hello,

this isn't really related to the vax port itself, but this is the best
place i can find for asking vax related questions. if there is another
place that would be better please let me know.

i got a couple of vax boxes and eventually i want them to run netbsd.
but currently im mainly interested in checking their status. for that
i believe that hooking up a console would be the easiest thing to do.
i got a couple of terminals around here that should work i guess, but
im unable to make this work.

i got a VAXstation 4000 VLC, a VAXstation 4000 60 and a MicroVax
3100-30. for terminals i have a Texas Instruments Model 928 VDT and a
Wyse WY-50. in my mind i should be able to just hook up a console to
the correct port on the vax and i should get output. but is it indeed
that simple? could in general a TI terminal be used or do i need vax
terminal or such?

i have a cable with two phone like connectors, i believe these are
used in the DEC423 ports? all the vaxes have one or more of the port
these connectors fit into and the TI terminal has it also. making this
connection seems like the logical thing to do, but is it the correct
one?

with an uVax II i once worked on i used a serial DB25 female - female
DB9 cable, but i think i need a serial DB25 female - DB25 female cable
for these vaxes and terminals. can any basic female-female DB25 cable
be used for this and would it work better or differently from the
phone connectors like cable?

currently when i hook up any of the three vaxes to the TI terminal i
basicly get either a bunch of non logical characters or nothing. with
the 4000 VLC it keeps repeating a similar block of characters on
screen. with the 4000 60 i see nothing on the screen, but that one has
a bunch of such DEC423 ports, so perhaps i have the wrong one. the
3100 shows a couple of weird characters after boot and remains at
that.

from some googling i found that you can set different things on a
terminal. the TI terminal has a large menu with many options and i
tried to set them to what i felt was correct, but im unsure if this is
correct or if these settings can cause the weird output.

the vax is connected on port 1 and these are the settings for port 1
on the TI terminal
communication: half duplex
data length: 8 bits
parity: none
stop bits: 1
xmit baud: 9600
recv baud: =Xmit
xmit pace: Xon/Xoff
recv pace: DTR/Xon/Xoff
limited transmit: off
dsri: no
cts: ignore
cd: ignore
break duration: 170 ms
disconntect delay: 2 sec
aux printer type: national

are this correct settings for a connection with a vax? or does it
differ per vax? and can the other terminal settings influence this
behaviour, the emulation settings or such?

i know this is perhaps what a basic / vague question, but i got little
to no experience with terminals and such (i started with personal
computers, not this type of machines) and i would like some guidance.
what are common problems i can check in this setup, perhaps its
something rather silly i just don't know how to do.

thanks in advance,
bart