manual.md

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usb3sun user guide

usb3sun is an adapter that allows you to use usb keyboards and mice with SPARCstations and other sun workstations.

toc

• getting started
• the power key
• the display
• the settings menu
• bindings
• updating the firmware
  • usb method
  • picoprobe method
• compatibility
• design files
• specifications
  • electrical characteristics

getting started

to use the adapter, you will need a sun workstation, as well as a usb keyboard and/or mouse.

you will also need an 8-pin mini-din cable, male to male, with each pin connected to the same pin on the other end. we recommend the original sun cable (530-1442 or 530-1442-02) or the lindy 31532, but they are sometimes sold as a “mini-din serial cable”, LocalTalk cable, or AppleTalk cable.

⚠️ watch out!	do not use mini-din cables with any pins swapped, like the apple 590-0552-A. if you are unsure, check with a multimeter in continuity mode.
	be sure to hold the mini-din port on the adapter while connecting or disconnecting a cable. the port can be tight, so holding it will minimise strain on the board.

connect the adapter to your sun workstation with the mini-din cable, and connect any keyboards and mice to the usb-a ports on the adapter. the usb-c port on the adapter (rev A2+) is for debugging and firmware updates only.

the power key

some sun keyboards have a power key, which switches on the workstation by toggling pin 7 of the mini-din port, in addition to sending scancodes like other keys.

to switch on your workstation, press the onboard power button (rev A1+), or press Right Ctrl+P on your usb keyboard. note that the latter will only work if the adapter is powered externally via the usb-c port (rev A2+) or the VBUS pin of the debug header.

to send the power key to software while the workstation is on, press Right Ctrl+P on your usb keyboard. the onboard power button (rev A1+) does not send any scancodes.

the display

off	on	meaning
		click mode — as set by the workstation, ignoring the “force click” setting
		bell active
		caps lock active
		compose active
		scroll lock active
		num lock active
		buzzer active — making any sound, including click, bell, or plug or unplug notifications

the settings menu

usb3sun remembers its settings while powered off (firmware 1.2+).

to open the settings menu, press Right Ctrl+Space. use the Up and Down arrow keys to select a setting, then use Left and Right to change settings listed as “in place”, or Return or Enter to choose other actions.

setting	firmware	in place?	values
Go back	1.0+	no	closes the settings menu
Force click	1.2+	yes	no = allow the workstation to control the click mode
			off = never click when pressing keys
			on = always click when pressing keys
Click duration	1.0+	yes	0 ms, 5 ms, 10 ms, …, 100 ms
Hostid	1.5+	no	sets the hostid used when reprogramming your idprom
Reprogram idprom	1.5+	no	plays a macro that reprograms your idprom
Wipe idprom (AAh)	1.5+	no	plays a macro that makes your idprom contents invalid

bindings

for more details, see /src/bindings.h, but here are the important ones:

USB	Sun
context menu	Compose
Left Alt	Alt
Right Alt	Graph/Alt
Left GUI*	left Meta (diamond)
Right GUI*	right Meta (diamond)
Left Ctrl	Control
Right Ctrl+Space	(usb3sun settings menu)
Right Ctrl+.	Stop
Right Ctrl+Esc	Front
Right Ctrl+Return	Line Feed
Right Ctrl+C	Copy
Right Ctrl+F	Find
Right Ctrl+O	Open
Right Ctrl+P	Power
Right Ctrl+V	Paste
Right Ctrl+X	Cut
Right Ctrl+Y	Again
Right Ctrl+Z	Undo
Right Ctrl+F1	Help
Right Ctrl+F4	Props
Right Ctrl+=	keypad =

* aka Super, Mod4, Windows, etc

updating the firmware

you can update or reflash the firmware over usb (rev A2+), or with a picoprobe.

usb method

1. press and hold the BOOTSEL button underneath the adapter
2. connect the adapter’s usb-c port to your computer
3. release the BOOTSEL button
4. copy firmware.uf2 to the usb mass storage device — you can copy it as a file to the FAT file system, or write to the block device directly with dd(1)

picoprobe method

you will need a raspberry pi pico, other than the one used by usb3sun, which we’ll call the debugger. you will also need a way to connect pins on the adapter’s debug header to pins on the debugger, such as header pins and jumper cables.

