Tek 4051 was Re: Weekend finds! - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

24 Nov 1998

...
    OK  Thanks.  Are the BASIC commands on the 4052 the
same as the 4051?
 FWIW the 4052s use similar plug in ROMs.  One of the manuals that I have
 shows the same function ROM for the 4052.  It uses the same case but a
 different board with more ROM ICs on it. Yes.  My BASIC manuals cover 4051, 4052
and 4054.  Some commands have a
note in the manual that they're not available on the 4051 without an
appropriate ROM cartridge.

...
  The 4097 is
very rare AFAIK.  I've never before heard of one surviving.
All I have for it is some Tek marketing bumf printed out from microfilm.. 
  I'm like to see the marketing info. Where did you find it?

   I've been cleaning the 4051 up today. Man, is it filthy! There are dirt
 dobber nests all through it.  I cleaned up one of the 4097s and checked the
...
  power supply. It spun up but one voltage is slightly
high.  I have to fix
 that. When I was researching the talk I gave at the VCF (in fact the previous
version that I gave to the Cambridge University Computer Preservation
Society) I wrote to Tek UK asking for information.  They sent me an
envelope full of microfiches: marketing stuff tracking practically the
whole history of the 4050 series, an almost complete set of "Tekniques",
the 4050 series newsletter, and a couple of technical things.

Give me a snail mail address (privately) and I'll post you a copy
(technically I have permission to copy if "promoting Tektronix")

...
    Here's a rough list of what I have:  Tek 4051
mod 1,22 (what is a mod No idea, I'm afraid.

...
  1,22?). A 4097 8" disk drive with a single drive.
It has option 031. I
 don't know what that is unless it's the connector for the second drive. It
...
  has an HP-IB port for the controller and a 40
conductor ribbon cable that
 connects to the other 4097. The second 4097 has two 8" disk drives and no
 controller port just a connector for the 40 conductor cable.  There is a The 4097
could control up to 3 drives.  You seem to have the full
configuration, controller + 1 drive in one box, 2 drives in a second box.
Disks are SSDD I think (must look that up).  Links to 4051 by GPIB of
course.  My 4052 now loads and saves on my Commie 8050 disk drive...

...
  Data Communications Interface on the back of the 4051,
it has two ROM
 sockets in it and a RS-232 port on the bottom. There is also a ROM
 Expansion box (4051E01).  It has 8 ROM sockets and a cable with a dummy ROM
...
  that plugs into one of the ROM sockets on the 4051.  I
have five ROMs in
 it; File Manager, Editor, Signal Processing, Service Pack and Binary
 Program Loader.  I'm supposed to get some manuals from the seller. I took a
I think file manager may be needed for the 4097.  (Are you sure it's a
4097?  I have a vague memory of it having been 4907).  Binary program
loader is one of the things that's included on the 4052 motherboard ROMs.
I don't understand the editor but I may have a manual if I dig.  Screen
editing of BASIC (on a storage display) is better than many non-storage
user interfaces of the day even without the Editor ROM.

...
  quick look at them and there was a 4097 manual. I
didn't look at the
 others. I did pick up manuals from someone else for the Signal Processing
 ROM and FFT ROM (I don't have that one).  There are two connectors on the I
have the FFT ROM for the 4052 but it doesn't work (bit rot?) :-(

...
  top back of the 4051. I don't know what
they're for except that one has a
 note not to connect the joy stick unless the machine is off, so I assume
 that's what it's for. I think the other is for a printer. Tony beat me to
it again.  See his post and my reply thereto.

Philip.