UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Thanks for the replies. I'll try changing the line speed and come back with the results.

[quote=edfair;302351294]Those happen. The Sun probably was sensitive and your onboard probably couldn't put out enough current to get things transitioned.
How long was the cable? What wire gauge, if you know? Both affect the waveshape of the signal.
Looking at problem serial signals with a scope can show some serious RC degradation of the leading edge of the bits. At the worst I've seen the normal square wave was rounded off so much that the signal never made it to the rail voltage before the transition to the other rail started.
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edfair, my setup was Linux -> blackbox mini fiber driver -> 10' fiber strand (one-way serial) ->blackbox mini fiber driver -> Sun. You must be right in your assessment, but it sure didn't seem to make "logical" sense at the time.

Still open whether I'm correct or not. Serial is funny sometimes.
I would suspect that your issue was from one of the computers to the blackbox. Just supposin, since blackbox stuff has always been rock solid when I've dealt with them.
But you also have issues with timings. If clocks drift a little off things go bad. There usually is enough play at the end of the character to handle it. Combine some drift with some rc degredation and the line receivers may not be flipped in time for the UART to read correctly in the middle of the bit time.
I've got a permanent scar on my forehead from beating against those issues. Well, psychologically at least.