New batch of pdp8 OMNIBUS to USB interface! Please Read and react!

[Paul Koning]

> On Feb 16, 2017, at 12:40 AM, Eric Smith <spacewar at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Wed, Feb 15, 2017 at 7:22 AM, Tony Duell <ard.p850ug1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Over here, the only Teletypes we generally see are Model 33s. Even the
>> Model
>> 35 is very uncommon,
> 
> 
> In my experience, it's the same in the US: the model 33 has always been
> MUCH more common than the 35.  Every model 35 I actually saw in service
> back in the day was a system console, not for "end users". Presumably it
> was desired for the system console to be a heavy-duty and high-reliability
> device, and the model 35 was built like a battleship. Actually, even better
> than that: it was built like a model 28!

I first saw a model 35 as a computer terminal in Holland, not sure what computer (it showed up in an Open House demonstration).  But yes, model 33 was far more common.  Presumably because of being far cheaper, and "good enough".  They were rated for intermittent duty, and sure enough, when used intensely in college timesharing setups they tended to fall apart.

> ...
> I used the model 33 a huge amount from 1977 to 1979, but from 1979 to 1982
> I mostly used the DEC LA36 DECwriter II and various CRT terminals.

The LA36 was an excellent machine.  Unlike the LA30, with its atrocious keyboard and a print mechanism that jammed about every 20th carriage return.

> ...
> OK, we do see BRPE
>> punches from time to time.
> 
> 
> I'd really like to get one of those!

I remember my father used them in his lab, to capture experimental data for subsequent processing.  Nice machines.  The most amazing catch would be a Soroban punch, those apparently could go at 200 or 400 bytes per second (vs. BRPE at around 120 or so).

	paul