3 Jan
2001
3 Jan
'01
10:51 a.m.
G'day,
I have one of these beasties sitting around - they're a mid-late 1970's
design I believe (the only date I can find on it however is the copyright on
the PCB for the powersupply - 1971).
At first glance, it does appear to work - powers up and screen glows a
wonderfull cliche green. Serial cord connected and send data to it... no
effect. :(
So, has anyone ever setup one of these things to work as a terminal to a
common garden PC (linux user I am)? Might the screen have burnt out and it
simply is unable to display anything I send to it anyways? Does it need a
straight-through or null-modem serial connection? Do I need to send an
initialisation string to it before it'll accept and display any data?
None of these things I know, and trial and error problem solving can be
frustrating, especially if other problems prevent them from being solved
that way! ;)
btw, I have a few cheap webcam shots of the thing, and can get them on a
webpage, if anyone is interested in seeing the thing.
.../Nemo
--
-=- <nemo(a)net.house.cx> -=- http://www.net.house.cx/~nemo/ -=-
-=- -=-
-=- The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music! -=-
3 Jan
3 Jan
12:44 p.m.
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4 Jan
4 Jan
12:39 p.m.
On Wed, Jan 03, 2001 at 11:44:57PM +0000, Tony Duell did utter:
IIRC,
most Tektronix storage-tube terminals display a flashing cursor
(may be rather dim) in the top left corner after power-up. Are you
getting that?
Nope... the screen brightens - with a fuzzy circle in the center...
eventually he whole screen is bright. Nothing I've ever done yet has
affected this.
Also, isn't there a LOCAL switch or similar? If
there is, then the
keyboard is connected to the display section (and the RS232 port isn't
used) in LOCAL mode. So anything you type shoudl appear on the screen.
Yup, there is a [Local|Line] toggle on teh front, next to a power light
which doesn't appear to work, two LED's I've never seen light up, and three
more toggles (simply called 1, 2, 3)
What baud rate, etc, are you usimg, and do you know
that the terminal is
set for the same parameters?
There are a couple of nice big chunky knobs on teh back to set the transmit
and recieve baud rate (yes, independantly!) from 110 up to 9600. Also a
third knob with duplex settings. I have working null modem cables... but
no luck.
There are three further adjusetments knobs on the terminal. Two on teh
front, one vertial and one horizontal (and labelled as such with arrows) - I
assume these are crude focus or alignment adjustments. There is also a small
dial on the side - I assume it might be brightness? In any case, none of
these have any affect to the green blur display.
I took a few webcam shots of the thing powering up a few days back, if
anyone is curious on the look... they're at:
http://www.net.house.cx/~nemo/visible/tempt/tek4012/
.../Nemo
2:29 p.m.
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5:35 p.m.
I have a 4012 service manual, but it's so buried that I don't know if I can
located it. I'm going home next weekend, I'll take a look, if no one else
has one available and posts as such here.
Jim Davis.
Tony Duell wrote:
I wonder if the power lamp is burnt out, or if there's a PSU fault.
On Wed, Jan 03, 2001 at 11:44:57PM +0000, Tony Duell did utter:
IIRC, most Tektronix storage-tube terminals display a flashing cursor
(may be rather dim) in the top left corner after power-up. Are you
getting that?
Nope... the screen brightens - with a fuzzy circle in the center...
eventually he whole screen is bright. Nothing I've ever done yet has
affected this.
SOunds like the flood guns (part of the storage system) are working, at
least partially, but the writing gun might not be. Or at least might not
be turned on by the control electronics.
Alas I don't have the 4012 service manual, only the 4014 one. These
storage CRTs can be a little difficult to work on unless you're used to
them as well..
Also, isn't there a LOCAL switch or similar?
If there is, then the
keyboard is connected to the display section (and the RS232 port isn't
used) in LOCAL mode. So anything you type shoudl appear on the screen.
Yup, there is a [Local|Line] toggle on teh front, next to a power light
which doesn't appear to work, two LED's I've never seen light up, and three
more toggles (simply called 1, 2, 3)
OK...
What baud rate, etc, are you usimg, and do you
know that the terminal is
set for the same parameters?
There are a couple of nice big chunky knobs on teh back to set the transmit
and recieve baud rate (yes, independantly!) from 110 up to 9600. Also a third knob with duplex settings. I have working
null modem cables... but
no luck.
There are three further adjusetments knobs on the terminal. Two on teh
front, one vertial and one horizontal (and labelled as such with arrows) - I
Those IIRC are a bit like a mouse -- you can read the positions over the
serial line. And thus use them as a pointing device.
assume these are crude focus or alignment
adjustments. There is also a small
dial on the side - I assume it might be brightness? In any case, none of
Probably brightness of the writing gun.
My next test would be to check the voltages on the logic boards -- at
least ensure that the +5V line and the +/-12V lines (for the RS232
drivers) are there. And then you need to find somebody with a service
manual and see what the wiriting gun is doing.
-tony 
6:57 p.m.
-> SOunds like the flood guns (part of the storage system) are working, at
-> least partially, but the writing gun might not be. Or at least might not
-> be turned on by the control electronics.
As usual, Tony's comments and suggestions are right on target. Also, I've
found that the pots in these units sometimes need rocked if the unit has
been stored quite a while. Take resistance readings from the wiper to the
ends and across the ends and look for discrepancies. Then note the
position of a suspect wiper before rocking. This can make for an quick and
easy fix.
Bill
5 Jan
5 Jan
12:59 a.m.
On Wed, 3 Jan 2001 23:44:57 +0000 (GMT) Tony Duell
<ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk> wrote:
As an aside at this point : Everyone on this list
should go and get one
of those little RS232 quick testers -- the things with a DB25 plug on one
side, a DB25 socket on the other and 7 (or so) bi-colour LEDs that
monitor (at least) TxD, RxD, RTS, CTS, DSR, DTR, DCD. You'll find
(amongst other things) that it's useful for determining whether an
unknown serial port is a DTE or DCE simply by plugging it in and seeing
wether the TxD LED or RxD LED lights up.
I have a Tektronix 833 Serial Comms Tester. Rather a nice
bit of kit, with a tiny LED display (hex) and a serial
patch-panel built-in. I also have the manual, which gives
full repair information. It's a 6800 CPU in there, which I
suppose makes the tester a classic computer in its own
right.
Of course, it's limited to 9600 baud... but then, who's
ever seen anything faster than that? :-)
--
John Honniball
Email: John.Honniball(a)uwe.ac.uk
University of the West of England
8:17 a.m.
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3 Jan
3 Jan
1:12 p.m.
There should be an erase button; press it to see
if the screen flashes and clears.
There should be a local/remote button; put it in
local and try typing.
Dave
Owen Cameron wrote:
G'day,
I have one of these beasties sitting around - they're a mid-late 1970's
design I believe (the only date I can find on it however is the copyright on
the PCB for the powersupply - 1971).
At first glance, it does appear to work - powers up and screen glows a
wonderfull cliche green. Serial cord connected and send data to it... no
effect. :(
So, has anyone ever setup one of these things to work as a terminal to a
common garden PC (linux user I am)? Might the screen have burnt out and it
simply is unable to display anything I send to it anyways? Does it need a
straight-through or null-modem serial connection? Do I need to send an
initialisation string to it before it'll accept and display any data?
None of these things I know, and trial and error problem solving can be
frustrating, especially if other problems prevent them from being solved
that way! ;)
btw, I have a few cheap webcam shots of the thing, and can get them on a
webpage, if anyone is interested in seeing the thing.
.../Nemo
--
-=- <nemo(a)net.house.cx> -=- http://www.net.house.cx/~nemo/ -=-
-=- -=-
-=- The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music! -=-
1:26 p.m.
Also terminals generally need a null modem to talk to a garden variety PC
RS232.
> So, has anyone ever setup one of these things to
work as a terminal to a
> common garden PC (linux user I am)? Might the screen have burnt out and it
> simply is unable to display anything I send to it anyways? Does it need a
> straight-through or null-modem serial connection? Do I need to send an
> initialisation string to it before it'll accept and display any data?
> None of these things I know, and trial and error problem solving can be
> frustrating, especially if other problems prevent them from being solved
> that way! ;)
--
Jim Strickland
jim(a)DIESPAMMERSCUMcalico.litterbox.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
BeOS Powered!
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1:29 p.m.
On Wed, 3 Jan 2001, David C. Jenner wrote:
There should be an erase button; press it to see
if the screen flashes and clears.
| RESET |
It is identified as: ---> | |
| PAGE |
- don
There should be a local/remote button; put it in
local and try typing.
Dave
Owen Cameron wrote:
G'day,
I have one of these beasties sitting around - they're a mid-late 1970's
design I believe (the only date I can find on it however is the copyright on
the PCB for the powersupply - 1971).
At first glance, it does appear to work - powers up and screen glows a
wonderfull cliche green. Serial cord connected and send data to it... no
effect. :(
So, has anyone ever setup one of these things to work as a terminal to a
common garden PC (linux user I am)? Might the screen have burnt out and it
simply is unable to display anything I send to it anyways? Does it need a
straight-through or null-modem serial connection? Do I need to send an
initialisation string to it before it'll accept and display any data?
None of these things I know, and trial and error problem solving can be
frustrating, especially if other problems prevent them from being solved
that way! ;)
btw, I have a few cheap webcam shots of the thing, and can get them on a
webpage, if anyone is interested in seeing the thing.
.../Nemo
--
-=- <nemo(a)net.house.cx> -=- http://www.net.house.cx/~nemo/ -=-
-=- -=-
-=- The real trouble with reality is that there's no background music! -=-
8549
days inactive
8551
days old
10 comments
8 participants
participants (8)
-
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
djenner＠halcyon.com -
donm＠cts.com -
jim＠calico.litterbox.com -
John.Honniball＠uwe.ac.uk -
jpdavis＠gorge.net -
nemo＠nethouse.goldweb.com.au -
whdawson＠mlynk.com