[comp.sys.atari.st] Auto-baud UNITERM Problem

maden@rzsin.sin.chunet (David Maden) (05/13/87)

In Digest #207, Nik Zapantis reports problems with UNITERM connected to
an autobauding port on a VAX.

I have seen this problem too. As I understand it, UNITERM sends some preliminary
characters (probably XON or XOFF) down the RS232 line and this confuses the
VAX's autobaud algorithm. The VAX is expecting <Return> characters and, if it
sees something else, it tries to be clever in deducing what the baud rate
actually is based on what it has seen. The algorithm it uses obviously breaks
down if characters other than <Return> are sent.

My solution is to not touch the keyboard for 15 seconds or so - difficult
for a hacker, I know, but sometimes effective. The VAX sign-on sequence then
times out and the autobaud then resets itself. Now you type <Return> a few
times and the VAX gets the correct baud rate in the end.

I hope this helps. It's not ideal, I know, but it's better than turning off
auto-bauding (at least in our environment).

David Maden,
Swiss Institute for Nuclear Research, 5234 Villigen