IBM hercules setup pics

[Jay West]

Jim wrote...
> Do you have any more bits of data on the token ring setup that you could 
> share?  I have been collecting
> bits and pieces to use to do the same, including the token ring stuff, 
> 3174, etc, but am not sure if I have
> what I need, expecially in the 3174.
Yeah, I've recently been through it. Wasn't documented really, so I did a 
lot of floundering. Configuring the 3174 was a nightmare for me, as I was 
totally new to it. I found it to be obtuse and complex. One could argue I 
find all things that way, so who knows.

You need:

A coax term such as a 3278, 3279, 3179, etc. I am not up on this, but it 
appears there are a lot of similar terminals that aren't compatible.

A 3174. There are many models. You need a model that supports either 
ethernet (easy & direct, but expensive), or token ring (cheap, convoluted). 
If you get one with ethernet support, you just plug it into an ethernet hub 
along with your hercules-running-PC, and you're done. But the ethernet ones 
are really steep on the $$$ side. So I went with token ring. Mainly because 
3174's with token ring are dirt cheap, but also, I liked the "retro factor" 
of token ring, and figured there may be other token ring devices I wanted to 
connect. It was authentic for the rest of the setup to me :) The catch is, 
no matter what, your 3174 must support config C, which denotes dual floppy 
drives (not single) and 8mb or more of ram (many 3174's have 2mb). I believe 
the 3174 that meets all this is 3174-63R. You can get a -61R and then 
upgrade the floppy and ram and add token ring (that's what I did) 
effectively making it a -63R. Why all the hardware requirements? Because you 
need TN3270 support, and that is in software release C6.4. Older releases 
apparently don't support TN3270. If you do this, give the guys at 
lordsnet.com a call. They were VERY collector-friendly (awesomely cheap to 
me).

Advice - lordsnet.com can help you with microcode disks for the 3174. You 
can also call IBM direct and get a backup set at no cost.

If you went the token ring route, you need a token ring card for your PC. 
Watch out for this, Linux and Freebsd support for token ring is really 
really spotty. Only a handful of cards supported and lots of pitfalls with 
each one. For freebsd, use olicom. It mostly works out of the box. For 
Linux, use Madge. There are many olicoms freebsd doesn't support, and many 
madge's that don't work on linux. Just certain models of each. I think you 
can create a "crossover" cable to connect the two token ring db9 ports, 
saving you a hub. However, I wasn't sure of that, wanted the retro type-1 
ports, so I went with a 8228 MAU and type-1 cables. You could also go with 
the RJ45 style token ring cables and hubs (or crossover).

You'll need a lot of patience to configure the 3174. I found it a real 
nightmare to get my head around and get it configured right. If you want to 
do this, call me while the scoop is still in my head :)

> I also have 3290s but doubt if they can be livened up.
I really wish I had the space and power for a 4331, 4341, or maybe 4381. But 
I don't :)

Jay