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promote H8571-J wiring upward
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hackerb9 committed Jan 28, 2025
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56 changes: 28 additions & 28 deletions mmj.md
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Expand Up @@ -30,6 +30,34 @@ model number for this adapter is **H8571-J**.

[lammert]: https://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/cable/dec-mmj

<details><summary>

#### DEC H8571-J adapter: PC RS232 serial port to MMJ

</summary>

DEC's official MMJ to DE-9 adapter for connecting a VT340 to a PC.

| MMJ<br/>RS-232 name | MMJ<br/>Pin | DE-9<br/>pin | DE-9<br/>RS-232 name |
|--------------------:|:-----------:|:------------------:|-----------------------------------------------------|
| DTR | 1 | 4 | Data Terminal Ready |
| Tx+ | 2 | 3 | Transmit Data |
| Tx-</br>Rx- | 3<br/>4 | 5 | Ground |
| Rx+ | 5 | 3 | Receive Data |
| DSR | 6 | 1<br/>6<br/>8<br/> | Data Set Ready<br/>Clear To Send<br/>Carrier Detect |


The H8571-J is nearly identical to the hackerb9's wiring, below, with
one minor difference: instead of using DTR (DB9 pin 4) on the PC,
hackerb9's connector uses RTS (DB9 pin 7). Why? Because all modern
UNIX systems can handle RTS/CTS flow control but DTR/DSR support is
iffy. In particular, the Linux kernel still has no support as of 2025.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

</details>


<!-- XXX TODO: Insert picture of adapter here. -->

Note that the because every MMJ cable is a crossover cable, the
Expand All @@ -52,12 +80,6 @@ like original DEC equipment, a PC can be plugged into any MMJ device
using just a single cable. In RS232-speak, all devices (VT340, PC,
printer, etc) are "DTE" and all cables are "crossover" (AKA "null modems").

This is very similar to DEC's H8571-J adapter with one minor
difference: instead of using DTR (DB9 pin 4) on the PC, this connector
uses RTS (DB9 pin 7). Why? Because all modern UNIX systems can handle
RTS/CTS flow control but DTR/DSR support is iffy. In particular, the
Linux kernel still has no support as of 2025.

| MMJ function (after cable) | MMJ Female | Usual color | DE-9 Female | DE-9 RS-232 name |
|---------------------------:|-----------:|---------------|:------------|:---------------------------------|
| Data Terminal Ready | 1 | White | 7 | Request To Send |
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -240,28 +262,6 @@ hardware damage.
</details>


<details><summary>

### DEC H8571-J adapter: PC RS232 serial port to MMJ, straight

</summary>

DEC's official MMJ to DE-9 adapter. While physically this looks the
same as hackerb9's suggested dongle above, the wiring does not include
the necessary "null modem" crossover for connecting a VT340 to a PC.

| MMJ<br/>RS-232 name | MMJ<br/>Pin | DE-9<br/>pin | DE-9<br/>RS-232 name |
|--------------------:|:-----------:|:------------------:|-----------------------------------------------------|
| DTR | 1 | 4 | Data Terminal Ready |
| Tx+ | 2 | 3 | Transmit Data |
| Tx-</br>Rx- | 3<br/>4 | 5 | Ground |
| Rx+ | 5 | 3 | Receive Data |
| DSR | 6 | 1<br/>6<br/>8<br/> | Data Set Ready<br/>Clear To Send<br/>Carrier Detect |


----------------------------------------------------------------------

</details>


<details><summary>
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