19 Jul
2014
19 Jul
'14
10:59 p.m.
On Sat, Jul 19, 2014 at 9:52 PM, Jerome H. Fine <jhfinedp3k at compsys.to> wrote:
Although the VT14 was not intended to run PDP-8
software, was or would it have been possible?
I don't think so, without rendering it effectively no longer a VT14.
The VT14 was specifically a terminal to program a PDP-14 using ladder
logic, had ROM firmware that only did that, and had only 1K of RAM,
not contiguously mapped. It had an alphanumeric display, but not an
alphanumeric keyboard, though it normally is used with a teletype for
printing ladder diagrams and punching and reading paper tape. You
could presumably reprogram or replace the MR8-F ROM, and add more RAM,
to use it as a general purpose computer.
The built-in video terminal wasn't really a VT8-E, though perhaps the
electronics may be similar. The VT14 uses the M7441 and M7443
modules, while the VT8-E uses the M8335, M8336, and M8337. The
housing is definitely not the VT8-E/VT05 housing.
In other words, as supplied, the VT14 is a lot further from being
usable as a general-purpose computer than the VT103.