21 Jun
2021
21 Jun
'21
1:50 a.m.
Hello,
Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
looking neutral grey:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
21 Jun
21 Jun
2:51 a.m.
I want to say that it?s white. Though I can?t get to mine right now.
Zane
Sent from my iPod
On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:50 PM, Lars Brinkhoff via
cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
Hello,
Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
looking neutral grey:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
9:48 a.m.
On 21/06/2021 07:51, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote:
I want to say that it?s white. Though I can?t get to
mine right now.
Zane
Sent from my iPod
> On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:50 PM, Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk <cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
> looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
> asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
> looking neutral grey:
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
>
> And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
>
> I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
I can't get t mine either but I think they were originally light cream,
but not bright white.
I suspect that most photos have it as yellowish because that's what they
are now :-)
The black bits I remember as black.
I remember the tube colour being green, I think I remember seeing amber
and I believe that white was an available option.
Antonio
--
Antonio Carlini
antonio at acarlini.com
10 a.m.
On Jun 21, 2021, at 6:48 AM, Antonio Carlini via
cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
I?m pretty sure that the black is black. I am not sure, but I want to say that the tubes
in mine are B&W, not green or amber. I think that I had 3 and I think that I still
have 2, I?m sure that I still have one with a Q-Bus card cage.
Zane
On 21/06/2021 07:51, Zane Healy via cctalk
wrote:
I want to say that it?s white. Though I can?t get to mine right now.
Zane
Sent from my iPod
> On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:50 PM, Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk <cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
> looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
> asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
> looking neutral grey:
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
>
> And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
>
> I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
I can't get t mine either but I think they were originally light cream, but not
bright white.
I suspect that most photos have it as yellowish because that's what they are now :-)
The black bits I remember as black.
I remember the tube colour being green, I think I remember seeing amber and I believe
that white was an available option. 
10:08 a.m.
A guess, but a confident one: the white part of the VT100 casing would
originally have been the same white as the VAX11 metal cabinets were
painted in.
Look at promotional brochures from the era that include a VAX and a
terminal.
The color might well be a FED-STD-595 one, and/or a very similar Pantone
one.
On Mon, Jun 21, 2021 at 4:00 PM Zane Healy via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:
but
not bright white.
On Jun 21, 2021, at 6:48 AM, Antonio Carlini via
cctalk <
cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
> On 21/06/2021 07:51, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote:
> I want to say that it?s white. Though I can?t get to mine right now.
>
> Zane
>
>
> Sent from my iPod
>
>> On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:50 PM, Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk <
cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
> looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
> asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
> looking neutral grey:
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
>
> And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
>
> I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
I can't get t mine either but I think they were originally light cream,
I suspect that most photos have it as yellowish because that's what they
are
now :-)
The black bits I remember as black.
I remember the tube colour being green, I think I remember seeing amber
and I
believe that white was an available option.
I?m pretty sure that the black is black. I am not sure, but I want to say
that the tubes in mine are B&W, not green or amber. I think that I had 3
and I think that I still have 2, I?m sure that I still have one with a
Q-Bus card cage.
Zane
10:43 a.m.
It's the same white as the pdp 8a, or rl02 new.
On Mon, Jun 21, 2021 at 10:42 AM Magnus Ringman via cctalk <
cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
A guess, but a confident one: the white part of the
VT100 casing would
originally have been the same white as the VAX11 metal cabinets were
painted in.
Look at promotional brochures from the era that include a VAX and a
terminal.
The color might well be a FED-STD-595 one, and/or a very similar Pantone
one.
On Mon, Jun 21, 2021 at 4:00 PM Zane Healy via cctalk <
cctalk at classiccmp.org>
wrote:
have
but
not bright white.
>
> I suspect that most photos have it as yellowish because that's what they
On Jun 21, 2021, at 6:48 AM, Antonio Carlini via
cctalk <
cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
> On 21/06/2021 07:51, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote:
> I want to say that it?s white. Though I can?t get to mine right now.
>
> Zane
>
>
> Sent from my iPod
>
>> On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:50 PM, Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk <
cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
>>> looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I >>> asked claim it was a light cream
color. This bitsavers picture has
it
> looking neutral grey:
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
>
> And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
>
> I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
I can't get t mine either but I think they were originally light cream, are now :-)
say
The black bits I remember as black.
