[rescue] Sun 3 keyboard/mouse options?

[Dave McGuire]

   Yup, Sun sold a similar adapter for the use of a Type 2 
keyboard/mouse on a Sun 3.  People like to keep their nice keyboards 
when they upgrade to newer machines. :)

              -Dave

On 9/11/23 21:47, Steve Hatle via rescue wrote:
> It appears Sun actually sold an adapter to use the Model 4 keyboard on 
> the Sun 3, part numbers are
> 
> 530-1478
> 530-1479
> 
> Same cable, different lengths. I've also found the pinouts to make my 
> own; I have some 9-pin male shells and I'll probably liberate the female 
> DIN-8 connector from a trashed keyboard to make the adapter.
> 
> I will start small with serial connection first. Will also need to 
> research how to get this guy net-booted and eventually an install on a 
> drive in the shoebox. I'm not holding out hope of getting anything done 
> with the tape drive or tapes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>> Mouse via rescue <mailto:rescue at sunhelp.org>
>> September 10, 2023 at 10:59 PM
>>> Lucky me scored a 3/50 at VCFMW this weekend!
>>> Unfortunately, there was no keyboard or mouse with the system. I
>>> quick google didn't turn up any info on options/adapters/etc (though
>>> I've only been home for a while and haven't really dug in yet).
>> Its keyboard is a 1200 baud serial device, just using TTL voltage
>> levels instead of RS-232 voltage levels, and it's a ridiculously simple
>> protocol.  If you can get keyboard events off something else, and
>> they're at even moderately similar, it's relatively easy to generate
>> Sun keyboard protocol.
>>
>> I've heard it said that there are adapters between USB keyboard and Sun
>> keyboard, but if you're looking for that you have to be careful _which_
>> Sun keyboard; you want the Sun-3 or earlier Sun-4 keyboard, the one
>> with the miniDIN-8 connector[%].  You also have to be careful which
>> direction the adapter in question is designed to go: Sun keyboard on
>> USB machine, or the other way around?
>>
>> [%] The -3/50 uses a DA-15, not a miniDIN-8.  But the Sun keyboards
>> that speak DA-15 and the ones that speak miniDIN-8 are compatible
>> enough that you can plug either kind of keyboard into the other kind of
>> machine with nothing but a passive adapter.
>>
>>> Serial is of course an option, and likely how I'll start out once I
>>> get everything cleaned up and inspected.
>> It's what I'd suggest for the first few attempts, certainly.
>>
>> /~\ The ASCII				  Mouse
>> \ / Ribbon Campaign
>>   X  Against HTML		mouse at rodents-montreal.org
>> / \ Email!	     7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39  4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> rescue list -http://sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue_sunhelp.org
>> Steve Hatle <mailto:steve.hatle at gmail.com>
>> September 10, 2023 at 9:50 PM
>> Lucky me scored a 3/50 at VCFMW this weekend!
>>
>> Unfortunately, there was no keyboard or mouse with the system. I quick 
>> google didn't turn up any info on options/adapters/etc (though I've 
>> only been home for a while and haven't really dug in yet).
>>
>> Serial is of course an option, and likely how I'll start out once I 
>> get everything cleaned up and inspected.
>>
>> Hoping the monitor still has it's mojo going, but baby steps...
>>
>> Thanks for any info or advice,
>>
>> Steve
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> rescue list - http://sunhelp.org/mailman/listinfo/rescue_sunhelp.org

-- 
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA