[wellylug] VT-100 emulation

Richard richard at redspider.co.nz
Tue Oct 12 10:32:11 NZDT 2004


> Can one of you Debianites out there offer me some clues?
> 
> I'm using my Debian Sarge notebook on our company network to access a SCO Unix system that requires a VT-100 terminal emulation but doesn't have SSH support (or refuses me access for whatever reason).
> 
> I normally use the program termlite on my windoze XP box, but lately XP is refusing to run it because "the windows 16bit subsystem lacks resources - close your applications and reboot your system", so I'm turning to a real OS and just need some clues...
> 
> Google seems to only find Java implementations of VT100.
> I've tried telnet  from Xterm & rxvt but the display fonts don't work correctly, and the function keys don't work at all. I can live with the bad fonts, but the function keys are crucial to the app I'm accessing.
> 
> My son Si set up a script which gets me to the above state. There may be further options that can get me where I want to be...
> 
> #!/bin/bash
> export TERM=vt100
> telnet etunix
> 
> Any help gratefully accepted!

Many window managers overload the function keys for their own ends. Gnome for
example eats F1 to trigger a help screen. For a fast just-damn-work fix, the
following may help:

Cntl-Alt-F2 to jump to a free console
log in
Ctrl-N to switch to G1 (vt100 graphics) mode
TERM=vt100 telnet etunix

Note that the TERM= bit may or may not be a good idea, also, you may wish to try
102.

In theory, this should get you a graphics-enabled link in console mode (where X
can't steal your function keys). Getting things working in X may require
knowledge of your window manager etc.

-- 
Richard Clark,
Analysis and Design,
Red Spider Ltd.
(+64) 021 478 219




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