[pyro451]

Does anyone know of a VT-52 terminal emulator for the 8700? One of our systems here apparently uses some VT-52 specific cursor commands in the menu programs and nothing I have tried works.

I did try Idokorro Mobile SSH and also MidPSSH. I also contacted both developers and neither has any plans for VT-52 support. It would be really helpful to have a basic telnet application with VT-52 support so I can connect to an internal server via the BES-MDS.

[pauldumais]

To my knowledge VT52 is a subset of VT100, for some reason you were misinformed. Idokorro Mobile SSH should support all VT52 terminal emulation commands, if there are particular commands that it does not support please let us know and we will fix it.

The Idokorro Team

[pyro451]

Originally Posted by pauldumais

To my knowledge VT52 is a subset of VT100, for some reason you were misinformed. Idokorro Mobile SSH should support all VT52 terminal emulation commands, if there are particular commands that it does not support please let us know and we will fix it.

The Idokorro Team

Thanks for the reply. Funny, I had multiple conversations with Idokorro support personnel and even had emailed support on this issue. I was told Idokorro had no intention of supporting VT52.

Ironically (or maybe not) I received an email from someone at Idokorro around the same time as your post explaining how to get the VT52 cursor commands to function. I will have to try to download a trial again and see if that resolves the issues I was experiencing.

[theBorg]

Wow. VT-52. Now that really takes me back.

You just gotta be working around Lexington.

Good luck!

[pyro451]

Originally Posted by theBorg

You just gotta be working around Lexington.

About 45 miles west

[pyro451]

Originally Posted by pauldumais

... if there are particular commands that it does not support please let us know and we will fix it.

The Idokorro Team

Ok, I emailed screenshots of the configuration screen in MobileSSH and of the problem screens when connected to our server to Idokorro support this morning. I anxiously await a reply.

Thanks for the offer to help!

[Mark Rejhon]

Originally Posted by pyro451

Ok, I emailed screenshots of the configuration screen in MobileSSH and of the problem screens when connected to our server to Idokorro support this morning. I anxiously await a reply.

Thanks for the offer to help!

Workaround: Use a UNIX/Linux server to be your VT52->VT100 translator.

In other worlds: You can run a VT52 terminal inside a shell running inside a VT100 terminal, which you can connect to using existing telnet/ssh clients.

In more technical words: Setup a UNIX or Linux box. telnet/ssh to to UNIX/Linux box using VT100. Install and run a VT52 terminal application that's designed to run at the console. Use this application to connect to your VT52 host. Presto - it will translate VT52 sequences to VT100 sequences.

As far as I know, there are a number of VT52 sequences that are not supported by some modern VT100 clients, because they are rarely used. If you have a UNIX box, and still want Idokorro to fix this, you can capture these VT sequences by using the 'script' command right before your 'telnet' / 'ssh' command (to record a 'typescript' logfile that contains all the raw escape sequences). Mail this raw capture of your telnet/ssh session to Idokorro and they may be able to identify certain escape sequences that were not supported (i.e. certain VT52 sequences that were not supported). This type of debugging was invaluable to Idokorro a few years ago in refining their VT100 support.

[pyro451]

Thank you for the suggestion Mark. Unfortunately, I know our MIS guys do not have the spare time to set up a separate server for us to access the main system over our blackberries. They already have a long project backlog.

I did send screenshots from my PC to Idokorro with the escape sequences unprocessed (ie visible on screen). I hope that is enough to resolve the issue.

I can say tech support seems to be genuinely concerned about the issue now, which is good news.

[pyro451]

Thank you Idokorro for addressing this VT52 issue. I will wait patiently for the next release of MobileSSH so I can confirm it works with our system.