Mouse/keyboard for Ultra 10

If I decide to buy a keyboard/mouse for an ultra 10, are there any
incompatible? eBay has all types for all prices.

Right now I'm just borrowing a keyboard (no mouse) just for setup
and was thinking after setup I'd just manage it by X11 and rlogin.

But setup is a pain without the mouse.

--
Wes Groleau

Free speech has its limits
http://Ideas.Lang-Learn.us/WWW?itemid=99

On 2009-07-11, Wes Groleau <groleau+> wrote:
> If I decide to buy a keyboard/mouse for an ultra 10, are there any
> incompatible? eBay has all types for all prices.

Yes -- you want to avoid the ones with USB connectors (some of
the newer keyboards), so you want a Sun keyboard with a DIN connector
instead (the mouse plugs into the keyboard on those).

And depending on what you are used to, you may want a
programming type keyboard (Control key to the left of 'A'), or a Word
Processing keyboard (similar to what Windows boxes have except no Windows
key and the connectors are different) which has the Control to the left
of the left ALT key, and the space to the left of 'A' usurped by the
"Caps-Lock" key, which I would rather were not on any computer keyboard. :-)

> Right now I'm just borrowing a keyboard (no mouse) just for setup
> and was thinking after setup I'd just manage it by X11 and rlogin.

Hmm ... for diagnostics, you either need the keyboard and
monitor, or a serial terminal connected to the TTY-A serial port.

> But setup is a pain without the mouse.

I've done full installs remotely without a mouse. Not that bad
for me. Just a serial cable between the system being installed and a
nearby one which I can net connect to from my chairside computer.

A Sun Type-5 or earlier keyboard (3 or 4) should work fine.
That is what I have connected to my two Ultra-10 machines. Some Type-6
keyboards are DIN connector and some are USB. Only the DIN ones will
accept the mouse plugged into the keyboard.

I believe the Type-7 has a USB hub built into the keyboard so
the mouse can go there too -- but I don't have one of those. For typing
in my lap, I like the Type-6 keyboards with the clip-on skirt to provide
a handrest beyond the spacebar. The earlier keyboards will need a
support under the keyboard and a soft raiser for the heels of the hands
to rest on.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: <> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
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On Jul 12, 12:50*am, shmerl <shmerl.3v7...@no.email.invalid> wrote:
> "DoN. Nichols" Wrote:
>
> > you want to avoid the ones with USB connectors (some of
> > the newer keyboards), so you want a Sun keyboard with a DIN connector
> > instead (the mouse plugs into the keyboard on those).
>
> What keyboard/mouse is compatible with Sun Blade 2500?

Type 6 or 7 (the USB kind). Sun dropped the mini DIN-9 for keyboard/
mouse starting with the Blade 1000, I believe.

On 2009-07-12, shmerl <> wrote:
>
> "DoN. Nichols" Wrote:
>> you want to avoid the ones with USB connectors (some of
>> the newer keyboards), so you want a Sun keyboard with a DIN connector
>> instead (the mouse plugs into the keyboard on those).
>
> What keyboard/mouse is compatible with Sun Blade 2500?

I don't have a SB-2500, but both the SB-1000 and SB-2000 use USB
(USB 1.1) connectors for the keyboard and the mouse. So, among Sun
keyboards, type-6 with USB connectors or Type-7 (which may be only
available in USB format) should work. O.K. Checking the FEH says that
the SB-2500 does use USB keyboard and mouse -- and only with the USB 1.1
ports on the system board, not the additional USB 2.0 ports on the
USB/Firewire PCI card which typically comes with the system. (I've got
one of those cards in my SB-2000 for the benefit of the USB 2.0 port
speed with downloading images from my digital camera.)

Typically, the keyboard, mouse, and the power cord come in what
is called a "country kit", providing a keyboard with the proper
characterset for the country involved, and the proper power connector on
the cable for the country involved. The mouse is simply enough a part
of the keyboard so it is packed with this, as used to be the mouse pad
for optical mice.

Now -- if you are happy with a programmer's keyboard (Control
key to the left of 'A'), you could look for the one which I am using at
this moment (turns over to read model information):

Model: Type 6 USB
barcode number: 3201273-01

A quick ebay search for: "Sun keyboard (3201273, 320-1273)" finds two:

170301352110 Two of them for $39.00 (Buy-it-now)
320364442960 One for $34.99 (Buy-it-now)

plus four in the "eBay Stores" section including two at $9.95 each.

If you expand the search to:

"Type 6" USB

you get more hits, including those with the word processing layout, and
the first hit includes the mouse and pad.

A search for:

"Type 7" USB

gets 19 hits.

Pretty much any three-button USB mouse will work, and I'm using
the Logitech "Trackman Wheel" which is a thumb-operated trackball, and
the middle button is also a wheel.

As for keyboards -- proably any USB keyboard will work to a
certain extent (for simple typing) -- but will be missing some of the
keys which Sun uses, or will have them labeled differently, so you may
find it difficult to do things like the "Stop-A" combination which will
kick you back to the OBP (Open Boot Prom) level out of a possibly hung
OS.

So -- to get started, grab a cheap Windows USB keyboard. Once
you want to do more complex things, get a Sun keyboard from eBay, a
hamfest, or wherever else you may find them.

Good Luck,
DoN.

--
Email: <> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

DoN. Nichols wrote:
> On 2009-07-11, Wes Groleau <groleau+> wrote:
>> Right now I'm just borrowing a keyboard (no mouse) just for setup
>> and was thinking after setup I'd just manage it by X11 and rlogin.
>
> Hmm ... for diagnostics, you either need the keyboard and
> monitor, or a serial terminal connected to the TTY-A serial port.

If it crashes to where I need that, I'll have the keyboard and mouse,
and can borrow a monitor. I have a serial terminal but using it would
require separating it from the computer that's in the same case with it.
I'd rather avoid that. Plus it may no longer work--it was last plugged
in twenty years ago.

I knew I needed the DIN, but I didn't know which keyboards had it.
Now I know. Thanks.

--
Wes Groleau

Change is inevitable. We need to learn that "inevitable" is
neither a synonym for "good" nor for "bad."
-- WWG

On 2009-07-14, shmerl <> wrote:
>
> glennklockwood, DoN. Nichols: Thanks for your help. I ordered a USB
> "programmer's keyboard" type 7.
>
>> SB-2500 does use USB keyboard and mouse -- and only with the USB 1.1
>> ports on the system board, not the additional USB 2.0 ports on the
>> USB/Firewire PCI card which typically comes with the system. (I've got
>> one of those cards in my SB-2000 for the benefit of the USB 2.0 port
>> speed with downloading images from my digital camera.
>
> How is this card called?

Do an eBay search for:

+Sun +375-3140

and you will typically find one at a good price, a couple of systems
with the card installed (assuming you search in body as well as
headers), and sometimes a much higher priced one.

While the feedback on the inexpensive vendor does not look good,
I have had good luck with him -- on this and other Sun things.

Enjoy,
Don.

--
Email: <> | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
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--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---