In response to the question, the G86’s don’t follow the same rules unfortunately, which is why it’s a little difficult to explain. However, I’ll try!

G86 is basically the same as the G83 in it’s construction - a 4 layer membrane sheet wth rubber, domed ‘web’ on the top which the keycaps depress and compress the membrane to make the contact.

22000 - there is only one housing style - this version has 9 additional multimedia keys.

GB - the language layout
ADAB - Black housing, USB/PS2 combi
AEAB - White housing, USB/PS2 combi

Unfortunately, in recent years, the rule book has gone out of the window somewhat, but it can still apply in some cases:

G85-23000GB-2 - G85’s are what we term as ‘Scissor Action’ keys, as they have this mechanism built under the caps to keep the profile and travel low. The travel on this keyboard is only 2.5mm. 23000 is the ‘Stream’ housing style - full size, with numeric pad. GB is the country layout and the -2 is the colour (Black - but also available as a -0, white version)

M82-24700GB - in this instance, the M stands for it beiing a set - keyboard and mouse - but if you look at the underside of the keyboard, it’s actually a G82-24700. G82 is yet another membrane/rubber sheet type, 24700 is the code for an all-black product (the Sirius), GB again is the country layout. No colour code is positioned at the end, as the middle number gives away the colour to us here at Cherry.

M85-25800GB - this follows the same rule as above, but in this instance the keyboard is of a similar type to the Stream as detailed previously.

G81-8000LPBGB-2 - this is more unusual and there are many variations on this theme. G81 is our FTSC (Full Travel, Sealed Contact) mechanism, which is part membrane, part mechanical switch product. The 8000 shows that this is a keyboard from our advanced performance range, so will have additional functionality of some form (in this case a magnetic card reader). The L still stands for laser printed keycaps and the P still stands for PS2. However, the B in the middle denotes the number of magnetic card tracks the keyboard will read (2 for this model). GB is still country layout and -2 is black once again.

Hope this helps a bit!

Robin.