1 Jun
2004
1 Jun
'04
3:36 a.m.
On Sun, 2004-05-30 at 17:22, Andrew K. Bressen wrote:
I think Selectrics are pretty cool;
I'd kinda like one I could use as a printer,
and if it could be a full serial tty that would
be even cooler.
So far, I've found that IBM made the 1050 and the 2741 selectric-based console
terminals, both of which were large, heavy, and not very reliable.
The 1052 console terminal was the largest of the ilk and was used in
heavy duty applications (such as the console terminal for 360's). The
2741 was used in lighter duty applications (such as hardcopy terminals
in terminal rooms).
I don't know about them *not* being very reliable. I used a 1052 as the
terminal for a custom microcomputer I did in the mid-70s. I was rugged
as hell. It also required a fair amount of dealing with
(tilt-and-rotate codes anyone?) since there was no controller with it so
I had to build an interface to deal with the individual pick relays.
I don't expect you'd find a serial version of anything other than some
of the 2741's. Then it might not even be ASCII (IBM was EBCDIC at the
time).
Did IBM ever do any better, like say a serial module for a selectric III?
I know some of the Wheelwriter typewriters had serial ports,
but the golf ball type elements are just too much cooler.
I found some web pages that talk about Trendata ttys based on selectrics,
but very little hard info; anyone here know anything about them?
I also remember the ByteWriter and similar contraptions that strapped a
bunch of solenoids on top of a typewriter keyboard, but while
entertainingly kludgy, that lacks a certain degree of elegance.
--akb
--
TTFN - Guy