5 Jul
2012
5 Jul
'12
12:28 p.m.
On Wed, Jul 4, 2012 at 10:02 PM, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
I know the Pro series pretty well; I used to sell
and service them.
They are pretty well-understood amongst many people on this list. You
won't have trouble getting Pro help here.
All right, so here's the first few Pro related questions:
1. I don't have a keyboard or monitor to go with it. I see from the
manual on Bitsavers that the monitor gets a composite video signal,
and that the keyboard uses 4800-baud 8-N-1 RS423 signalling. Is the
protocol described anywhere?
2. I found a box with three option cards: 2 x 000046 and 1 x 000401.
What are these?
Thanks,
Camiel.
5 Jul
5 Jul
12:59 p.m.
On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 12:28 PM, Camiel Vanderhoeven
<iamcamiel at gmail.com> wrote:
All right, so here's the first few Pro related
questions:
1. I don't have a keyboard or monitor to go with it. I see from the
manual on Bitsavers that the monitor gets a composite video signal,
Yep. A DEC VR201 is the typical monitor on a Pro, but its DA15
connector just carries RS170 video, +12V to power the VR201, and data
for the keyboard. I've rigged up a video-and-power cable (no KB) to
use a VR201 with an Amiga 2000. There's no reason you can't use an
NTSC monitor with the Pro. If you have a monochrome monitor, you'll
likely get a sharper image than if you have a color monitor, but
either way, you should be able to see what's going on.
and that the keyboard uses 4800-baud 8-N-1 RS423
signalling. Is the
protocol described anywhere?
Yes, but I can't recall in exactly which manual off the top of my head.
The "right" keyboard is a DEC LK201, but ISTR there are several
similar keyboards with the same electrical and logical
characteristics. If you have or can borrow a keyboard from a DECmate
II/III, or a Rainbow or a VT220 (or similar-era) terminal, that will
work. In the States, you could re-use a "handset connector" from a
telephone to build a cable that will break out to your non-DEC monitor
and a keyboard connector; I don't know if there are any European
telephones that use the narrow-format "4p4c" jack.
I think there was some discussion on this list a while back about a
DIY microcontroller-based DEC LK2xx-to-PS/2 keyboard adapter, but I
don't remember if anyone ever posted instructions/firmware. The
hardware would not be difficult to assemble, but it might take a
couple of passes to get the firmware tweaked up.
2. I found a box with three option cards: 2 x 000046
and 1 x 000401.
What are these?
cf http://world.std.com/~mbg/pdp11-field-guide.txt
000046 PC3XX-AA CTI Realtime Interface
000046 PN: 50-15538
000046 Refs: EB-25824-18
000401 -------- CTI 5.25" Winchester disk controller
000401 PN: 54-15134
000401 Refs: EK-PC100-V2
-ethan
6 Jul
6 Jul
9:03 a.m.
On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 12:59 PM, Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote:
On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 12:28 PM, Camiel Vanderhoeven
<iamcamiel at gmail.com> wrote:
The Real Time Interface (RTI) is interesting. It has 2 RS-232 serial ports,
1 IEEE-488 port, and 24 bi-directional TTL level I/O pins. These all exit
the machine on a 62-pin D shell connector. This was typically used as the
interface to the VAX when the Pro was used as a VAX console.
-chuck
All right, so here's the first few Pro
related questions:
2. I found a box with three option cards: 2 x 000046 and 1 x 000401.
What are these?
cf http://world.std.com/~mbg/pdp11-field-guide.txt
000046 PC3XX-AA CTI Realtime Interface
000046 PN: 50-15538
000046 Refs: EB-25824-18
9:17 a.m.
On 7/6/12, Charles Dickman <chd at chdickman.com> wrote:
The Real Time Interface (RTI) is interesting. It has 2
RS-232 serial ports,
1 IEEE-488 port, and 24 bi-directional TTL level I/O pins. These all exit
the machine on a 62-pin D shell connector. This was typically used as the
interface to the VAX when the Pro was used as a VAX console.
That does sound interesting. Especially given the GPIB -equipped
measuring equipment I regularly use. Would you know whether pinout and
other specifications are available somewhere?
Camiel
12:36 p.m.
On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 9:17 AM, Camiel Vanderhoeven <iamcamiel at gmail.com>wrote:
On 7/6/12, Charles Dickman <chd at
chdickman.com> wrote:
There is a little here.
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/pro3xx/
There is more in a VAX manual that I can't seem to find.
The Real Time Interface (RTI) is interesting. It
has 2 RS-232 serial
ports,
1 IEEE-488 port, and 24 bi-directional TTL level
I/O pins. These all exit
the machine on a 62-pin D shell connector. This was typically used as the
interface to the VAX when the Pro was used as a VAX console.
That does sound interesting. Especially given the GPIB -equipped
measuring equipment I regularly use. Would you know whether pinout and
other specifications are available somewhere?
2:27 p.m.
I may have a doc set for a Pro380 including the RTI which I can look for
tomorrow. Ping me offlist so that I cant forget it while being in family
action...
Regards,
Wolfgang
2012/7/6 Charles Dickman <chd at chdickman.com>
On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 9:17 AM, Camiel Vanderhoeven
<iamcamiel at gmail.com
There is a little here.
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/pdp11/pro3xx/
There is more in a VAX manual that I can't seem to find.
wrote:
On 7/6/12, Charles Dickman <chd at
chdickman.com> wrote:
exit
The Real Time Interface (RTI) is interesting. It
has 2 RS-232 serial
ports,
> 1 IEEE-488 port, and 24 bi-directional TTL level I/O pins. These all > the machine on a 62-pin D shell connector.
This was typically used as
the
interface
to the VAX when the Pro was used as a VAX console.
That does sound interesting. Especially given the GPIB -equipped
measuring equipment I regularly use. Would you know whether pinout and
other specifications are available somewhere?
3:09 p.m.
The Real Time Interface (RTI) is interesting. It has 2
RS-232 serial ports,
1 IEEE-488 port, and 24 bi-directional TTL level I/O pins. These all exit
the machine on a 62-pin D shell connector. This was typically used as the
interface to the VAX when the Pro was used as a VAX console.
I wondered if it was that board. I have one in one of my Pros
IIRC the 24 TTL I/O lines are driven by an 8255, so yuo can only set the
directions in blocks (You can set the driections of port A, port B, and
each half of portC in the simplest case). And changing the direction will
set all outputs to 0. Not my favourite device..
Is there any techncial infromation o nthis board anywhere? Software to
drive it?
-tony
8 Jul
8 Jul
6 p.m.
On Thu, 5 Jul 2012 12:59:38 -0400
Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote:
I think there was some discussion on this list a while
back about a
DIY microcontroller-based DEC LK2xx-to-PS/2 keyboard adapter
http://www.kbdbabel.org/ has several converters for different
keyboards. LKx01 to PS/2 and vice versa is here:
http://kbdbabel.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/kbdbabel/kbdbabel/kbdbabel-ps2-d…
http://kbdbabel.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/kbdbabel/kbdbabel/kbdbabel-lk-ps…
--
\end{Jochen}
\ref{http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/}
9 Jul
9 Jul
2:43 p.m.
On Thu, 5 Jul 2012 12:59:38 -0400
Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks at gmail.com> wrote:
At a quick glance, those keyboard converters seem to mostly be going the
wrong way for us. THey are to use strange keyboards on hosts with PS/2
interfaces. So there's anm itnerface to link an LK201 to a PC, but not
the reverse.
Odd... Most of the time it's the keyboard, not the classic computer,
that's either misisng or hard to repair. Converters to link PS/2
keybaords to classics would eb a lot more useful.
-tony
I think there was some discussion on this list a
while back about a
DIY microcontroller-based DEC LK2xx-to-PS/2 keyboard adapter
http://www.kbdbabel.org/ has several converters for different
keyboards. LKx01 to PS/2 and vice versa is here:
http://kbdbabel.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/kbdbabel/kbdbabel/kbdbabel-ps2-d…
http://kbdbabel.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/kbdbabel/kbdbabel/kbdbabel-lk-ps…
4:39 p.m.
On Mon, 9 Jul 2012 19:43:36 +0100 (BST)
ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote:
So there's anm itnerface to link an LK201 to a PC,
but not
the reverse.
As I wrote: LKx01 to PS/2 and _vice_versa_.
The two linked kbdbabels allow the connection of a LKx01 to a PeeCee
and the other turns PS/2 keyboard into a LKx01.
Odd... Most of the time it's the keyboard, not the
classic computer,
that's either misisng or hard to repair. Converters to link PS/2
keybaords to classics would eb a lot more useful.
There are a lot of people that
want to use their beloved, old keyboard
with "strange" interface on a PeeCee. Especially if they use the PeeCee
to emulate som old hardware. Converters from PS/2 keyboard to classic
computer are also provided by kbdbabel. E.g. I have one that turns a
PS/2 keyboard into a Sun Type 4 keyboard.
--
\end{Jochen}
\ref{http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/}
5 Jul
5 Jul
4:25 p.m.
All right, so here's the first few Pro related
questions:
1. I don't have a keyboard or monitor to go with it. I see from the
manual on Bitsavers that the monitor gets a composite video signal,
and that the keyboard uses 4800-baud 8-N-1 RS423 signalling. Is the
protocol described anywhere?
It's a plain LK201 keyboard, asused on VT220s, VT3xxs, etc. Are you sure
there's no one somwhere in all thac collection.
I am pretty sure I have a document giving the keyboard protocol if yoy
need it.
The monitor is a RS170 (US TV rate) composite one. Or RS170 RGB,
sync-on-green if you have the 'extended bitmap option' and want to do
colour (a mono moitor works fine with the extended bitmap option, you
just get a greyscale, not colour). I am pretty sure pinouts of the DA15
keyboard/video connector are in the mnauls on bitsavers, or search the
archives of this list for my 'universal rainbow monitor cable'. It's much
the same.
-tony
4396
days inactive
4400
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10 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
chd＠chdickman.com -
ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
iamcamiel＠gmail.com -
jkunz＠unixag-kl.fh-kl.de -
wolfgang＠eichberger.org