sun mice

From: Lawrence LeMay <lemay_at_cs.umn.edu>
Date: Sat May 15 17:30:17 1999

> > > Is there a sure-fire way to determine if a sun mouse is a type 2 versis
> > > type 3? It looks like the mice for type 3 have little side-pins on
> > > the connector, so is it reasonable to assume that mice without this
> > > feature are for sun-2 series computers?
> > >
> > > I figured i'd go through the box of old sun mice at work, since they
> > > are all so old as to predate any hardware we still have in operation.
> > > Looks like there are quite a few sun3 mice, possibly a few sun 2.
> >
> > Sun mice are Mouse Systems mice, of course. I have one Model M2 mouse,
> > which is black, and thus is most likely a mouse for a Sun 2 computer.
> > I have many Model 3 and 4 mice, which have the brass pins on the side of
> > the connector. The one sun 3/50 keyboard I have is using a Model 3
> > with pins, so i'm assuming these are all for use on type 3 keyboards?
> > The strange thing is, I have several Model M3 mice that dont have those
> > brass pins on the connector. So i'm wondering if these are also usable
> > on older sun 2 computers, or if sun is just playing mind games with me..
>
> IIRC, electrically the Sun 2 and Sun 3 mice are equivalent. The difference
> is the connector.
>
> A Sun 2 mouse (Type 2) has an RJ-11 plug for a connector, as does the
> Type 2 keyboard.
>
> A Sun 3 mouse (Type 3) has a DB-9 connector and plugs into the top of

It plugs into the top of the type 3 keyboard, but its still a RJ-11 plug,
but the plug has these brass pings sticking out of each side. So it
cannot be plugged into a normal RJ-11 jack.

> a Type 3 keyboard (which has a DB-15 plug). Some of the late Sun 2's
> actually had the 15-bpin keyboard/mouse port on the CPU, but came with
> a small adapter that took the RJ-11 connectors for the Type 2 KB and mouse.
>
> A Type 4 keyboard is common on late Sun 3 and early Sparc systems. It
> has mini-DIN plugs (KB plugs into CPU, mouse into KB), but is still
> electrically equivalent and can be adapted via a simple cable.
>
> The current Type 5 KB and mouse are also electrically equivalent, but
> restyled.
>
> The big problem with switching between generations of Sun mice is not
> the mouse or the connector, but the mouse pad. You definately want the
> one which matches the mouse, though there seems no easy way to tell which
> is which.
>
> <<<John>>>
>
Received on Sat May 15 1999 - 17:30:17 BST