>>ok, i have a question about the VS2000 and it's graphics.  will it run without
>>a color card?  [snip]
>
>There is a jumper that changes a MicroVAX 2000 board into a VAXstation 200
>board. So you can pull the GPX card and switch the jumper. You'll also
>need the converter box so you can connect a serial line to the box.

The VS2000 has a monochrome framebuffer on the motherboard. Pull the
color card from the VS2000 and you've turned it into a monochrome 2000.

It is possible to force a 2000 to use a serial console without mucking about
with jumpers on the motherboard (which I never managed to find, anyway; not
that I looked hard).

The 2000 has four serial ports: the 25-pin comm port, the 9-pin printer port,
and two ports on the 15-pin video port for the mouse and keyboard. Normally,
to connect a printer to the 9-pin printer port you use a BCC05 cable. If you
use a BCC08 cable, the 2000 will use the 9-pin port as its console. The
BCC08 shorts pins 8 and 9 of the 9-pin port together to signal it should be
used as a console. The other interesting pins on the 9-pin port are:

	1 - Shield GND
	2 - Transmitted data
	3 - Received data
	7 - Signal GND

The interesting pins in the video connector from a serial port perspective
are:

	6 - GND for keyboard
	14- Received data from keyboard
	15 - Transmitted data to keyboard

	7 - GND for mouse
	5 - Received data from mouse
	13 - Transmitted data to mouse

It is possible (if you have the connectors lying around) to build cables to
break out the serial ports without needing the DEC box. I've done so on
2000s and 3100/30s to allow four terminals on the systems under VMS.

Roger Ivie
ivie@cc.usu.edu