3b2 stuff needed!
William Jennings Bryan Mattocks II
We're the Veteran's UNIX Training Group, and we need some expert
assistance with AT&T 3b2/310s. We have received a donation of 3
of these machines from Johns Hopkins University (THANKS AGAIN, LEE!!)
but we are unable to find the proper pinout configuration from the
console (an RJ-45 plug, it appears) to a "normal" RS-232 so that we
can use a PC running a term program as a terminal.
If anyone can help us with the proper configuration pinout or even with
the right cable, we'd really appreciate it! In addition, we're now
actively seeking 3b2 software (apps, OS, and utils) and working hardware.
We can pay reasonable (insultingly cheap!) amounts for these items,
and/or shipping.
We're also interested in software/hardware for the AT&T Unix 7300.
Thanks,
Bill Mattocks
Veteran's UNIX Training Group
Frank Gomez
The problem is that with a VGA card and monitor I get an image that
starts at the middle of the screen and then wraps around, along with
a ghost image of whats on the screen.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Christopher A. Cox
As a follow-up to the post I have RE: in the subject line: I
went and found the PC Magazine article about VGA/EGA in the AT&T 6300,
but it was absolutely useless. Could someone out there tell me which
jumper I need to pull to get the onboard video disabled?
As far as the post this was put up in regard to: The problem
may be just your sync on the monitor. Make sure it has everything set
right. Where has the monitor been? You need to tell us more about what
stuff you're working with.
Chris
--
---------- If you cut here you'd probably ruin your monitor -------------
Christopher A. Cox I think, therefore
c...@iear.arts.rpi.edu I am confused.
SpearmanS
couple old archive articles. Don't know if these will help
or if the mentioned things are still available, but here it is.
------
How I got a Paradise VGA+16 Video Board and a NEC Multisync2 to work
on my AT&T 6300.
I finally did it. I ordered the W. Allen Buss Correction Kit and installed
it in my 6300 last weekend. Pretty simple to do, had to plug the board into
one of the 3 16-bit expansion connectors on the Bus Expansion Board. Also
had to remove a pal on the Bus Expansion Board and replace it with a cable
connector that came off the Buss Correction Board. The connector may not
want to stay in though, the socket doesn't like it. I replaced the socket
on my Bus Expansion Board to avoid any problems. I ran my machine just
like this till my video board and monitor came in and had no problems.
There is a switch on the Buss Correction Board that will increase the
bus speed 10 - 30 % more then the AT&T standard, but haven't had everything
run long enough to try this yet.
I then received my monitor a few days later but not the video board. So I
made a cable according to an article that I've seen on some AT&T 6300
bulletin boards. This allowed me to use the monitor with the existing
CGA card in the 6300. Only things that I didn't like were the display was
smaller then I like it, there is a width switch on the NEC but it still
wasn't width enough for me. I also had to turn the brightness and contrast
all the way down because everything was too bright. It was still usable,
just picky I guess 8*).
I got the Paradise Card the next day and plugged this in. I also disabled
my existing video card with the disabling chip I received from W. Allen
Associates. The Paradise Card came with two floppies full of drivers,
docs, and programs. Only problem with the executables was they didn't
work on my 6300, machine would just stop. This included a test program
for ROM BIOS and a 16 bit bus, so I expeceted problems.
The software that came with my Buss Correction Board did the trick though.
Executing it in my autoexec.bat allowed my EGA and VGA programs to
run great. The screen updates are FAST, even the DOS text looks better.
I'd like to hear of other VGA boards that work in the 6300, since
my friends are now considering getting rid of their monochromes also.
-------
A few weeks ago I posted a query on adding VGA to my PC6300. Below
is a summary of what I've learned over the last few weeks. A lot of
this info comes from a demo which George Wilkin ran for 6300 users
a couple weeks ago at IH.
To add VGA to your PC 6300 and get full compatibility, you need:
1. ROM BIOS version 1.43. If you have an earlier version I
believe you can order the replacement 1.43 ROM BIOS direct
from AT&T, but it's been a while since I replaced mine.
2. You need to disable the AT&T graphics board. If your graphics
board is Revision P4 or P2, you need a disabler chip to
replace the PL68 chip on the board. If you have a later
model board (Revision P8) you can accomplish the same thing
by just changing a jumper. To determine what graphics board
revision you have, look near the bottom of the graphics board
where the power leads run from the motherboard to the
graphics board.
3. You need a bus conversion kit to fix a bus compatibility
problem involving the order that the 8-bit bytes are written
in some cases (this is commonly known as the "high/low byte
problem". I understand that you can try to get along without
this, but without it you're almost certain to experience
software compatibility problems. Note that a bus conversion
kit is not necessary for the 6300+.
4. You need DOS 3.2 r2.02 or later (3.3 is OK).
5. You need a VGA card and monitor (of course).
Steps 1, 2, and 3 above apply also for adding EGA to your 6300.
There are two sources for the bus conversion kit and/or disabler
chip. The more recommended product and the one I ordered is Write
Right from Innovative System Solutions, P.O. Box 20595, San Jose
CA, 95160-0595. Their phone is (408) 371-9022. Write Right is $50,
the disabler chip is $10, shipping/handling $3.50; I sent them my
order on Wednesday and had US Snail delivery the following Monday.
I'm told I should be embarassed for buying the disabler chip because
it is very easy to make given the schematic, but I'm not into
soldering.
For myself, I've ordered the Paradise +16 VGA card and the NEC
Multisync 2A monitor. I got the card for $299 and the monitor for
$499 from Elek-Tek, which clearly had the best prices of all the
mail order houses I looked into. Elek-Tek also has outlet stores
in Chicago and Willowbrook IL.
The Paradise +16 is a 16 bit card w/256K, supports VGA, EGA, CGA,
MDA, and Hercules Mono. It's a 16 bit card which autosenses whether
you have a 16 or 8 bit bus. This card also supports an 800x600 mode
in 16 colors, although whether or not that means 16 simultaneous
colors remains to be seen.
The NEC 2A is a 14" analog only color monitor with a tilt/swivel
base. The fact that it is an analog only monitor means that you
need a VGA card to run it; the normal NEC 2 will also work with EGA
& CGA cards but you'll pay about $100 extra, and who's going to go
back and replace their VGA card with an EGA card at a later date
anyway? The NEC 2A also supports 800x600 pixels rather than the
800x560 of the NEC 2, and is compatible with the coming 800x600
SuperVGA standard (at least according to NEC). And the true test of
a monitor, it looks good in person.
Caveat Emptor: If you're going to spend your own money, do your own
research. I hope the information above which I've gathered over
the last several weeks is accurate and helpful, but send no
complaints my way.
Thank you to all who responded to my posting.
Kevin Kinder
att!ihlpf!kvk