23 Aug
2011
23 Aug
'11
2:49 a.m.
Amid the extensive discussions about RS-232 you may have missed the fact
that I solved my problem. I used a breakout box to determine the cable I
needed. It was very simple, Rx and Tx crossed over and CTS and RTS shorted
together at the PC end.
Regards
Rob
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Rod Smallwood
Sent: 23 August 2011 09:18
To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic Posts Only'
Subject: RE: Getting a Sun Ultra 5 To Work
1. I have an Ultra 5 I'll dig it out.
2. Serial Comms.
Get a breakout box with LEDS, dip switches and patch wires.
Attach one side only and check for active signals (Leds on).
Disconnect and check the other side.
Start by connecting pins 2,3 and 7 cross 2 and 3 if the same pin is
active.
Check both ends for speeds, bits per character,
number of stop bits per
character and parity. 9600,8,1,N is a good starting point.
You will be surprised how many systems will work with this setup.
Regards
Rod Smallwood
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-
bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of Dave McGuire
Sent: 22 August 2011 22:22
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Getting a Sun Ultra 5 To Work
On 08/22/2011 04:44 PM, Chuck Guzis wrote:
There were a few "smart cables". Many years ago I used one that was
called,
The thing
that annoys me is that (as commonly implemented), it's not
symmetical, which means that null-modem cables are at best a kludge.
OK, you swap TxD with RxD, RTS with CTS and DSR with DTR, but what do
you wap DCD with (and yse, some devices do insist on it). Most of the
time you can strap DCD input on a DTE to whatever is also driving
the DSR signal, but not always.
My memory is getting fuzzy, but were there ever any "gender auto-
detect" cables? In other words, one that automatically determined via
active circuitry the connections between TD and RD and RTS and CTS?
It would seem not to be overly difficult, other than for power supply
issues. I think, "Smart Cable". ;) It had a plastic
chassis with a few feet of
ribbon cable
coming out of each end. There were one or two slide
switches on it. I
don't
recall much more about it.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL