ASR-32 Usable as Terminal?

From: Stuart Johnson <ssj152_at_charter.net>
Date: Sat Mar 1 23:58:01 2003

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Sharp" <jss_at_subatomix.com>
To: "ClassicCmp Lists" <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2003 10:32 PM
Subject: ASR-32 Usable as Terminal?
<SNIP>

> I just realized, *after* bidding, that this TTY on eBay is a 32, not a 33.
> Oops. Since it uses baudot code instead of ASCII and has a rotary dialer
on
> its CCU, is it useless as a terminal for a PDP-11? What would be required
to
> make it useful for a terminal?
>
> I'm thinking that I should cancel my bid. I want a TTY solely to have a
> period terminal for my PDP-11/20. :-/
>
> Yes, I have read the following in the "vital poop" thread:
>
> > Before you spend big bucks on ebay
> > ----------------------------------
> > A Model 33 has a four-row keyboard (not including the space bar).
> > A Model 32 has a three-row keyboard (not including the space bar).
> > The 33 is ascii, and the 32 is baudot.
> > You cannot (prctically) modify a 32 into a 33.
>
> --
> Jeffrey Sharp

One suggestion is to put a PIC between the system and the 33. Let it
translate the baudot to and from ASCII. We made a "driver" to do this very
thing many years ago when using a model 28 with an Apple II and it worked
fine as a printer. VERY NOISY - so bad we wrapped to mattress from a camp
cot around the thing to try and muffle it. Since I already had the model 28
it was a cheap solution.

Stuart Johnson
Received on Sat Mar 01 2003 - 23:58:01 GMT