johnBresnik wrote:
> Hello. I just bought a DECStation 3100 for $20
> but with no monitor or keyboard. you wouldn't know
> where I could get one do ya?
Monitor - I suspect you're screwed. IIRC, the mono DECstation monitors
were custom TTL beasts... they're probably getting fairly rare.
Keyboard (that's the little RJ14 "phone jack" connector). If I remember
right the 3100 shared a keyboard with the VT320, a very popular terminal.
I might be wrong though.
However, you don't need a keyboard or monitor to have a useful machine.
If you power on the machine without a keyboard it should come up with
a serial console (I've never actually done this on a 3100 but I have on
many other DECstations, so I assume the 3100 works too). The 3100 uses
MMJ jacks (the things that look like a phone jack but with the tab off-
center). This is the same jack the VT-320 used - search the web for the
pinouts. You might be able to find a MMJ cable somewhere (old VMS shops
tend to have them lying around). Another possibility is build one - take
a semi-standard 6-pin phone jack and break the tab off.. then use duct
tape to hold it in the jack :-)
Anyway one of the serial ports should give you a console... 9600bps 8N1.
Also, check out http://decstation.unix-ag.org/ for all the
linux-on-decstation info.
-Mitch
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