Cherry MX Black

Cherry MX Black

Manufacturer	Cherry
Family	Cherry MX
Product code	MX1A-11xx
Introduced	1984
Switch type	Linear
Sense method	Metal leaf
Actuation force	60 cN

Cherry MX Black Illustration

The Cherry MX Black switch is a medium stiff, linear, non-clicky mechanical keyboard switch in the Cherry MX family.

Keyboards with these switches often have the stiffer Cherry MX Linear Grey switch for the space bar.

History

The Cherry MX Black switch was one of the very first mechanical keyboard switches available to the mass market. Introduced in 1984, it first came in an open housing variant and was later introduced in a design very similar to the current one. Over the years there have been several slight adjustments to the Cherry MX Black switch. Earlier variants are reported to feel smoother and less stiff. Material tests have shown that Cherry indeed seemed to have changed the material of the Cherry MX Black switch. This is assumed to have happened sometime between 1994 and 1995, when Cherry also changed some data of their other MX switches in their product catalogs.

Keyfeel

Linear, medium-stiff.

Some keyboard enthusiasts claim that older ("vintage") MX Blacks feel smoother than newer ones, but other enthusiasts dispute this.

Availability

Cherry MX Black switches are widely available as parts or assembled in hundreds of keyboards. Being the preferred switch of most POS and industrial keyboard manufacturers, it is widely available in all variants.

Product numbers

• MX1A-11NN no diode, plate mount
• MX1A-11DN with diode, plate mount
• MX1A-11NW no diode, PCB mount
• MX1A-11DW with diode, PCB mount

Variants

Nixie

"Nixie" refers to an unusual and rare MX Black variant only known in Nixdorf keyboards, such as the Nixdorf CT06-CT07/2 M Softkeys. The switch top is translucent instead of opaque black.

Clear-Top

On 2022-11-03 Cherry announced a reproduction of the original "Nixie" switch, the Cherry MX Black Clear-Top. It has an actuation force of 63.5 cN.<ref name="mxblogcleartop">CherryMX Blog—CHERRY MX Black Clear-Top: New edition of a legendary MX switch. Dated 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03</ref> The top housing carries a more modern Cherry logo and is slightly milkier and less transparent than on the original switches.<ref name="tgnewnixie">ThereminGoat's Switches—Cherry MX 'New Nixie' Switch Review. Dated 2022-12-04. Retrieved 2022-12-04</ref>

Keyboards

• Alcatel MMK Keyboard
• Blaupunkt Keyboard for CEPT Decoder DC36
• Cherry G80-0418
• Cherry G80-0427
• Cherry G80-0528
• Cherry G80-0535
• Cherry G80-0689H<ref name="cherry0689h"/>
• Cherry G80-0693
• Cherry G80-0777
• Cherry G80-0778
• Cherry G80-0779
• Cherry G80-0832
• Some Cherry G80-1000
• Cherry G80-1229
• Cherry G80-1246
• Cherry G80-1300
• Cherry G80-1500
• Cherry G80-1501
• Cherry G80-1502
• Cherry G80-1600
• Some Cherry G80-1800
• Cherry G80-2000<ref name="damon"/>
• Cherry G80-2100
• Cherry G80-2500
• Cherry G80-2510
• Cherry G80-2515 <ref name="g802515"/>
• Cherry G80-2550
• Cherry G80-2551
• Some Cherry G80-3000 (When 2nd letter in model name is P [e.g. G80-3000LPCES-2])
• Cherry G80-3314
• Cherry G80-3471
• Cherry G80-9013
• Cherry G80-11900
• Cherry KXN3-8451
• Some Chicony KB-5152<ref name="chicony"/>
• Some Chicony KB-5160 (Model: KB-5160XT)
• Some Chicony KB-5181
• Some Commodore Amiga 2000 keyboards
• Some Commodore PC-5/PC-10 keyboards
• Commodore PC-10 keyboard
• Cooler Master CM Storm Trigger
• Dekko Fast Action<ref name="Dekko"/>
• Gravograph G80-0832H-04
• Kimtron KT-7
• NCR G80-0577H<ref name="damon"/>
• NCR H0150-STD1-10-17
• Nortel NTNX51HH
• Nixdorf CT22
• Nixdorf G80-0942H<ref name="damon"/>
• Some Olivetti KBD 2812
• Olivetti WS 685<ref name="olivetti"/>
• Olivetti WS 785<ref name="olivetti1"/>
• Quest V-2508
• Siemens F500<ref name="siemens"/>
• SteelSeries 6G, 6GV2 & 7G
• Strong Man KB-8861
• Some Strong Man SMK-88
• Tatum 6075 (DEC LK-201 Clone)<ref name="Tatum" />
• Tatung C1250 <ref name="tatung"/>
• TG3 KBA-BL82/BLT
• TG3 KBA-D2911C<ref name="tgr"/>
• Thermaltake Meka G1
• Unitek K-150M
• Unitek K-151L
• Some Unitek K-156
• Unitek K-973<ref name="K973"/>
• Some Unitek K-959
• Wyse 30
• Wyse 50
• Wyse 85
• Some Wyse ASCII (Part #: 840105-01 & 840338-01)
• Wyse AT Standard
• Wyse PCE

Keypads

• Cherry G80-3700
• Cherry Numpad CNC

Nixies

• Nixdorf CT06-CT07/2 M Softkeys (Nixies)
• Nixdorf CT11 (Nixies)

Gallery

• 
  Cherry MX Black switches with integrated diodes
• 
  MX black switches in shipping box
• 
  Original design switch contacts
• 
  Naked Cherry G80-3700
• 
  Factory-LED shell MX Black switch with LED active
• 
  Factory-LED version detail

Nixie

• 
  Nixie switches in a Nixdorf CT06-CT07/2 M Softkeys keyboard
• 
  Nixie switches

See also

• Cherry MX Linear Grey: A stiffer switch used for the space bar on keyboards with Black switches
• Cherry MX Red: a lighter linear Cherry MX switch
• Cherry MX RGB Black
• Cherry MX Silent Black
• Cherry MX Silent RGB Black

References

<references> <ref name="Tatum">Imgur — Tatum 6075 (Cherry MX Black)Posted 2004-06-03.</ref> <ref name="damon">Deskthority — [NCR Cherry g80-0577H Damonskv's collection] Uploaded 2020-12-31.</ref> <ref name="Dekko">YouTube — Deko Fast Action Keyboard review (Cherry MX Black) Uploaded 2018-11-30.</ref> <ref name="K973">Deskthority — Unitech K-973 IBM I aint battle ship keyboard Posted 2021-04-20.</ref> <ref name="tatung">Imgur — [1] Uploaded 2021-06-26.</ref> <ref name="chicony">Imgur — Found in my basement. Vintage cherry blacks. Can you tell me more about it? Uploaded 2018-06-25.</ref> <ref name="olivetti">Deskthority — OLIVETTI WS 685 Posted 2022-02-08.</ref> <ref name="cherry0689h">YouTube — Cherry G80-0689H Keyboard Typing Demo Uploaded 2022-07-01.</ref> <ref name="g802515">YouTube — Cherry G80-2515HAG Keyboard Typing Demo Uploaded 2022-07-11.</ref> <ref name="tgr">Nitter — @wuzhangwu Posted 2021-10-17.</ref> <ref name="olivetti1">Imgur — Olivetti Wyse WS 785 (Cherry MX Black) Uploaded 2023-04-12.</ref> <ref name="siemens">Deskthority — Siemens F500 Posted 2019-06-16.</ref> </references>