24 Jul
2004
24 Jul
'04
5:03 a.m.
Well, I had four DECmate III computers when I went to VCF East and now
I'm left with only two. Unfortunately, I don't have keyboards or
monitors for either and that makes them unusable. Rather than trying to
acquire a keyboard and monitor I'm wondering if anyone has tried to
replace the boot ROMs to allow either OS/8 or OS/278 to boot using a
serial terminal connected to the serial port. Is that even possible? It
would be nice to be able to use these machines without a monitor or
keyboard.
Thanks,
David Betz
24 Jul
24 Jul
11:03 a.m.
On Sat, Jul 24, 2004 at 01:03:20PM -0400, David Betz wrote:
Rather than trying to
acquire a keyboard and monitor I'm wondering if anyone has tried to
replace the boot ROMs to allow either OS/8 or OS/278 to boot using a
serial terminal connected to the serial port. Is that even possible?
I haven't tried it, but AFAIK, all of that style of DECmates (II, III, III+)
require a composite monitor (VR201) and an LK201-protocol keyboard.
-ethan
--
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 24-Jul-2004 23:00 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -80.5 F (-62.5 C) Windchill -124.8 F (-87.2 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 14.9 kts Grid 018 Barometer 664.5 mb (11217 ft)
Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html
11:19 a.m.
I know they require a keyboard and monitor to function as a word
processor but is there any reason they need them to run OS/8 or OS/278?
Is there some hardware reason that the keyboard and monitor are
required for the 6120 to boot or is it just because of the software on
the boot disk or in the boot ROM?
On Jul 24, 2004, at 7:03 PM, Ethan Dicks wrote:
On Sat, Jul 24, 2004 at 01:03:20PM -0400, David Betz
wrote:
Rather than trying to
acquire a keyboard and monitor I'm wondering if anyone has tried to
replace the boot ROMs to allow either OS/8 or OS/278 to boot using a
serial terminal connected to the serial port. Is that even possible?
I haven't tried it, but AFAIK, all of that style of DECmates (II, III,
III+)
require a composite monitor (VR201) and an LK201-protocol keyboard.
-ethan
--
Ethan Dicks, A-130-S Current South Pole Weather at 24-Jul-2004
23:00 Z
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400 Temp -80.5 F (-62.5 C) Windchill -124.8 F
(-87.2 C)
APO AP 96598 Wind 14.9 kts Grid 018 Barometer 664.5 mb
(11217 ft)
Ethan.Dicks(a)amanda.spole.gov
http://penguincentral.com/penguincentral.html
12:25 p.m.
From: "Ethan Dicks" <dickset(a)amanda.spole.gov>
On Sat, Jul 24, 2004 at 01:03:20PM -0400, David Betz
wrote:
III+)
Rather than trying to
acquire a keyboard and monitor I'm wondering if anyone has tried to
replace the boot ROMs to allow either OS/8 or OS/278 to boot using a
serial terminal connected to the serial port. Is that even possible?
I haven't tried it, but AFAIK, all of that style of DECmates (II, III, require a composite monitor (VR201) and an
LK201-protocol keyboard.
I think it is probably possible, but it is just too much easier to get a
keyboard and a monitor. There is arcane knowledge in the making of the boot
ROMs :-).
There is a keyboard (unbid upon) for $10+$10(shipping) on eBay as I write
this.
I also seem to recall finding a description of the pinout info needed to
connect a monitor somewhere on the net.
Vince
12:52 p.m.
I also seem to recall finding a description of the
pinout info needed to
connect a monitor somewhere on the net.
It should be in the archives of this list -- I've posted it a couple of
times. It will claim to be the info for a Rainbow, but the DECmate and
PRO are almost identical (there are some differences if you use a colour
monitor IIRC).
-tony
1:36 p.m.
I'm sure I can find a keyboard and a VR201 monitor somewhere. I just
think it would be cool to be able to run the machine across a serial
link to a terminal or PC. Maybe I'll have to do some research on what
sort of ROM it uses and try to get a dump of the ROMs in my remaining
units. Sounds like a challenge to me!
On Jul 24, 2004, at 8:25 PM, vrs wrote:
From: "Ethan Dicks"
<dickset(a)amanda.spole.gov>
On Sat, Jul 24, 2004 at 01:03:20PM -0400, David
Betz wrote:
III+)
Rather than trying to
acquire a keyboard and monitor I'm wondering if anyone has tried to
replace the boot ROMs to allow either OS/8 or OS/278 to boot using a
serial terminal connected to the serial port. Is that even possible?
I haven't tried it, but AFAIK, all of that style of DECmates (II, III, require a composite monitor (VR201) and an
LK201-protocol keyboard.
I think it is probably possible, but it is just too much easier to get
a
keyboard and a monitor. There is arcane knowledge in the making of
the boot
ROMs :-).
There is a keyboard (unbid upon) for $10+$10(shipping) on eBay as I
write
this.
I also seem to recall finding a description of the pinout info needed
to
connect a monitor somewhere on the net.
Vince
7456
days inactive
7456
days old
5 comments
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participants (4)
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