All the Terminals Left on Campus
--------------------------------
In my last post I said this one was going to be entitled
"Some Old Computers I Found on Campus, 2016-2024", my
intention being to present an inventory of treasures I've
culled from dusty storerooms around the university where I
work. But I found I was not able to really get a narrative
handle on that topic, and just making a big list seemed
rather pointless and uninteresting. So I'm doing what I
often do when my initial ideas prove unworkable: scaling it
back a bit.
(Before I launch into my main topic, I should note that I do
not typically spend my days scouring the campus for these
relics. Instead, I work with the university's Surplus
Coordinator, who sends me email when he comes across
something he thinks I might be interested in.)
There was a time, back in the mainframe-and-mini era, when
there were hundreds - probably thousands - of computer
terminals scattered about the University. Beginning in the
1970s, they proliferated across research labs, student labs,
professors' desks, the library, the campus data centre, etc,
etc, for a couple of decades and more. But that was all long
ago. What, if anything, remains of them now? Read on
...
DEC VT125 (1981)
----------------
If I recall correctly this was the first terminal that came
my way, shortly after I began collecting in 2016. It was
recovered from our Physics/Astronomy/Chemistry building,
which has proven to be an excellent source of old equipment
over the years. The VT125 is a variant of the iconic VT100
with an added graphics mode that I've never tried to make
use of. It works quite well, although the text becomes
noticeably smaller toward the bottom of the screen so it
could probably use a tune up. Currently hooked up to a micro
PDP-11, that also mostly works.
C. Itoh CIT 101 (1981)
----------------------
A DEC VT100 clone, courtesy of the Engineering dept. The
monitor is in better shape than the VT125 (no textual
distortion), and it has some nice features that the other
lacks, such as a more intuitive setup mode and the ability
to choose the colour of text (green, red, cyan, orange).
Unfortunately the keyboard has some sticky keys and a couple
that are altogether unresponsive. When I opened it up to
see if I could diagnose the problem, I found an entire
cheezy inside ("Cheezies" being a brand of Canadian cheese
puff snacks). The only way it could have got in there was
if someone had deliberately taken the keyboard apart and
placed it inside. Who were you, mysterious cheezy
prankster? Did you ever dream your cheezy would be
discovered, years or decades hence? I did not eat it.
Teleray 3931 (1976)
-------------------
The oldest, and probably the coolest, terminal in the
collection. It has both an ASCII and an APL mode. (APL is
without a doubt my favourite initialism for a programming
language, as it literally stands for "A Programming
Language".) In good working order after minimal maintenance
[1]. Another one from Physics/Chem/Astronomy; found in the
(I believe now disused) observatory on the roof of the
building. It was there being used as a doorstop, for which
it is excellently suited. At 70 lbs, its solid metal
construction will stop any door, any time. Unfortunately
the observatory was only accessible via 3 narrow flights of
stairs. I came perilously close to developing permanent
back trouble getting the Teleray out of there.
Ann Arbor Ambassador (1982)
---------------------------
Runner-up for "coolest terminal in the collection", the
Ambassador has a portrait mode screen and a fashionable
black industrial design. And Jamie Zawinski has one! [2]
Part of a consignment from our Comp. Sci. dept in the summer
of 2023, the largest haul to ever come my way. I plan to
write up a separate post about that, so will say no more
about it here. The Ambassador might rank even higher,
coolness-wise, were it not for one sad thing: it is
currently non-functional, thanks to a borked power supply
(failed switch-mode controller IC, which I'm told is not
easy to replace).
Qume QVT102 (1983)
------------------
Nothing special, just a VT102 clone of no great distinction.
The monitor is in good shape, but unfortunately its
cheapish membrane keyboard is all but unusable. This is,
apparently, quite a common failing with these models as they
age, as evidenced by some discussion on the VCFED bulletin
board. [3]
DEC VT220
----------
As it turns out, I am not the only collector of old
computing equipment on campus. The director of our data
centre is also putting together a showcase of relics from
bygone days, and sometimes I have to share. Which of course
I do, grudging^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hgraciously. So I know this is
somewhere on campus still, but not sure where, or what
condition it's in.
Keyboards
---------
I am not entirely sure why terminal keyboards sometimes turn
up without terminals to go with them. Kept as spares,
perhaps, for terminals long since discarded? Anyhow, I've
come across several, which I am holding onto for now:
- quite a few DEC VT100 keyboards, in varying states of
[dis]repair
- Spare Ann Arbor Ambassador keyboard
- Cybernex LGR-1. Dark grey industrial design,
Canadian-made. Wish we'd kept the terminal ...
- Concept HDS. Fancy, brown and beige, with function
and special keys.
Can I say for certain these are _all_ the terminals still
extant on campus? Well, no, I suppose I can't. Perhaps
somewhere, lurking in forgotten storage closets or disused
faculty offices, there are yet more to be found. But somehow
I doubt it. I'm surprised we still have this many kicking
around.[*]
References
----------
[1] http://madrona.ca/e/teleray3931/index.html
[2] https://www.jwz.org/blog/2016/10/export-termaaa-60/
[3] https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php?threads/qume-terminal-membrane-keyboard-repair.1244422/
Notes
-----
[*] I should probably note that in fact we do have several
additional terminals in the collection - so yes, technically
"on campus" - but these came in as community donations, not
as surplus items, so are not in scope for this post.
Sat Aug 31 17:42:50 PDT 2024