[SunRescue] Funkiness in Sparc serial consoles using vt100

[User Bobkeys BSD Bob the old greybeard BSD freak]

I am running into a small problem on a Sparc Classic using a vt100
terminal (a real DEC VT420 in vt100 mode that works fine on VAXentoyz)
in that it has a propensity to add things like vertical bars and the
silly DEC ? chars (null?).  The thing is set 9600/8/n/1, and it works
fine on my SS10 running NetBSD or OpenBSD, but, on the Classic it
spits those chars.  Slowlaris 8 did fine on it in vt100 mode, serially,
and a sun monitor/keyboard works fine on it.  It is something minor,
but annoying.  Is there anything peculiar about Sparc Classic serial
ports?  Could it be a bum termcap or .profile entry or such?  Is it
more likely a DEC/Sun inconsistency in RS232?  I am beginning to pine
for a dumb Televideo 920, or somesuch Wyse thingie, maybe....(:+{{.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks

Bob