Strange console on ALIX after update

[jahonix]

Tried an update from console and found this when I came back:

F─■■BSD/■386 (─°S■┼─■.┌─■░┌■─└░■┼) (├├≤┤0)

*** W■┌■─└■ ├─ ─°S■┼─■ 2.3-BETA-┼░┼─■─■ (■386) ─┼ ─°S■┼─■ ***

WAN (┬░┼)      -> ┴─1        -> ┴4/DHCP4: 10.0.1.155/24
LAN (┌░┼)      -> ┴─0        -> ┴4: 192.168.5.1/24

0. L─±─┤├ (SSH ─┼┌≤)                  9) ─°T──
1. A──■±┼ I┼├■─°░■■─                10) F■┌├■─ L─±─
2. S■├ ■┼├■─°░■■(─) IP ░■■─■──      11) R■─├░─├ ┬■■C─┼°■±┤─░├──
3. R■─■├ ┬■■C─┼°■±┤─░├── ─░──┬──■    12) ─°S■┼─■ D■┴■┌──■─ S■┌┌
4. R■─■├ ├─ °░■├──≤ ■■°░┤┌├─        13) U─■░├■ °──└ ■─┼──┌■
5. R■■──├ ─≤─├■└                    14) D■─░■┌■ S■■┤─■ S■┌┌ (──■)
6. H░┌├ ─≤─├■└                      15) R■─├──■ ─■■■┼├ ■─┼°■±┤─░├■─┼
7. P■┼± ──├                        16) R■─├░─├ PHP-FPM
   ; S■┌┌

E┼├■─ ░┼ ──├■─┼:

Anybody? (it's not the cable) … and the update didn't work either.

[KOM]

I think you've entered the Matrix  8)

[jahonix]

At least it's not klingon.

[phil.davis]

I recognised these as a VT100 alternate character set:
http://vt100.net/docs/vt100-ug/table3-9.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box-drawing_character - search for VT100

Somehow your terminal emulator for the console has been sent ESC(0 which switches to the alternate character set, which has various line-drawing symbols in place of the lowercase alphas and a few other symbol switches.

Restarting/resetting the terminal emulator and repainting the menu should fix it. Or if you do have a VT100 connected, reset it or powercycle it.

[jahonix]

Thanks Phil, makes perfectly sense. There are still readable characters and the device itself boots to console menu which it wouldn't if something was terribly borked or even defective.
Fun thing is that, when I connect to a different device (unplug sub-D9 and plug it in another device without closing the connection first), it shows characters as expected. Re-plugging is back to klingon.
I'll reflash the CF card and see what happens.

May the force be with you!

[phil.davis]

The problem should be in the state of the device (real terminal, terminal emulator, whatever) connected to the end of the serial cable, not in the Alix or the software on the CF card in the Alix.

The Alix serial port will still be sending ASCII abcdef etc but the "selected font" on the display device has switched to "klingon mode" and displays these ASCII abcdef as the line-drawing shapes.

I can remember actually coding stuff like this to make tables/cells with borders on VT terminals!