Sun Type 5
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This article requires additional photographic illustration — need photos of the switches |
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| Branding | Sun Microsystems |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Fujitsu |
| Keyswitches | Rubber dome |
| Interface | Sun keyboard/mouse interface |
| Weight | 1.75 kg |
| Years of production | 1991—1997 |
| Precedes | Sun Type 6 |
| Supersedes | Sun Type 4 |
The Sun Type 5 is a keyboard that was made for Sun SparcStation line of Unix workstations.
Construction
The keyboard internals are Fujitsu rubber dome with slider on a curved backplane.
The exterior is in Sun's colour scheme of light grey and purple. The keycaps are of higher quality than typical Fujitsu keyboards: sharp-edged, cylindrical, with royal blue letters and supposedly dye-sublimated onto PBT. Caps Lock, Num Lock, Scroll Lock and Compose each has a small window for a LED. All keys do not have the same hue: modifiers are in the same light grey tone as the case while the alphanumeric keys are white. The LED keycaps have a larger slider, they can not be swapped with other keycaps (i.e. it is not possible to swap Ctrl and Caps Lock).
Variations
The type 5 uses one large bar to tilt the keyboard, a small cover hidden under the closed bar gives access to the eight DIP switches on the PCB that select the keyboard layout. To open the keyboard, remove the five screws, pry a guitar pick between the upper and lower half where additional latches keep the keyboard closed: at the front left, front right and in the middle of both sides of the keyboard. There are five hinges at the top of the keyboard, so gently lift up the front.
The type 5c has two feet, a small cover for the five DIP switches that select the layout and no screws. To open the keyboard, depress the five visible latches at the front, then proceed using guitar picks as for the type 5.
The inner steel plate is screwed to the barrel plate. The type 5 uses an 8051 microcontroller on a PCB that spans the entire length of the keyboard where the type 5c uses a 68HC05 on a smaller PCB.
Layout
There are a few variants, with either:
- More IBM-like layout, including ISO layouts.
To the left side, there is a cluster of named function keys:
| Help | |
| Stop | Again |
| Props | Undo |
| Front | Copy |
| Open | Paste |
| Find | Cut |
The space bar row takes one of these forms:
| Control | Alt | Meta | Meta | Compose | Alt Graph |
| Caps Lock | Alt | Meta | Meta | Compose | Alt Graph |
Cable and protocol
It uses Sun's proprietary keyboard/mouse interface.
The first version had a connector for a detachable cable on the left and right sides, where the other port could be used for a Sun mouse. Sun Type 5c has a fixed cable and a dedicated Sun mouse port in the middle of the underside with cable channels for both cables going to the left and right.
Gallery
UK ISO layout
Keycap removed, showing rubber dome
Type 5 Backside: label with model id
Type 5c backside: label with model id
See also
- Sun Compact 1
- A tenkeyless keyboard in the same style, but made by Key Tronic.
- The key in the left, right and top sections have keys smaller than normal. The media and power keys that the Type 5 have above the numeric keypad have been squeezed together with the function keys.
Reviews
- Chyrosran22 on Youtube: Sun Type 5c review (Fujitsu dome with slider). Published on 2015-12-26.
