[Dubsgalore]

Yay it works! Yeah I'll send some photos now. I think the problem was the USB bit. I have to plug it in with a DIN to ps/2 adapter into the ps/2 slot. Then restart fully instead of just doing a driver restart. I was in a rush earlier. Yeah I'll upload pictures soon but it's not pretty. Plan on cleaning it up tomorrow but need advice on what not to use that might damage the keycaps (such as types of soap).

pretty photos, non pretty photos, doesn't matter

keycaps will be easy to clean with warm water, soaking, and denture tabs. really simple but I Imagine you are going to want to clean up the case as well.

[crimzongryphon]

Ok quick update. Keycaps and case cleaned and dried. Space bar has a grey keyswitch (is this normal?). Also I've noticed some keycaps produce different noises depending on their keyboard location. If you like I can record some typing with my iphone so you can assess yourselves.

[scottc]

That's normal.

[crimzongryphon]

photo 2 (2).JPG (448.43 KiB) Viewed 12176 times

Ok here are the long awaited photos. Took me a while and sorry for the extremely low quality but my upload speed is a little slow.
Feel free to ask questions.
This probably wasn't the best way to show them, I'm new to forums in general.

[scottc]

Looks good. The keycaps are (slightly shiny) UK ISO doubleshots - very nice. Looks like a pretty nice find.

The poor quality and small file-size is perfectly fine for me - the pictures all loaded instantly. Sometimes people post albums of gigantic ultra-sharp, ultra-detailed DSLR snaps and the page tends to jump up and down a lot as a result. Some people post images in

Spoiler:

tags to avoid this, but in your case I don't think it's necessary due to the small file size.

[photekq]

UK ISO I wants!

[crimzongryphon]

You can haz! For a price . I really have no idea what the price is other than what it says on taobao. Also can anyone confirm these are vintage switches? Hopefully they are. I will try upload a video tomorrow of the sound.
Also what is it that attracted you to this keyboard? Is it the old retro look or the design or what? How often do these keyboards pop up? I might keep more of an eye out in the future I reckon I could find a couple more.

[scottc]

I think photekq is probably interested in the doubleshot UK layout keycaps, which aren't as common as some other layouts. I'm pretty interested in UK ISO doubleshots too, so if you come across another board, I'd consider buying it.

[bazh]

It is interesting that the taobao page listed an US ANSI board and you got the UK ISO instead, hmm, buying on taotao is always like gambling...

[photekq]

It is interesting that the taobao page listed an US ANSI board and you got the UK ISO instead, hmm, buying on taotao is always like gambling...

Taobao is 1191h*u, OPs is 1191hbg. The 1191 sellers on taobao aren't lying to you, I have some 1191HBU caps infront of me now

[bazh]

It is interesting that the taobao page listed an US ANSI board and you got the UK ISO instead, hmm, buying on taotao is always like gambling...

Taobao is 1191h*u, OPs is 1191hbg. The 1191 sellers on taobao aren't lying to you, I have some 1191HBU caps infront of me now

So OP didn't buy from that taotao link? Then it's my bad reading the post wrong


But I'm still not so sure about taotao stuffs, can't check whether they were still in stock or not btw, the 1191HBU caps are really nice, I should try finding those more, especially them windowed caps

[Daniel Beardsmore]

HBG? That would make it Cherry MX Brown PS/2.

[crimzongryphon]

I just found the taobao link as it's the only thing I found with the name tandem and looked exactly the same. Just got up so I can answer anymore questions.

[crimzongryphon]

Also another thing to note is that the F and J keys are much more concave. This might concern some of you.

[photekq]

99.99% of Cherry doubleshots are like that. They're called 'scooped' keys, and they're Cherry's alternative to the dots/lines that are usually on F&J keys. Most people like it!

[json]

Haha...buying on taotao is always like gambling...sometime you can find best one.i use cheapagency.com buy Poker2 from taobao.i think it is good.
http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a2 ... 27b&pm_id=