What is a DEC VT-61/T ?

Al> From memory, they are used with DEC's typesetting system (DECset) Al> They were commonly used by newspapers. It's been too long, but I think DECset was a VMS-based typesetting system (it may have been renamed and/or canceled before shipping). That probably didn't use the VT61, only the VT71 -- which is a micro-PDP11 based editing terminal with a substantial chunk of local memory. (You would send it the whole article, edit locally, and send it back tot he host.) The VT61/t was the "low cost" terminal used with Typeset-11 -- which is what I worked on in my first job at DEC, 1978-1980. (Possibly it was also used with Typeset-8; I don't know that product.) It supports local editing as well as forms entry, but only on 24 lines at a time. The primary use for it was for classified ad entry; it was also used for other editing applications when the volume of text wasn't too large. So at the news side of a newspaper, the editors would certainly have VT71s but the reporters (who have far less volume to handle) might be stuck with VT61/t's if the newspaper was trying to save money. I don't know any details on the communication protocol between terminal and host. It's some sort of error checking protocol, perhaps inspired by primitive stuff like Bisync, but I never worked on that part of the system. It's definitely block oriented -- you'd type text to fill in the screen, and hit a transmit key to send all that to the host. (In the case of forms entry, the form labels of course would not be sent.) There's also a VT61 without the /t; probably something similar but not customized for typesetting applications. And the VT62, again probably similar, designed for the very short-lived TRAX-11 operating system. paul