Cherry article numbers

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Cherry back label with article number G80-3000HAU.

This guide to Cherry article numbers is a work in progress and may contain errors. If you have a keyboard that has a code position that does not follow this guide, then please add it to the guide.

The article numbering scheme is not always consistently followed, for each and every model. The scheme is most reliable for the G80-3000 model.

Some keyboards have been updated slightly even though they have kept their full article number. Therefore, knowing the date of manufacture could also be useful. There have also been very limited editions of keyboard with special prints or covers that retain their base models' article numbers.

Format

Cherry article numbers usually follow one of these forms:

  • G8X-YYYY
  • G8X-YYYY ZZZ [/RR]
  • G8X-YYYYZZZZZ[-N] [/RR]
  • G85-YYYYZZ

The X part is a digit that signifies the series, including the switch family.

The YYYY part is the model number, consisting of four or five digits.

The Z part is a letter code that could include information about such things as the type of keycap material, layout, connector and for G80 keyboards also the switch variation.

Older Cherry boards tend to have a 3 letter code. Five-letter codes have been spotted on boards from 1994 onwards, but keyboards with three-letter codes were produced up to early 1996. Article numbers beginning with G85 have only a two-letter layout code. Some older, long deprecated models do not have any letter code at all.

After the letter code, there could be a hyphen and a digit. Often, "-0" is on keyboards that are light grey (Ger:"Hellgrau") and "-2" on keyboards that are black.

Last, there could also be a space, a slash and a two-digit numeric code. The meaning of this is unknown. There has been speculation that it would be some kind of revision number.

Series

The first few characters before the first dash in the product code signify the series, where each series has a different switch type:

As of November 2013, G88, G89 and G90 do not appear to exist.

Model number

The number after the first dash in the product code signifies the model number.

All discovered model numbers have four or five digits. Model numbers ending in 1 tend to be custom orders for large corporations. There are four-digit models numbers where the first digit is 0.

Some model numbers used by Cherry: 1000, 1501, 3000, 3800, 1800, 1851.

Some models are available for several series, with the same case and other exterior features but with different switches. For instance, the 3000 model is in both the G80, G81 and G83 series. Other series have their own models.

Keycaps

The first letter in a three or five-letter letter code always signifies keycap type and quality:

Connector and switch variation

On G80 boards, the second letter in the letter code signifies MX switch variation and cable connector, although this tends to be very confusing as the numbering scheme is not always consistent.

Keyboards of other series usually have the letter 'A', 'P' or 'U' to signify only the connector (DIN, PS/2 or USB). The exception is the G85 series where all keyboards have USB.

Letter MX Switch (G80 only) Connector Note
A Black DIN G80-5000 has Brown switches
B Brown PS/2 (usually) G80-1191 HBG has black switches and DIN-5 plug[1]
D Black DIN On an early Cherry G80-1000
E Clear DIN
F Blue DIN
G Black DIN Shorter cable, or sometimes Brown switch
K Brown DIN
M Black USB only
P Black PS/2 or USB-combo
Q Clear PS/2 or USB combo G80-1502 has Black switches
R Black or Clear or Blue PS/2 or USB combo
S Blue PS/2 or USB combo
T USB only
U Black USB only
V Clear OEM
W Blue OEM
X Brown OEM
Y Red

Often, custom boards with serial numbers ending in 1 can have confusing letter codes that do not match the switch type. (For example G80-3300 Terminals that are found with Brown or Clear switches.)

Special feature

If the letter code is five letters long, there is also a third (middle) letter. The meaning of this letter is not entirely understood, but it is believed that it may indicate the connector or a special feature of the keyboard.

Some codes that have been sighted:

  • A: Found more often on older boards, winkeyless, such as G80-5000HAAUS, G80-3000LFADE
  • B: G80-11800 with trackballs
  • C: G80-3000 with combo PS/2 + USB connector
  • E: Seen on G80-8200LPEDE; 121 keys with winkeys, card reader and relegendable keys, PS/2 (source images)
  • M: Winkey on early boards, such as G80-3000LS"M"GB, G80-11900HR"M"US
  • N: Only appeared in G81 series, such as G81-3000HKNBE, HKNNO, LPNUS
  • P: G80-3000 with PS/2 connector
  • Z: G80-150x with card reader

Layout

Last one or two letter(s) in the layout code signifies/signify the layout. Modern boards have the two-letter layout codes. Older boards with three-letter letter codes have only one letter used for the layout.

