This is a quick procedure to install a terminal without going through a Setup procedure for both the terminal and the host computer. It probably will not work right if the terminal happens to have been set up incompatible with the computer. If you don't understand some of it you'll need to consult other parts of this document for more info.
To install a terminal, first look in /etc/termcap or
terminfo.src to find an entry for it (see
Terminfo and Termcap (detailed)). Figure out what serial port
you'll connect it to and what the tty designation is for that port
e.g. ttyS1, see
Device Names). As the
root user, edit /etc/inittab and add a getty command next to
the other getty commands. The format of the getty command depends on
which getty program you use. agetty (called just getty in
the Debian distribution) is the easiest (no configuration file). See
the "info" or "man re getty. For getty parameters use
the terminfo (or termcap) name (such as vt100) for your terminal.
Type in a baud-rate that the terminal supports. But if you set the
baud too high you may need to use (See
Flow Control).
Then physically connect the main serial port of the terminal to the chosen serial port of the computer with a file-transfer (null modem) cable and turn on the terminal. Don't expect most ready-made cables to be wired correctly for hardware flow control. Make sure the baud-rate of the terminal is set the same as you gave to getty and that its "data bits" is 8. Then at the computer console type "init q" to apply the changes you made to the inittab file. You should now see a login prompt at the terminal. If you don't, tap the terminal's return key. If this doesn't work read more of this document and/or see Trouble-Shooting.