18 May
2009
18 May
'09
5:34 p.m.
In general, when talking about DEC equipment, the
answer to that
question is *always* no, for the simple fact that DEC didn't do hardware
flow control. Hardware flow control is actually against the RS-232 spec,
and DEC didn't abuse standards (unlike most other companies).
This reminds me of a comment I made about the HP82164 (HPIL to RS232
interface). That thing follows the RS232 standard to the letter (for
example, it correctly handles the cotnrol lines in half duplex mode).
It's just a pity that nobody else does :-). Getting it to work with some
RS232 devices is 'interesting'..
(And to make it clear: hardware flow control is
definitely not possible
towards a PDP8)
'Nothing is impossible except skiing through a revolving door' :-)
More seriously,. I would have thought you could make hardware
modifications ot the serial interface PCB, possibly to gate ome of the
ready signals with the flow control input. Or (in this case), detect the
CR (or is it LF that's the problem?) and then hold the ready line
deasseted either for enough time for the VT05 to complete its operation
or until it gets some ecternal acknowledge signal.
No, I am not suggesting this is a sensible solution to the problem,but it
is _possible_
-tony