Cherry G80-2100 HDD & Cherry lapel pin

Half-Saint · 13 Jul 2011, 22:30

Got this in the mail last week. Works okayish - several keys appear to occasionally produce a double-keypress but as I use it more, these occur less often. The keyboard itself is medium used, the keys are not too shiny.

Questions:
- anyone have the manual for one of those?
- how do you reset the memorized macros?
- is it normal for Cherry and Layer keys to be so hard to press?

Stumbled upon this Cherry corp lapel pin this weekend at the flea market!

CeeSA · 13 Jul 2011, 22:42

that time i bought one of this boards from sixty, he gave me this link:
http://fsinfo.noone.org/~abe/cherry-g80-2100.html

7bit · 13 Jul 2011, 22:50

Half-Saint wrote:...
Questions:
...
- is it normal for Cherry and Layer keys to be so hard to press?
...

Yes, it is normal! There is a 3rd key (Print) which is as stiff as the other 2. The reason is to make them harder to press. This is what I don't like with this keyboard, that these keys are not placed out of the way (in the F1-F24 area, they would be perfect).

webwit · 13 Jul 2011, 23:23

Are these the Super Black Cherries we're talking about?

Jim66 · 13 Jul 2011, 23:37

Yeah the windows keys on the 5000 are outrageously hard to press. What is the deal with that?

Ascaii · 13 Jul 2011, 23:39

super mx blacks...made to stop people from accidentally pushing certain buttons...I have several on a g80-1600 board as well.

JBert · 13 Jul 2011, 23:45

It takes 151 grams to press one?

Just call them "fist-keys"...

webwit · 13 Jul 2011, 23:51

It didn't even bottom out at 151g.

kbdfr · 14 Jul 2011, 07:08

Half-Saint wrote:Got this in the mail last week. (...)

Questions:
- anyone have the manual for one of those?
(...)

(...)

If you PM me your email address, I can send you a PDF of the original "manual" (2 very concise pages) in English an/or German.

Half-Saint · 14 Jul 2011, 10:11

While trying to open the keyboard to clean out the dust bunnies, I managed to crack one of the plastic clips on the right side - just my luck. Must have twisted the screwdriver too much and the clip cracked near the middle. Bugger. Why couldn't they just stick with screws like IBM?

kbdfr · 14 Jul 2011, 11:37

Replacement upper shell of a G80-2100 (with intact clips), badly and unevenly yellowed, 15 € + shipping*

* (in a box where a complete G80-2100 neatly fits)

Half-Saint · 14 Jul 2011, 13:01

Hehe thanks but I'm not that crazy plus mine is not yellowed at all.

kbdfr · 14 Jul 2011, 13:14

That was more of a joke, of course.

By the way, do you also want the original Cherry software for that keyboard, allowing to store and retrieve programming of the programmable keys?
Note that the software does not work with an OS later than Windows 95 and that you need a computer with a DIN keybord plug. The keyboard itself works fine with a DIN/PS2 converter (and even also an additional PS2/USB converter), but it cannot communicate with the program unless it is directly connected to a DIN plug.

Half-Saint · 15 Jul 2011, 08:53

God damn it, putting it back together is even harder!!! Bottom edge is near-impossible to assemble properly. Driving me crazy.

7bit · 16 Jul 2011, 12:24

Half-Saint wrote:While trying to open the keyboard to clean out the dust bunnies, I managed to crack one of the plastic clips on the right side - just my luck. Must have twisted the screwdriver too much and the clip cracked near the middle. Bugger. Why couldn't they just stick with screws like IBM?

This had been done intentiously to screw up people like you and me and anybody else who wants to open it. We can be lucky they didn't glue them fixed!

kbdfr wrote:Replacement upper shell of a G80-2100 (with intact clips), badly and unevenly yellowed, 15 € + shipping*
* (in a box where a complete G80-2100 neatly fits)

Just send him the clips!

^2

kbdfr wrote:...
By the way, do you also want the original Cherry software for that keyboard, allowing to store and retrieve programming of the programmable keys?
... Windows 95 and that you need a computer with a DIN keybord plug. The keyboard itself works fine with a DIN/PS2 converter (and even also an additional PS2/USB converter), but it cannot communicate with the program unless it is directly connected to a DIN plug.

Should work with PS/2 as well except that it is only suitable for the older protocol (AT/XT?)

Would be interested if it is possible to enter arbitrary scan codes!

(This would finally rectify keeping a 386 with numeric co-processor and VGA color! graphics card.

)

maybe it is possible to catch the signals it sends so it would be possible to write some thing that works with modern OSs!

7bit · 16 Jul 2011, 12:34

Half-Saint wrote:God damn it, putting it back together is even harder!!! Bottom edge is near-impossible to assemble properly. Driving me crazy.

Just trake your time! It took me a while, too. Should have written a wiki article about that.

You have to hook it into the front first at some angle and then turn it close.

If anything brakes, I will not accept any responsibility for that!

Edit: Just see it does not work that way, because the function keys are mounted to the upper shell!

Now I've got to think really hard to remember how it worked. Meybe not at that extreme angle ...

daedalus · 16 Jul 2011, 20:11

What sort of computers were those keyboards intended for?

Half-Saint · 16 Jul 2011, 22:41

Standard PC afaik... I finally got it closed btw

I've been using the board since yesterday and it feels the same as any other MX Black board, very comfortable and familiar

Layout it a bit funny but I'm getting used to it.

kbdfr · 18 Jul 2011, 08:43

7bit wrote:
kbdfr wrote:...
By the way, do you also want the original Cherry software for that keyboard, allowing to store and retrieve programming of the programmable keys?
... Windows 95 and that you need a computer with a DIN keybord plug. The keyboard itself works fine with a DIN/PS2 converter (and even also an additional PS2/USB converter), but it cannot communicate with the program unless it is directly connected to a DIN plug.
Should work with PS/2 as well except that it is only suitable for the older protocol (AT/XT?)

Would be interested if it is possible to enter arbitrary scan codes!

(This would finally rectify keeping a 386 with numeric co-processor and VGA color! graphics card.)

maybe it is possible to catch the signals it sends so it would be possible to write some thing that works with modern OSs!

Sorry for not understanding anything about that, but it really seems to be a hardware incompatibility. I can download and upload the keyboard when it is directly connected to the DIN plug (of the computer I still have just for that function). If I insert a double connector (DIN->PS2/PS2->DIN) in between, downloading and uploading is impossible.
Well, perhaps it has something to do with the connectors themselves, of course.

kbdfr · 18 Jul 2011, 08:48

Closing the case is easy: first hook in all front clips properly (they will likely try unhooking while you close the lid) holding the case at 30 degree angle, then gently push down the rear side of the cover seeing to it that the front clips stay closed.

kbdfr · 18 Jul 2011, 09:04

daedalus wrote:What sort of computers were those keyboards intended for?

They are normal PC keyboards, just with additional 24 programmable keys. Key sequences can be programmed on the fly and are stored in an intern keyboard memory, so the keyboard will work with any computer (DIN, PS/2 and USB with connectors).

The software is needed only if you want to store and retrieve (and transfer to another keyboard of the same type) the programmed sequences.
There is a workaround, though: the Tipro software (you don't need a Tipro keyboard for that, just the software).

Half-Saint · 19 Jul 2011, 10:31

I still get an occasional double 'O'... faulty switch or something completely different?

Peter · 22 Jul 2011, 20:28

Half-Saint wrote:I still get an occasional double 'O'... faulty switch or something completely different?

It's caused by the half-breed bastard-key !
(The one that ain't double-shot; You know.. The one with that stupid red fruity-printing on it) ..

If you send the pad-printed fruit-cake cap to me I'll replace it with something that doesn't
send out EM-deathrays !

Half-Saint · 04 Aug 2011, 18:27

ok... but then you will have to send me... 1 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!