[H-GEN] Useful information on XP21x X Terminals

[Ben Fowler]

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Dear All,

Quite a few HUMBUGgers, including myself have been able to get their hands
on some Tektronix XP21x X terminals.  These are great little units, but
might take a little bit of work to get going.  Here's just a handful of
tips some of you will need to get them working.

1.  The Power Supply.

    A lot of these units have been sold/given away without the power
     supply packs that usually accompany them.  You'll notice that the
     power goes into the back of the terminals via a 8-pin mini-DIN
     connector. 

    The pinouts are as follows:

      6  7  8

      3  4  5

       1   2


    PIN 1, 2, 3:  +5vDC
    PIN 4:        +12vDC
    PIN 5:        N/C
    PIN 6, 7, 8:  COM
    

2.  The X terminal software.

    These X terminals are pretty smart in their own right, and sport a
     fairly smart boot-prom interface that lets you set things like IP
     address, default gateway, where to boot off, and how (TFTP or NFS).

    I got my terminal booted via NFS and running in almost no time at all
     (bar stupid mistakes).  It comes with a graphical configuration
     utility which makes configuration almost dead easy.

    The software is huge though: it's a 30-40meg download, so try and
     scrounge the software off a friend (or something like that) unless
     it's unavoidable.

    Anyhow, the URL for the software itself is below.  Ignore the 
     talk about "patches": this is the entire X software package.

        ftp://ftp.ncd.com/pub/nwd/NCBridge/Patches/v3.2/


3. Setting the screen resolution.

    One of the first things you'll want to know is how to get these
     terminals working at a decent resolution once you've gotten them
     working.

    To set the terminal's resolution, type the following at the boot
     prompt:

       sel monset -1

    The terminal will then let you try each of the display modes, and
     set one you like.

    I hope this information helps. Have fun :)

- warmest regards,

Ben.

--
 Ben Fowler,  3rd-year BInfTech, Queensland Univerity of Technology.
  e-mail:       ben.fowler at humbug.org.au  b1.fowler at student.qut.edu.au 
  vanity page:  http://www.fit.qut.edu.au/Student/~n2251132/
 "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants"
                                                -- Isaac Newton



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