3 Apr
2011
3 Apr
'11
2:06 p.m.
Been doing some cleaning here, and going through my various DEC terminals. I've got a
pretty good set going, but I'm missing the ever-elusive VT52 (OK, yes, and the VT-05,
but that doesn't count. <grin>). The one that has managed to elude me for years,
however, is the VT52. I know they made a lot of them - it was an early standard of sorts,
but they don't turn up nearly as often as VT100's do.
So, anyone have one they'd be willing to sell me? I'm in NY, capital area. Working
would be a plus, but complete is fine. I can usually fix things if all the parts are
there.
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a Tektronix 4010, but...
-Ian
2:47 p.m.
-----Original Message-----
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-
bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of Mr Ian Primus
Sent: 03 April 2011 22:07
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Anyone got a VT52 they'd be willing to sell?
Been doing some cleaning here, and going through my various DEC
terminals. I've got a pretty good set going, but I'm missing the
ever-elusive
VT52 (OK, yes, and the VT-05, but that doesn't
count. <grin>). The one
that
has managed to elude me for years, however, is the
VT52. I know they made
a lot of them - it was an early standard of sorts, but they don't turn up
nearly
as often as VT100's do.
So, anyone have one they'd be willing to sell me? I'm in NY, capital area.
Working would be a plus, but complete is fine. I can usually fix things if
all
the parts are there.
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a Tektronix 4010, but...
-Ian
Surprised you suggest that VT100s are still relatively easily found. How
common are they in the US? I have not been able to find one here in the UK
and I don't recall seeing many in the US. I only look on eBay though, am I
looking in the wrong places?
Regards
Rob
3:11 p.m.
Surprised you suggest that VT100s are still relatively
easily found. How
common are they in the US? I have not been able to find one here in the UK
and I don't recall seeing many in the US. I only look on eBay though, am I
looking in the wrong places?
Yes. VT100s (and variants) are still reasonably easy to find in the
US, but these days it takes legwork. DEC must have made a zillion of
the things.
--
Will
3:14 p.m.
On 4/3/11 6:11 PM, William Donzelli wrote:
It takes *quite a bit* of legwork to find a VT100 these days. They
dried up about 8-10 years ago.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Surprised you
suggest that VT100s are still relatively easily found. How
common are they in the US? I have not been able to find one here in the UK
and I don't recall seeing many in the US. I only look on eBay though, am I
looking in the wrong places?
Yes. VT100s (and variants) are still reasonably easy to find in the
US, but these days it takes legwork. DEC must have made a zillion of
the things. 
4 Apr
4 Apr
1:52 p.m.
In article <007a01cbf248$b9db1160$2d913420$(a)ntlworld.com>om>,
"Rob Jarratt" <robert.jarratt at ntlworld.com> writes:
Surprised you suggest that VT100s are still relatively
easily found. How
common are they in the US? I have not been able to find one here in the UK
and I don't recall seeing many in the US. I only look on eBay though, am I
looking in the wrong places?
VT100s are getting harder to find, but they still show up on ebay with
regularity. Lately they've all been offered sans keyboard and in
fairly poor cosmetic condition, though. This is another sign that
most of the good condition units have already been scrapped.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
8:01 p.m.
On 4/4/11 4:52 PM, Richard wrote:
...or in the hands of people who have no interest whatsoever in
parting with them, as is the case with my small stash. =)
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
Surprised you
suggest that VT100s are still relatively easily found. How
common are they in the US? I have not been able to find one here in the UK
and I don't recall seeing many in the US. I only look on eBay though, am I
looking in the wrong places?
VT100s are getting harder to find, but they still show up on ebay with
regularity. Lately they've all been offered sans keyboard and in
fairly poor cosmetic condition, though. This is another sign that
most of the good condition units have already been scrapped. 
3 Apr
3 Apr
3:22 p.m.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mr Ian Primus" <ian_primus at yahoo.com>
To: <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 5:06 PM
Subject: Anyone got a VT52 they'd be willing to sell?
Been doing some cleaning here, and going through my
various DEC terminals.
I've got a pretty good set going, but I'm missing the ever-elusive VT52
(OK, yes, and the VT-05, but that doesn't count. <grin>). The one that has
managed to elude me for years, however, is the VT52. I know they made a
lot of them - it was an early standard of sorts, but they don't turn up
nearly as often as VT100's do.
So, anyone have one they'd be willing to sell me? I'm in NY, capital area.
Working would be a plus, but complete is fine. I can usually fix things if
all the parts are there.
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a Tektronix 4010, but...
-Ian
Too bad you didn't want a VT525 I have one of those extra.
4:38 p.m.
I have 6 VT52's I've been waiting to get shipped in here, and should
be ready for them in a few months. No idea what the condiction is, and
i'm keeping a few. I have most of the VT100 family (except the VT103)
and a lot of parts, but short of keyboards.
Paul
On Sun, Apr 3, 2011 at 4:06 PM, Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> wrote:
Been doing some cleaning here, and going through my
various DEC terminals. I've got a pretty good set going, but I'm missing the
ever-elusive VT52 (OK, yes, and the VT-05, but that doesn't count. <grin>). The
one that has managed to elude me for years, however, is the VT52. I know they made a lot
of them - it was an early standard of sorts, but they don't turn up nearly as often as
VT100's do.
So, anyone have one they'd be willing to sell me? I'm in NY, capital area.
Working would be a plus, but complete is fine. I can usually fix things if all the parts
are there.
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a Tektronix 4010, but...
-Ian
4 Apr
4 Apr
1:50 p.m.
In article <93397.83501.qm at web121619.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>,
Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> writes:
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a
Tektronix 4010, but...
I've actually found 4010s more readily than I have found VT52s. Been
looking for a number of years and still haven't come across a VT52 at
an affordable price. I've found a number of 4010/4014s at affordable
prices.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
7:33 p.m.
--- On Mon, 4/4/11, Richard <legalize at xmission.com> wrote:
That's surprising - I've been looking for a Tek 4010 for a very long time, and
have only seen one for sale. It was on eBay and I missed out because eBay timed out the
login session, so when I tried to put in a bid at the last minute it booted me back to the
login screen.
It went for less than I was willing to pay, but at the same time, there's no telling
what the other guy bid.
Granted, I don't have any automatic alerts set up to email me in case one pops up,
which I suppose I have to do. I've only seen the one on eBay.
Of course, if anyone *has* a Tektronix 4010/4014 they're willing to sell, I'd
definitely be interested in buying it, but I just have not had the opportunity.
VT52's, on the other hand, I've had opportunities in the past, but in both cases,
the seller flaked and dropped communication.
And VT100's - I've got a couple. They're uncommon, but there are definitely a
lot of them out there. I just wound up with another one last week, along with two
CIT-101's (clones), which I actually find more interesting (and less common)
-Ian
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a
Tektronix 4010, but...
I've actually found 4010s more readily than I have found
VT52s.? Been
looking for a number of years and still haven't come across
a VT52 at
an affordable price.? I've found a number of
4010/4014s at affordable
prices.
7:59 p.m.
And VT100's - I've got a couple. They're
uncommon, but there are definitely a lot of them out there. I just wound up with another
one last week, along with two CIT-101's (clones), which I actually find more
interesting (and less common)
I probably average finding 2 or 3 a year, but I have sort of stopped
picking them up. They are just too much of a hassle to ship properly.
Thank you DEC for that awful plastic case.
--
Will
10:04 p.m.
On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 9:59 PM, William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> wrote:
> And VT100's - I've got a couple.
They're uncommon, but there are definitely a lot of them out there.
There certainly were at one time (I haven't seen any go by in a long
time, but I'm not actively looking).
I just wound up with another one last week, along with
two CIT-101's (clones), which I actually find more interesting (and less common)
I have multiple CIT-101 and CIT-101e terminals - we bought them at
work when genuine VT100s were around $1600 each. I even have an
original manual or two (but I know they've been scanned already).
One nice feature of the -101s is the built-in real-time clock on the
SETUP page (you set it with a magic CItoh escape sequence). I used to
set mine on login and check the time by tapping SETUP. A nice feature
of the -101e is that you can use the printer port as a second session
port. The terminal doesn't maintain state, but when you are in an
application that does redraw on demand (like EDT or vi), it's no big
deal to use one session for editing and the other session for
commands.
I probably average finding 2 or 3 a year, but I have
sort of stopped
picking them up. They are just too much of a hassle to ship properly.
Thank you DEC for that awful plastic case.
I agree - between finding large enough boxes to ship them safely and
the amount of packing material, I'm not keen to ship them (though I
_would_ sell terminals with keyboards to folks on their way to/from
Dayton or other nearby event).
-ethan
10:47 p.m.
In article <BANLkTikTcSreG2=xfEYpOVgOw1qDF-oL=g at mail.gmail.com>,
William Donzelli <wdonzelli at gmail.com> writes:
Thank you DEC for that awful plastic case [on the
VT100].
Yes, this is part of what makes finding one in good cosmetic condition
difficult. There's also the yellowing of the plastic.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
8:02 p.m.
I recall reading that at the peak of production DEC was cranking
VT100's at a rate of 1 per minute.
Paul
On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 9:33 PM, Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> wrote:
--- On Mon, 4/4/11, Richard <legalize at
xmission.com> wrote:
That's surprising - I've been looking for a Tek 4010 for a very long time, and
have only seen one for sale. It was on eBay and I missed out because eBay timed out the
login session, so when I tried to put in a bid at the last minute it booted me back to the
login screen.
It went for less than I was willing to pay, but at the same time, there's no telling
what the other guy bid.
Granted, I don't have any automatic alerts set up to email me in case one pops up,
which I suppose I have to do. I've only seen the one on eBay.
Of course, if anyone *has* a Tektronix 4010/4014 they're willing to sell, I'd
definitely be interested in buying it, but I just have not had the opportunity.
VT52's, on the other hand, I've had opportunities in the past, but in both cases,
the seller flaked and dropped communication.
And VT100's - I've got a couple. They're uncommon, but there are definitely a
lot of them out there. I just wound up with another one last week, along with two
CIT-101's (clones), which I actually find more interesting (and less common)
-Ian
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a
Tektronix 4010, but...
I've actually found 4010s more readily than I have found
VT52s.? Been
looking for a number of years and still haven't come across
a VT52 at
an affordable price.? I've found a number of
4010/4014s at affordable
prices. 
5 Apr
5 Apr
1:47 a.m.
Production rate was not the limiting factor. Testing was.
In order to avoid high warranty costs DEC used to burn in all terminals.
It's cheaper to fix equipment at the factory than send out a field service
guy to do warranty work.
DEC would set a MTBF goal. Let's say 5000 hours.
Then based on field feedback adjust the burn in time to obtain a 90%
confidence level of getting a 5000 hour MTBF.
I remember huge rooms full of glowing VT100's with people on bicycles riding
up and down the rows looking for failures.
Printer burn in was even more impressive. Huge numbers of LA36's with a flag
attached to the head that you could see going back and forth all together
running a slide test. Easy to spot when one stopped. Lord only knows how
much paper they used up.
?
Rod Smallwood (ex DEC Terminals Product Line)
?
-----Original Message-----
From: cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org [mailto:cctech-bounces at classiccmp.org]
On Behalf Of Paul Anderson
Sent: 05 April 2011 04:02
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: Anyone got a VT52 they'd be willing to sell?
I recall reading that at the peak of production DEC was cranking
VT100's at a rate of 1 per minute.
Paul
On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 9:33 PM, Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> wrote:
--- On Mon, 4/4/11, Richard <legalize at
xmission.com> wrote:
That's surprising - I've been looking for a Tek 4010 for a very long time,
and have only seen one for sale. It was on eBay and I missed out because
eBay timed out the login session, so when I tried to put in a bid at the
last minute it booted me back to the login screen.
Speaking of elusive... would also love to find a
Tektronix 4010, but...
I've actually found 4010s more readily than I have found
VT52s.? Been
looking for a number of years and still haven't come across
a VT52 at
an affordable price.? I've found a number of
4010/4014s at affordable
prices.
It went for less than I was willing to pay, but at the same time, there's
no
telling what the other guy bid.
Granted, I don't have any automatic alerts set up to email me in case one
pops
up, which I suppose I have to do. I've only seen the one on eBay.
Of course, if anyone *has* a Tektronix 4010/4014 they're willing to sell,
I'd definitely be interested in buying it, but I just have not had the
opportunity.
VT52's, on the other hand, I've had opportunities in the past, but in both
cases, the seller flaked and dropped communication.
And VT100's - I've got a couple. They're uncommon, but there are
definitely a lot of them out there. I just wound up with another one last
week, along with two CIT-101's (clones), which I actually find more
interesting (and less common)
-Ian
8:59 a.m.
In article <DF94940DE26A43109F8C009767D58C48 at RODSDEVSYSTEM>,
"Rod Smallwood" <rodsmallwood at btconnect.com> writes:
Production rate was not the limiting factor. Testing
was.
In order to avoid high warranty costs DEC used to burn in all terminals.
[...]
Printer burn in was even more impressive. Huge numbers of LA36's with a flag
attached to the head that you could see going back and forth all together
running a slide test. Easy to spot when one stopped. Lord only knows how
much paper they used up.
I wonder if anyone ever filmed or videotaped the printing terminal
testing? That would be cool!
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
4 Apr
4 Apr
10:46 p.m.
In article <100182.20852.qm at web121615.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>,
Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> writes:
Granted, I don't have any automatic alerts set up
to email me in
case one pop s up, which I suppose I have to do. I've only seen the one
on eBay.
There have been a couple on ebay over the last few years. During that
time, IIRC, there has been one VT52. It went for more than the 4010.
VT52's, on the other hand, I've had
opportunities in the past, but in
both ca ses, the seller flaked and dropped communication.
Last time I had a line on a VT52, the seller wanted $900. I want one,
but not that bad. (It doesn't even do graphics!)
And VT100's - I've got a couple. They're
uncommon, but there are
definitely a lot of them out there.
Of course "a lot" is a relative term. There is only a small fraction
out there compared to the production quantity. However, they are
still relatively easy to find compared to a 4010 or a VT52. What is
hard to find is one in good cosmetic condition.
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com/the-direct3d-graphics-pipeline/>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://legalizeadulthood.wordpress.com>
5 Apr
5 Apr
11:35 a.m.
--- On Mon, 4/4/11, Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Mr Ian Primus <ian_primus at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Anyone got a VT52 they'd be willing to sell?
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
...
And VT100's - I've got a couple. They're
uncommon, but
there are definitely a lot of them out there. I just wound
up with another one last week, along with two CIT-101's
(clones), which I actually find more interesting (and less
common)
-Ian
We loved the C. Itoh 101. It had the most fantastic light-touch keyboard ever made.
4793
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4795
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18 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
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ethan.dicks＠gmail.com -
ian_primus＠yahoo.com -
legalize＠xmission.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
molists＠yahoo.com -
robert.jarratt＠ntlworld.com -
rodsmallwood＠btconnect.com -
teoz＠neo.rr.com -
useddec＠gmail.com -
wdonzelli＠gmail.com