One letter Two letters Layout
A AR English and Arabic
AY Austrian dialect novelty layout (German ISO)
B BE Belgian**
BY Bavarian dialect novelty layout (German ISO)
C CH Swiss
D DE German ISO ("QWERTZ")
M DK Danish ISO
E ES Spanish ISO
EU ANSI with Euro symbol on letter 5.
F FR French ISO ("AZERTY")
FY Frankish novelty layout (German ISO)
G GB British ISO
GR Greek ISO
HU Hungarian ISO
HY Hessen "Hessische" dialect, novelty layout (German ISO)
IL Hebrew
I IT Italian ISO
JA Japanese (JIS)
KL UK, English and Klingon ISO
KO Korean, Roman and Hangul ANSI
NL Dutch ISO
N NO Norwegian ISO
OY Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz, Bavaria) dialect novelty layout (German ISO)
PL Polish ISO
P PO Portuguese ISO
PN Pan-Nordic ISO (Danish, Swedish/Finnish, Norwegian combo)
Q Greek ANSI[2]
R Russian (Cyrillic) and English (various)
RC Roman and Chinese ANSI
RD Russian (Cyrillic) and German (ISO)
RG Russian (Cyrillic) and English (ISO)
S Scandinavian (Danish) ISO
O SF Swedish/Finnish ISO
SK Slovak ISO
SL Slovenian ISO
SY Saxon dialect novelty layout (German ISO)
T TS Czech ISO ("QWERTZ")
TQ Turkish
U US US ANSI
V* RB English (US-ANSI) and Cyrillic (Russia, Ukraine, etc.)
V* RO English (US-ANSI) and Cyrillic (Russia, Ukraine, etc.)
VY Berlin ("Berliner") dialect, novelty layout (German ISO)
X Used for special orders. Does not signify layout.
XB Matrix layout for Cherry G80-1950.
XX ISO, no legends. Sold primarily to other companies that add custom legends.[3]
XY ANSI, no legends. Sold primarily to other companies that add custom legends.[3]
Y Yugoslav ISO
ZY Frankish dialect novelty layout (German ISO)
? Cologne "Kölsch" dialect, novelty layout (German ISO)

*: There is very small difference between RO and RB. Both variations have been spotted as V.

Examples

G80-3000LFADE /00

  • G80 = MX switches
  • L = lasered caps
  • F = MX Blue Switches with DIN connector
  • A = Winkeyless layout
  • DE = German ISO layout


G80-1000HFD

  • G80 = MX switches
  • F = MX Blue Switches
  • H = double-shot caps
  • D = German ISO layout


G81-3000SAD

  • G81 = MY switches
  • S = Dye sublimated keycaps
  • A = DIN connector
  • D = German ISO layout


G83-6105LUNCH-0

  • G83 = Rubber dome switches
  • L = Lasered keycaps
  • U = USB connector
  • CH = Swiss ISO layout


G84-4100LCAIL-2

  • G84 = ML switches
  • L = Lasered keycaps
  • C = Combo PS/2 and USB connector
  • IL = Hebrew layout


G85-23100DE-2

  • G85 = Scissor switches
  • DE = German ISO layout


For other examples see Category:Cherry keyboards.

See also

Cherry date codes

References

A lot of the information in this guide has been gathered from ads seen at vendor's and on auction sites. Some of the information also comes from "Dating Cherry Keyboards" on the old Geekhack Wiki.

Where explicitly cited above:

  1. ↑ Deskthority — Cherry g80 Model 1191 made by tandem. (FIXED)
  2. ↑ Deskthority — Cherry G81-3054HAQ (Greek ANSI doubleshots)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Deskthority forum post about legendless G80-3000: New Cherry MX keyboard - Which switch?
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