I remember the tube colour being green, I think I remember seeing amber
and I
believe that white was an available option.
I?m pretty sure that the black is black. I am not sure, but I want to that the tubes in mine are B&W, not green or
amber. I think that I had 3
and I think that I still have 2, I?m sure that I still have one with a
Q-Bus card cage.
Zane
10:06 a.m.
On 21 Jun 2021, at 14:48, Antonio Carlini via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
On 21/06/2021 07:51, Zane Healy via cctalk wrote:
All my VTs are coloured how I remember them - light cream with black inserts. It wouldn?t
surprise me if they were produced in slightly different colours back then, but my DECbox
(VT100 with embedded Beaglebone) behind me is how I remember them. I have a pic of me in
front of it back in (I think) 1985 so I?ll dig that out.
I don?t remember the screens being green though, my first encounter with green screens was
VT220s and all my VT1xx?s are white. This could just have been our corner of the UK
though.
--
Adrian Graham
Owner of Binary Dinosaurs, the UK's biggest private home computer collection?
t: @binarydinosaurs f: facebook.com/binarydinosaurs
w: www.binarydinosaurs.co.uk
I want to say that it?s white. Though I can?t
get to mine right now.
Zane
Sent from my iPod
> On Jun 20, 2021, at 10:50 PM, Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk <cctalk at
classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
> looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
> asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
> looking neutral grey:
> http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
>
> And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
>
> I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
I can't get t mine either but I think they were originally light cream, but not
bright white.
I suspect that most photos have it as yellowish because that's what they are now :-)
The black bits I remember as black.
I remember the tube colour being green, I think I remember seeing amber and I believe
that white was an available option. 
10:39 a.m.
On Jun 21, 2021, at 9:48 AM, Antonio Carlini via
cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
...
I can't get t mine either but I think they were originally light cream, but not
bright white.
That sounds right.
...
I remember the tube colour being green, I think I remember seeing amber and I believe
that white was an available option.
You're thinking of the VT200, which came in three colors, although at DEC fortunately
they never inflicted green on us :-). But all the earlier DEC video terminals (VT05,
VT50/52/61t/62, VT20, VT71) were white. The only exception I can think of is the GT40,
probably because that one benefits from having fairly long persistence which was available
in green phosphor but not in white.
paul
12:10 p.m.
On 21/06/2021 15:39, Paul Koning wrote:
You're thinking of the VT200, which came in three colors, although at DEC fortunately
they never inflicted green on us :-). But all the earlier DEC video terminals (VT05,
VT50/52/61t/62, VT20, VT71) were white. The only exception I can think of is the GT40,
probably because that one benefits from having fairly long persistence which was available
in green phosphor but not in white.
The User Guide doesn't say and I don't have an IPB I can find. I do
remember the VT100s in the computer room at Uni being green and the VT52
clones (Dataram?) being white. But that's a while ago so maybe my
wetware is wrong. If and when I can get to where I think my VT100 is I
can look at powering it up. Powering it up may take much longer than
getting to it though :-)
My VT220 is (or was, it's been a while ...) green phosphor and my VT420
is amber ... I like both.
Antonio
--
Antonio Carlini
antonio at acarlini.com
1:12 p.m.
On 21/06/2021 17:10, Antonio Carlini wrote:
On 21/06/2021 15:39, Paul Koning wrote:
I found the IPB on bitsavers and that lists the P4 phosphor and a later
CRT with the P40 phosphor. I think both of those are white.
I did find one seemingly untouched image of a VT100 with green text:
https://vistapointe.net/cliparts/getsecond. That does appear to be a
VT100 (not a VT102/VT103 etc) and is green.
I did find many more white phosphor pictures than green (and no amber at
all).
Antonio
--
Antonio Carlini
antonio at acarlini.com
You're thinking of the VT200, which came in three colors, although at
DEC fortunately they never inflicted green on us :-).? But all the
earlier DEC video terminals (VT05, VT50/52/61t/62, VT20, VT71) were
white.? The only exception I can think of is the GT40, probably
because that one benefits from having fairly long persistence which
was available in green phosphor but not in white.
