On Sun, Oct 25, 2015 at 8:36 PM, tony duell <ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
For reasons too abstruse to explain in detail I'm on the lookout for
terminals that are, physically, really small - especially serial and
coax 3270, and possibly twinax 5250.
Yes you could do things with small laptops and PDAs with PCMCIA cards
and adapters and software - I know a guy who kept a Psion Organizer
configured especially for use as a terminal with SGI boxes. But that's
Not The Same, and NOT what I'm after; I want dedicated purpose-built
terminals; switch it on and It Works.
Three things that I use for small async RS232 terminals....
1) (The one I use all the time). HP palmtops. I actually prefer the 95LX as the 40
column display is easier to read in poor light when working on a rack. But the
100LX and 200LX are good too. Yes, it is a computer, but it has a built-in serial
port (just need a cable) and terminal software in ROM. The good points are that
it will capture the downloaded data and you can kermit it to another machine if
you so wish. The standard cable is wired to plug directly into a PC and is thus a
DCE, but I got a second cable, cut off the moulded D connector and wired it to
a DB25 plug as a DTE.
Oh those look pretty good; I love the terminal emulator in ROM;
doesn't even need an OS, switch it on and it works; that's one of the
things I'm after. Shame about the rather nasty looking monochrome LCD
though... I'm more interested in colour, especially for 3270 use, and
as a hardware ANSI serial console for Hercules...
Ahhh or I could make my own... useful gizmo here...
http://www.brielcomputers.com/wordpress/?cat=25
Keep the ideas coming folks! Thanks!
http://www.corestore.org
'No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for his brother.
Not for millions, not for glory, not for fame.
For one person, in the dark, where no one will ever know or see.'