Gentoo Forums
Gentoo Forums
Gentoo Forums
Quick Search: in
Very old serial terminals - questions, suggestions
View unanswered posts
View posts from last 24 hours

 
Reply to topic    Gentoo Forums Forum Index Other Things Gentoo
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
quag7
Apprentice
Apprentice


Joined: 12 Aug 2002
Posts: 288
Location: Marana, Arizona - USA

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:49 am    Post subject: Very old serial terminals - questions, suggestions Reply with quote

I am curious if anyone here has attempted to hook up a very old serial terminal to their Gentoo system. I'm curious what terminal hardware was used.

I was also curious about using original DEC equipment and what other hardware other than these terminals I would require? Can these be hooked directly into a serial port?

I was also curious what percentage of middle 1980s and earlier terminals had standard serial ports/cables, and how they hooked up to the systems of their day, and what would be required to make them usable as serial terminals today with a Gentoo box. After hooking up the Apple //e to work as a serial terminal, I'm curious about other things that can serve as such. Mostly, I am interested in early hardware.

Thanks!
_________________
http://www.dataswamp.net
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
drwook
Veteran
Veteran


Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 1324
Location: London

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Should be fine with a VT420/VT510 or any of the similar models (they were what I used with my last DEC system). Not tested myself though so no warranty expressed or implied ;)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
John R. Graham
Administrator
Administrator


Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 10587
Location: Somewhere over Atlanta, Georgia

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Heh. Most serial terminals are very old. :wink:

In the middle '80's, essentially all terminals that were not IBM 3270 interface (proprietary coax-based synchronous serial) had standard RS-232 interfaces. Linux should support essentially all of them through the ncurses library. This is a very old capability, having existed in *nix since Unix System III. To see all the terminals supported, look in /usr/share/terminfo. It's an impressively long list. :)

- John
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
quag7
Apprentice
Apprentice


Joined: 12 Aug 2002
Posts: 288
Location: Marana, Arizona - USA

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Holy crow, you're not kidding. There are tons of them!

Thanks both of you for the information. I don't suppose anyone has any idea where's a good place to buy some of these old ones cheaply?
_________________
http://www.dataswamp.net
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
John R. Graham
Administrator
Administrator


Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 10587
Location: Somewhere over Atlanta, Georgia

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check eBay, but be wary of "thin clients": those may look like serial terminals but they are low-resource computers with proprietary interfaces, and usually more trouble than they're worth.

- John
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
quag7
Apprentice
Apprentice


Joined: 12 Aug 2002
Posts: 288
Location: Marana, Arizona - USA

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wanted to thank responders for their help. I was able to snarf a Wyse WY50 - not quite as old as I was looking for, but a start - from a guy on my local LUG. As you can see, it works. Pretty simple:

http://www.dataswamp.net/colin/wyse-wy50.jpg
_________________
http://www.dataswamp.net
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
drwook
Veteran
Veteran


Joined: 30 Mar 2005
Posts: 1324
Location: London

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

lynx all the way :)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Gentoo Forums Forum Index Other Things Gentoo All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum