Appreciation for Sun Type 6?

[Surly73]

I was looking at some piles of keyboards today and included in the pile was a Sun Type 6.  I thought the key action was interesting and different than most but I wasn't sure what I was dealing with.  I popped off a keycap and although I didn't take a picture, what I saw was very reminiscent of what I've been told is part of Topre's sliding mechanism (shown below - taken from other Topre threads here):



Searching geekhack there doesn't seem to be a lot on the type 6, but definitely indications that it's "just another rubber dome" and not one of the fancy Topre variants.

Unfortunately this particular model had the Sun DIN connector and not USB so I can't simply grab it and try it out.  I'd like to know if it's worth grabbing and attempting to adapt to PS2 or USB, though.

[spolia optima]

They're fine keyboards. the 5 series feels more "topre-like", but they're all way above average.

[Surly73]

They're fine keyboards. the 5 series feels more "topre-like", but they're all way above average.

I may be able to get my hands on a type 5c too, but I expect that interface to be even more non-standard.  

[jbl]

I may be able to get my hands on a type 5c too, but I expect that interface to be even more non-standard.  

5c should have the same DIN connector as your type 6. The 5/5c were my favorite keyboards for quite a while. Favorite enough that I actually used a very old Sun SPARCStation2 to write my dissertation proposal on a few years back.

I do believe they are rubber domes, but the key action is very tactile and smooth. When I got my Realforce, I was surprised at how much it felt like the Sun keyboards.

[Surly73]

I put a lot of miles on Sparc IPC, IPX and Sparcstation 2s back in the early to mid 90s.  if I recall, they have a nice smooth action but I think the tactile feeling is very muted.  On one hand I appreciated that keys rarely jammed, on the other a little more feedback would have been appreciated.

May I presume that something like http://kentie.net/article/sunkbd/ would still be the state-of-the-art in terms of getting a Sun DIN keyboard to work on a PC?

[7bit]

5c should have the same DIN connector as your type 6. The 5/5c were my favorite keyboards for quite a while. Favorite enough that I actually used a very old Sun SPARCStation2 to write my dissertation proposal on a few years back.

I do believe they are rubber domes, but the key action is very tactile and smooth. When I got my Realforce, I was surprised at how much it felt like the Sun keyboards.

The keyboards are rubber dome. It is said the Type 6 is the worst Sun keyboard ever.

The Type 6 and 7 are most likely USB keyboards (don't know if there exist type 6 keyboards with that 8-pin mini-DIN connector). You can't use a Type 5 or before with a PC, except you mod it in any way or find a converter.

[theferenc]

I used a type 6 USB keyboard daily for years. It is definitely better than most rubber domes, but not nearly at Topre levels of awesome.

But it is the correct layout.

[chimera15]

I have a Japanese one somewhere.  I hadn't considered that the switches are anything special.  The best thing about them I think was that they did come in like every language on the planet and were cheap.

[ch_123]

I'm pretty sure I've typed on a Sun Type 6 before. I'm also pretty sure that it was rather unpleasant to type on.

[RoboKrikit]

My Type 5 is much more solid than my Type 6, in both general build, weight, and key stability.  Neither are bad keyboards; I'd take them over a cheap OEM board any day.  They both have mushy domes though.  Topre snap-back key feel is way out of their league IMHO.

[urbancamo]

Yeah, I use SunRays which are type 6 usb keyboards - I'm from the IBM/Cherry school of thought, and they are pretty horrid. Having said that, I had a type 5 which was nicer but sun specific connection.

One thing that I can say is that sun keyboards seem to mellow with age which makes them nicer to use.

[lowpoly]

I have a Type 6 and always thought the case design left room for improvement. :fear:

[Ekaros]

I find those used with our schools Sun terminals quite horrid, can't say exact name though...

[Surly73]

I located 6 NIB type 6s yesterday.  Unfortunately they are all Sun DIN so I can't just give them a try.

In quick tapping, I find that they feel a little different than the average rubber dome but only real typing would tell if it's different in a good or bad way (for me anyways).

[bpiphany]

I've been dealing with different types of sun keyboards at school. Not sure which models, the later ones I suppose. They are ok for rubber domes I think. Swedish layout of course, some with a funny location of AltGr, which usually is right shift, but on these compose were placed there. Square and curly brackets are produced with AltGr + 7-0 on the swedish layout. This little quirk produced tons of {{{{{{{ and the likes from first hitting a number with compose pressed and then the right key combo for the desired bracket =) I usually brought my keytronic for longer sessions mostly due to the better feel but also because of the annoying differences in layout.

Just a regular day in one of the cumputer halls..

[Chaoticmass]

Back when I was on a vintage Sun kick I spent many hours typing on a Sun Type 5. I grew quite fond of it. I think it had a nice feel to it for a rubber dome keyboard. I tried a Type 6 later on and didn't like it as much.

[Findecanor]

I got myself a Sun Type 5c recently only because it is such a beautiful keyboard. This one does not feel too bad for a rubber dome, but I have also tried one that was more mushy.

[HaaTa]

I have a Sun Type 5c, in my "meh" pile. It's cool but, I don't think it'll make it into my rotation.

[theferenc]

A lot of it really is the layout. I can forgive it for being mushy (though much less mushy than those god awful apple keyboards) since it has the correct layout on it.