[octaneirix6530]

hello !

The optical type 5 mouse i have has problems working.
it works only on aluminium style reflective surfaces.

any idea ?

thank you

[robespierre]

The Sun optical mice all require a metal pad with lines. They do not track well or at all on other surfaces. The pads for the Type 4 and Type 5 mice are different, with a different color of ink and different grid pitch. Type 4 requires a 200 lines/inch pad, 370-1368. Type 5 requires a 300 lines/inch pad, 370-1399 or 370-1663.

As a fallback, you can use a sheet of paper with very fine lines. You need a high-resolution printer for best results. Here are some example PostScript programs:

%!PS-Adobe-2.0
%%Title: grid for optical mouse pad
%%Creator: Sebastian Marius Kirsch <***@moebius.inka.de>
%%Pages: 1
%%EndComments
/inch { 72 mul } bind def
/cm { 2.54 div inch } bind def
/mm { 10 div cm } bind def
/width 21 cm def
/height 29.7 cm def
/spacing 1 def

.25 setlinewidth

0 spacing height {
newpath
0 exch moveto
width 0 rlineto
stroke
} for

0 spacing width {
newpath
0 moveto
0 height rlineto
stroke
} for

showpage

%!PS-Adobe-2.0
%% Sun 3 mouse pad
%% Copyright 1987, BeakSoft Inc.
%% All Rights Reserved
%% Permission is granted to copy and use this without charge as long
%% as the copyright notices remain intact.
%%
%%

gsave
90 rotate
/ZapfChancery-MediumItalic findfont 24 scalefont setfont
5 -40 moveto
(This is a mouse pad. It works!) show
( 1987, BeakSoft Inc.)
dup
stringwidth pop
10.9 72 mul
exch sub
dup /copyr exch def
-40 moveto
show
/Symbol findfont 24 scalefont setfont
(\343)
dup
stringwidth pop
copyr exch sub
-40 moveto
show
grestore

.8 setlinewidth
50 0 moveto
250
{ 2.4 0 rmoveto gsave 0 11 72 mul rlineto stroke grestore } repeat

.6 setlinewidth
50 0 moveto
300 { 0 2.8 rmoveto gsave 8.5 72 mul 0 rlineto stroke grestore } repeat

showpage

You can delete the text from the first "gsave" to the first "grestore" and it will remove the writing from the second file.

[octaneirix6530]

wow.... didnt expect that....

---

i better use a regular mouse i think...

[jpstewart]

i better use a regular mouse i think...

What do you mean by "regular" mouse?  The Sun Type 5 mouse isn't compatible with any other (non-Sun) mice.  So if by "regular" you mean a PC mouse, it won't work.  I know it looks like a PS/2 connector but it isn't electrically compatible.

There is, however, a mechanical (non-optical) Sun Type 5 mouse that will work instead.  (Also called the "Compact 1" mouse.)  The Sun Type 6 with a DIN connector (not the USB one) is also an option.  I think the Type 6s are all mechanical.  So if by "regular" you simply mean "not optical", then you're fine as long as you stick to Sun-branded mice.

[octaneirix6530]

sure i meant non optical. thank you very much for your
time and all these informations !!!

---

now the question is where am i going to find one...