[rescue] Sun 3 keyboard/mouse options?

[Steve Hatle]

You are, of course, correct. What my brain was thinking and what my 
fingers typed were two different things...

Steve

> Mouse via rescue <mailto:rescue at sunhelp.org>
> September 11, 2023 at 9:36 PM
>>> It appears Sun actually sold an adapter to use the Model 4 keyboard
>>> on the Sun 3, [...]
>>> [...] 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.
> DE-9s won't be of any use for this; you need a DA-15.  I've made my own
> adapters often enough, though for using a type-3 keyboard on machines
> having a miniDIN-8 for keyboard/mouse, rather than the other way
> around.  But the cable you need is the same except for the sex of the
> DA-15.  (I take a miniDIN-8-to-miniDIN-8 cable, such as is typically
> used for type-4 keyboards, and cut it in two, then solder on a DA-15
> from an electronics parts house like Mouser or DigiKey.)
>
>>> I will start small with serial connection first.
> I would recommend that, definitely.
>
>>> Will also need to research how to get this guy net-booted
> I can help with that; I've netbooted plenty of Suns in my time.  I'd
> have to run a test to be certain, but I think they RARP for an address,
> then TFTP for their bootblocks.  Everything after that is up to the
> TFTPed program; the NetBSD versions I run come with the relevant
> software, so I would assume any NetBSD version that has sun3 support
> would do likewise.
>
>>> and eventually an install on a drive in the shoebox.
> That's a relatively easy thing once you have it netbooting (assuming of
> course that your drive, enclosure, and cable actually work properly).
>
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> Dave McGuire via rescue <mailto:rescue at sunhelp.org>
> September 11, 2023 at 9:07 PM
>
>   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
>
>
>
> Steve Hatle <mailto:steve.hatle at gmail.com>
> September 11, 2023 at 8:47 PM
> 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.
>
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> 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

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