The User Guide doesn't say and I don't have an IPB I can find. I do
remember the VT100s in the computer room at Uni being green and the
VT52 clones (Dataram?) being white. But that's a while ago so maybe my
wetware is wrong. If and when I can get to where I think my VT100 is I
can look at powering it up. Powering it up may take much longer than
getting to it though :-)
My VT220 is (or was, it's been a while ...) green phosphor and my
VT420 is amber ... I like both.
1:46 p.m.
This is funny, as everyone (me too) weighs in with their description of the elephant.
My recollection (also from recent observation of a VT278):
- case main: very light cream, somehow with a touch of grey, but not pure white
- case insets: very dark brown
Remember, it was the 70s! Earth tones. Black wasn't yet a thing.
- CRT: white phosphor
I never saw a VT1xx style in anything other than white phosphor.
On 2021-Jun-21, at 10:12 AM, Antonio Carlini via cctalk wrote:
I did find one seemingly untouched image of a VT100
with green text: https://vistapointe.net/cliparts/getsecond. That does appear to be a
VT100 (not a VT102/VT103 etc) and is green.
That link didn't work for me, but poking around on the same site:
https://vistapointe.net/vt100.html
Yes, some very novel images of a VT100 with green phosphor.
But really, I'd bet *very* strongly that somebody swapped the CRT to get that.
3:16 p.m.
On 2021-06-21 13:12, Antonio Carlini via cctalk wrote:
I did find one seemingly untouched image of a VT100
with green text:
https://vistapointe.net/cliparts/getsecond. That does appear to be a
VT100 (not a VT102/VT103 etc) and is green.
We had some like that, but upgraded with a Selenar (?) board and
different tube, to have tektronix emulation as an option. And looking at
the picture it seems to be a darker green, which make me believe it was
a P39 phosphor like ours ...
22 Jun
22 Jun
3:16 a.m.
On 21/06/2021 18:12, Antonio Carlini via cctalk wrote:
I found the IPB on bitsavers and that lists the P4
phosphor and a
later CRT with the P40 phosphor. I think both of those are white.
I did find one seemingly untouched image of a VT100 with green text:
https://vistapointe.net/cliparts/getsecond. That does appear to be a
VT100 (not a VT102/VT103 etc) and is green.
I did find many more white phosphor pictures than green (and no amber
at all).
The VT640 had a green phosphor. This was a 3rd party upgrade for the
VT100 from Digital Engineering which gives the VT100 graphical
capabilities. Part of the upgrade involved changing the picture tube. I
suspect this was to reduce flicker as the phosphor has a high persistence.
Here is an original advert for the upgrade:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rO0QAcSJpQUC&pg=PA27
Matt
4:13 a.m.
On 22/06/2021 08:16, Matt Burke via cctalk wrote:
The VT640 had a green phosphor. This was a 3rd party
upgrade for the
VT100 from Digital Engineering which gives the VT100 graphical
capabilities. Part of the upgrade involved changing the picture tube. I
suspect this was to reduce flicker as the phosphor has a high persistence.
Here is an original advert for the upgrade:
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rO0QAcSJpQUC&pg=PA27
Matt
The ones I used had a VT640 (although the only used for the graphics
side that I remember was a labyrinth game and some ALGOL code I wrote to
plot some coursework). I would never have guessed that the tube got
changed as part of the process, but it looks like you probably bought
the modified VT100 from Digital Engineering rather than installing a kit
yourself.
Antonio
--
Antonio Carlini
antonio at acarlini.com
21 Jun
21 Jun
11:40 a.m.
I recall the color was "Putty". Best way to find out is open one and see
what the plastic looks like on the inside. All VT100's I used had the
same while phosphor color as the VT52.
Now for real fun, what was the original color of a VT52?
Chris
9:53 a.m.
On Mon, 21 Jun 2021 at 07:50, Lars Brinkhoff via cctalk
<cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:
Hello,
Does anyone know what colors a VT100 is? Most photos online has it
looking yellowish, but I expect that's from aging. Some people I have
asked claim it was a light cream color. This bitsavers picture has it
looking neutral grey:
http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/terminal/vt100/vt100_wps-8.jpg
And the black parts are claimed to be dark brown.
I haven't found any color codes in the manuals.
I remember them as essentially white and black. Not white like paper,
but slightly colder, kind of. That image on bitsavers loks the way I
remember it, the 'neutral gray' part just a white colour in shadow.
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