[comp.periphs] Info request: Televideo terminals

SLSW2@cc.usu.edu (Roger Ivie) (06/27/90)

In article <26431@netnews.upenn.edu>, traw@grad1.cis.upenn.edu writes:
>    Next: the system I have consists of a TS-816/40 shared disk unit
> and
> several terminals (mostly diskless TS-800A's, and one with dual
> drives).
> I think the terminals are really standalone CP/M machines that must be
> booted from the shared drive.

Correct. 
>  
>   Someone mentioned that the dual drive "terminal" couldn't be used as
> a normal terminal; it had to be booted as a CP/M machine, and then the
> serial port was accessed from CP/M.  Is this the same for the 800A's?
> What does it take to use them as normal terminals?

I can't speak for the 802 (the dual drive machine), since I've never tried
to use one as a satellite user station.

The 800A's, being diskless, boot only from the server over that funky
15-pin D connector that I had always assumed was some sort of parallel
interface. They can be used as normal terminals if a certain DIPswitch
(which escapes me at the moment) is flipped. I would have to dig through
a *big* pile of stuff to find it, and it will take a while.

Incidentally, the 800A's and 802's are internally a TVI 950 terminal
connected at 19.2Kbaud to the CP/M machine. Flipping the dipswitch
bypasses the CP/M machine, or something like that.

>  
>    And how do you boot the shared disk anyway?	Does CP/M come up as
> soon as it's booted, or do you have to do something from the 800A's?
>  

You turn the 814 on (with a terminal connected to the console, of course).
It boots CP/M and then will start Mmmost (the multi-user CP/M server stuff).
As for the 800As, turn them on and they will send boot requests to the 814.
If the 814 is running Mmmost, these will be honored and CP/M will be loaded.

-- 
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Roger Ivie

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