# Sun Unix Type * Keyboards



## Gdan (Jan 16, 2017)

This is a quick question.  It might seem silly/stupid/whatever, and maybe it is.  But how well do those old Sun Unix Type 5/6/7 keyboards work with FreeBSD 11 out of the box?  Like the stop/again/props/undo/copy/find/cut keys?  I love my IBM rubberdome PS/2 keyboard and I'll always keep it around.  But it seems rather silly to have Windows keys when I haven't used Windows since the mid-90s.  Thank you friends.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Jan 16, 2017)

I can't answer your question, but would like to say that I flatly refuse to use a keyboard with a MS-Windows logo on it and have not done so since long before they came out. I stick with model Ms or newer custom keyboards. You can get anything nowadays. Check out this thread: https://forums.freebsd.org/threads/57055/


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## Gdan (Jan 16, 2017)

Yeah the older IBM model Ms are great stuff but they sure have gotten expensive.  I have been slacking off at hitting up thrift stores lately and I need to get back at it.  I just like the idea of a Unix-specific keyboard.  And they are really good looking as an added benefit.  It looks like there is some discussion of Sun keyboards in that thread though, which is promising.


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## Datapanic (Jan 17, 2017)

I have the keyboard for which you speak of - attached to a Sunblade 100 running 8.  On the back, it says Model Type 6 USB.  I haven't tried plugging it directly into a BSD box, although I could.  I am afraid of what might happen!


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## aragats (Jan 17, 2017)

Gdan said:


> it seems rather silly to have Windows keys when I haven't used Windows


They are good keys! E.g. I've mapped them as Mod keys for x11-wm/dwm, or on another machine I've mapped one of them to be the hot key for VirtualBox etc.
I don't like to "waste" good Alt and Ctrl keys for such purposes.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Jan 17, 2017)

aragats said:


> They are good keys!



Well of course their key function is good. It's the inappropriate out-of-place advertising that's the problem.


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## sparky2002 (Jan 30, 2017)

Gdan said:


> This is a quick question.  It might seem silly/stupid/whatever, and maybe it is.  But how well do those old Sun Unix Type 5/6/7 keyboards work with FreeBSD 11 out of the box?  Like the stop/again/props/undo/copy/find/cut keys?



The Type 5 keyboard only came with an 8-pin mini-DIN connector (not PS/2 !) and speaks a relatively simple serial protocol ; you'll need to build an adapter for it (unless you're running on old Sun hardware, obviously). Check the Deskthority forum for that.

Type 6 and above come with USB connectors and will work out of the box (I believe there were Type 6 with the mini-DIN but haven't seen one). The Sun keys are either reported by xev as such (SunProps...) or the native X keysym (XF86Cut, Stop->Cancel, Again->Redo, Undo...).

Make sure to load the proper keymap when starting X :

```
setxkbmap -model sun_type6_usb -layout us -option "compose:menu"
```

Running here with a Type 7; also tried both a Type 4 and a Type 5 with a home-made adapter.


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## Gdan (Feb 11, 2017)

Huge thanks for this sparky.... I've wanted a SUN KB for a long time now.  Now I can safely order one without wasting my money.


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## kafka0 (Feb 12, 2017)

Gdan said:


> Huge thanks for this sparky.... I've wanted a SUN KB for a long time now.  Now I can safely order one without wasting my money.



Please let us know how it goes, I might be interested as well. I dislike the large size of the SUN keyboards, but they are resilient, solid and have excellent feedback. I currently have a Pok3r (with this horrible LED thing that's always on and wasn't mentioned anywhere...) with a good feedback, but not as good as old-style SUN KB.


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## abishai (Feb 12, 2017)

Interesting! Never thought there were UNIX keyboards. Additional keys look awesome and very _l33t_. However I looked on ebay and found rather small supply of new keyboards. And all of them are in USA. And rubber domes are not _clicky_ at all.


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## Deleted member 9563 (Feb 12, 2017)

abishai said:


> Interesting! Never thought there were UNIX keyboards. Additional keys look awesome and very _l33t_. However I looked on ebay and found rather small supply of new keyboards. And all of them are in USA. And rubber domes are not _clicky_ at all.



The Unicomp 122 might be of interest to you.


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