Data I/O Series 22 EPROM Programmer help

A friend and I are working on building a simple Z80 computer from scratch. We've got a pretty good start on it so far, but have run into a little snag - an EPROM programmer. I have an ancient Data I/O Series 22 programmer that I have been attempting to get working. I have the manual, and I managed to get it to power up. The power supply caps were limping, but they seem to have reformed while I was playing with it. I am now able to turn it on and have it come on properly every time. I can read devices into RAM fine, and I have (I think) successfully erased an EPROM with the built in UV eraser. (When I read the erased chip, the checksum is 0000). This programmer has an RS232 port on it, and I have attempted to connect it to a couple of different things. First, I tried connecting it to the Linux box in the workshop, and tried copying the data from ram to the serial port while I had a "cat /dev/ttyS1 > file" running. This produced no effect, other than a zero byte file. I connected a VT220 terminal, and have been able to control the programmer (to an extent) from the terminal. I can type the commands for copy, etc. But, the manual states that I should get some feedback on the terminal screen, as well as on the programmer's readout. So far, I have yet to see a single character come out of that programmer through the serial port. I know I have the baud rate, parity and stop bits set correctly. I even tried connecting my even more ancient Tektronix "doghouse" (German Shepherd sized) 'scope to the RS232 TX pin, and I haven't gotten a clear reading. Of course, my lack of a good reading is probably related to my lack of good probes, the ones I have are quick kludges with some old shielded coax cable, and are probably the electronic equivalent of pounding nails with a bowling ball (i.e. it works, kinda). Has anyone had any experience dealing with an EPROM programmer like this? What format is the data transferred in, and how can I communicate with the programmer from the computer. The manual is pretty cryptic about it, and mentions that the programmer is capable of sending and receiving data in no less than 20 formats, none of which seem like anything I have heard of before. What is the 'standard' method of transferring data two and from a serial EPROM programmer? Should I be able to see data on a terminal if I dump the data to the serial port, or is it in some non-ASCII format that the terminal (and Linux) can't render? I am lost here. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks! Ian Primus ian_primus(a)yahoo.com