Subject: Building a microVAX serial console cable
To: None <port-vax@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Andrew Litt <ajlitt@mail.utexas.edu>
List: port-vax
Date: 03/25/1996 14:07:54
I picked up a VAXStation II at an auction about a month ago, and have
since managed to get it to run NetBSD/VAX. The biggest problem I had was
that I didn't get cables, a VR260, or a keyboard with this machine. I
spent quite a bit of time finding out how to use my PC as a console
terminal and someone sent me the pinouts of a VT220 port, which
incidentally is a null-modemed version of the uVAX printer port. Here is
my best ASCII rendition of the cable I came up with:
uVAX DB9F PC DB9F
shield 1 +--1
|
RxD 2---------------------------------------------------(--2
|
TxD 3---------------------------------------------------(--3
|
CTS 4--+ | 4
| |
DSR 5--+ +---------------------(--5
| | |
DTR 6--+ | | 6
| |
GND 7-----------------------------+ +--7
|
Jumper 8--+ +--8
for |
console 9--+ 9
Lines that cross but do not make a connection are marked with a '(' at
their intersection.
I'm not sure that the definitions for pins 4,5, and 6 are correct, but I
have had no problems with keeping them shorted. I have had problems with
a couple of terminal programs on the PC (Minicom for Linux) not working
with the 7E1 that NetBSD switches to at the login prompt (or at least as
of V1.0, I got a terminal to use with my VAX since upgrading to 1.1A).
Enjoy!
--
:Andrew Litt:ajlitt@mail.utexas.edu:KC5APJ:MSTie#47556::::::::::::::
::"If you wanna bake a cake, you::"My other brain is a Newton."-me::
:: gotta bust a few heads!"-R&S :: http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~litt :