2 Nov
2009
2 Nov
'09
3:20 p.m.
Check the battery on the CPU front panel, looking for corrosion due to an
aging
battery leaking. I have a MicroVAX 3800 that had similar symptoms. Removing
the
battery and cleaning the PCB the serial port is attached to corrected serial
line
corruption.
I checked my VAX 4000/705a and found a similar battery arrangement. From the
position
of the battery, I can see a similar problem in the future.. Guess I'll
replace my battery soon..
No flames please, but is the VT240 serial port connected setup for Xon/Xoff?
Dan Snyder
----- Original Message -----
From: "JP Hindin" <jplist2008 at kiwigeek.com>
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts"
<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 11:27 AM
Subject: RE: Talking to a VAX4000/300
On Mon, 2 Nov 2009, Ian King wrote:
What line speed are you running at? I have a
4000/300, too (great
machine - congratulations!), and I haven't had that problem with either
a VT420 or a terminal emulator. I'm using 8N1, so I'm sure you're right
there. But I wonder if the VT240 is just not keeping up with the VAX,
i.e. insufficient speed and buffer space. I've seen that before, where
a terminal *can* talk 9600 but can't do it for very long. Hm, I think I
have a VT240, maybe I should give it a try.... -- Ian
I have it set to 9600 on both sides. I know I used this term to talk to my
-other- VAX4000 at 9600, so it really shouldn't be an issue.
I'll try dialling down the speeds.
It occurred to me that I should see if it still works on the -other- VAX,
which I know I used to work with on this term. I thought I'd pop the good
PSU out of the new VAX, stick it in the old, and fire it up with the same
settings (9600 8N1) and see if it's clear or gibberish, just to exclude
some kind of fault in the new VAX. That might be why they dumped it ;)
Thank you, Ian. If the old VAX gives the same problem, I'll click the
speed back to 1200bps.
- JP
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On
Behalf Of JP Hindin [jplist2008 at kiwigeek.com]
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 7:39 AM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Talking to a VAX4000/300
Greetings all;
I picked up a VAX4000 last week and have been trying to get talking with
it. I found a general VAX4000 series guide which says the terminal
settings should be 8N1 and I've got the speed right between the dial on
the front of the VAX module and the VT240 I'm using.
I get partial data, with ?s scattered all over the place. Frequently it
loses carriage returns and things get stuck scrolling off the side of the
screen.
What am I missing here? Is it not 8N1? I've tried flipping it around to
7N1, 7E1, etc, but usually that just results in absolute gibberish, the
8N1 provides the best signal-to-noise ratio.
I'd appreciate any thoughts given.
Elsewise, I'm pretty pumped. I have another 4000/300, but it has a bad
PSU. I figured I'd put the two together to get the nicest working
machine,
store the spare PCBs and dump the chassis (anyone want an empty
4000/300?). The unit is complaining about some memory errors (came with
four memory boards), but with all the crap coming up on the screen, I'm
not entirely positive what it's complaining about since I can only read a
partial output...
Thanks again;
- JP