Mental breakthrough...
To have them look read you'd have to run Kermit-8 within simH. In that case the lights would match.
1. Access the PiDP via SSH so you don't need a monitor. Tell the PiDP at the Debian level and simH running OS/8 to use the serial port (either UART or USB to Serial) listening for Kermit requests and activate Kermit. I think I get it now. Having trouble separating in my mind system console from serial port listening for kermit requests. The serial port can do both, yes? And that would work more like the session example below? 2. Connect the superbrain to the serial cable.
3. Use Kermit to request what you want . It has been a while, I'd have to play around with this to make it work ,but I be Dave G does this with is real PDP8's.
OR, just send the file to the Superbrain, using SSH to activate Kermit and send from the PiDP rather than pull from the Superbrain. Whichever is easier.
What makes it easier overall (other than getting an actual PDP8 to work) is that you don't have to worry about using a console over the serial port of the PiDP too, because you can access the PiDP via SSH. Ah but I might want to, more like the session below. When I get the chance I will see if I can do something like this, with something I have here that can run Kermit, I don't have a Superbrain.
Bill Bill, Dave and Dave and all-
I think I misunderstood what Kermit looked like back in the day. I just read some of the user manual from '88, which shows a terminal session verbatim. I now see that it was normal for you to issue commands to both sides of the connection to coordinate operations. Not what I was thinking. I thought the other side was always there and ready, acting like a server, which may have come into play later with the SERVER command. Conclusion, the pdp-8 version of Kermit might in fact be about what the they first had for the DECSYSTEM 20 anyway. I might try to confirm that. Login banners and credentials aside, you would have had to issue both remote commands to the DEC20 and local commands to the Superbrain. You guys knew this I'm sure but didn't know I didn't know this. I may move ahead with running Kermit on the PiDP-8 with serial port to because it would be cool to see the file transfer CPU activity on the LEDs. The example from the manual that opened my eyes. This is probably how I want the Superbrain and PiDP8 to interact. A>Kermit .................................................(Run Kermit on the PC.) Kermit-MS V2.30 IBM-PC Kermit-MS: V2.30 8 Jan 88 Type ? for help Kermit-MS>............................................. (This is the Kermit prompt for the PC.) Kermit-MS>connect................................(Connect to the VAX.) [Connecting to host, type Control-] to return to PC] ...................................................................(You are now connected to the VAX.) Welcome to CUMIN, MicroVMS V4.6i (The system prints its herald.) Username: my-id....................................(Type your user ID.) Password: my-password........................Type your password. (Various greeting or notice messages are displayed.) $.................................................................This is the VMS system prompt. $Kermit.....................................................Run Kermit on the VAX. VMS Kermit-32 version 3.3.111 Default terminal for transfers is: _TXA0: Kermit-32> ...............................................This is VMS Kermit’s prompt. You are now ready to transfer files between the two machines. The following example illustrates how to send files from the VAX to the PC. Note the use of the "*" wildcard character to denote a file group. Kermit-32>send *.for...............................Send all my FORTRAN files. ^]c..............................................................Now return back to the PC by ...................................................................typing the escape sequence, in this case ..................................................................^]C (Control-] followed by "C") [Back at PC.] Kermit-MS>receive...................................Tell the PC that files are coming. After you’re finished transferring files,you must CONNECT back to the VAX host, EXIT from Kermit there, logout, and "escape back" to the PC as you did previously: Kermit-MS>connect.................................Get back to the VAX. [Connecting to host. Type CTRL-]C to return to PC.] Kermit-32> ...............................................Here we are. Kermit-32>exit..........................................Get out of VMS Kermit. $ logout.....................................................Logout from the VAX. MY-ID loggedout at 25-JAN-1988 15:12:27.85 ...................................................................^]c Now "escape" back to the PC, [Back at PC.] Kermit-MS>exit.........................................and exit from the PC’s Kermit. A> ...............................................................Now you see the DOS prompt again. The files you transferred should now be on your PC disk.