SUMMARY: pinout of SparcStation 1 keyboard connector?

From: Dominique Petitpierre (petitp@divsun.unige.ch)
Date: Wed Apr 07 1993 - 11:33:20 CDT


In a recent message I was asking if I could use a cable extender made for a
Sun3 with a SparcStation 1:
- are the keyboard signals electrically compatible?
- what is the pinout of the Sparcstation 1 keyboard connector (I already have
  the Sun3's from the hardware documentation)

The answers are:
- yes the keyboard signals are electrically compatible, so I can use
  the cable extender (which comprises a signal amplifier).

- Pinout diagram of the keyboard connectors of the SparcStation 1 (miniDIN 8)
  and of the Sun3 (15 pin D):

mini-din 8 male cable pinout
    top
   6 8 7
  1 2 3
   4 5

8 Pin Mini..

1 GND
2 GND
3 VCC
4 RD - Mouse
5 TD - Mouse
6 TD - Keyboard
7 RD - Keyboard
8 VCC

15 Pin..

1 RD - Keyboard
3 TD - Keyboard
5 RD - Mouse
7 TD - Mouse
2,4,6,8,9 GND
10,11,12,14,15 VCC

Below you'll find my original questions and more information, in particular
the diagram of an adapter cable, which we will use to connect the keyboard
cable extender to the SparcStation 1 and to it's keyboard. (I stripped less
relevant information with regards to keyboard layout, and key mappings). You
might notice that in the Annexe 3, the connector diagram does not correspond
to the physical appearance of the Sparc Station 1 connector (although the
signal/pin number is the same as above). It's included in case it makes sense
in some other cases.

Thanks to all that responded, in particular
David DiGiacomo <dd@mv.us.adobe.com>
Ian Darwin <ian@sq.com>

--
Mr. Dominique Petitpierre    | Internet: petitp@divsun.unige.ch
ISSCO, University of Geneva  | X400: S=petitp;OU=divsun;O=unige;
54 route des Acacias         |       PRMD=switch;ADMD=arcom;C=ch
CH-1227 GENEVA (Switzerland) | UUCP: mcvax!cui!divsun.unige.ch!petitp
Tel: +41/22/705 71 17        | FAX: +41/22/300 10 86

______________________________________________________________________________ Annexe 1: original question

In article 8823@news.unige.ch, petitp@divsun.unige.ch (Dominique Petitpierre) writes: >We have a cable extender that allows a Sun3 CPU box (and its noise) to be put >at a distance from the monitor and keyboard; It involves a some electronics to >amplify the video and keyboard signal. We would like to use this cable on a >SpactStation 1 (original model, not the "plus"). The monitor is the same, but >the keyboard are different (type 3 vs type 4) and have a different connector >(DB25 vs miniDIN8 ??). The Sun3 hardware documentation provides a diagram for >the signal/pin correspondance of the keyboard connector, but we haven't found >the information for the SparcStation 1. > >Questions: > >Are the keyboard signals compatible between a Sun3 type 3 and a Sparcstation 1 >type 4 keyboard? > >If yes, >What is the signal/pin correspondance on the Sparcstation 1 keyboard >connector? > >If no, >How would you make an adapter? >Even if the signals are not exactly the same, we know that it is possible to >use the cable: The manufacturer of the cable (Artecon) is willing to provide >an adapter, but they would charge 140$ for it.

______________________________________________________________________________ Annexe2: forwarded article from (David DiGiacomo) <dd@mv.us.adobe.com>

From: MKL@nic.ddn.mil (Mark Lottor) Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun Subject: Type 3 keyboard on Sparcstation Message-ID: <2091@brazos.Rice.edu> Date: 9 Oct 89 21:29:12 GMT

I hooked up my Type-3 keyboard to my Sparcstation by making a short adapter cable about a foot long. One end has a mini-din male and the other end has a db-15 female. Everything works fine so far. If you screw up like I did the first time and your 4/60 stops accepting input, check the keyboard protection fuse underneath the video card. You can get replacements at Radio Shack. I got 3 type-3 keyboard field-service rejects at Haltek (mtn vw) for $5 each, with minor problems that are easy to fix like "sticky return key". I've also hooked up my Sun-3 OCLI monitor instead of the 19" sparcglare monitor.

db-15 female mini-din-8 male 1 6 kb rxd 2 4,5,8 gnd 3 3 kb txd 4 4,5,8 5 2 mouse rx 6 4,5,8 7 n/c mouse tx (not used) 8 4,5,8 9 4,5,8 10 1,7 +vcc 11 1,7 12 1,7 13 n/c 14 1,7 15 1,7 ______________________________________________________________________________

Annexe 3: excerpt of the answer from Ian Darwin <ian@sq.com>

<text deleted> The adapter is a Macintosh printer cable (590-0340) with the DB25 cut off and a DB-15 soldered onto the leads. I don't have the color coding but the attached information is what I think I used:

>From: witters@tc.fluke.COM (John Witters) >Subject: Alternate SUN4 keyboards (Summary.) >Date: Sat, 18 Jan 92 00:02:32 GMT >Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun.hardware,comp.sys.sun.wanted,alt.sys.sun, >comp.org.sug,comp.periphs

<text deleted>

Apparently, some Sun4s used a 15 pin D connector which will work just fine with a Type 3 keyboard. I wasn't able to find a ready made adapter to connect the Type 3 keyboard to the mini-DIN connector found on most Sun4s. However, you can order a cable from Sun which allows a Type 4 keyboard to be used with a Sun3. If you make or buy a 15 pin D connector gender bender adapter, you can use this cable to connect a Type 3 keyboard to a Sun4. I tried this, and it works. This is probably how I'll solve my problem. You'll need to order part number X937A, "6 foot keyboard cable 'M' to 'D'." It costs $20.00 You'll also need a 15 pin female D connector adapter. One person gave complete details on how to build a cable from scratch, assuming you can find mini-DIN and 15 pin female D connectors. His instructions for doing this are given below.

+ From: mrapple@quack.sac.ca.us (Nick Sayer) + Newsgroups: comp.sys.sun.hardware + Subject: type 4 / type 3 keyboard pinouts + Date: 5 Jan 92 03:02:57 GMT + + Not being the type to spend upwards of $50 for something that ought + to be worth $5, I built my own 4->3 adapter so I could use a type 4 + keyboard on my 501-1164 (Carerra) CPU. + + 8 pin socket + + + 7 + 8 6 + 5 4 3 + 2 1 + + 1 GND + 2 GND + 3 Vcc + 4 RxDB (Mouse) + 5 TxDA (Keyboard) + 6 RxDA (Keyboard) + 7 TxDB (Mouse) + 8 Vcc + + 15 pin socket + + 8 - - - 1 + 15 - 9 + + 1 RxDA (Keyboard) + 3 TxDA (Keyboard) + 5 RxDB (Mouse) + 7 TxDB (Mouse) + + 2,4,6,8,9 GND + 10-15 Vcc + + My type 4 keyboard behaves in every way like the type 3 it replaced.

<text deleted>

-- Mr. Dominique Petitpierre | Internet: petitp@divsun.unige.ch ISSCO, University of Geneva | X400: S=petitp;OU=divsun;O=unige; 54 route des Acacias | PRMD=switch;ADMD=arcom;C=ch CH-1227 GENEVA (Switzerland) | UUCP: mcvax!cui!divsun.unige.ch!petitp



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