S36/38 Workstation Emulation Adapter

@FFF8.ADF S36/38 Work Station Emulation Adapter
@FFF8.ADF S36/38 Work Station Emulation Adapter (different POS info)

S36-38_Disk_1.zip Work Station Emulation Program diskette #1 (zipped image)
S36-38_Disk_2.zip Work Station Emulation Program diskette #2 (zipped image)
S36-38_Diags.zip ADF, diagnostic, and error files (zipped image)

187-047 IBM System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Adapter/A

System 36/38 Work Station Emulation Keyboard Templates Ver. 1.0 (72X6160, SX21-9882-0)
System 36/38 Work Station Emulation Adapter Quick Reference (69X6285, SA21-9925-0)
System 36/38 Work Station Emulation Program Statement of Service (72X6194, SC21-9733)
System 36/38 Work Station Emulation Program Ver. 1.0 - User's Guide (72X6151, SC21-8072-0)
   User's Guide Binder (69X6286, Z125-3301-02)

Using the IBM System 36/38 Emulation Adapter Card As a Time Source (TDB)

5250 Emulation Adapters (IBM, archived)
5250 Emulation Products Overview (IBM, archived)

General Twinax Information

Long S36/38 Workstation Adapter
Short S36/38 Workstation Adapter
Product Description
Known Problems
Installation Convenience Kit/A

Disk images, photos, and documentation scans provided by David Beem. Thanks!


Long S36/38 Workstation Adapter P/N 69X6292 [P] [P] [P] [P]

There are no visible reference designators on the board, just some very rough row/column markings. The designators shown here are made up.

C1 Large MLCC?
CN1 Male DB15 connector
D1-4 Protection diodes
M1-9 TMS4256FML-12 256Kx1 DRAM
RG µA7905C -5 V regulator
U1 59X3380(ESD)
U2,3 5959949(ESD)
U4 7378945(ESD)
U5 Intel P8088-2
U6 Intel P8259A-2 PIC
Y1 24.00000 MHz osc

Short S36/38 Workstation Adapter P/N 69X6294, 69X6282 [P] [P]

There are no visible reference designators on the board. The designators shown here are made up.

C1 Large MLCC?
CN1 Male DB15 connector
M1-3 256Kx4 DRAM
RG µA7905C -5 V regulator
U1 93X2670(ESD) or 93X2655(ESD)
U2 7378945(ESD)
U3 8088-2-P (Siemens or AMD)
U4 Intel N8259A-2 PIC
Y1 24.00000 MHz osc

M1-3 256Kx4 DRAM - Samsung KM44C256BJ-10 or TI TMS44C256DJ-12
U1 93X2670(ESD) (card P/N 69X6294?) or 93X2655(ESD) (card P/N 69X6282?)

The card is marked 93X2695 and another sticker says "To replace card order PN 69X6294" or "...69X6282".


Product Description

The System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Adapter/A, Part Number 69X6279, when used with a compatible terminal emulation program, enables systems meeting the IBM Micro Channel (R) Standard to be attached to IBM System/36, System/38, and AS/400 (R) hosts. This adapter provides four physical address links to your AS/400 or S3X host.

The IBM System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Adapter/A and System 36/38 Attachment Cable allow IBM Personal System/2 Models to emulate either 5250 Displays or 5250 Printers. The adapter is attached to the twinax cable used in System 36/38 environments. The adapter, along with the IBM System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Program, Version 1.0, allows access to the application programs on the System 36/38 as if the user were at a 5250 workstation. As a printer, the user can print the output of System 36/38 application programs on a printer attached to the IBM Personal System/2. The IBM System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Program provides limited multitasking capabilities that allow the IBM Personal System/2 to interact with the System 36/38 as if it were four separate terminals or printers. The sessions can be any combination of printer, display, or host graphics sessions that do not exceed four sessions total. The user can easily switch between up to four different System 36/38 tasks, as well as one DOS task.

An 8088 processor is provided on the IBM System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Adapter/A reducing the timing dependencies on the IBM Personal System/2.

Compatible IBM 5250 terminal emulation programs include:

  • System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Program V1.0
  • 5250 Emulation for Windows V1.1
  • Personal Communications AS/400 for Windows V4.0
  • Personal Communications AS/400 for OS/2 V4.0
  • IBM Communications Manager-based products such as Extended Services for OS/2 (TM) and IBM Communications Manager/2 Version 1.0 and later (these products support AS/400 attachment only).

Known Problems

System 36/38 (5250) Emulation Adapter Problems (H062314)
8590 and 8595 50MHz Systems Hang with 36/38 Adapter (H093927)


Installation Convenience Kit/A P/N 69X6287 (from David Beem)


"System 36/38 Workstation Emulation Installation Convenience Kit/A Version 1.0"
That's quite the product name...

The kit is P/N 69X6287. Made in the USA

List of contents

Everything inside is neatly organized, each item has its place...

Attachment cable P/N 72X6263

Content created and/or collected by:
Louis F. Ohland, Peter H. Wendt, David L. Beem, William R. Walsh, Tatsuo Sunagawa, Tomáš Slavotínek, Jim Shorney, Tim N. Clarke, Kevin Bowling, and many others.

Ardent Tool of Capitalism is maintained by Tomáš Slavotínek.
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