flash the debugger with the picoprobe firmware, then connect the adapter to the debugger as follows, being sure to connect GND first and disconnect GND last.

rev A0	rev A1, A2, A3	picoprobe
GND	GND	GND (pin 8)
	UART_TX	GP5 (pin 7)
	UART_RX	GP4 (pin 6)
SWDIO	SWDIO	GP3 (pin 5)
SWCLK	SWCLK	GP2 (pin 4)
VBUS	VBUS	VBUS (pin 40)

to flash the adapter with firmware.elf, run the command below.

$ openocd -f interface/cmsis-dap.cfg -f target/rp2040.cfg -c 'adapter speed 1000' -c 'program firmware.elf verify reset exit'

compatibility

usb3sun is compatible with any machine that would normally use a

• Sun Compact 1
• Sun Type 4
• Sun Type 5
• Sun Type 5c
• Sun Type 6 (non-usb)

usb3sun has been tested successfully with

• SPARCstation IPC (sun4c)
• SPARCstation IPX (sun4c)
• SPARCstation 2 (sun4c)
• SPARCstation 5 (sun4m)
• SPARCstation 20 (sun4m)
• Ultra 5 (sun4u)
• 1209:A1E5 Atreus (Technomancy version) keyboard with QMK
• 04A5:8001 BenQ Zowie EC2 mouse
• 046D:C063 Dell M-UAV-DEL8 mouse
• FEED:1307 gBoards Gergo keyboard with QMK
• 0461:4E24 HP KB71211 keyboard — no scroll lock or right meta
• 0461:4E23 HP MOGIUO mouse
• 04D9:1503 Inland 208397 keyboard
• 17EF:608D Lenovo EMS-537A mouse
• 17EF:6019 Lenovo MSU1175 mouse
• 045E:0040 Microsoft Wheel Mouse Optical 1.1A — enumeration is unreliable
• 045E:0752 Microsoft Wired Keyboard 400 — with tinyusb2.patch
• 045E:0750 Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600 — with tinyusb2.patch
• 045E:0773 Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse (model 1490)
• FEED:6061 Preonic OLKB-60 keyboard with QMK

usb3sun is not yet compatible with

• 05AC:024F Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad (model A1243)
• 1209:2303 Atreus (Keyboardio version) keyboard with Kaleidoscope
• 3367:1903 Endgame Gear XM1r mouse — buttons only (16-bit dx/dy, no boot protocol)
• 045E:0039 Microsoft IntelliMouse Optical 1.1A — broken (“Control FAILED”)

design files

	rev A0	rev A1	rev A2	rev A3
schematic	rendered (source)	rendered (source)	rendered (source)	rendered (source)
pcb layout	rendered (source)	rendered (source)	rendered (source)	rendered (source)
display module support		source	source	source

specifications

	rev A0	rev A1	rev A2	rev A3
width	36 mm	36 mm	36 mm	36 mm
length	95 mm	98 mm	98 mm	98 mm
height	23 mm	23 mm	23 mm	23 mm
ports	1x sun mini-din	1x sun mini-din	1x sun mini-din	1x sun mini-din
	2x usb-a	2x usb-a	2x usb-a	2x usb-a
			1x usb-c (debug only)	1x usb-c (debug only)
buttons		power (for workstation)	power (for workstation)	power (for workstation)
		reset (for adapter)	reset (for adapter)	reset (for adapter)
led indicators		VBUS ok	VBUS ok	VBUS ok
		VSUN ok	VSUN ok	VSUN ok

electrical characteristics

	rev A0, A1, A2, A3
operating temperature	-40°C to 85°C
storage temperature	-40°C to 85°C
VBUS	-0V3 to 6V0
VSUN	-0V3 to 6V0
IVBUS1	up to 500mA
IVBUS2	up to 500mA