[rescue] OT: PS2 keyboard isn't ?

[Robert Rose]

Yes, I am a bit confused, let me explain:

I have now owned 2 SGI boxen (Indy and O2) and have noticed that their 
keyboards (both granite) have interoperatability issues that makes me think 
SGI is streching the "PS2" keyboard spec.

Feel free to skip over the following if you're thinking "yeah, I knew that, 
why didn't you".

I picked up a Multia (yes, I know you all think they suck, it's my first 
Alpha and I like it) to run OpenBSD on.  I discovered OpenBSD doesn't do 
the serial console thing well on these and the Multia serial ports seem to 
be a bit odd, so I dug out a PeeCee keyboard (compaq) and plugged it into 
my PeeCee monitor : keyboard didn't seem to work.

Over the next couple of days I tried all the PS2 keyboards I could find 
before I resorted to the Indy keyboard, worked a treat.  Hmm...

A few weeks later I sold the Indy after I got the O2 (and made a profit) 
and got a KVM switch to share the 21" monitor with my PeeCee.  The KVM 
switch was one of those "sucks power from the PS2 port" types but didn't 
like the O2 at all, it wouldn't work unless the PeeCee was plugged in and 
strangeness happened like the shift key was stuck on sometimes.  Ever try 
typing in a root password to shut down a box with the shift key stuck 
on?  Not fun.

I then tried to use the Multia again a couple of days later, and the only 
keyboard I could get to work was the O2's granite keyboard.

So now I'm stuck.  I have a KVM switch that doesn't work for what I'd 
bought it for and a Multia that I can't make much use of unless I buy a 
granite SGI keyboard for.

Is this a known thing?  Did DEC and SGI push the limits of the PS2 spec or 
has everyone else not implemented it correctly?

Rob.

PS. Anyone ever seen a Sun power supply have "earth leakage" issues?  My 
garage/computer room circuit is tripping about once a day, the local 
electrical code says we have to have earth leakage detection on the circuit 
(so I can't aviod it).  I turned my Sparc 10 off and it's been fine for 2 
weeks so far.  It's not load related (the UPS has less than 50% load) and 
the only other thing that could trip it is earth leakage.