Exabyte 8200 vs. 8205

[Gordon JC Pearce]

On Thu, 2008-04-17 at 22:22 -0400, tiggerlasv at aim.com wrote:

> What's that you say?   Simply re-flash the firmware, using
> the "special cable" that connects to the back of the drive?
> 
> Easy enough if you have a 4-pin connector on the back.
> It's standard RS232.
> 
> Of course, I have to have the older 3-pin model,
> which is TTL, and needs a leveling adapter. . .

Two options.  No, three actually.

1) get a single-chip RS232-to-TTL converter like a MAX232
2) (the third one I thought of) get an el-cheapo USB GPS.  These have a
very handy little USB-to-TTL serial interface in the screwed-together
blob in the cable.  The GPS speaks TTL and the CP2102 interface turns it
into a USB serial port.
3) Get a serial card.  Break TXD and RXD out from the UART.  Bring it
out to a socket.  (I did this, and changed the 14.<something> crystal
for a 16MHz crystal so I could make a 62500-baud link to talk to a
synthesizer display).

Gordon