deskthority

Hi all!

I'm thinking of butchering my newly acquired g80, but I have no idea of how to make a functional chopped PCB, any help is appreciated.
I've seen other posts here and on geekhack but the PCB part is always skipped.

Thanks and don't hate me for ruining such a nice board : )
Andre

andrea-i wrote: ↑[…] and don't hate me for ruining such a nice board : ) […]

Unlike G80-5000s, there are hundreds of G80-1800s floating around for peanuts
(here 10 batches of 10 pcs. each, check the seller for more:
PS/2: https://www.ebay.de/itm/122910665293
USB: https://www.ebay.de/itm/122913030649 ).
Just the doubleshot keycaps are not easy to find.

Your pic is a mod made by CeeSA, you seem to have missed what he posted about this mod in another thread:

CeeSA wrote: ↑this kind of board need 3 new lines to wire.
than every key is in original function.
if you would like to mod this model, i could send you a pic.

Thanks for the thread link kbdfr, those are very cool mods!
Mine has double shots, it's winkeyless and ansi layout, which in europe is not too easy to get by, that's why I'm a bit cautious with the mod.

I am still dubious about the rewiring.
I'm guessing, before to cut the pcb I have to follow the traces to understand what I'll need to rewire, probably shoot a good picture of the pcb.
But what if the traces on the pcb are covered? is it easy to expose them and solder some wires on?

Ok found what I was looking for in one of the threads kbdfr posted, thanks!

The solution was easy, I won't have to solder the wires to the pcb traces, simply to the pins : )

Looking forward to chop it off to pieces as soon as I have the time!

andrea-i wrote: ↑[…] Mine has double shots, it's winkeyless and ansi layout […]

Oh, then it's a rare item which I would say you rather shouldn't destroy.

Interested in a trade for an ISO one, with winkeys and German doubleshot keycaps (plus original Cherry relegendable caps if you need them for the remaining right side column)?

kbdfr wrote: ↑

andrea-i wrote: ↑[…] Mine has double shots, it's winkeyless and ansi layout […]

Oh, then it's a rare item which I would say you rather shouldn't destroy.

Interested in a trade for an ISO one, with winkeys and German doubleshot keycaps (plus original Cherry relegendable caps if you need them for the remaining right side column)?

Thanks for pointing that out kbdfr, I might put it out for trade later on then and try and resist the temptation of butchering it.
Are all the cheap g80-1800 I see on ebay cherry mx? or do I risk on getting a rubber dome?

andrea-i wrote: ↑[…] Are all the cheap g80-1800 I see on ebay cherry mx? or do I risk on getting a rubber dome?

If they are G80, they definitely have Cherry MX switches; only if they are G81 will they have (horrible!) Cherry MY switches.

So G80 is what you will be looking for.
But beware, the seller I posted links to sometimes has boards with a printed logo scratched off in the upper left corner. You won’t see that on eBay as his photos are generic and do not show the real item you will receive.

Best way to obtain a flawless case is to get it from someone trustworthy

kbdfr wrote: ↑

andrea-i wrote: ↑[…] Are all the cheap g80-1800 I see on ebay cherry mx? or do I risk on getting a rubber dome?

If they are G80, they definitely have Cherry MX switches; only if they are G81 will they have (horrible!) Cherry MY switches.

So G80 is what you will be looking for.
But beware, the seller I posted links to sometimes has boards with a printed logo scratched off in the upper left corner. You won’t see that on eBay as his photos are generic and do not show the real item you will receive.

Best way to obtain a flawless case is to get it from someone trustworthy

Noted

As others have said: do it on an ISO board! They are much cheaper and much more common: so you don't have to worry about breaking them. Wodan had tonnes of them, last I heard.

I forgot about CeeSA's original mod. Thanks for the reminder! I have so many 1800s, I should give it a go.