deskthority

This is a board that I've been after for a very long time: the Cherry "ErgoPlus" G80-5000.


Stock (dirty) shots


The board came in a non-stock, but still pretty cosy-looking box:





I also got a cute TX Keyboards cover with my WoBox - more on this later:



Before cleaning: there's a lot of dirt on the top frame and the wrist rests. It's in pretty deep too!



I'm not joking. The dirt is in DEEP!



The switches: "vintage" Cherry MX browns. Some people claim that these are noticeably different to modern MX browns. They feel less scratchy to me.



Of course, this is a split ergonomic keyboard, so we need a close up of the split:



The spacebar stabilisation mechanism is really interesting! It looks a lot like Cherry MY stabilisers, and the keycap inserts are MY-style too:




Tear Down & Cleaning


Time to get cleaning! Caps and top case parts off first:



You remove the top panels by flipping tabs on the bottoms. There's one screw on each side. I forgot to get pictures of this part!

The sides are connected by this curled ribbon cable. This means that the board is permanently connected at this top joint:



Another angle. You can see that the switches right beside the split are all side-mounted!



With the tops off, you can easily pull up the PCBs. Mine has a little bit of corrosion but is still fully working:



Here you can see the "vintage" MX browns and connector for the ribbon cable that connects the two halves:



Lifting up the right PCB, you can see the controller:



Another shot of some PCB corrosion. The PCB isn't in ideal shape, but it all works so I don't mind too much.



The board needed some DEEP cleaning. The PCB was covered in dust bunnies, the wrist rests were caked in dirt, and the case was full of dust. The dust was cleaned up with a beard brush, bathed and scrubbed the case top panels with a sponge, and toothbrushed the wrist rests:





Re-assembly

With most of the dust and grime taken care of, it was time to put some caps on the board. I went with doubleshots from a Cherry HAG board since they're like new and blend in well with the rare F13-F17 and German Ins/Del caps on the board:



The wrist rest is probably the most dramatic change:



All done!




Thanks again to Wodan for being such a boss and selling this board to me.

Looking forward to this...

Just getting around to doing this now. Here's another teaser, this time of the cleaning process...

Oh what genteel cleaning...

OP updated with a full log now.

Toothbrush FTW

brush his teeth!

scottc wrote: OP updated with a full log now.

Good work Scott.

This is very disapointing to me. I sold it under the condition that it is cleaned in the dish washer !

It's nice weather outside, you can put it in sun for a few hours to help it dry

Naw seriously amazing job scotty! With the nice caps and a little bit of elbow grease, this has really been turned into a beauty. And very happy someone got it who really knows how to appreciate it - better than me

Really nice keyboard!

Nice work, Scott! Are you planning on keeping it qwertz or throw some nice, rare, Cherry dye subs on it?

Wodan wrote: And very happy someone got it who really knows how to appreciate it - better than me

Thats pretty honest, point for you.

Khers wrote: Nice work, Scott! Are you planning on keeping it qwertz or throw some nice, rare, Cherry dye subs on it?

It already has qwerty HAG caps

Nice board and a good cleaning job. Well done, enjoy typing on it

hansichen wrote:

Khers wrote: Nice work, Scott! Are you planning on keeping it qwertz or throw some nice, rare, Cherry dye subs on it?

It already has qwerty HAG caps

I guess I could learn to look at the pictures

removed.

Yep, unfortunately.

Nice to see your hunt for the 5000 worked out :)
Good job cleaning it.

Great work scottc! Some newer forum members could take a lesson from your thorough cleaning and photo essay.

The G80-5000 is, like the Kishsaver, one of those rare boards that I've conceded to simply never own. Good on you, Wodan, for passing the board on to another forum member! (Wodan's been very kind to me with some board sales in the past too.)

I wonder if a split ergonomic Model F would be popular...

That is a very sleek board. Good job on cleaning it.

XMIT wrote: I wonder if a split ergonomic Model F would be popular...

I would be first in line for it

@kekstee, me getting mine was in no small part due to you selling yours to Wodan, so thanks

@XMIT, thanks! I've been after this board for a LONG time and have been bugging Wodan to put me on the top of his list since he got it. I'm really lucky to have gotten such a rare and interesting board. I can't thank Wodan enough for this, he really is a stand-up guy in that regard. I don't have high hopes for ever finding a Kishsaver, but here's hoping. Stranger things have happened...

scottc wrote: 26 May 2017, 01:22Lifting up the right PCB, you can see the controller:

That controller chip doesn't match the one in my MX 5000, nor those in the photos I've seen from other people. I would love to know the story behind it.

For reference, here is the OEM controller: (Note that it is soldered to the PCB, and not an EPROM.)

https://www.gdm.or.jp/review/2013/0205/ ... _1024x768e

Markings on the OEM chip are:
(Motorola logo)
ZC86963P
635-1101
B51T
CTLAC9539

Markings on this one are:
(Motorola logo)
MC68705U3S
05A46E
QHFD9506

I've been looking for a data sheet and/or parts source for the original, but found nothing so far.

Can you find out who replaced the chip? I'm hoping they might know if the MC68705U3S is a drop-in replacement for the original, and perhaps still have the data dump they used when programming it.

Wodan wrote: 27 May 2017, 09:45And very happy someone got it who really knows how to appreciate it

Wodan, was it you?