On 2/17/07, todd <markleyt@compusleuth.com> wrote:
> Bart:
>           The serial port settings all look good, but the 9600 speed may
> not match the computer. The quotes "bunch of non logical characters" and
> "repeating a similar block" could be a symptom of mismatched baud rates.
> You may try different baud rates. The baud rate on the uVax II, and uVax
> III were set using jumpers or switches on the console device plugged
> into the CPU board. I am not sure how it was set on the models you
> listed, but 9600 and 19200 were common defaults.

MicroVAX II for sure has baud-rate select on a rotary switch on the back panel.

> Todd
>
> bart sikkes wrote:
> >
> > 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?

Is this like a phone connector but with the locating key off-center?
If so, it is a DECconnect special.  You can learn a lot by googling
for DECconnect.

Not sure whether the TI terminal would have been built to be
DECconnect compatible.

> > 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

Almost certainly you want full duplex to communicate with the VAX.

> > data length: 8 bits
> > parity: none
> > stop bits: 1
> > xmit baud: 9600
> > recv baud: =Xmit
> > xmit pace: Xon/Xoff
> > recv pace: DTR/Xon/Xoff

Almost certainly you do not want DTR pacing.

> > limited transmit: off
> > dsri: no
> > cts: ignore
> > cd: ignore
> > break duration: 170 ms
> > disconntect delay: 2 sec
> > aux printer type: national

Hope this helps some.  Note also that early MicroVAXes had 9-pin
connectors for serial console that look like PC 9-pin connectors but
do not have the signals going to the same pins.  This is merely
because the DEC computers were built several years before PCs took
over the popular mind.

    carl
-- 
    carl lowenstein         marine physical lab     u.c. san diego
                                                 clowenstein@ucsd.edu