Digital VT131 Video Terminal W/ Keyboard 1982 Vintage Dummy Computer SAS
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:51093788 | Brand: Digital |
| Vintage: Yes | Model: VT131 |
Digital VT131 Video Terminal w/ Keyboard 1982 Vintage Dummy Computer Tested. See pics for conditon. Includes terminal and keyboard only. a generic power cable is needed to power on testing involved turning on to verify it will power up and the screen works. "6" appeared on the screen, nothing else, keystrokes did not do anything. as this is a terminal i cant verify beyond this. however is there is a test i can perform please reach out. no smoke or bad smells or anything detected update... - I am told The 6 on the screen indicates a fault in the NVRAM and with the keyboardcondition is ok, cosmetic issues present but structurally ok. no cracks or other damage found. has strong discoloration and yellowing. sticker and tape residue on top and side. some labels loose/worn on back keyboard keys were a bit loose and a couple came off during cleaning but reattached fine. missing two keys as seen in the pics, also no feetthis came from a longtime SAS employee who acquires it when the company retired the unit and he held itBackground on the terminal - DEC's first successful video terminal was theVT50, introduced in 1974 and quickly replaced by theVT52in 1975. The VT52 featured a text display with 80 columns and 24 rows, bidirectional scrolling, and a custom control language that allowed the cursor to be moved about the screen. These "smart terminals" were a hit due both to their capabilities and to their ability to be run over inexpensive serial links, rather than custom connection as in the case of systems like theIBM 3270, which generally required expensive controllers for distributed applications. The VT100 was introduced in August 1978, replacing the VT50/VT52 family. Like the earlier models, it communicated with itshostsystem over serial lines at a minimum speed of 50 bit/s, but increased the maximum speed to 19, 200 bit/s, double that of the VT52.[2] The major change within the system was the control system. Unlike the VT50/52's proprietary cursor control language, the VT100 was based on the emergingANSI X3.64standard for command codes.[a]At the time, computer vendors suggested that the standard was beyond thestate of the artand could not be implemented at a reasonable price. The introduction of low-costmicroprocessorsand the ever-falling cost ofcomputer memoryaddressed these problems, and the VT100 used the newIntel 8080as its internalprocessor.[3]In addition, the VT100 provided backwards compatibility for VT52 users, with support for the VT52 control sequences.[4] Other improvements on the VT52 included a 132 column mode, and a variety of "graphic renditions" including blinking, bolding, reverse video, and underlining. The VT100 also introduced an additionalbox-drawing characterset containing various pseudographics that allowed the drawing of on-screen forms. All setup of the VT100 was accomplished using interactive displays presented on the screen; the setup data was stored innon-volatile memorywithin the terminal. Maintainability was also significantly improved since a VT100 could be dismantled quickly without tools. In 1983, the VT100 was replaced by the more powerful VT200 series terminals such as theVT220.
